Tenant Fees Ban on the Way for Wales
The tenant fees ban for letting agents is likely to stretch across Wales if a new law is passed by the Welsh Assembly. Lawmakers in Wales are already replacing assured shorthold tenancies with new standard contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, which may...
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New Energy Upgrade Rules for Buy to Let Homes
New rules aimed at making rented homes warmer and cheaper to run for tenants are on the way for 200,000 buy to let landlords. Landlords must upgrade the energy efficiency of tens of thousands of homes in England and Wales if they want to continue to rent them out. The...
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Minister to Tighten Health and Safety Rules for Rented Homes
Landlords in England face a stricter health and safety regime as the government announces an overhaul of out-of-date rules. Housing Minister Heather Wheeler on rogue landlords renting out substandard homes to private tenants. The review will look at updating the...
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Budget 2018 – Tax for Landlords at a Glance
Chancellor Phillip Hammond restrained from tinkering with landlord tax too much in his Budget 2018. The major changes impact on the capital gains tax reliefs available to buy to let landlords when they sell a property that they had lived in as their main home for some...
read moreHow To Comply With The EPC Regulations
Introduction Since 1 October 2008, an energy performance certificate has been...
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Prescribed Information (How To Rent Guide) To Be provided
Prescribed Information (How To Rent Guide) To Be provided The next job for landlords in England is to provide "prescribed information" which should be given to a tenant at the time of granting a new tenancy and ultimately before a section 21 notice can be served in...
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Hefty Penalties for Landlords Missing HMO Licensing Deadline
Time is running out for landlords to apply for shared house licences in England under new legislation that starts from October 1. Around 160,000 houses in multiple occupation in England need a licence under the new rules even though they fall outside of the current...
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Banning Orders – Housing and Planning Act 2016
As previously reported, from 6 April 2018, parts of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 commence introducing banning orders and a database of rogue landlords and property agents in England. Banning orders If a landlord is convicted of a “banning order offence” a local...
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New Law to Tackle Bad Landlords and Unsafe Rented Homes
Landlords will have to take a more professional approach to managing rental property if a bill before Parliament becomes law. The Homes (Fit for Human Habitation) Bill is awaiting the last stage of debate and amendment in Westminster. Having won government backing,...
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The Changes to HMOs You Need to Know About
From 1 October 2018, significant changes are being made to which HMOs are licensable and minimum room sizes in HMOs in England. Changes to mandatory licensing Currently, a property requires a mandatory licence if all of the following apply: the property is a House in...
read moreRedress Schemes for Lettings Agency and Property Management Work
As previously reported, from 1 October 2014 all agents who carry out letting agency or property management works will be required to join a redress scheme. The legislation appears at first glance to be remarkably straightforward for brand new legislation. This is...
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AirBnB Loophole Plugged for Landlord Tax Cheats
New rules are on the way to stop landlords and property owners pocketing tax-free cash on bed-and-breakfast and holiday let income. Rent-a-room relief was aimed at helping home owners let their spare rooms in a bid to reduce the housing crisis. Instead, many have...
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New How to Rent Guide Published (July 2018)
A new How to Rent guide which is mandatory to give to assured shorthold tenants in England has been published despite it only being a couple of weeks since the last one was published! The title has changed from: HOW TO...RENT A guide for current and prospective...
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Government Finally Reveals New HMO Guidance
The government has finally revealed to landlords how health and safety rules for shared houses will impact their property businesses. From October 1, private landlords renting out homes to five or more tenants from two or more separate households must have a local...
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New How to Rent Guide and Other ‘How to’ guides Published
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has published new ‘how to’ guides including the How to Rent Guide which must be provided to all new or renewing tenants in England. Four ‘how to’ guides have been published: How to rent How to rent a safe...
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Landlord and Agent Legislation in the Pipeline for 2018
We thought it would be useful to provide a summary of upcoming legislation in 2018 affecting landlords and agents. This will be useful for our own use as a reminder for dates and articles too! It’s quite a busy year coming up but some of the legislation in the...
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Letting Fees Ban Set to Extend Across Wales
Landlords and letting agents with homes to rent out in Wales face a ban on charging tenants fees. Welsh Assembly Housing Minister Rebecca Evans has announced she believes tenants should only have to pay their rent and a security deposit on moving in to a private...
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London’s Landlord and Agent Checker Goes Live Across 33 Councils
London mayor Sadiq Khan has vowed bad landlords have no hiding place in the capital now every borough council has signed up to his ‘Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker'. Although the database was opened in December 2017, only 10 councils displayed information about...
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Client Money Protection for Agents Set to be Mandatory
From 1 April 2019, all property agents carrying out work in relation to housing in England will be required to be a member of a mandatory client money protection scheme. The Client Money Protection Schemes for Property Agents (Requirement to Belong to a Scheme etc.)...
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Bill Banning Landlord and Letting Agent Fees Published at Last
Update: A Tenant Fees Bill has now been published and is going through at the moment. The long-awaited draft bill banning upfront landlord and letting agent fees has been published by the government. The Tenants Fees Bill confirms several measures to tighten up...
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