Following the government’s announcement to end section 21 notices we have received enquiries about when these notices should be served and particularly whether landlords or agents should serve notice now in order to protect their position. The government announced that they wish to consult on abolishing section 21 notices in April this year. The consultation …
On Sunday, 1 September the Renting Homes (fees etc) (Wales) Act came into force. This means that landlords and agents with properties in Wales will no longer be able to charge fees for new tenancies or renewals. Our previous post on the Act can be read here. This Act is similar to the Tenant Fees Act …
*LAST FEW SEMINAR PLACES REMAINING* Please request a booking form from Emma Butcher at emmab@painsmith.co.uk to save yourself disappointment! Our Brentwood Seminar will take place on Thursday 12th September 2019 at The Holiday Inn, Brentwood M25, Jct 28, Brook Street, Essex CM14 5NF. The event will start with registration and lunch at 1:00pm to …
The Shadow Chancellor has suggested that the Labour party may introduce a “right to buy” scheme to help private tenants buy their rented properties at a ‘reasonable’ price if they were to win the next election. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has suggested that they would consider introducing a right to buy scheme for private tenants. …
The Court of Appeal has listed the hearing of Trecarrell House Limited v Rouncefield at the end of January 2020. Readers of the blog will note our previous post on this case. In summary, a tenant defended a section 21 possession case on the basis that the landlord had not provided the gas safety certificate …
Westminster council has successfully prosecuted a council tenant for sub-letting his apartment in Victoria, Central London, to a large number of tourists over several years. The council tenant was advertising his apartment using a fake profile on Airbnb. There are conflicting reports on how the council became aware of the subletting. However, it is likely …
Islington Borough Council has successfully prosecuted a director of a company for trying to pass a letting agency off as a membership club to avoid the relevant legislation. The London based company is said to have pressured tenants to sign a contract without inspecting the terms or the accommodation, charged them a non-refundable ‘joining fee’ …
Last week we posted on the changes made to the How to Rent Guide by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The Guide was substantially updated on 31 May 2019 to reflect the changes introduced by the Tenant Fees Act. However, since then there have been a further 2 minor changes which …
The Welsh government has announced new guidance for tenants, landlords and letting agents in respect of tenants’ fees. The guidance for tenants and the guidance for landlords and lettings agents are 2 separate documents with the latter being a lot more detailed. In summary the guidance documents set out: If the tenancy agreement is signed …
The How to Rent Guide has been changed again. The How to Rent Guide was substantially updated on 31 May 2019 to reflect the changes introduced by the Tenant Fees Act. Since that date there has been 2 further minor changes. The 2 minor changes are noted on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local …
There was an unexpected and, possibly unlawful, amendment to Form 6A on 8 August 2019. As readers of this blog should be aware, Form 6A is the prescribed form that must be used when landlords or their agents wish to serve a section 21 notice on a tenant with an assured shorthold tenancy. Form 6A …
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined a London estate agency £80,000 for leaving 18,610 customers’ personal data exposed. The breach appears to have occurred when the agency transferred data from its server to a partner organisation and failed to switch off an ‘Anonymous Authentication’ function. This error meant that access was not restricted and …
This month the short guidance to Right to Rent (RtR) guidance has been amended by the Home Office, mainly to deal with B5JSSK nationals. People who are allowed to reside in the UK are allowed to rent a property during their stay. This includes most people from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and …
The government has commenced a consultation on abolishing s.21 notices and improving the implementation of section 8 notices. In April this year the government announced that it would end s.21 evictions. This would see landlords unable to end tenancies without giving a reason and require them to follow the s.8 process where evidence and reasons …
The government has commenced a consultation on the database of rogue landlords and property agents. The consultation will seek views on who has access to the database and whether the scope of offences included on the database should be expanded. The database of rogue landlords and property agents was introduced as part of the Housing …
In October last year the government launched a scoping review of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) to consider whether it needed updating. The review of the HHSRS has now reported and it has been announced that there will be a comprehensive overhaul later this year. The overhaul will include: Reviewing and updating …
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