Posts with tag: rogue landlords

Housing and Planning Bill to get Third Reading Today

Published On: January 12, 2016 at 9:34 am

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The Housing and Planning Bill is set to get its third reading in the House of Commons today.

The bill will then go through the House of Lords on a date yet to be confirmed, where it will be formally introduced in a first reading, proceed to a second reading, followed by the committee stage and a third reading.

Housing and Planning Bill to get Third Reading Today

Housing and Planning Bill to get Third Reading Todayand a third reading.

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has published a briefing paper to peers, calling for numerous amendments.

The RLA wants local authorities to be obliged to collect information on landlords through Council Tax forms from tenants.

It explains: “At present, local authorities have the right to ask for details of a property’s landlord to assist with the collection of Council Tax, but very few use the power.

“The RLA believes local authorities should now be compelled to collect such information on Council Tax registration forms for use in the enforcement of regulations affecting the sector.

“Getting tenants to identify landlords will mean that criminals will find it harder to hide from local authority enforcement officers.”1

The organisation is also calling for an amendment to make it easier for landlords to offer longer tenancies.

It states that in London, a huge problem is that leases on blocks of flats prohibit tenancies of more than a year. The RLA would like landlords to be able to grant sub-tenancies of up to a year.

Another amendment suggested by the RLA is that landlords included on the blacklist of rogue landlords and letting agents, which the bill would introduce, should not have their names on it permanently if they commit to a period of education.

The body notes that the banning orders on landlords and agents are not permanent under the bill’s provisions, and this should also be applied to the blacklist.

Additionally, the RLA calls for tenancy deposit schemes to be modernised, so that the prescribed information that landlords must provide to their tenants can be offered electronically as well as in paper form.

Do you agree with the RLA’s suggestions? What would you request?

1 http://news.rla.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/151109-Housing-Bill-Committee-Briefing.pdf

 

Housing and Planning Bill Passes Report Stage

Published On: January 6, 2016 at 9:23 am

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Last night, the Housing and Planning Bill passed its report stage in the House of Commons.

After many official announcements beforehand, the debate started in the evening.

The bill is now set for its third reading. It is the first bill with an English legislative stage, with only English MPs allowed to vote on certain sections. The date for the English stage and third reading is yet to be confirmed.

Housing and Planning Bill Passes Report Stage

Housing and Planning Bill Passes Report Stage

The bill will introduce a blacklist of rogue landlords and letting agents, which will be made available to local authorities and central Government.

Additionally, for the first time, the bill will make it possible to ban landlords and agents from the industry. However, at present, the bill still allows banned letting agents to set up as estate agents.

Amendment 16, tabled by the Government, will raise the maximum fine for someone caught renting out substandard accommodation from £5,000 to £30,000.

The bill will also extend the Right to Buy scheme to housing association tenants and force local authorities to build starter homes for first time buyers; opponents have attacked the laws, believing they will bring an end to social housing.

A few hours before the debate yesterday, protestors gathered in Parliament Square to voice their opinions.

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, representing Brighton Pavilion, voted against the bill.

She explains: “The housing crisis is biting hard. Renting is unaffordable, our social housing stock is dwindling and buying a home is still an impossible dream for many. And, as with so many of the challenges our society faces, it is the young who are suffering the worst.

“The Government had an opportunity to utterly rethink the housing model, but instead, Parliament is being presented with legislation that’s going to make the situation far worse and put another nail in the coffin for British social housing.”

However, she adds: “There are a few good measures in the bill. The provisions on rogue landlords, letting agents and the introduction of a brownfield register are welcome, but they simply don’t go far enough to protect renters or encourage the building of truly affordable homes.

“The overall effect of this legislation will be to inflict further harm on those already suffering and to drag more people into the housing crisis. It will decrease the amount of social housing, fail to bring down sky-high rental costs and do nothing to keep people warm in their homes.

“For example, the bill should have looked at ways to make rents fall, but it doesn’t even go as far as bringing in smart rent controls to keep them in line with inflation.”

She concludes: “The housing crisis we’re facing is the result of botched policies by successive Governments, and this latest bill is set to compound that failure.”1

What are your views on the new bill?

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/housing-and-planning-bill-set-to-raise-fines-against-agents-and-landlords-to-30000/

Evictions Specialist Calls for Rogue Tenant Blacklist

Published On: January 5, 2016 at 9:24 am

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The Housing and Planning Bill is returning to the House of Commons today to be debated by politicians, following a Government consultation titled Tackling rogue landlords and improving the private rental sector.

The bill proposes introducing a blacklist of persistent rogue landlords and letting agents. In response to the plans, Paul Shamplina, the Founder of evictions firm Landlord Action, is calling for a similar list of persistent rogue tenants and for this to be made public.

Evictions Specialist Calls for Rogue Tenant Blacklist

Evictions Specialist Calls for Rogue Tenant Blacklist

Some of the key points in the consultation were: Introducing banning orders and civil penalties of up to £5,000 for rogue landlords; speeding up the repossessions process for abandoned properties; and compiling a rogue landlord and agent blacklist.

At present, it is proposed that the blacklist of landlords and agents would be made available to local authorities and central Government, allowing officials to keep track of those that have committed offences.

Shamplina, who was part of the consultation, is urging the Government to show greater equality within the private rental sector.

