On 1 October Hackney council expanded their property licensing scheme. The application process opened on 25 September and landlords have until 2 December to submit their applications. Enforcement will commence by Hackney council on 3 December. This is one of a number of new licensing schemes and comes as the government has widened the use …
At the Labour party conference, Labour has pledged £20 million to help fund a tenants’ union in order to give tenants more power. The Labour pledge of £20 million to set up a tenant’s union is aimed at supporting millions of private tenants across England. There is no mention of what will happen in the …
The Government announced on 5th September further protections for tenants against what they refer to as ‘unfair’ letting fees. The Bill placed before the House of Lords can be viewed here. However, we understand that this Bill will now be amended to include further protections as summarised below. The Government press release states as follows: Tenants …
Thurrock Council has successfully prosecuted a landlord for failing to comply with an Improvement Notice. Thurrock Council initially commenced proceedings in March this year against a landlord for failing to comply with an improvement notice under the Housing Act 2004. The improvement notice was issued following complaints by the occupiers of a private rented property …
This is just a quick reminder of the HMO changes also coming into force on 1 October 2018. Mandatory Licensing, the provision of suitable refuse storage facilities and the mandatory national minimum sleeping room sizes provisions will all come into effect on 1 October 2018. Anyone concerned that they may not be in a position …
On 1 October 2015 the Deregulation Act 2015 introduced a number of changes to the Section 21 regime. For assured shorthold tenancies created on or after 1 October 2015 one of these changes was to require the prescribed Form 6A to be used where a landlord wished to serve notice to the tenant under s21. …
The House of Commons Library has produced a briefing paper with an overview of the Right to Rent scheme. The briefing paper is some 35 pages but, below is a summary of some important points: The paper acknowledges that the RtR has proved controversial with concerns raised in a number of areas: The additional burden …
In Gaskin v LB Richmond Upon Thames the High Court held that the private letting of accommodation amounted to a service within the meaning of the Services Directive making the Council’s fee for an HMO license unlawful in part. Background Mr Gaskin rented out a number of rooms in a number of properties. One particular …
On 13th August HM Courts and Tribunals Services updated the N5B England and N5B Wales forms. Having examined both the new versions and old the only amendment to note is that on Page 7. On 25th May the General Data Protection Regulations came into force. It is due to the implementation of the Regulations that the form …
On 31st August HM Courts and Tribunal Service published a range of forms relating to the Housing and Planning Act 2016 in respect of rogue landlords and lettings agents in England. The Housing and Planning Act creates two new options for local authorities who have obtained a conviction against a landlord or letting agent for one …
On 5 August a report published by the Centre for Policy Studies – Down with deposits: the case for rental insurance proposes that the government should promote a deposit replacement insurance system as an alternative to deposits. Polling by YouGov shows that 43% of renters would support a system of deposit replacement insurance with a …
This is the second post on the case of Kassam v Gill. In the first post we concentrated on whether the possession order should be struck out as an abuse of process. In this post we will concentrate on the second ground of appeal which is whether the notice seeking possession under Ground 8 is …
A circuit judge in the County Court in Kassam v Gillhas held that ‘Remove a Tenant’ conducted litigation in breach of the Legal Services Act 2007. Appeal Grounds This was the tenant’s appeal against a possession order on Ground 8. The order also gave a money judgement for rent arrears of £13,386.49 and costs of …
Shelter and the National Housing Federation have launched a new campaign to prevent landlords and letting agents from refusing to let properties to tenants who are on state benefits. A YouGov survey of almost 4,000 private renters found that almost a third of those in receipt of benefits said they had not been able to …
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants’ (JCWI) legal challenge of the Right to Rent policy will be heard in the High court on 18th and 19th December. The JCWI’s argument is based on Article 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The 2-pronged challenge is based on first that the Right to …
On the PainSmith helpline we have received a number of enquiries about the minimum energy efficiency standards and listed buildings. Unfortunately, the advice is not straightforward and usually requires landlords to take certain steps. Our previous post on the subject can be read here. On 1st April this year the minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) came …
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