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Em Morley

Councils Crackdown on Rogue Landlords

Published On: February 26, 2015 at 4:42 pm

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Two councils, who have not previously adopted licensing rules, have now increased their efforts in helping the private rental sector.

Using their existing powers, Greenwich, and Boston councils have claimed that they are cracking down on bad landlords and letting agents.

Boston in Lincolnshire last year rejected the idea of obligatory landlord licensing, but is continuing with its Rogue Landlord Project.

The scheme was introduced last year with £109,000 of Government funding. Landlords objected to licensing in the past, which would have cost £450 per property.

The Council’s alternative route includes a hotline for those who wish to voice their concerns about a property, landlord, or letting agent in the borough. Callers can remain anonymous.

Councils Crackdown on Rogue Landlords

Councils Crackdown on Rogue Landlords

Councillors in Boston have now voted to use the authority’s own funding to uphold the system.

199 properties were inspected in the year to the end of January 2015. A total of 245 notices, as follows, were served1:

  • 132 notices for power of entry
  • 80 formal requests for information
  • 9 demands for payment
  • 8 improvement notices
  • 8 hazard awareness notices
  • 3 prohibition notices
  • 2 emergency remedial notices
  • 2 environmental protection notices
  • 1 temporary exemption notice

A spokesperson for the Council described the scheme as “a deterrent.”1

Greenwich Council has also made 1,000 visits to properties since the launch of their clampdown last spring.

A specialist rogue landlord team is currently involved in 800 inquiries.

They have also served over 100 improvement notices, and began legal prosecutions.

Visits have identified 430 category one hazards, including leaking roofs, and allowing water directly into homes.

Councillor Jackie Smith, the Greenwich Council cabinet member for community safety and environment, says: “At a time when private sector rents are so high, it’s especially unacceptable for tenants to have to live in some of the poor, dangerous, and often illegal conditions we have been seeing.”1

The London Fire Brigade are partnering with the Council on this task. And Greenwich, like Boston, does not have a licensing scheme beside the compulsory one for certain Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/councils-crack-rogue-landlords-using-existing-powers/

Councils Clampdown on Rogue Landlords

Published On: February 26, 2015 at 4:40 pm

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ,,

Two councils, who have not previously adopted licensing rules, have now increased their efforts in helping the private rental sector.

Using their existing powers, Greenwich, and Boston councils have claimed that they are cracking down on bad landlords and letting agents.

Councils Clampdown on Rogue Landlords

Councils Clampdown on Rogue Landlords

Boston in Lincolnshire last year rejected the idea of obligatory landlord licensing, but is continuing with its Rogue Landlord Project.

The scheme was introduced last year with £109,000 of Government funding. Landlords objected to licensing in the past, which would have cost £450 per property.

The Council’s alternative route includes a hotline for those who wish to voice their concerns about a property, landlord, or letting agent in the borough. Callers can remain anonymous.

Councillors in Boston have now voted to use the authority’s own funding to uphold the system.

199 properties were inspected in the year to the end of January 2015. A total of 245 notices, as follows, were served1:

  • 132 notices for power of entry
  • 80 formal requests for information
  • 9 demands for payment
  • 8 improvement notices
  • 8 hazard awareness notices
  • 3 prohibition notices
  • 2 emergency remedial notices
  • 2 environmental protection notices
  • 1 temporary exemption notice

A spokesperson for the Council described the scheme as “a deterrent.”1

Greenwich Council has also made 1,000 visits to properties since the launch of their clampdown last spring.

A specialist rogue landlord team is currently involved in 800 inquiries.

They have also served over 100 improvement notices, and began legal prosecutions.

Visits have identified 430 category one hazards, including leaking roofs, and allowing water directly into homes.

Councillor Jackie Smith, the Greenwich Council cabinet member for community safety and environment, says: “At a time when private sector rents are so high, it’s especially unacceptable for tenants to have to live in some of the poor, dangerous, and often illegal conditions we have been seeing.”1

The London Fire Brigade are partnering with the Council on this task. And Greenwich, like Boston, does not have a licensing scheme beside the compulsory one for certain Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/councils-crack-rogue-landlords-using-existing-powers/

What You Need to Know Before Getting a Lodger

Published On: February 26, 2015 at 4:04 pm

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Renting a spare room in your home to a lodger can be a good way of earning extra income, up to £4,250 a year tax-free.

