History of Changes to the Section 21 Notice Along with other unprecedented measures to protect the public, there were ongoing changes to the notice period required to be given when serving a section 21 (“s.21”) notice under the Housing Act 1988. Although the notice periods for section 8 and 21 notices are now back to […]
Housing Benefit Discrimination is Unlawful A ‘no DSS’ policy is when an agent refuses to rent to anyone who gets universal credit or housing benefit. This could include when agents: refuse to let you view an affordable property won’t consider you for a tenancy because you get benefits advertise properties as ‘no DSS’, ‘no benefits’ or ‘working professionals […]
What is a Tenancy Deposit Scheme? Despite having been in force since April 2007, many landlords are still unaware of what a tenancy deposit scheme is. This article covers the basic must knows of what a tenancy deposit is. Overview The Government website is not up to date with its guidance for landlords in relation […]
Recovering Commercial Rent Arrears Government plans to “ring-fence” Covid-rent arrears and introduce a binding arbitration scheme. The current moratorium preventing landlords seeking forfeiture of leases, issuing winding-up petitions or utilising the Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery scheme in relation to Covid-based rent arrears is scheduled to come to an end on 25 March 2022. However, that […]
Boarding Up of Property by Police and Liability The police have a legal obligation under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (known as “PACE”) code of Practice B, paragraph 6.13(e) to secure property where forced entry has been made and where the property owner or occupier is not on scene. Police may also hold […]
Tenancy Deposit Scheme Breaches – Can There Be Multiple Breaches? Payment of a deposit by an assured shorthold tenant as security for performance of the obligations of the tenancy is the norm. The Housing Act 2004 (“the Act”) brought in the tenancy deposit scheme which required landlord to essentially protect deposits paid by tenants in […]
To Serve or Not to Serve – EPC’s and Gas Safety Certificates In a judgment handed down by the Court of Appeal in the case of Minister v Hathaway [2021] EWCA Civ 936, it was ruled that the landlords of an assured shorthold tenancy (that commenced prior to 01 October 2015) could serve a Section 21 […]
Unfortunately, over the last few years, and following the coronavirus pandemic many companies have floundered in the face of the economic downturn. In the worst cases, this resulted in them being removed from the companies register following insolvency. Companies can also be struck off the register for failure to comply with registration requirements, such as […]
Regulations in England have been passed which will reduce the current minimum notice periods from 6 months to 4 months for most possession notices served between the 01 June 2021 until 30 September 2021 (inclusive). These changes to notice periods for serving a Section 8 Notice come into effect on the 01 June 2021, with […]
Evictions in Wales The use of the current 6-month minimum notice period for serving (most) possession notices in Wales is being extended until 30 September 2021. This extends the temporary legislation enacted arising out of the coronavirus pandemic and affects evictions in Wales. The notice periods have been lengthened temporarily during the current pandemic to […]