From 27 May 2015 there will be a statutory duty on lettings agents in England to publicise the fees they charge. What needs doing? Agents need to display prominently in each office and on the agent’s website ( if there is one): A list of fees. The list must give enough information so that a …
Consumer Rights Act 2015 and lettings agent fees. More duties for lettings agents? Read More »
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) which replaced the OFT earlier this year issued on the 13th June 2014 “Guidance for lettings professionals on consumer protection law”. Plainly for anyone involved in the Lettings Industry a must read document! Much of what is included within the guidance is not new. It helpfully pulls together various …
As many of you are aware the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 came into force on 13 June 2014 (the Regulations). Rental agreements are specifically excluded so the Regulations do not apply to tenancy agreements but all other contracts are potentially caught. Particularly, the Regulations do apply to lettings and sales …
Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 Read More »
The OFT last week announced that it intends to launch a market study into the residential property management field for leasehold property in England and Wales. Ahead of the study the OFT has invited interested persons to tell them about what areas they should be concerned about. Their Press Release sets out what areas the …
Office of Fair Trading to study Residential Property Management services Read More »
…..is finally with us. Readers will recall the case involving a complaint against Your-move.co.uk Ltd ( Your Move) stating that an advert that had been placed on Rightmove did not contain details of compulsory charges such as administration fees. We blogged on this here. So six months down the line we have some guidance from …
Advertising guidance for letting agents and private landlords Read More »
We have heard on the grapevine that some agents are currently being advised that following the Land Tribunal ( Upper Chamber) decisions of Triplerose Ltd v Grantglen and Beitov Properties Ltd v Elliston Martin , they should not use an agent’s office and address as an address for service for the purposes of Sections 47 …
Shelter has stepped up its campaign to make it unlawful for lettings agents to charge any fees at all to tenants. You can read their report here. The average compulsory lettings fee that renters pay to a landlord’s agent in setting up a tenancy is £355.00. The charity would like to see tenants’ costs limited …
Just a reminder to everyone in the Rental Industry that the Communities and Local Government Select Committee is currently conducting an enquiry into the private rented sector. Submissions have been invited from any interested party dealing with the private rented sector. Submissions should be emailed to clgev@parliament.uk by 17th January 2012. In particular submissions are …
From the 1st of this month the Land Registry launched Form LL which allows landlords to register a restriction for free against the title of their home when they do not live at the property. The restriction is designed to help prevent forgery by requiring a solicitor or conveyancer to certify they are satisfied that …
A survey of tenants experience…… Resolution Foundation, an organisation that works to highlight the experiences of low-to-middle earners (LMEs) through its research has published a report on its survey of tenants experience in the private rented sector. Resolution Foundation conducted I mystery shopping exercise of 25 letting agents and also spoke to tenants about their …
I was reluctant to blog this but I have been persuaded that it might help some readers. The ABI has released some factsheets on what to do if you have been affected by the current unrest. The good news is that most domestic and commercial insurance policies will cover you for fire and looting.
In a recent case in Watford County Court an agent sought his commission for the successful sale of a property in October 2009. The Defendant defended the claim on the basis that no Cancellation Notice in the prescribed form pursuant to the Cancellation of Contracts in a Consumer’s home or Place of Work etc Regulations …
An interesting case has come before a County Court relating to renewal commission charged by a lettings agent.
The final order in the OFT v Foxtons case is available.
The Government is consulting on changes to be made to the manner in which approved bodies are certified under the Building Regulations
Landlords and agents might find this update on the distance selling regulations helpful.
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