June 20th, 2013
The latest Court of Appeal ruling could mean that new tenancies have to be created monthly, and tenants’ deposits re-protected every time.
It could also mean that deposits which the law now – but not then – says were not protected properly would have to be returned to the tenant before a Section 21 notice for possession could be served.
Lawyers are citing these as among the potential outcomes of the Superstrike v Rodrigues case. Continue reading »
June 18th, 2013
A Court of Appeal judgement could have major consequences for the private rented industry, and open landlords up to legal action from tenants because they unwittingly broke the law on tenancy deposit protection.
They, or their agents, did not protect deposits at the time because they did not have to, and therefore did nothing wrong. The law on compulsory protection had not been brought in.
However, if the tenant remained in place and the tenancy became periodic, the law will have been broken by not protecting the deposit.
Landlords may also have broken the law as recently as 30 days ago by not re-protecting deposits when the initial fixed term tenancy became periodic. Continue reading »
June 12th, 2013
David Lawrenson, of private rental consultants www.LettingFocus.com, celebrates a victory after the London Assembly accepts his firm’s evidence on the private rented sector and will be used as a key recommendation.
The London Assembly has issued another report on the private rented sector this time calling for the mayor to intervene in the capital’s private rented sector through “rent stabilisation” and encourage longer tenancies.
In the report published yesterday the Assembly’s Housing and Regeneration Committee calls for a series of reforms to the capital’s private rented sector. Continue reading »
June 11th, 2013
A new research report on the regulation of letting agents has been published, and placed in the House of Commons library.
The report, by Wendy Wilson and Catherine Fairbairn, points out that there is no statutory regulator of private letting or managing agents in England, and no requirement for them to belong to a trade association. Continue reading »
June 10th, 2013
The buy-to-let sector is booming with landlords tempted by lower house prices, rising rents and improved mortgage deals. Homeowners can no longer rely on house prices rising steeply, but with rental yields on the up, taking advantage of high tenant demand and low supply is an increasingly popular option. Continue reading »
May 30th, 2013
The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has accused the Westminster government of lagging behind its Welsh and Scottish counterparts when it comes to regulating the rental sector.
The Scottish Government is due to announce a review of its strategy for the PRS today, while the Welsh Government is due to introduce a Housing Bill before the end of this Assembly term, legislating for a compulsory licensing scheme for all letting agents in Wales, as well as a code of practice. Continue reading »
May 29th, 2013
With last month’s announcement by the Government that all letting agents must “belong to a recognised redress scheme.” It was encouraging to see that The Property Ombudsman was able to announce at the beginning of the month that they had passed the milestone of 10,000 letting agents as members of the scheme. The fact so many letting agents have already signed up to the voluntary scheme and its code of practice, which gives consumers confidence they will be treated fairly and that risk to them is reduced because there is a process for resolving disputes that may arise, demonstrates that the lettings industry is not only willing to but wants to show customers that they are responsible agents.
This step in the right direction and with the Governments previous concerns that regulation may impose a regulatory burden on letting agents, it was surprising to the private rented sector that in the Queens Speech this month it was announced that private landlords would be responsible for checking the immigration status of tenants. More surprising was the revelation that only three years ago the Government was offered an immigrants’ checking service which would have cost taxpayers nothing, but turned the offer down. Concerns over a landlord’s ability to check the immigrant status of tenants or face a fine have been somewhat relieved by the recent announcement by housing minister Mark Prisk that “The immigration status of tenants will only have to be checked under a ‘light touch’ regime”. However, there is still concern as to why the government is prioritising this and not making conditions better for those in the private rented sector, especially when reputable landlords and agents are already carrying out tenant referencing.
May 28th, 2013
The Welsh Government has launched a consultation into reforming the private rented sector in Wales.
Proposals include ditching ASTs in favour of simplified, standard contracts. They would contained a ‘prohibited conduct’ term to deal with anti-social behaviour. Continue reading »
May 24th, 2013
The hidden costs of renting private accommodation in Northern Ireland have been revealed in an undercover survey carried out by the Housing Rights Service (HRS).
Mystery shoppers conducted a survey of 40 lettings agents across the country and found that upfront fees of as much as £100 were demanded by some agents to cover routine services such as credit checks and general administration costs.
This was on top of a deposit – normally one month’s rent – and a month’s rent in advance. Continue reading »
May 23rd, 2013
The immigration status of tenants will only have to be checked under a ‘light touch’ regime, housing minister Mark Prisk has said.
Prisk was speaking to MPs who were asking questions about proposals unveiled in the Queen’s Speech which will make landlords responsible for checking whether their tenants have a right to be in the UK. Continue reading »