Posts with tag: tenants

Letting agency in Leicester fined

Published On: September 7, 2015 at 10:42 am

Tags: letting agency,rogue landlords,tenants

With the new academic year upon us, a letting agency has been told to pay in excess of £12,000 in fines and court costs after being found guilty of seven charges of failing to carry out repairs to a student property.

Leicester City magistrates found IPS Ltd guilty of failing to adhere to regulations relating to a property in the Highfields area of the city, which was occupied by seven people.

Charges

The Leicester Mercury says that the firm was fined £750 for each individual charge, in addition to £7,000 costs and a £75 victim surcharge. Over a two-day hearing, IPS Ltd pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Lawyers for the local council argued that IPS was the managing agent for the property and took 10% of the rent accrued per month. In addition, the council said that the firm was responsible for dealing with maintenance and repairs.

Some of the main causes of concern highlighted by the tenants included a damaged fire door, stained, damp and cracked plaster, a faulty lock, broken extractor fan and faults with showers and a broken bedroom door.

Letting agency in Leicester fined

Involvement

Leicester City Council got involved in February and March of 2014, taking photographs of the problem areas, alongside distributing letters to the company and the owner of the house.

‘The landlord did get the work done, but IPS denied they were in management-they said they were just rent collectors,’ a lawyer acting on behalf of the council told the court.

In addition to being £1,500 for failing to apply for a multiple occupation licence , the landlord was fined £500 for failing to show his contact information in his property.

Two of the tenants residing in the property said when the moved into the house than they were told they should notify IPS (Leicester) Ltd should any repairs or maintenance be required. This claim was denied in court by one of the company’s representatives.

Thousands of tenants in England suffer abuse

Published On: September 2, 2015 at 11:56 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: rogue landlords,Shelter,tenants

An extremely concerning report from housing charity Shelter has revealed that thousands of tenants in the private rental sector have suffered abuse from their landlords.

The types of abuse ranged from harassment, assault and both physical and verbal abuse, all of which could have resulted in legal action.

Abuse

Shelter suggests that 17,000 renters have called its helpline in order to lodge complaints regarding abuse. Worryingly, the charity said the cases included people saying landlords had cut off their utilities, entered their property unannounced and even burned their possessions.

Other common disputes recorded included issues over deposits and terms of an agreement.

More cause for concern comes with the charity’s prediction that many more tenants may be suffering at the hands of rogue landlords. On the results of a survey of 3,800 respondents, Shelter feel that 125,000 within England had experienced abuse, with many more in receipt of abuse strong enough to result of legal proceedings.[1]

‘Hurled Stones’

The charity highlighted the case of one particular tenant who had moved into a rental property in London, only to discover problems.

‘There was damp in the bedroom-black walls basically,’ said the tenant. ‘There was a leaking roof that went on for months and we had no gas safety certificate,’ he added.[1]

Having drawn up a list of 18 issues with the property, the tenant approached the landlord again. However, the landlord not only refused to fix the problems but also started to enter the property without permission. ‘Then one day he became really aggressive and hurled some stones at me,’ the student claimed.[1]

Another tenant said that his landlord served him an eviction order just five days before Christmas, before sending him abusive text messages. When the tenant and his partner did move out, the landlord demanded a further month’s rent.

Thousands of tenants in England suffer abuse

Renter rights

With many young professionals and families being priced out of the housing market, it is thought that one in five households in England is privately rented. Experts predict that this number will rise in the coming decade.

Shelter helpline advisor, Mark Cook said that the charity spoke to people daily who had experienced difficulty with rogue landlords. ‘Some of their experiences are truly awful-from renters who have been illegally evicted and had their belongings burned, to those who have had their utilities cut off because their landlord wants to intimidate them,’ Cook said.[1]

‘No one should have to put up with a landlord who breaks the law and it is so important to know your rights as a renter,’ he concluded.[1]

[1] http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/sep/02/thousands-of-tenants-suffering-abuse-from-private-landlords

Many landlords do not wish to deal with tenants

Published On: September 2, 2015 at 10:21 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: landlords,tenant problems,tenants

New research has indicated that many landlords prefer letting agents to manage their tenants and in general, do not want to be concerned with complaints raised by people living in their property.

Non-contact

A study carried out by PropertyLetByUs.com shows that in excess of 85% of landlords do not wish to deal with tenants directly. An even larger proportion of 90% said that they were unhappy with tenants telephoning or emailing them about problems.[1]

Despite the reluctance of some landlords to deal directly with tenants, the survey found that almost 60% pay for repairs to be fixed. 10% expect tenants to pay for minor repairs, with just 2% admitting that they ignored repair fees for as long as they could.[1]

Many landlords do not wish to deal with tenants

Serious

‘Landlords often come in for bad press, but the majority of them are professional and take their responsibilities seriously,’ said Jane Morris, Managing Director of Property Let By Us. ‘Many landlords work either full or part-time and need the support of an agent to help them with managing the relationship with the tenant.’[1]

Morris went on to say that, ‘we know from our research that 66% of landlords find managing their properties more stressful than their full, or part time jobs and dealing with tenant complaints is a top cause of stress. Landlords are under a huge amount of pressure with mounting legislative and tax changes. Agents can be a big help for landlords, offering a range of services that help reduce their workload and ensure they are fully compliant with legislation.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/most-landlords-dont-want-to-deal-directly-with-their-tenants.html

Communication solves many deposit disputes

Published On: August 13, 2015 at 3:33 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: deposits,landlords,tenants

New research has highlighted the importance of good, solid communication between tenants and landlords at the conclusion of a tenancy agreement.

