Posts with tag: landlord law

English Housing Survey Results Published: Tenancy Length Increasing

Published On: January 24, 2020 at 10:55 am

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English Housing Survey Results Published: Tenancy Lengths Increasing

The results for the Government’s English Housing Survey for 2018-19 were published yesterday, and they reveal a mixed bag of statistics. Tenancy lengths are increasing, but this isn’t necessarily a good thing for tenants.

The average length of tenancies in the private rental sector (PRS) has increased to 4.4 years, up from 4.1 years in last year’s survey. The Residential Landlords Association sees this as a positive.

John Stewart, Policy Manager at the RLA believes that landlords are helping tenants establish roots in their communities: 

“The vast majority of landlords who do a good job welcome good tenants staying in their properties long-term and today’s figures bear this out. They clearly refute the picture some create that landlords spend all their time looking for ways to evict their tenants and it is time to end this scaremongering.

“The market is meeting the ever changing demands on it without the need for legislation. It is vital that the Government continues to support and encourage this with pro-growth policies that support good landlords to provide the long-term homes to rent to meet ever growing demand.” 

Others see longer tenancies as a symptom of a broken property market. Joseph Daniels, founder of Project Etopia said: 

“Falling home ownership among the young still threatens to become a national crisis rooted in high property prices and stretched affordability but the tide has finally started to turn. 

“Help to Buy, both the equity loan and the ISA, and Stamp Duty relief, are behind the march of the first-time buyers who will be powering a recovery in home ownership in this age bracket. 

“This points to a welcome softening in affordability issues but much more progress needs to be made. It will take considerable time and momentum until owner occupancy among younger people returns to the 59% seen in 2003-04. 

“House building will need to keep pace with growing demand and buyers face very different propositions across the country with prices still unaffordable in many parts of the UK, particularly in the south of England.”

Dan Wilson Craw, Director of Generation Rent sees this as a big problem. Whilst landlords are providing a useful service, renting is not the end goal for most people, but owning their own home is looking more and more difficult.

“Renters are getting older and many are raising children in homes they can currently lose at their landlords’ whim. Renters are compromising on space to cover expensive market rents, so overcrowding is at an all-time high. Young and old alike, more renters fear they’ll be renting for life. 

“These trends underline the urgency of reforming the rental market to give tenants stable and affordable homes. The government’s Renters’ Reform Bill is a huge opportunity to give hope to 11 million people.”

On overcrowding, it is worth noting that the percentage of overcrowded rented homes is at 6.2%, a 23-year high. Even more worrying is that the PRS is the only sector that has seen no decrease in its percentage of non-decent homes.

25% of private rented homes fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard 2018, compared to 17% of owner occupied, and 12% of social rented. This means that 1.15M privately rented homes are not considered to:

• Meet the statutory minimum standard for housing (the Housing Health and Safety system (HHSRS) since April 2006), homes which contain a Category 1 hazard under the HHSRS are considered non-decent

• Provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort

• Be in a reasonable state of repair

• Have reasonably modern facilities and services

With renters staying longer in individual tenancies, and looking at a longer proportion of their lives renting, it is clear that both landlords and the Government must work together to improve tenants’ lives.

The Government must make the property market more accessible to renters, first time buyers and young families.

And whilst the majority of landlords provide decent accommodation, more must be done to improve the quality of non-decent rented property. Read Just Landlords’ guides on landlord responsibilities to make sure that your property is up to spec.

Landlord fined £2k after ignoring repair requests 

Published On: January 22, 2020 at 10:44 am

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Picture of house in disrepair

Bridligton, Yorkshire; a landlord has been fined in excess of £2,000 after failing to comply with several improvement notices to his property. 

The landlord, who has been named as 54 year-old David Christlow, of Prospect Street in Bridlington, was ordered to pay a £2,000 fine; a victim surcharge of £170, and the repair costs of £2,282.93. 

Christlow appeared at Beverley Magistrates’ Court on January 8th, where he pleaded guilty to two offences of failing to comply with improvement notices served under Section 11 and 12 of the Housing Act 2004.

The issues were first brought to the landlord’s attention in September 2018, when a tenant notified him. Christlow acknowledged the state of disrepair and committed to fixing the problems, but chose to do nothing in the end.

The 54 year-old corresponded with enforcement officers in January 2019, again, committing to solve the issues, but by the time of an inspection in April 2019, he had still made no effort to attempt repairs. 