He argues that if there is a blacklist of rogue landlords and agents, this should also include agents that have multiple money judgements against them by landlords for non-payment of rent. He also believes that all private rental sector associations and redress schemes should put their banned members on the list. In addition, he thinks the list should include rogue tenants and that all of the information should be made available to the public.

He explains his opinion: “We are constantly hearing about rogue landlords and agents. But to address issues in the private rental sector, we should also consider rogue tenants.

“Last year, there were 161,000 possession claims issued in England and Wales. At present, there is no central database where possession orders with money claims are registered, as the courts do not recognise possession claims with arrears as a County Court Judgement. If they did, this information would show up on tenant referencing.

“At present, a rogue tenant can move from property to property running up rent arrears and it does not show up on referencing unless the landlord goes to additional expense of trying to enforce the money order. If we are to protect landlords at pre-let stage, in the same way we wish to protect tenants, this should also be made available.”

Shamplina continues: “The Government is clearly committed to improving standards in the PRS. One of the greatest challenges is finding a balance between supporting good landlords and agents, whilst cracking down on criminal activity without burdening the sector with unnecessary, expensive regulation.

“I believe that one of the best ways to do this is by giving the consumer – landlords and tenants – access to information; allowing them to have freedom of choice about who they rent from.”

Of those that responded to the Government consultation, 92% agreed that there should be a blacklist of persistent rogue landlords and agents. Shamplina believes that making this information available to the wider public will support reputable landlords and letting agents, and act as a deterrent.

Landlord banned for letting out -sub-standard garage

Published On: December 30, 2015 at 12:02 pm

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There has been precious little Christmas cheer for a landlord in Leicestershire, who was banned after renting out a converted garage space.

Environmental health officers found a family living in below-standard conditions in the detached double garage in Braunstone Town, Leicestershire. This was despite the garage having undergone a partial conversion and being equipped with a kitchen, bathroom and bed-sit room,

Inadequate

Council officers found the property to have no heating, inadequate insulation and no smoke alarms. What’s more, the windows and doors of the property were found to have rotten.

On a further visit, officers found a major fault with the electrics. Just one plug socket was found to be of a safe standard. The family, including one small child, were paying £800 per month to live in the converted garage!

Thankfully, the spirit of Christmas prevailed, with the family now re-homed after renting the garage for 7 months.

Landlord banned for letting out -sub-standard garage

Landlord banned for letting out -sub-standard garage

Concerns

One of the greatest concerns of the inspectors was the main garage door, which was not removed by the landlord. This meant that tenants had no-where to sit with sufficient natural light.

Environmental health officers served a prohibition order on the property, which states that the landlord will be prosecuted should anyone be found to be living in the property before works are completed.

A council spokesman said, ‘it is hard to believe that any landlord thinks that it is acceptable to let a family live in the conditions found in this property.’[1]

[1] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/12/ban-for-landlord-who-let-out-sub-standard-converted-garage

Police Hunt for Rental Conman in Bristol

Published On: December 28, 2015 at 11:44 am

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A conman who pretended to be a landlord and tricked several hopeful tenants into paying him thousands of pounds is being tracked down by police.

Four individuals each paid around £1,100 in rent and deposits to Arkadiusz Sylwester Nader for the same studio flat in Bedminster, Bristol.

However, when they came to move into the property, the so-called landlord had disappeared with their money. The flat on North Street is owned by someone else entirely.

Police are trying to locate the Polish national, who secured the flat through an intermediary, as he does not speak English.

Nader owes one month’s rent on the flat, which is empty apart from a few belongings.

All of the victims are originally from Eastern Europe and were targeted online by Nader, who told them they could move in on 3rd December.

However, none of them have heard from him since.

One victim, Damian Nartowski, is a forklift truck operator. He says that the money he paid was his “full monthly wage”.

He adds: “It [had] a big impact on me because I was struggling to get to the end of the month because I have no money or anything.”1 

Joanna Kedziora, another victim, works as a cleaner in a bank and has lost all of her savings thanks to Nader.

Through a translator, she says: “He harmed a lot of people just before Christmas and he made himself a Christmas present out of some other people’s misery.”1 

She had planned to move into the flat with her daughter.

Avon and Somerset Police is currently investigating allegations of fraud and urges anyone who thinks they may have been a victim to come forward.

1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-35105838

Rogue Landlords and Agents to be Fined up to £30,000

Published On: December 21, 2015 at 1:21 pm

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Rogue Landlords and Agents to be Fined up to £30,000

Rogue Landlords and Agents to be Fined up to £30,000

Landlords and letting agents that rent out substandard or unsafe homes will face fines of up to £30,000 under new laws to be revealed this week.

The Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis, will announce the new measures, designed to force rouge landlords and agents out of the sector.

Council officers will be able to serve a new civil penalty notice on offenders, providing an instant deterrent for criminal landlords.

Fines will be increased if the landlord or agent does not take action on overcrowding, hazardous conditions, poor sanitation, electrical faults, damp and vermin infestation.

The laws, under the Housing and Planning Bill, will also ban repeat offenders for at least 12 months.

A database of rogue landlords and agents will also be made available to council staff.

At present, civil penalties can be up to £5,000, but the average is just £1,500.

There are 4.4m private rental homes in England. Lewis says: “The private rental sector is still afflicted by too many rogues who rent dangerous, dirty and overcrowded properties without a thought for the welfare of their tenants. We are determined to crack down.”1 

1 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-funding-to-crack-down-on-rogue-landlords-and-tackle-beds-in-sheds