It can also give extra security, as they may be in the house when you are away. If you would otherwise live alone, a lodger can provide company and help with bills.

It is a slightly less formal and flexible arrangement, and is attractive to both homeowners and lodgers. Lodgers will benefit from not having to rent out a whole property.

What You Need to Know Before Getting a Lodger

What You Need to Know Before Getting a Lodger

Choosing to be a landlord in your own home can be daunting, so here are some tips if you are considering taking in a lodger.

The difference between being a landlord and having a lodger

The main difference, and possibly the most important, between being a landlord and having a lodger is the added freedom you will have to end an agreement. If someone is living in your home and it does not work out, or your personal circumstances change, you have more rights to end the tenancy.

There are differences in the type of agreement you can have. These depend on whether there is shared space, or if the tenant has private use of at least one room. The legal rights of each party hang on these living arrangements.

Check if you can have a lodger

One of the first things you should ensure before taking on a lodger is whether your landlord or mortgage provider allows you to.

If you are a leaseholder, conditions of the lease may state what type of renting out you can do within the property.

If you rent privately, you will need permission from the landlord before taking a lodger. If the tenancy is through your local housing association, you could be automatically permitted to rent out a room to a lodger.

If you own your home with a mortgage, you will need to tell you lender if you take in a lodger.

Council Tax

If you lived by yourself before having a lodger, you may have had the benefit of a single person discount on your Council Tax. This will no longer apply, and you should notify your council of the change in occupancy.

Insurance

Most standard home insurance policies do not cover lodgers. Your contents insurance and even buildings insurance could be made invalid if you make a claim. Using a specialist insurer will probably not increase your premium, but it is important for it to be noted on your policy.

 

 

Penalty Clauses in New Tenancy Agreements

Published On: February 26, 2015 at 3:36 pm

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Matt, a tenant, wrote to the Landlord Law Blog after he was confused over changes his landlord was making at the time of his tenancy renewal.

His enquiry was as follows: “Our landlord has provided a new fixed term tenancy agreement. The new agreement states that the landlord can charge £50, plus out of pocket expenses if he has to visit after we move out to oversee any repairs or removal of any property we leave.

“Does the landlord have the right to do this, and is this a reasonable charge?

Penalty Clauses in New Tenancy Agreements

Penalty Clauses in New Tenancy Agreements

“Also, the purpose of the new agreement is to increase the rent, as the old tenancy agreement did not explicitly state this was allowed. The increase is £30, do we have a right to dispute this amount, or is it too small?”1

The blog’s resident landlord answered the questions posed by Matt, and detailed the rights of both tenant and landlord in this case.

On the £50 charge, they say: “The question here is whether this clause is fair or not. If it is unfair then under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, it will be unenforceable.

“My feeling is that it is almost certainly unfair.”

They continued: “The way it should work, is that at the time you vacate, the landlord or his inventory clerk will view and assess the property against the inventory, which was prepared and checked when you moved in.

“You will be charged a reasonable charge for any damage that inspection throws up, and the landlord will be entitled to claim for this from your deposit.

“Your landlord seems to want to charge an extra £50 for every visit, on top of any expenses. However, for a penalty clause to be enforceable it needs to be a reasonable estimate of the cost to the landlord of his tenants’ breach of contract.

“A claim for expenses might be allowable, so long as they were reasonable expenses, but what is the justification for the extra £50?

“There is also the point that the tenancy will have ended; the tenant can only be held responsible for things which the landlord can prove were caused by him or her, which means in practice, issues thrown up by the check-out report. They can’t be held liable for anything else.”

On the removal of items, the landlord states: “So far as removal of things left behind are concerned, there is a special procedure for this.” You can find out more here.

They add: “It will of course depend on the precise wording of the clause, but I would be surprised if a claim under this clause was upheld by an adjudicator, if you challenged a deduction from your deposit, or by a judge, if the landlord brought a claim for a CCJ for the fees later.”