The inspection noted issues such as a poorly fitted front door, loose electrical sockets and switches in the kitchen and landing, the electric heating element in the bathroom airing cupboard had come away from the wall and a lack of handrails on the staircase.

Smoke detectors were in places which meant they could not be maintained, and smoke seals were not fitted on fire doors in the kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedrooms.

A week after the inspection, the tenant was contacted and it was revealed that this rogue landlord had STILL not begun any of the promised work, leading to the two aforementioned improvement notices to be served. 

The notices expired in June 2019, upon which time a second inspection revealed that none of the work had been completed. 

By September 2019, a YEAR after the issues were originally brought to Christlow’s attention by his tenant, officers found that a new front door had been fitted, but none of the other issues had been resolved. 

Most local authorities have their own guidelines on what is considered a reasonable amount of time for repairs to be completed, but Christlow’s actions were shown to be long beyond what anybody would consider ‘reasonable’. This case highlights a need for stronger and clearer guidelines on landlords’ responsibilities in situations such as this.

Chris Dunnachie, private sector housing manager at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, commented: “Officers from the private sector housing team had advised Christlow that he needed to make essential repairs to the property but he chose to ignore those requests which resulted in the enforcement notice, which he failed to act upon.

“This is a timely reminder to landlords of their responsibilities and ensuring properties are maintained and kept in good order to prevent potential injury to tenants and their families and ultimately prevent the necessity of enforcement action.”

Liverpool Mayor shocked by government’s decision to scrap renting scheme

Published On: January 14, 2020 at 10:06 am

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Liverpool Mayor shocked by government’s decision to scrap renting scheme

Liverpool Mayor, Joe Anderson has said that he will be writing to the government after they made the decision to stop supporting the city’s successful scheme aimed at improving the standards of rented property across the city.

An application to keep the licensing scheme running for another five years has been rejected by Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick. This is despite the scheme being supported by Merseyside Police, Mersey Fire and Rescue Services and a large number of local residents. 

The scheme saw private landlords in the city having to prove that their properties met fire, electric and gas safety standards and that the properties were in a good state of repair. As part of the scheme, licenced landlords would be subject to inspections to ensure that standards remain high. 

Schemes that cover more than 20% of a local authority’s area require government approval, but it was assumed that approval would be received after the scheme was widely praised for driving up standards in the 55,000 rental properties across the city. 

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “This decision is not only ill-thought through and short-sighted, it also puts the lives of some of our most vulnerable tenants at risk.

“This decision flies in the face of the Government’s tough talk on housing standards, particularly around fire safety in rented properties.

“Over the last five years our officers have come across people whose landlords are happy to take their rent while allowing them to live in appalling conditions with unsafe electrics, gas supply and no fire doors to protect them in the event that a blaze breaks out.

“The Landlord Licensing scheme has enabled us to create a team to be able to hit the streets every day and carry out inspections of properties and bring rogue landlords to book. It is not just about raising housing standards – it is about protecting and saving lives.

“This Government has already taken away £436 million of our funding since 2010 and is now weakening our power to improve housing standards for those who are part of generation rent to the bare minimum.

“All of the talk of devolution away from Whitehall rings hollow when we see ministers in London making vital decisions about cities like Liverpool and other areas they never step foot in.”

Air pollution levels will need to be declared by landlords and home sellers

Published On: January 7, 2020 at 9:26 am

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Air pollution levels will need to be declared by landlords

National Trading Standards is implementing a new rule that requires those selling or letting a property to declare if there are high levels of air pollution in the district in which it is located.

They will have to disclose this “material information” clearly to renters and buyers.

The Negotiator magazine for residential agents highlights that some of the most expensive areas in the country also have the dirtiest air. In Central London, the boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster maintain the highest housing costs, as well as the highest levels of pollution.

At an average cost of £2.5m to buy a property or rent of up to £7,000 a month, you would also be living in an area that exceeds the legal limit for air pollution (40 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic metre of air).

James Munro, head of the estate agent team at National Trading Standards, said: “Now that pollution mapping is more widely available, and the facility is there to search by postcode how badly a property is affected, we’re saying that this is material information.

“This is something people should know if they’re buying a house especially if they have children or elderly family members moving into the property.

“It can work both ways for the agent. If it’s a low rating, it could be a good marketing tool, but if it’s a high rating — of which there are quite a few hotspots in London — people need to know.

“The owner has a legal duty to provide the right details and not withhold anything but the agent is also under a legal duty to be aware of all the facts and to check them.”

