The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) has published a report by the property agents working group containing recommendations for government on a new regulatory framework. Membership of the working group includes RICS, ARLA Propertymark, National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and NLA amongst others. The government has proposed that property agents are …
The Home Office has been granted permission to appeal the High Court decision of March this year which held that the Right to Rent policy was unlawful. In March the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) were successful in their claim that the Right to Rent scheme is incompatible with the European Convention …
The Welsh Government has announced that it will consult on extending the notice period for the equivalent to the s.21 notice in the renting Homes (Wales) Act from 2 months to 6. The plan to extend the notice period was announced by housing minister Julie James and will see an amendment to s.173 of Renting …
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The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has just announced that seven estate and lettings agents have been expelled. TPO is an independent and impartial dispute resolution service. Disputes which have not been settled between a customer and registered agent can be referred to TPO for a resolution. TPO has the power to put a customer back into …
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) has issued the final report from its independent review of the use and effectiveness of selective licensing (SL). The purpose of the review was to assess how SL has been used as a policy tool and whether it has delivered the intended outcomes. In summary, the …
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The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) has launched a call for evidence to explore innovative approaches to deposit protection and look at improvements to the way the deposit protection process works. One of the issues that the MHCLG appears to have identified is the length of time it takes for some tenants …
Lewisham council is consulting on introducing new additional HMO and selective licensing schemes. At present Lewisham operates the mandatory and an additional HMO licensing scheme within its borough. Lewisham is now proposing introducing two further schemes which will operate in tandem with the existing schemes. The proposal is to introduce a new additional HMO licensing …
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Some 4 weeks after the Act came into force the private rental market is already seeing the negative consequences of the legislation. The Act came into force on 1 June 2019 but prior to this the industry warned that the consequences would have a negative impact on the rental market. ARLA amongst others warned earlier …
In the last 12 months we have written many posts on agents and landlords refusing to let to tenants on benefits for a variety of reasons. The tide now appears to be changing, especially in relation to lenders who were prohibiting landlords from letting their properties on buy-to-let mortgages to tenants on benefits. This month …
In Samuels v Birmingham City Council the Supreme Court held that it was difficult to see on what basis the finding of intentional homelessness had been upheld. The tenant was an assured shorthold tenant of a property in West Bromwich. The tenant fell into rent arrears and was evicted from the property. The tenant contacted …
The Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019 will come into force in Wales on 1 September. The Act, like the Tenant Fees Act in England, will ban landlords and agents from charging private tenants fees for the grant, renewal or continuation of a tenancy agreement. Our previous post on the Act can be read …
In Howard v Dalton, the tenant’s damages award for the landlord’s failure to protect the tenancy and provide the prescribed information (PI) was reduced from £83,760 to £7,200 on appeal. The first tenancy was granted in 2007. A deposit of £900 was initially taken and a further £845 upon signing the tenancy. There was then …
In Trecarrel House Limited v Rouncefield the Appeal court held that a breach of the Gas Safety Regulations could not be remedied by a landlord retrospectively. The gas safety certificate was served prior to the service of a s.21 notice and not before the tenant occupied the property. However, at first instance and contrary to the decision …
The Tenant Fees Act came into force on 1 June 2019. The Act bans landlords and agents charging tenants fees for entering, renewing, assigning or novating or terminating a tenancy in England. There are also restrictions placed on tenancy deposits. The aim of the Act is to reduce the costs that tenants pay in respect …
On 31 May the government revised the How to Rent Guide to take into account all the changes introduced into the Private Rental Sector by the Tenant Fees Act. The How to Rent Guide must be given to tenants who enter into a new or renewed tenancy for a fixed term on or after 1 …
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint made against Leftmove Estate Agents Ltd (LEA). The following adverts were the cause of the 2 complaints upheld by the ASA. (a) The website www.leftmove.com, seen on 11 January 2019, stated on the home page “Official Market Leaders … In 2017 we sold more in PR4 …
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