Tenancy deposit scheme My Deposits said that during the last year, 30% of deposit disputes did not reach a formal resolution adjudication, mostly due to communicating fairly over the issues.

Talking

Tim Frome, legal services manager at My Deposits said, ‘whenever we receive notification from the tenant of a potential dispute we always recommend they speak to their landlord first. These figures help show the value of sitting down, talking to your tenant and explaining the reasons for your proposed deductions to the deposit can help lessen the likelihood of a formal deposit dispute.’ Frome also notes that it is, ‘always worth trying to negotiate as using the scheme’s formal dispute resolution process can take time.’[1]

Communication solves many deposit disputes

Mr Frome also warned landlords that by law, the deposit is still the tenant’s.

‘If the tenant doesn’t agree with your deductions then they have the right to raise a formal dispute with their deposit scheme to reclaim the deposit money,’ he noted.

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/8/communication-key-to-deposit-disputes

Property Redress Scheme ban agent

Published On: August 11, 2015 at 9:52 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: letting agents,Property Redress Scheme,tenants

The Property Redress Scheme has today decided to expel a letting agent for showing non-compliance to a redress decision.

Ban

Croydon-based agent Jordan Residential was banned following an initial complaint of holding a deposit. After seeing a property advertised by the letting agent as a three-bedroom home, the tenant in question arrived to the house to find that the property had only two bedrooms with a converted lounge.

After allegedly being rushed and pressured by Jordan Residential, the tenant paid a deposit of £600, without receiving an explanation of what it would cover or whether it would eventually be refunded.

Sensibly upon reflection, the tenant decided that they were unhappy with the situation. As such, they then informed the agent within 24 hours that they would still accept the property but only at a lower market rent, based on typical two bedroom rental amounts in the local region.

Refusal

Jordan Residential then verbally refused the offer and proceeded to not enter into any more correspondence with the tenant following this conversation. Despite sending two letters to the agent, the tenants’ communication attempts were still ignored.

As a result, the tenant lodged a complaint with the Property Redress Scheme, who ultimately decided that in this instance, the retention of the tenants’ deposit was unfair as:

The tenant pulled out of the tenancy before the relevant costs covered by the holding deposit had actually been incurred by the agent.
The Agent had not yet taken the property off the market so the landlord had not suffered any loss by the property being held.
The property did not conform to its description. [1]

Property Redress Scheme ban agent

Costly

In addition, the head of redress told Jordan Residential to pay £612.80 to the complainant, in lieu of the holding deposit and subsequent postal costs that were incurred by the tenant. As yet, Jordan Residential have yet to pay the award.

What’s more, the letting agent has not even acknowledged the demands of the Property Redress Scheme, nor attempted to deal with the situation as a genuine claim.

Jordan Residential had its membership suspended with the promise of a full enquiry by the head of redress. A recommendation was made that the agent was expelled due to a lack of co-operation with the complaints process and a failure to pay the award.

Chief executive of the Property Redress Scheme Sean Hooker commented, ‘failure to pay an award, however large or small, is a serious breach of our terms of reference. Agents must not assume that the complaint will go away if they remain silent and refuse to engage with the scheme.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/8/prs-expels-agent-for-failing-to-pay-award-to-tenant

Rents rise by 2.5% during past twelve months

Published On: August 3, 2015 at 2:45 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Finance News

Tags: rent rises,rental costs,tenants

The latest Office for National Statistics Index of Private Housing Rental Prices shows that private rental prices rose by 2.5% in the year to June.

Regional rises

Data from the report shows that rental costs increased by 2.5% in England, 2.1% in Scotland and 0.8% in Wales in the 12 months period. In England specifically, rents rose across all regions, with the most significant rise recorded in London with 3.8%.[1]

Additionally, consumer price index (CPI) inflation stood at 0% during the same timeframe.

Steve Bolton, founder of Platinum Property Partners stated, ‘last month saw the biggest annual increase in average rents seen since January 2013. A shortage of suitable properties, coupled with strong consumer demand-both from people priced out of the housing market and those who find renting better suits their lifestyle-has set rental prices on an upwards trajectory.’[1]

Increase

‘This rise in rents isn’t likely to slow down any time soon, particularly as landlords now face a number of increasing costs,’ Bolton continued. ‘The prospect of an interest rate rise, together with the cap on mortgage interest tax relief introduced in the Budget, could pressure some landlords to increase their rents as they look to regain some of their profits.’[1]

Bolton also said, ‘while growing wage packets mean some tenants will be able to cope with higher rents, landlords should be focusing on revisiting their strategy rather than passing their costs directly on to tenants. The Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) model provides up to three times more rental income than a standard buy-to-let investment, providing a sufficient buffer against rising costs.’[1]

Rents rise by 2.5% during past twelve months

Concluding, Mr Bolton said, ‘our recent report showed HMO’s achieved a 40% higher return on equity from 2010-14 compared to the wider buy-to-let market. HMOs are also beneficial for tenants: PPP analysis shows that tenants living in high quality shared accommodation pay £419 less each month in rent and bills than someone who is renting alone.’[1]

Stuck

Betsy Dillner, director of Generation Rent, added, ‘the Government might cheer zero inflation but it means very little to those of us who see any pay rises end up in our landlords’ pockets. As more people find themselves stuck renting, runaway rents will drag the economy down. Ministers urgently need to ramp up their investment in new homes, and bring in rent controls to lower the cost of living for all.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/7/rents-up-2-5-in-the-past-year