On 10 January 2020 the 5th money laundering directive (5MLD) will come into force in the UK. The government is obligated to do this despite Brexit. The 5MLD was introduced following a review of the 4th money laundering directive. It is hoped that the 5MLD will further strengthen transparency and counter-terrorist provisions. Despite Brexit, the …
The Conservative party appears to have made a U-turn on rent controls following comments made to a newspaper by the Housing Secretary. The Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick revealed this week in an interview with i newspaper that the Conservatives will now consider limited controls on rent rises. This is contrary to what he said at …
On 1 January 2020 new legislation regarding septic tanks will come into force. The new rules which were introduced in 2015 are designed to stop the practice of septic tanks discharging directly into local watercourses such as streams or rivers. The rules apply to existing treatment systems (in use before 31 December 2014) and new …
A London landlord who let out properties in Euston and King’s Cross has been banned for 4 years and fined £29,000. A 45 year old London landlord who was subletting properties to young and foreign professionals has been banned from letting further properties for 4 years. The ban will commence in March 2020 and should …
In Regency (UK) ltd v (1) Albu-Swalin and (2) Heartland Property Ltd, a Tenant that was unlawfully evicted was awarded damages of £19,000. The judge was entitled to decide how to calculate the damages which in some respects was in line with case law. Regency let flats to Heartland, who then sublet them to individuals. …
This is the second post on the election manifestos. This post will look at the Labour policy for the Private Rental Sector. Fines and Rent Repayment orders A new ‘charter of renters’ rights’ is proposed in order to put power in the hands of tenants. The Labour party propose a new national ‘property MOT’. This …
Now that we are in the middle of an election private rented sector news appears to have quietened down save for the parties’ manifestos. PainSmith is not endorsing any one party however it is important that the sector is aware of what a party may plan if it forms the next government. As such this …
A landlord with a rental property in Redbridge has been fined £5,770. It is understood that council enforcement officers were ‘tipped off’ that the landlord in Redbridge was operating an HMO property without a licence in Romford, Essex. On inspection the officers also found that the property had virtually no fire safety measures such as …
We have recently received a few helpline enquiries about ‘rent back agreements’ between buyers and sellers of a property. These relationships do not generally require FCA approval however, this does mean that in some cases approval may be needed. Common scenario The common scenario that we come across is not really referred to as a …
On BBC money box live over the weekend there was a discussion about one type of “hidden household.” That is when tenants in a relationship move into a property together only to end up trapped together in that property when the relationship ends prior to the fixed term of the tenancy ending. This post will …
Councils across the country are being invited to bid for £4 million to help them crackdown on what the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government call ‘criminal landlords. This is now the second time funding has been made available to crack down on what last year the MHCLG called ‘rogue’ landlords. Our previous post …
More funding to help crack down on ‘criminal’ landlords. Read More »
In the case of Manchester Ship Canal Company Ltd v Vauxhall Motors Ltd the Supreme Court held that the licensee was entitled to relief from forfeiture. This case is relevant to residential licensees because many are likely to have some form of possessory title and therefore are likely to be able to avail themselves of …
We regularly receive emails and calls about cybercrime and what some refer to as email payment fraud. Unfortunately, it is a growing form of crime so here is an updated post on what email payment fraud is and what readers should look out for. Our previous post on the topic can be read here. Email …
Lettings agents who took rent for properties that were never in fact available have been given suspended sentences for money laundering. The agents at Oliver Knights, an online property lettings business, pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering, having knowingly allowed their bank accounts to be used to launder the proceeds of multiple letting frauds …
On 25 October sections 122 and 123 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 came into force. The Housing and Planning Act 2016 (Commencement No. 11) Regulations 2019 bring into force s.122 and s.123 of the 2016 Act. These provisions do not bring any electrical safety standards into force at present but do permit the …
Many letting agents will be familiar with the Competition & Markets Authority’s (CMA) guidance for lettings professionals on consumer protection law. This post will concentrate on section 5 of the guide, Marketing property: advertising and providing information to tenants and the recent update on page 49. Although the guidance has been around since 2014 the …
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