Posts with tag: London

Sadiq Khan’s New Database Will Expose London’s Rogue Landlords

Published On: May 11, 2016 at 9:53 am

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The new Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has revealed plans for a database that will expose the capital’s rogue landlords.

Sadiq Khan's New Database Will Expose London's Rogue Landlords

Sadiq Khan’s New Database Will Expose London’s Rogue Landlords

The London Landlord Watchlist will help Khan crack down on those who exploit tenants “like a ton of bricks”. The policy, aimed at the capital’s two million private tenants, would introduce a public City Hall database that enables renters to check out landlords before moving into a property. It will name and shame rogue landlords in the capital, and could include those who have repeatedly broken the law.

Offences that could put landlords on the database include unlawful eviction of tenants, failure to comply with an overcrowding notice and harassment. Recently, a landlord in Peterborough was prosecuted for harassing a tenant.

Ministers have already announced plans for a landlord register, but this would only be accessible by councils, not the public.

Housing was at the forefront of the mayoral campaign, as a host of Londoners continue to struggle to afford to rent or buy.

A recent study by housing charity Shelter found that around six in ten Londoners face daily living hazards in their rental properties. Meanwhile, one in ten has suffered health problems in the past year as a result of their landlord failing to deal with dangerous conditions.

It is vital that you keep up to date with landlord law at LandlordNews.co.uk.

Research by the Labour Party also found that tenants would have to pay an average of £2,400 in letting agent fees over the next eight years unless action was taken. Khan has already revealed plans for a landlord licensing scheme and citywide not-for-profit letting agency.

He said: “Most landlords treat their tenants well, but too many renters are being deliberately exploited by rogue landlords. Enough is enough. I will come down on rogue landlords like a ton of bricks with a new London Landlord Watchlist to name and shame the worst offenders.

“We can’t stand by as thousands of renters are suffering high costs and low standards. That’s why I will promote licensing schemes to drive up standards and establish a not-for-profit lettings agency that will end rip-off fees for renters and promote longer tenancies.”1 

Remember to stick to the law and avoid being named and shamed!

1 http://www.standard.co.uk/news/mayor/sadiq-khan-my-watchlist-will-expose-rogue-landlords-a3239716.html

Generation Rent Responds to Election of Sadiq Khan

Published On: May 9, 2016 at 8:29 am

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Generation Rent Responds to Election of Sadiq Khan

Generation Rent Responds to Election of Sadiq Khan

On Friday evening, Labour’s Sadiq Khan was elected the Mayor of London. Tenant lobby group Generation Rent has responded to the appointment, explaining what it will mean for the housing market.

With housing such a serious and widespread issue in the capital, many groups have spoken out about what the new mayor must do to help ease the chronic shortage of affordable homes.

Last week, the Director of Your Move and Reeds Rains, Adrian Gill, called on the new mayor to boost private rental supply in London. He believes that Khan must regard the private rental sector as an ally, not an enemy.

Both Khan and his main rival, Zac Goldsmith, put housing at the core of their mayoral manifestos, highlighting the importance of this continuing issue.

Khan has promised to build 80,000 new homes in London every year, 50% of which will be affordable. He plans to deliver these properties on brownfield land. Khan also hopes to form a new homes division in City Hall, set up a not-for-profit letting agency, restrict rent rises, and further invest in the London Affordable Homes programme.

The Residential Landlords Association has also recently released its own manifesto, detailing what it believes the new mayor should do for the private rental sector.

Following Khan’s appointment on Friday, Generation Rent spoke out about his responsibilities now that he is mayor.

The group’s Director, Betsy Dillner, says: “Generation Rent congratulates Sadiq Khan for winning this referendum on London’s housing crisis. The new mayor has years of underbuilding to overcome, and in the meantime, two million private renters are facing high rents and insecurity, with no way out.

“In order to improve the lives of renters, the mayor needs new powers from the Government over tenancies – something that both he and Zac Goldsmith called for. In theory, this means that all of London’s MPs, on both sides of the House, should now be clamouring for stronger rights for renters. We hope Sadiq will capitalise on this consensus.”

New London Mayor Must Boost Rental Supply, Says Gill

Published On: May 6, 2016 at 10:58 am

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The Director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, Adrian Gill, has spoken out about what the new London mayor must do to boost private rental supply in the capital.

New London Mayor Must Boost Rental Supply, Says Gill

New London Mayor Must Boost Rental Supply, Says Gill

Whoever is voted the next Mayor of London – Sadiq Khan or Zac Goldsmith – must regard the private rental sector as an ally, not an enemy, according to Gill.

