MPs Urge Leasehold Reform to Make Home Owning Fairer
MPs are calling for far-reaching reform to leasehold property laws to make owning a home cheaper and fairer. The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee claim freeholders are abusing the leasehold property system by making charges that cannot be justified....
Councils Warned to Update Selective Licensing Demands
Councils have been warned that some conditions imposed under their selective licensing schemes for landlords may be breaking the law. The Ministry of Housing issued the alert in the latest edition of the Private Rented Sector newsletter. The ministry’s housing...
Landlord Tax Amnesty Fails to Deliver
A call for landlords to come clean and to stop avoiding tax on their rental profits appears to have fallen on deaf ears. In 2013, HM Revenue & Customs urged 1.5 million landlords allegedly dodging £500 million in tax to make disclosures in return for lighter...
New Law Demands Better Living Standards for Tenants
New rules setting raising the bar for living standards in private rented homes in England come into force from March 20 2019. The good news is the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 does not introduce any new obligations for landlords but is designed to...
Courts Move to Speed Up Evictions for Landlords
The government wants to hear opinions from landlords about improving the legal process for evicting private tenants. A Ministry of Justice consultation is asking how the rules should change by to combine separate procedures in county courts and the High Court into one...
Landlords to Spend Up to £3,500 Under Energy Rating Rules
Since 1 April 2018, new tenancies, renewals or extensions require the property to have a minimum “E” energy rating. From 1 April 2020, all existing tenancies must comply. If a property does not meet the minimum “E” rating, the property can be registered on an...
How To Comply With The Consumer Rights Act 2015
The main parts of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 which affect landlords and letting agents are now in force for England and Wales. Duty of letting agents to publicise...
Council Pays £100,000 to Settle Landlord Slander Claim
Landlord Rod Bloor has won a £100,000 payout from a council after claiming staff doubted his honesty to prospective tenants. Bloor, who runs a 60 property portfolio as Doncaster Property Services Ltd, alleges Doncaster Council slandered him by making untrue comments...
Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018
Introduction The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 received Royal Assent on 20 December 2018 and comes into force on 20 March 2019. The Act extends to England and Wales but its practical changes are only for England. Wales has had its own fitness...
No Change for Landlords as Right to Rent Case Goes to Appeal
The Home Office has launched an appeal against the recent High Court ruling that Right to Rent breaks European human rights laws. Judge Martin Spencer was scathing about the policy that makes landlords check the residency status of immigrants and British ethnic...
Housing Minister Ready to Ban ‘No DSS’ Adverts
Housing Minister Heather Wheeler is planning a ban on private landlords who reject tenants claiming benefits. She is opening a charm offensive to encourage landlords and letting agents to drop the no DSS adverts by lining up meetings with mortgage providers, landlord...
Do Landlords Still Have to Do Right to Rent Checks?
A crushing defeat in the courts for government Right to Rent laws has left landlords in limbo. They are left with having to enforce a law that breaches the human rights of tenants after a High Court judge ruled Right to Rent breaches European human rights law by...
How To Comply With The EPC Regulations
Introduction Since 1 October 2008, an energy performance certificate has been required on rented property in...
Judge Rules Right to Rent Breaks Human Rights Laws
Right to Rent laws that demand landlords check out the residency status of tenants has been thrown into disarray by a ruling in the High Court. After months considering the case, Justice Martin Spencer has decided the scheme contravenes the human rights of immigrants...
Landlords Can Pick From More Than 2,100 Mortgages
The number of mortgage products for landlords has reached a landmark high as lenders show how desperate they are to grab a piece of the buy to let action. Landlords have a choice of 2,162 different mortgage products - the most available since the financial crisis hit...
Students Unfairly Pressured to Sign Up for Homes
Letting agents and landlords unfairly pressure students into signing tenancy agreements months before they are due to move into their homes, claims a new report. The National Union of Students claims to have uncovered bad practice in the lettings industry that takes...
London’s Rental Market in a Nutshell
London letting and estate agents Foxtons are telling landlords what type of property not to buy, even though the advice could knock their sales. The property business says buy to let landlords should steer clear of ground floor flats. The firm says landlords letting...
Buy to Let Rents Still Stuck in a Rut
Buy to let rents have changed little in the past 12 months, according to the latest official data. Average private rents across the UK were up just 1% year-on-year and remained unchanged between December and January. In England, rents rose by 1.1%, Wales saw growth of...
London Landlords Most Likely to Evict Tenants
Landlords in London are most likely to evict tenants, according to the latest official statistics. Nine out of the top 10 areas with the highest repossession rates are in the capital. The borough with topping the list is Barking and Dagenham, with 257 repossessions at...
Letting Fees Ban Debate Set for Landlords in Wales
The Welsh Assembly has set a date to debate abolishing landlord and letting agent fees. The assembly will thrash out whether to introduce a fees ban on similar terms to the ban that starts in England on June 1. Scotland already has a fees ban in force. The Welsh...
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