Judge Dishes Out £1.5m Fine for Slum Landlord
Slum landlord Vispasp Sarkari must pay £1.5 million or face nine years in jail for cramming tenants into shabby box rooms in disgusting and degrading condition. Sarkari, 56, was convicted of breaking planning rules by converting homes into tiny bedsits without...
Do You Have to Tell Tenants About Noisy Neighbours?
Are landlords responsible if their tenants move in next to a neighbour from hell who makes their life a misery? The question is likely to be decided in court, where one angry tenant who unwittingly moved into a flat with alleged noisy neighbours. The tenant claims the...
Clarification Issued by Enforcers of Heat Network Regulations
Introduction The Office for Product Safety & Standards (OPSS) are the enforcers for The Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 and are part of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). We have recently been contacted by...
How To Comply With The Heat Network Regulations
There has been little publicity about The Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 (as amended by The Heat Network (Metering and Billing) (Amendment) Regulations 2015) which are being phased in but the majority commenced on 18 December 2014 and 31 December...
Incentives Deal for Landlords Renting to DSS Tenants?
Landlords offering homes to tenants on benefits could win tax breaks or other incentives from the Welsh Government.
Landlords Sell Up After Tax and Law Changes, Say Letting Agents
More private landlords are selling up in the face of a flood of tax changes and an overhaul of housing law, according to a leading trade body for property professionals. Uncertainty prompted by new legislation and doubts over Brexit has seen housing demand fall and...
Minister Limits Security Deposit Cap for Landlords
Landlords will have the amount they can set for a security deposit for a privately rented home in England capped at the value of five weeks’ rent. The measure is part of the Tenants Fees Bill going through Parliament. The cap will apply to rents under £50,000 a year -...
Only 1% of Tenants Dispute Landlords Keeping Deposits
Fewer than 1% of buy to let tenants have a dispute with their landlords over returning deposits. Only 0.85% of all tenancies ended in a dispute over the money, said data from The Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS). The TDS statistical briefing for 2018 also revealed that...
Six Month Court Wait for a Buy to Let Repossession
Landlords evicting a tenant through the courts must wait up to six months to repossess a rented home, according to the latest official data. The fastest courts for processing evictions are in the South West, taking an average 18.1 weeks to see a case through, says the...
Guaranteed Rent Promise Misleading, Rules Watchdog
Letting agents pledging guaranteed rents for buy to let landlords must pull their advertising claims after intervention from a consumer watchdog. The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that online letting agents Smartinvest Capital trading as Victoria Knight and...
Buy to Let Rent Rises Still Slowing Down
Buy to let rents are standing still for landlords, according to the latest official figures. Tenants paid an extra 0.9% in rent for the year to October - the same as the year-on-year rise to September. Rent increases have stayed at 0.9% year-on-year since July. While...
City’s Licensing Scheme Swamps Council Admin
Thousands of selective licensing applications for buy to let and shared homes have swamped a council admin team. Despite assigning 76 staff to handle the applications for the licensing scheme that started on August 1, thousands of applications are awaiting processing...
Housing Court Proposals Unveiled by Minister
Communities secretary James Brokenshire has laid out proposals to help landlords and tenants settle disputes. Brokenshire wants to set up a housing court that can offer both sides justice and compensation. The new court would replace the current system of tribunals...
Holiday Home Owners Accused of Avoiding Council Tax
Property investors exploiting a second home business rates loophole may cost councils millions in lost revenue, says the government. To find out if second home owners are avoiding council tax, the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government has launched a...
Buy to Let Rents Rise by 2.1% in a Year
Rents across the country rose by 2.1% in October compared to a year ago, according to a new study. Tenants are paying an average rent of £928 a month. Rents in London are much higher - averaging £1,619 a month after going up 4% year-on-year, says the research from...
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...
Property Fraud Nets £20 Million From Investors
Fraudsters running a property Ponzi-scheme conned 800 would-be investors out of almost £20 million. Essex and London Properties collapsed with debts of more than £11 million in January after promising an 8% return on money invested for a year or 12% for three years....
HMO Letters Another Financial Blow for Landlords
Tens of thousands of landlords are set to receive letters from their mortgage lenders after a change in the legal definition of which houses in multiple occupation require a licence. A legislation update on October 1 in England which changed the definition and meant...
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...
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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