The draft bill on banning agency fees paid by tenants was published last week. The Draft Tenant Fees Bill has not been put before parliament yet thus is yet to be scrutinised by Parliament; changes are likely to occur to the draft bill before enforcement of the new law which is to be cited as the […]
One of the frequently asked question is; my tenants have rent arrears what can I do? The answer to this question is based on the an assumption the property is a residential property and the tenancy in place is an assured shorthold tenancy. If the rent arrears are more than 2 months or if the […]
The local authority Newham Council in London is to launch the UK’s first letting agents’ rating scheme which will publicly name and shame bad agents. Newham Council’s declared aim is to protect residents and landlords from rogue agents. We work with many lettings agents who are reputable companies, we have however had an increase […]
The obligation imposed on landlords to establish that tenants they let to property to have the right to rent under the Immigration Act 2014 is said to be fuelling the black market for false identification recent research has shown. A new BBC investigation has found that many letting agents and landlords are unable to identify […]
Yeomans v Newell, Canterbury court 25 May 2016 This case concerned whether a tenancy deposit was considered as having been returned to the tenant by the landlord when the tenant received a cheque, or whether the tenant would be considered as having received the cheque upon cashing the cheque. The reason the landlord was seeking […]
There is a new protocol that creditors must now follow when pursuing payment of a debt from an individual (including sole traders). This new protocol applies to a creditor that is a business (including sole traders and public bodies) and comes into force on 1 October 2017. For those creditors who may not already know, […]
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 (the Act) introduced a power for the First-tier tribunal to serve a banning order on a landlord or property agent. The purpose of the consultation paper is to invite views and comments on which offences should constitute banning order offences’. A local authority can apply to a First-tier Tribunal for […]
Right to Rent Sections 20-31 and schedule 3 of the Immigration Act 2014 (“The Act”) came into force on 1 February 2016 and brings further statutory obligations for landlords and even agents to comply with. Landlords must now carry out the necessary checks to ensure they are renting to a person who has the Right […]
From the 1st April 2018 there will be a requirement for any properties rented out in the private rented sector to have a minimum energy performance rating of E (the energy rating will be found on an Energy Performance Certificate (“EPC“). The new requirement will be imposed under the he Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) […]