The second reading of the ‘Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation and Liability for Housing Standards) Bill’ took place on 19th January. The Bill was introduced by Karen Buck MP and on 14 January the government announced that it would support it. The Bill will now be discussed by a select committee where amendments may well …
Last month the interim report of Dame Hackitt’s review of Fire Safety and Building Regulations following the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower was published. The final report is expected in April this year. The report is particularly focused on high rise and complex residential buildings and specifically discusses the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 …
In Assured Property Service Ltd v Ooo a District Judge has held that a Section 21 notice is invalid because the landlord failed to provide the tenant with a gas safe certificate at the outset of the tenancy. Mrs Ooo was served with a Section 21 notice by her landlord’s agent Assured Property Service Ltd. …
This month the draft Housing and Planning Act 2016 (Banning Order Offences) Regulations 2017 were approved by both houses of Parliament. Our previous post on banning orders can be read here. The Regulations were put forward by Lord Bourne in the House of Lords. In summary, with the introduction of banning orders the government is …
The How to Rent Guide was again updated on 17 January 2018. The Guide was introduced by the Deregulation Act 2015 and must be given to tenants on the commencement or renewal of the tenancy or when it becomes statutory periodic. It is important to ensure that the tenant is given the Guide at these …
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, has launched the Greater London Authority’s (GLA’s) Rogue Landlord and Agent checker. The database names landlords and agents that have successfully been convicted of a housing offence and includes details of the type of offence and level of fine. The GLA argues that the database will provide greater confidence to …
London ‘Rogue’ landlord and agent database launched. Read More »
The Government has commenced a consultation to amend the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 in relation to domestic properties to remove the “no cost to the landlord” principle. In our previous post we advised that “the energy efficiency regulation is based on a principle of ‘no cost to the landlord’, which …
Last month the DCLG published ‘a guide to energy performance certificates for the marketing, sale and let of dwellings.’ The necessity of a further guide at this stage is unclear especially when the guide makes little reference to the minimum EPC rating coming into force this April. However, we have taken the liberty of summarising the …
This is our second post on Surrender. Our first post dealt with an agreement to surrender and the Deed of Surrender itself. In this post we will consider surrender by operation of law. The term surrender by operation of law is where a person carries out an action or actions which are only permitted if …
We have recently received a number of helpline enquiries about tenancy surrenders and the formalities that should be adopted by parties negotiating them. A surrender is a mutual agreement between a landlord and tenant to end a tenancy prior to its contractual end date. A landlord is not obliged to agree to a surrender but …
The draft regulations introducing banning orders have now been published and are expected to come into force on 6 April 2018. Our previous blog on banning orders can be read here. Under the regulation, agents and landlords can be banned from engaging in letting agency or property management work or letting properties if they are …
PainSmith Solicitors wish all their clients a very Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year. The office will close at 1pm on December 22 2017 and re-open at 10am on December 27 2017. Office hours from December 27 2017 to December 29 2017 will be 10am until 3 pm although emails will be answered outside those …
In Walcott v Jones and Jones a Court held that a landlord was not obliged to comply with the Deregulation Act 2015 when serving a section 21 for a tenancy that commenced in 2007. It also held that a periodic tenancy continues from period to period and does not proceed as a series of new …
Tenancies which are ‘granted’ prior to the Deregulation Act 2015 Read More »
The Communities and Local Government Committee will scrutinise the Government’s Draft Tenant Fee Bill. The bill was published on 1 November 2017 and our previous post on the Bill can be read here. In summary, the Bill will prohibit all payments by tenants to lettings agents and landlords (with a few exceptions) and introduce both civil …
Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has updated the N5B accelerated possession claim form. The N5B form is used by those seeking possession of a property let under an assured shorthold tenancy on the expiry of a Section 21 notice. The process is referred to as accelerated because the court usually makes an order …
The contract with the Gas Safe Register (GSR) ends in 2019. The GSR provides the list of gas engineers registered to work legally and safely. However, the current GSR 10-year contract expires on 31 March 2019. Parties that are interested in making a bid for the new contract may register their interest with the Health …
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