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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Right to Rent Protest Gathers Pace With Court Win
Right to Rent laws will undergo scrutiny after campaigners won the first round of a legal challenge. The High Court has granted permission for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) to take their case to judicial review. Under Right to Rent, landlords...
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Treasury Defends Tax Hike for Landlords After Petition Protest
Protestors campaigning against a tax hike for landlords have forced the government to defend the policy. A petition started by property investor Mark Homer gathered 14,000 supporters - enough to force the government to make a written response to the protest. Homer was...
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It’s Official! Landlords Are Fleeing Buy to Let
The number of private rented homes has dropped by 46,000 as landlords flee the buy to let market, according to official figures. Private rented homes still comprise a significant sector of the market, says the Office of National Statics’ Dwelling Stock Estimates for...
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Right to Rent Challenge Opens in High Court
A legal challenge to overturn controversial Right to Rent laws for landlords and tenants is underway in the courts. Charity the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) hasbrought the action in London’s High Court. The legal team for the JCWI is arguing the...
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Housing Charity Wants More Protection for Tenants
Moves seem under way to cap charges tenants might have to pay while living in a private rented home. The Tenants and Fees Bill before Parliament allows landlords to charge an uncapped fee for events that might happen during a tenancy, like damage to the home or having...
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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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Councils Issue Four Fines a Week Under Right to Rent
Four landlords and letting agents are fined every week under the government’s controversial Right to Rent laws, according to official statistics. In the first two years of operation - from March 2016 until the end of March 2018 - the Home Office has revealed civil...
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Letting Agent Complaints Up by 11%, Says Ombudsman
Complaints resolved against letting agents to the Property Ombudsman soared by 11% to 2,212 last year. And two out of three were supported by the ombudsman. The top causes of complaints were bad management; poor communication and record-keeping; arguments over the...
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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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New Prescribed Section 21 Form
New Prescribed Section 21 Form In this part of our '1 October 2015 changes' series we look at a new "prescribed form" which must be used for serving a section 21 notice in England. The Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations...
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Prescribed Legal Requirements Before Serving A Section 21 Notice
Prescribed Legal Requirements Before Serving A Section 21 Notice In this part of our series we look at "prescribed legal requirements" which must have been completed before a section 21 notice can be served in England. The Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and...
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Introduction To Changes For Landlords In England From 1 October 2015
The only thing that's changed is everything! To steal a line from 'Apple' during the launch of their new iPhone 6s, 6s plus and iPad Pro (which look awesome) on the same date as a crucial piece of legislation completing the Deregulation Act jigsaw - "The only thing...
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Housing Minster Rejects Call for Cap on Buy to Let Deposits
Housing Minister Heather Wheeler has rejected a call for a cap of no more than four weeks’ rent on deposits on private rented homes. Labour’s Shadow Housing Secretary John Healey quizzed the minister about a deposit cap in a written question at Westminster. He asked...
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The Missing Millions for Letting Agents After Fees Ban
The government has confirmed a tenant fee ban is in the pipeline - but what will happen to the billions of pounds generated for letting agents every year? On first look, tenants come out as winners and letting agents the losers when the Tenant Fees Bill before...
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House Price Uncertainty Continues as Values Drop
House prices have steadily dropped during the past six months, according to the UK’s leading mortgage provider. Although prices in the three months to April 30 were 2.2% up on the same quarter last year, they were 0.5% down from the 2.7% growth posted in March 2018....
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Tenant Fee Ban on the Way for Wales
Lawmakers in Wales are due to publish a draft bill banning landlord and letting agent fees. The Welsh Assembly indicated earlier in the year that a fees ban would be put in place in line with the proposed ban in England and similar legislation that has operated in...
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Right to Rent under fire from United Nations
A United Nations expert on racism has urged the government to stop forcing landlords to impose hostile immigration rules. UN special rapporteur on racism E Tendayi Achiume spent two weeks looking at immigration policy in Britain and concluded that laws designed to...
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Landlords Finally Win Cash Safeguard From Rogue Letting Agents
Letting agents must offer compulsory money protection to cover rents, deposits and other money they handle for landlords and tenants in England from April 1, 2019. The government is holding up the tenant fee ban until after compulsory money protection starts so that...
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Housing Complaints Services Fail Consumers, Says Ombudsman
Sorting out complaints about housing is just too complicated for most people, according to a new study. Eight out of 10 people want a single point of complaint and a straightforward process for dealing with their gripes, says Ombudsman Services Property. The report...
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