On the matter of rent rises, the landlord says: “If the landlord wants to increase the rent at renewal, you have a choice: either you sign the new tenancy agreement, and get a new fixed term, or you do not.

“If you do not, then you have the right to stay on in the property, under a periodic tenancy, but the landlord will have the right to serve a section 21 notice on you and evict you through the courts.

“He may not actually want to do this, so it’s up to you whether you risk this or not.”

They then provide an alternative: “You can of course always try to negotiate something different with him. For example, if he wants you to stay, he may agree to a lower increase.

“However, there is no formal procedure for challenging the rent in a tenancy agreement for a renewal, as for example there is for challenging rent increases if the landlord serves a notice of rent increase. You either sign, don’t sign, or negotiate something different.”1

1 http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2015/02/26/can-a-landlord-add-extra-penalty-clauses-in-a-new-tenancy-agreement-at-renewal/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheLandlordLawBlog+%28The+Landlord+Law+Blog%29

Housing Survey Reveals Increase in Private Renting

Published On: February 26, 2015 at 10:34 am

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Penalty Clauses in New Tenancy Agreements

Penalty Clauses in New Tenancy Agreements

The rise in private renting is continuing, according to recent figures from the English Housing Survey.

The research indicates that the private rental sector remains the second largest tenure in the country, accounting for 19% of all tenures, or 4.4m households.1

This is an increase from the 18% found in the previous survey. In 2003, private rental households made up only 11% of the total.1

Social rental housing currently accounts for 17%, or 3.9m households in England. Home ownership makes up 63%, or 14.3m of the total.1

For the first time, the amount of owner-occupiers without a mortgage is higher than those with one; 7.4m own their homes outright, and 6.9m have a mortgage.1

The study also found that in 2013-14, around half, 48%, of all households aged 25-34 rented privately, a rise from 45% in 2012-13.1

The percentage of this age group living in the private rental sector has more than doubled from 21% in 2003-4. During the same decade, owner-occupation in this age group fell from 59% to 36%.1

The 2013-14 English Housing Survey can be found here.

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/survey-reveals-rise-rise-private-renting/

Downgraded Housing Associations did not Include Data

Published On: February 25, 2015 at 4:37 pm

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Numerous housing associations that have been penalised for not following value for money rules have not included key performance data in their self-assessments, despite using consultants to compile it.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) downgraded five housing associations in England last week, for the standard of their value for money self-assessments for 2013-14. Another three did not follow the rules, but were not downgraded further, as the HCA is already worried about them.

Downgraded Housing Associations did not Include Data

Downgraded Housing Associations did not Include Data

Most of the downgraded associations did not include performance data, which would show how their performance compared to other organisations or to their past performance, despite them saying the data is used for this.

Tower Hamlets Community Housing said in a statement: “We compare ourselves to others using [consultancy] Housemark benchmarking.”1 However, their self-assessment did not include figures, and listed value for money as either upper or lower quartile.

The association said that they would look to address the issues in their 2014-15 statement. Likewise, Acis Group said in a statement that they use Housemark data, but they also did not include figures.

New Business and Development Manager at Acis Group, Paul Wisher, says: “We did not want to over-populate the self-assessment but we now accept we need to include much more data.”1

At Tuntum Housing Association, Chief Executive Richard Renwick said that their data, collected from various consultancies, was not included because staff had not “arrived at a conclusion” about which figures to use. Renwick said that the Association is repeating its assessment, which will be published on their website.1

Elsewhere the Placeshapers group, who holds around 100 smaller property-owners, is planning to commission a consultancy to create guidance on value for money self-assessments for their members. They are hoping to secure a fund of around £10,000 from Big Assist, a grant-awarding body, to do this.

Just eight associations overall failed to meet the rules, which is a substantial improvement on last year, when 14 landlords were downgraded, and 160 warning letters were sent.

The other associations failing to comply with the rules are Community Housing Group, Local Space, Trident Housing Association, Saffron Housing Trust, and Wandle Housing Association.

1 http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/downgraded-landlords-failed-to-include-data/7008434.article