Mark Hayward, Chief Executive of NAEA, comments: “In certain urban areas, buyers and tenants will look more closely before committing to a property, particularly if they have young families. It will be important. People are staying in their homes for 18 to 21 years when they buy, so you need to be careful when you commit.”

We have yet to hear exactly when this change will be introduced.

Welsh government revokes new landlord regulations

Published On: December 12, 2019 at 9:04 am

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Welsh government revokes new landlord regulations

On November 15th the decision was made by the Welsh government to introduce new regulations requiring landlords to provide a list of data to prospective tenants.

The intention was to implement this from Friday 13th December, but the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has argued against it.

The association raised its concerns with certain information listed as a requirement, along with the short notice for the change.

In accordance with The Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Specified Information) (Wales) Regulations 2019, landlords have been told they will have to provide the following information in writing to a prospective tenant:

  1. amount of holding deposit;
  2. identify the dwelling in respect of which the deposit is paid;
  3. name, address, telephone number and any email address of the landlord (and if instructed, the letting agent);
  4. nature and duration of the contract;
  5. proposed occupation date;
  6. amount of rent or other consideration;
  7. rental period; 
  8. any proposed additional contract terms or proposed modifications or exclusions to fundamental or supplementary terms;
  9. amount of any security deposit;
  10. whether a guarantor is required and, if so, any relevant conditions;
  11. reference checks the landlord (or letting agent) will undertake; and 
  12. information the landlord or letting agent requires from the prospective contract-holder.

A big concern for the RLA was the requirement for landlords to provide a personal address at this stage in the process. After writing to the Minister for Housing and Local Government, the decision has been made to amend this regulation. Instead, the wording has been changed to require “contact details” to be provided, with no added definition for the term. The RLA has pointed out that this could be a business address instead of a home address.

The Welsh Government has also acknowledged that more time must be given to allow landlords and agents to prepare for these changes. The implementation of the replacement regulations has been delayed until 28th February 2020.

Douglas Haig, Director for Wales and Vice-Chair of the RLA has commented: “We are delighted the Minister listened to what we had to say and has adjusted the regulations accordingly. This goes to show that working in partnership can lead to better and more balanced outcomes.

“We were very clear going into this that our only intentions were to ensure landlords could be compliant with the law and that their data was protected, and we are glad to have achieved these through constructive conversations with Assembly Members.”

Read the RLA’s full report here: https://news.rla.org.uk/wales-regulations-revoked-after-rla-campaign/

Coventry landlord penalty slashed by almost 90% in tribunal

Published On: December 10, 2019 at 10:03 am

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Coventry landlord penalty slashed by almost 90% in tribunal

Landlord, Mr Tan Sandhu was originally fined £31,499 by Coventry City Council for breaches of the Housing Act 2004, but this was reduced to £24,649 before being appealed in the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) and reduced to £3,300. 

The property, a semi-detached house, converted to an HMO on Walsall Street, Coventry was first identified as part of the council’s campaign to improve HMOs across the city. 

On inspection, the council found that keys were needed to exit individual rooms, which was a clear breach of fire evacuation rules. Plus the rear door was at risk of being breached by intruders. There was also no displayed notice giving the contact details of the manager as required by the regulations.

In regards to fire safety, the smoke/heat detector in the kitchen had been removed and no fire blanket had been provided.

The council gave the landlord notice of the issues on 20th November 2018, but four months later, found that most of the breaches had yet to be rectified. 

Believing that ample time had been provided to improve the HMO, the council decided to impose a penalty of £2,100 in relation to the missing manager’s details notice and £29.399 in relation to breaches under regulation 4 (duty to take safety measures). A total of £31,499, but this was later reduced to £24,649 after the landlord challenged the charges. 

The landlord appealed based on the grounds of excessive charges, not in line with the council’s own policies, or government guidelines. In the end, it was determined that £3,300 was a ‘fair’ amount. 

On the tribunal’s decision, Phil Turtle, compliance consultant with Landlord Licensing and Defence Ltd said, “Whilst we cannot condone a landlord not knowing and / or failing to comply with the HMO Management Regulations, this case is a clear example of a Council misapplying the legislation for their own purposes.

“Coventry City Council had originally tried to extract £31,499 from this landlord when in fact, as the Tribunal determined, they were only entitled to fine the landlord a total of £3,300. An attempted over-charge of £28,199.

“Whilst there is no actual proof of causality, in this case, it is, however, interesting that whereas Court Fines go to central government, Councils get to keep these landlord fines as an income stream which may affect their objectivity.”