He describes London as “the capital of renting”, as many Londoners are priced out of homeownership by spiralling house prices. With so many residents forced to live in the private rental sector, Gill notes that London follows an entirely different set of housing rules to the rest of the UK.

“Our capital is suffering from a serious undersupply of homes to let, which is down to an enormous undersupply of landlords taking up investment opportunities,” he insists.

He reports that average rent prices in London have increased by 19% since the last mayoral election in May 2012, and by 35% since Boris Johnson was first elected in 2008.

“In stark contrast, rents across England and Wales as a whole have risen 19% since May 2008,” Gill says. “If London sets the trend for the nation, this acceleration should be a wake-up call.”

He believes: “To prevent a whirlpool of talent draining out of the capital, the new mayor needs to throw landlords a lifeline. To build a sustainable supply of homes to let for the next four years, the mayor must avoid populist anti-landlord policies that yield easy support in the short-term, but prevent people finding a place to rent further down the line. Instead, stimulating more – not less – investment from landlords is the way to keep rents more affordable.”1

Recent research has analysed which London mayoral candidate will be best for solving the capital’s housing crisis: /london-mayoral-candidate-will-solve-housing-crisis/

We will keep you updated as the results of the London mayoral election are revealed.

1 https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/5/agency-chief-warns-new-london-mayor-to-treat-rental-sector-as-an-ally

Call for Rent Caps on Properties Let to Housing Benefit Tenants

Published On: May 5, 2016 at 9:35 am

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A local politician has called for rent caps to be introduced on private rental properties let to tenants on housing benefit.

The leader of Southend Council, Ron Woodley, believes London borough councils are using his town as a “dumping ground” when they cannot house homeless people.

Local authorities in wealthy areas are struggling to find affordable private rental housing for homeless people, as Local Housing Allowance, and now the housing benefit element of Universal Credit, is not sufficient enough to cover the high rent prices.

Woodley claims that London borough councils are sending people to Southend, as rents are cheaper.

Call for Rent Caps on Properties Let to Housing Benefit Tenants

Call for Rent Caps on Properties Let to Housing Benefit Tenants

In a number of London boroughs, private rent prices are far higher than the housing benefit cap of £26,000 per year.

Woodley believes that private rents for tenants on benefits should be capped to those charged in the social housing sector.

He says: “What I’m saying to the Government is they should be looking at the people living in the private rented sector subject to housing benefit and, over the lifetime of a parliament (five years), reduce rents down to that of social housing.

“It would save the Government something like £14 billion a year in housing benefit and would make housing in cities like London more affordable, so you’d stop the London boroughs sending people out of London because it’s cheaper elsewhere.”

He adds: “In many European countries, they have some sort of cap on what people can charge in rented accommodation and I think we need this to stop the private rented sector running out of control, which is what it’s currently doing.”1

However, Martin Ransom of Pace estate agents in Southend, warns that reducing returns for landlords could discourage them from renting to tenants on housing benefit.

Since Universal Credit began its rollout across the UK, many landlords have been concerned about changes to their tenants’ finances. There have been reports of tenants being forced into long-term debt by the waiting times between payments.

Additionally, Judith Cordoran, the Chairman of the South Essex Association of Landlords, believes introducing rent caps could exacerbate the homeless crisis in Southend, but she says she is willing to discuss the matter with Woodley.

She explains: “Landlords either take tenants on DSS or they don’t. We don’t, but if you think about the economics of a scheme like this, you will end up with only the very low quality, unrepaired houses that have belonged to landlords for 50 years, at the low price Mr. Woodley is suggesting.

“I’m a huge supporter of his, but we just need to have detailed conversations and he needs to come to the association meetings held at the council offices and understand from the people who attend those meetings the reality of the situation.”1

Do you believe that rent caps would help resolve this issue? 

1 http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/14468208._Reform_rent_system_to_keep_Londoners_out_of_south_Essex_/

Which London Mayoral Candidate Will Solve the Housing Crisis?

Published On: May 4, 2016 at 8:38 am

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Tomorrow, Londoners will vote for the capital’s next mayor. But which London mayoral candidate will work best towards solving the housing crisis?

Housing remains the number one issue for many living in the capital, with a lack of supply causing spiralling house prices. Research from ComRes confirms that the housing crisis will be the main determining factor in who is elected tomorrow.

