In our previous post we mentioned the mandatory national minimum sleeping room sizes. From 1 October 2018 local authorities will need to impose conditions as to the minimum room sizes which may be occupied as sleeping accommodation in the HMO. A room smaller than the specified size must not be used as sleeping accommodation. The …
The Government has issued guidance for local authorities on the implementation of the HMO changes coming into force 1stOctober 2018. On 1 October 2018 Mandatory licensing will apply to buildings with one or two storeys, occupied by five or more persons, from two or more separate households. We do not intend to detail the changes …
The Ministry of Justice has published a report on ‘one year review of enforcement agent reforms introduced by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007’. The review carried out is in respect of High Court Enforcement agents, also referred to as bailiffs, that are used to collect unpaid debts on behalf of creditors. They have …
The Welsh government has now also introduced a tenant fees bill which is similar to that introduced in England. A summary of the provisions of The Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Bill: tenants will no longer be charged for an accompanied viewing, receiving an inventory, signing a contract, or renewing a tenancy; letting agents and …
In J N Hipwell v Szurekthe Court of Appeal held that a term should be implied into a lease that the landlord was responsible for the safety of the electrical installations, in order to give business efficacy to the lease. The tenant ran a café, meeting place and function room from the business premises. However, …
Some months ago, we wrote an article on the JCWI’s letter to the Secretary of State challenging he decision to roll out the Right to Rent (RtR) scheme to Northen Ireland, Wales and Scotland. The JCWI has now been given permission to judicially review the Secretary of State’s decision. Our previous post can be read …
In a case brought to our attention recently, the courts found that a landlord’s Section 21 notice was invalid because he had protected the notice and served the prescribed information in respect of the deposit too early. Facts The deposit was provided by a local council on behalf of a tenant. Prior to handing over …
The government has announced that it is intending to introduce a draft Bill before the summer recess this year to establish the public register of beneficial ownership for foreign companies owning property in the UK. The Bill is expected to be introduced in Summer 2019 with the register implemented in 2021. Our previous post on …
On 19 April 2018 the Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee published a report on the private rented sector in which it said that the most vulnerable tenants need greater legal protections from retaliatory evictions, rent increases and harassment so they are fully empowered to pursue complaints about repairs and maintenance in their homes. …
The court of appeal has held in Smith v Khan that in unlawful eviction cases damages must compensate the tenant for not only depriving them of the property but also for anxiety, inconvenience and mental stress. Facts The claimant was a Nigerian national who had leave to remain in the UK but was not entitled to …
In our previous post we mentioned that organisations needed to be fully aware of the lawful processing basis that they are relying on for each data processing activity. This post will address the main bases applicable to agents. There are 6 lawful bases for processing and no single basis is more important or better than …
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is coming into force on 25 May 2018. This means it will be in force in the UK despite Brexit and will apply to agents and landlords who handle client’s and tenant’s data. GDPR will effectively replace the Data Protection Act 1998 and it is vital that agents …
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – 25 May 2018 Read More »
The Homelessness Reduction Act is now in force. Our previous post can be read here. The new legislation will require councils to intervene earlier to prevent homelessness. It is hoped that the Act will ‘eliminate rough sleeping within the next decade’ with local authorities taking ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent and relieve homelessness. What this means …
The Government has now introduced the Tenant Fee Bill to the House of Commons. The Bill proposes to ban landlords and their letting agents from requiring private tenants and licensees in England making payments in connection with any tenancy. Our previous post can be read here. Below is a summary of the Bill. The ban …
With the possibility of England introducing a landlord registration scheme we thought it wise to keep an eye on the scheme in Scotland. Any new scheme may be influenced by the Scottish scheme introduced in 2004 with a view to improve standards in the private rental sector. Scotland has therefore launched a review of the …
Many commonwealth citizens have lived in the UK for most of their lives but recently it has become clear that they have had difficulty providing the necessary evidence to prove their status. The government has therefore issued urgent guidance for landlords on the RtR checks on undocumented commonwealth citizens while they take steps to resolve …
Commonwealth citizens (‘Windrush’) and Right to Rent Read More »
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