Posts with tag: disputes

Landlords Forced to Register with Ombudsman Scheme Under New Conservative Plans

Published On: October 2, 2017 at 9:34 am

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The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, pledged to offer private tenants greater rights by making it compulsory for landlords to register with an ombudsman scheme at the weekend’s Conservative Party conference.

Under the initiative, all private landlords would have to become members of an ombudsman scheme in a bid to improve the dispute resolution system for tenants. Javid also announced a consultation on a new housing court.

Landlords Forced to Register with Ombudsman Scheme Under New Conservative Plans

Landlords Forced to Register with Ombudsman Scheme Under New Conservative Plans

New incentives will also be revealed in the Autumn Budget to ensure that landlords offer tenancies of at least 12 months, Javid said.

The new Conservative plans also involve a proposal to ensure that all letting agents are registered, which would mean that agents would not be able to operate in the role without qualifications or professional oversight.

Javid said: “For too long, tenants have felt unable to resolve the issues they’ve faced, be it insecure tenure, unfair letting agents’ fees or poor treatment by their landlord with little to no means of redress. We’re going to change that.

“We will insist that all landlords are part of a redress scheme and we will regulate letting agents who want to operate. Everyone has a right to feel safe and secure in their own homes, and we will make sure they do.”

The CEO of ARLA Propertymark (the Association of Residential Letting Agents), David Cox, comments on the Conservatives’ pledge to regulate the private rental sector: “After 20 years of our campaigning falling on deaf ears, we’re very pleased the Government has taken the decision to regulate the private rented sector. This will be the single greatest step forward in a generation, in terms of consumer protection for private tenants, and will do more to clean up the image of the industry than the hundreds of smaller laws and pieces of legislation introduced over the last 20 years. However, regulation can take different forms, and we need to see the detail of proposal to be confident that it will be effective for tenants and landlords.”

The Policy Director of the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), David Smith, has welcomed the plans, which were included in its manifesto for the snap General Election in June. He responds to the announcement: “We called for housing courts to speed up and improve access to justice for good tenants and landlords, as well as for tax incentives to support good landlords. This is a welcome sign that the Government is ready to listen to practical proposals from the RLA to improve the working of the sector, and encourage the majority of responsible landlords and tenants who want to and are doing the right thing.”

From another perspective, the Director of tenant lobby group Generation Rent, Dan Wilson Craw, reacts to Conservative plans for further investment in the Help to Buy scheme: “Of all the responses the Government could have to the housing crisis, expanding Help to Buy should be near the bottom of the list. Nearly five million households live in private rented homes, but only 135,000 have bought through the scheme so far. Its biggest beneficiaries have been large property developers.

“The £10 billion being touted for Help to Buy could be invested much more effectively in new council housing, which could rehouse the 75,000 families who are currently stuck in temporary accommodation.”

He continues: “The Government is right to seek to improve life in the private rented sector too, and proper regulation of letting agents, along with a formal redress process for complaints against landlords, are much needed.

“But for tenants to have the confidence to take on a negligent landlord, they need assurance that they won’t simply be kicked out. The proposed incentives for landlords to offer 12-month tenancies would make barely any difference to the status quo.”

What are your thoughts on the new Conservative plans for the private rental sector, particularly proposals for landlords to register with an ombudsman scheme?

The Labour Party has already outlined its proposals, including plans for rent controls. Read more here: https://www.justlandlords.co.uk/news/jeremy-corbyn-pledges-rent-controls/

Property Redress Scheme Membership Up by 33%

Published On: August 16, 2017 at 9:46 am

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Property Redress Scheme Membership Up by 33%

Property Redress Scheme Membership Up by 33%

Property Redress Scheme membership rose by 33% in the year from 2015 to 2016, shows its 2016 Annual Report.

The research also highlights a 40% increase in formal complaint notifications, which may be a result of the rise in members.

At the end of 2016, a total of 5,259 agent offices (31% sales and 79% lettings) had Property Redress Scheme membership, with a further 227 property professionals – such as inventory clerks – choosing to join the scheme to promote best practice within their organisations.

Total Property Redress Scheme membership currently stands at more than 7,000, with almost 700 UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA) members now having access to Property Redress Scheme membership, following the announcement of a formal partnership in October 2016.

As well as growth in membership, the annual report also shows that the Property Redress Scheme has seen a 40% increase in formal complaint notifications. In the report, the Head of Redress at the organisation, Sean Hooker, acknowledges that this can be partly attributed to overall growth of the scheme, but he believes it also indicates an upward trend in consumer awareness of the complaint process.

The most common causes for complaints were property management (29%), deposits (27%) and problems with rent (15%). Service and fees both resulted in 6% of complaints. Tenants made the majority of complaints (51%), while 35% were made by landlords, 8% by leaseholders, 3% by buyers and just 1% by sellers.

The Property Redress Scheme awarded a total of £152,819 in compensation, with the average amount awarded being £375.27.

Hooker comments: “Although formal complaints have risen, so too has the number of complaints resolved at the early stages of our process. Around 40% of our cases are resolved at recommendation stage and 99% are dealt with in less than 90 days from receiving the initial complaint through to a decision.

“We continuously look at improvement and initiatives to increase the effectiveness and delivery of our service. We hope that the most recent introduction of our online complaint system will further reduce the average time to complaint resolution.”

Have you considered Property Redress Scheme membership?

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AIIC calls for inventories to be made compulsory

Published On: June 19, 2017 at 1:27 pm

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The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks has called on the Government to introduce compulsory, unbiased and regulated inventories as an industry standard.

Boasting more than 850 members nationwide, the AIIC feels that regulated inventories could assist in raising standards in the lettings market.