In a bid to address the capital’s chronic shortage of supply, the leading London mayoral candidates have put housing at the core of their manifestos, with front-runners Sadiq Khan and Zac Goldsmith both calling the election a “referendum on housing”.

The Residential Landlords Association has also released its own London mayoral manifesto, detailing what it thinks should be done to solve the housing crisis.

As house prices soared under the two most recent London mayors – Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson – the next mayor will be put under great pressure to do more to make London more affordable.

Which London Mayoral Candidate Will Solve the Housing Crisis?

Which London Mayoral Candidate Will Solve the Housing Crisis?

Residential property prices are now at least ten times the average salary in 28 of London’s 33 boroughs, with prices in many of London’s most expensive areas now out of reach for all but the super-rich. Worryingly, however, it is believed that even the wealthiest of Londoners are having to turn to the private rental sector.

So which candidate will solve the capital’s housing crisis?

Sadiq Khan 

Labour’s Sadiq Khan has promised to deliver 80,000 new homes in London every year, 50% of which will be affordable. He plans to build these homes on brownfield land. Khan also wants to form a new homes division in City Hall, set up a not-for-profit letting agency, restrict rent rises, and invest more in the London Affordable Homes Programme.

Zac Goldsmith

Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative candidate, has also vowed to focus on releasing publicly owned brownfield land for the construction of more residential properties, hoping to deliver 50,000 new homes in London per year by 2020. This would be financed in part by a new pan-London investment fund for overseas investors. He also aims to bring thousands of empty homes back into use, clamp down on rogue landlords, and introduce longer-term tenancies.

Caroline Pidgeon

The Liberal Democrat candidate wants to boost new housing supply in the capital, including a substantially higher amount of council homes at affordable rent prices. She also plans to make all private landlords in the capital registered, introduce a right to buy scheme for tenants if their landlord decides to sell, abolish letting agent fees for tenants, and introduce three to five-year tenancies.

Sian Berry

The Green Party’s Sian Berry would like the Mayor of London to be given greater rent controls, as part of an effort to help private tenants in the capital. She also believes there should be a voluntary register of landlords, as well as a new Renters’ Union, financed by City Hall, designed to provide tenants with greater support and advice.

Pete Whittle 

Peter Whittle, of UKIP, has pledged to lobby for sensible migration levels to help restrict demand for housing, alongside boosting housebuilding levels. He claims that producing a comprehensive registry of all London brownfield sites is crucial to increasing the supply of land for housebuilding. Whittle plans to tax buy-to-let landlords at a higher rate if they leave their properties empty, and offer long-term residents in London priority when it comes to social housing.

Who will you be voting for?

Rogue Landlord in London Faces Prosecution for Overcrowded Property

Published On: May 3, 2016 at 11:21 am

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A rogue landlord in Wembley, northwest London faces prosecution for renting out an overcrowded property in the area.

Rogue Landlord in London Faces Prosecution for Overcrowded Property

Rogue Landlord in London Faces Prosecution for Overcrowded Property

Raids by Brent Council found 11 people living in the three-bedroom house, after the council committed to increasing efforts to ensure landlords with unlicensed properties are held accountable for their actions.

Enforcement teams entered the mid-terrace house to find 11 people packed inside. The property was also in a general state of disrepair, says the council, with the landlord looking to face prosecution.

Brent Council’s heightened enforcement activity in recent months has lead to up to five prosecutions per week since the start of the year.

In January, it was announced that the council would be one of 48 local authorities to receive a portion of £5m funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government to tackle rogue landlords.

Earlier this year, a raid on rogue landlords in Wembley found 23 people, including ten children, living in a semi-detached house. The council also raided a shed in the back of a second property, where it found evidence that it may have been illegally rented out as private accommodation.

The Cabinet Member for Housing at Brent Council, Councillor Margaret McLennan, comments: “These types of raids demonstrate the importance of our landlord licensing scheme. It ensures that properties are not overcrowded, are let out to an acceptable standard and are properly managed.

“It also reduces anti-social behaviour and illegally dumped rubbish, which can have a significant impact on local neighbourhoods and property prices. Everyone in the borough benefits from licensing.”1

This news arrives as Derby City Council announces plans for a new scheme to tackle rogue landlords. More about how the system would work and what it will do for the private rental sector in the city can be found here: /derby-proposes-new-measures-tackle-rogue-landlords/

1 https://www.brent.gov.uk/council-news/april-2016/wake-up-call-for-rogue-landlords/