Deposits

A recent tenant survey from HomeLet has revealed that 12.5% of over 20,000 renters asked have had a deposit withheld.

The most common reasons for this were cleaning and redecoration fees – which could have been prevented with a solid, photographic inventory.

Interestingly, the research found that just 70% of tenants asked received an inventory of their property and its content from an agent before they moved in.

Danny Zane, joint chair of the AIIC, noted: ‘With the election over and a new housing minister now in place, it’s time for the government to think about housing and in particular the growing private rented sector, which now accounts for around a fifth of all households.’

‘Independent, third party inventories are a fundamentally important part of the lettings process and they need to be made obligatory.’[1]

Digital signature on tablet. Man hand puts digital signature on tablet. Vector illustration in flat design. Businessman approves deal or offer by electronic signature.

AIIC calls for inventories to be made compulsory

Biased

Moving on, Mr Zane said that: ‘Landlords and letting agents should not be compiling what can very easily be considered as biased inventory reports that tenants must sign prior to getting access to their new home.’

‘The proposed ban on letting agent fees charged to tenants has hogged all the headlines in recent months but there are other industry issues the government needs to think about. This ban seems very short-sighted to me as it is likely to encourage a rise in rents as well as a reduction in the protection of unbiased inventory reports being used.’

An unbiased and independently compiled inventory can save both tenants and landlords money, ensuring a fair move-in/move-out process for all parties,’ he concluded.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/calls-for-government-to-make-independent-inventories-compulsory.html

 

One in five Britons have fallen out with neighbours

Published On: October 26, 2016 at 11:17 am

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An interesting new report has revealed that around one in five property owners has been involved in a dispute with their neighbours.

A portrait of the modern British community report from Co-op insurance gives an insight into most-common disputes and changing communities in the UK.

Nuisance Neighbours

Of people who have had problems with their neighbours, noise was the most common reason. 41% of residential problems were due to noise related issues, such as loud arguments, parties or banging around.

22% of respondents suffered rude or abusive neighbours, with 21% experiencing issues with barking dogs. 19% had issues surrounding parking.

By region, London and Birmingham saw the largest number of neighbour problems. 25% of those questioned in these regions said they had seen some kind of problem in the last year. On the other hand, people in Milton Keynes get along the most, with just 7% experiencing neighbour disputes in the same period-compared to the national average of 20%.

The top-ten reasons for disputes with neighbours were found to be:

1 Excessive noise 41%
2 Rudeness or abuse 22%
3 Barking dogs 21%
4 Parking wars 19%
5 Nosey neighbours 18%
6 Unruly kids 15%
7 = Boundary disputes 12%
7 = Gossipy neighbours 12%
8 Messy gardens which blight the community 11%
9 Roaming pets 7%
10 Not keeping shared facilities maintained 6%

[1]

One in five Britons have fallen out with neighbours

One in five Britons have fallen out with neighbours

Good neighbours

Data from the report shows that a Briton’s ideal neighbour would show respect at all times, with 77% agreeing this makes a good person to live next door. 75% said tolerance was the most important trait.

Half of under 35’s have never been in their neighbours’ property, but 77% of over 55’s have.

However, just 19% of people have been invited round to a neighbouring property for a brew!

James Hilton, Director of Products at the Co-Op Insurance, observed: ‘The research shows as a nation we’re at risk of losing the community spirit we once prided ourselves on. Strengthening our communities whilst making them safer places to live is firmly at the heart of the Co-op. Communities are valuable as they allow people to interact with each other, share experiences and develop valued relationships. Without communities we’re in danger of living isolated lives.’[1]

‘However, as our lives, both in and away from the home, become ever busier and we spend more time engaged with technology – TV, the internet and social media, its seems we are becoming ever-more distant from our closest neighbours.  As a nation we need come together, lose the British stiff upper lip and engage with our neighbours, who in time may become friends,’ he added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/1-in-5-brits-have-been-involved-in-a-dispute-with-neighbours.html

Deposit disputes reach highest ever level

Published On: April 4, 2016 at 9:24 am

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Concerning new figures released from the Tenancy Deposit Scheme reveals that deposit disputes are at their biggest level since records began.

The figures indicate that in 2015, year-on-year adjudications rose by 11% to 27,816. This was 2,787 more than in 2014. In the past five years, adjudications have jumped by 36%.

Reasoning

Further data from the TDS indicates that damage, cleaning and redecoration are the biggest reasons given for a deposit dispute. In cases given to the TDS during 2014-15, cleaning was highlighted in 58% of cases, with damage appearing in 52%.

The table below shows how the number of adjudications completed has risen over time:

March 2008 458
March 2009 8,098
March 2010 20,363
March 2011 18,156
March 2012 20,279
March 2013 24,448
March 2014 25,029
March 2015 27,816

[1]

Deposit disputes reach highest ever level

Deposit disputes reach highest ever level

Worrying

Jane Morris, Managing Director of PropertyLetByUs.com notes that, ‘these statistics are worrying and send a clear message to landlords and agents-this problem is not going away until they are better protected at the start, during and at the end of a tenancy agreement.’[1]

‘It is vital that landlords and agents ensure they get all the paperwork right at the start and at the end of a new tenancy agreement. The reality is that some landlords are failing to put a letting contract in place, or they have very unfair clauses in the contract. Other landlords don’t conduct an adequate check-in and check-out, or don’t keep copies of correspondence with the tenant which could provide important evidence in a dispute,’ Morris continued.[1]

Concluding, Morris said, ‘landlords are agents also have a thorough and detailed inventory which will enable both parties to be treated fairly and reasonably. This documentation will help resolve potential disputes and prevent them reaching the courts.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/deposit-disputes-at-highest-ever-levels-recorded.html