Landlord Law Newsround #392

Landlord Law Blog NewsroundAnother week and another Newsround, let’s see what the team has found in the news this week.

New EPC rules impact landlords

Changes that have now come into force in the way EPC’s are calculated and the more detailed data needed for the calculations will undoubted cost landlords more as the cost of an EPC is thought to rise as they will take longer to complete.

Assessors will have to take more precise measurements and input much more specific data as the new Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure (RdSAP) is now in force. What is more disconcerting is that these new standards may cause a property do fall to a lower EPC rating level.

Experts such as Anna Moore of Domna a retrofit company says

The model changes how electric heating systems are scored, intended to solve the problem of people installing heat pumps and then seeing their EPC go down. The new model also lowers the ‘default assumptions’ on carbon emissions in traditionally heated homes, so many properties will see their EPC drop.

This is not good news for landlords, despite the government stating that these new rules will allow people to get a better idea on how energy efficient a property is. And as we read here activists are also putting pressure onto the government to protect tenants from rent increases directly attributed to any work their landlord has carried out to improve energy efficiency of their home.

Making Tax Digital comes with little support

From April 2026 Making Tax Digital which is a digital record keeping system approved by the government, will become mandatory for all landlords earning £50,000 annually. They will need to input quarterly income and expenses along with a final declaration at the end of January instead of the annual tax return.

But finance firm RIFT state that HMRC are not giving enough support now to those that need it and contacting them is even harder. Records show that in Q2 this year searches for Making Tax Digital surged to 43,648 per month.

A spokesman for RIFT said

HMRC simply isn’t equipped to facilitate the surge in demand for its guidance and advice ahead of such a notable change and it’s clear that many are having to seek their own answers via the internet.

Renters’ Rights Bill could have a detrimental impact for some tenants

With the Renters Rights Bill now imminent letting agent, Leaders Roman Group have said that the new bills restriction of only taking one month’s rent in advance could really impact those tenants who are vulnerable along with overseas people or those who are self employed.  Often having the ability to pay several months’ rent in advance is a practical solution that can increase the tenant’s prospects when applying for a property.

Stats show that 57% of tenants have difficulties trying to secure a rental property and 41% of landlords are willing to accept tenants who otherwise may not pass the referencing checks if they can pay several months’ rent in advance. Allison Thompson of the letting agent said

Capping advance rent could have the opposite effect to what’s intended, making the system less fair for those who already face barriers. Negotiated advance payments, used with safeguards, are a bridge into housing, not a loophole.

Without this option, some tenants will be at a disadvantage.

Council hails licensing scheme a success one year on

Peterborough Council launched their selective licensing scheme last March and are crediting that with significant improvements to their private rental sector properties. The scheme has over 40% of private rented properties and each licensed property has two inspections during the five year license period.

The council has inspected over 1500 properties in the past year and issued more than 6,500 safety hazards with 49% of the properties having a hazard one (most serious).

Each landlord is given a report after each inspection detailing any hazards identified and what is required to rectify them. They also issue automated reminders for gas certificates and EPC’s. This, they claim, has lead to a high proportion of safety improvements in thousands of homes.

Following the success of this scheme, they are now considering a city wide scheme for smaller HMO’s.

Snippets

LEGAL update: Consumer protection laws – what landlords need to know
Bolton brings in harsher planning rules after HMO increase ‘concerns’
Jailed! Con-artist fake landlord behind £200,000 rent swindle
Big seaside city reveals radical plans to restrict holiday lets
Named and shamed – landlords on HMRC Deliberate Tax Defaulter list
‘Grenfell was caused by corporate greed’: report calls for far stronger penalties over unsafe cladding

See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law

Newsround will be back again next week

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Landlords: Are You Ready for the Renters Rights Bill? Seven Things to Do Now

Renters Rights Bill ChecklistThe date of implementation of the Renters Rights Bill is getting closer, and many landlords are wondering what they should do to prepare for this.

Here are seven critical steps you should be taking now:

1. Check your tenancy/occupation type

Most of the bill will only affect English assured and assured shorthold tenancies under the Housing Act 1988. The vast majority of tenancies in England will be assured shorthold tenancies.  But is YOUR property occupied under an AST?

You need to check this and make sure if there is any doubt. Our Tenancy Trail can help you do this.

If your tenancy is not an AST, though, this will not let you off the hook entirely.  You will probably still need to sign up to the Landlord Redress Scheme and register on the Landlord Database.

2. Check your tenancy agreement

At the moment, many landlords will get tenants to sign a new tenancy agreement at ‘renewal’. If tenants are unwilling to do this, the threat of a Section 21 eviction (even if not specifically mentioned) will normally encourage them to sign.  Even if they don’t want to.

However, once the new act is in force, all tenancies will convert to periodic assured tenancies.  So there will be no ‘renewals’. Plus, section 21 is to be abolished. It may therefore be difficult to get tenants to sign a new agreement if they do not want to.  As is the case now with protected tenancies under the Rent Act 1977.

I would suggest, therefore, that you review the terms of your tenancy agreement to see if it covers everything necessary. If not, try to get a new tenancy agreement signed up now.

3. Review the rent

Although the general view of landlords is that they are a greedy lot racking up the rent mercilessly whenever they can, in fact, many landlords fail to increase the rent for years at a time.

They then find that they are failing to make a profit or even enough to cover their outgoings, and make a fairly large rent increase. This then puts their tenants into difficulties and reinforces the ‘greedy landlord’ theme.

This is why our advice for all landlords is to increase the rent little and often, to keep up with inflation.

This is going to become more important once the Renters’ Rights Bill becomes law.  As you will only be able to increase rent via the statutory notice procedure.  Which can only be used a year.

It is a good idea, therefore, for all landlords to review their rent now.  If it is too low, bring it up to the market rent. It will be easier for you to increase the rent now, before the new act comes into force.

Going forward, once all rent increases are via the statutory notice procedure, challenges to landlords’ proposed new rents will be on the basis of the ‘market rent’.

It will be important, therefore, that landlords collectively ensure that rents keep up with inflation.  Otherwise, this may result in the First Tier Tribunal awarding lower rents to landlords when rent increases are challenged.

4. Check the condition of your property

There is currently a lot of legislation regarding the condition of rental properties. The two most important being

  • Section 11 onwards of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 on disrepair, and
  • The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

Together with the Housing Health and Safety Rating System inspection process, which is set out in the Housing Act 2004.

However, at the moment, unless your property is an HMO and subject to the HMO Management Regulations, a Local Authority cannot immediately penalise you for the poor condition of your property.  Not until after they have carried out an HHSRS inspection and ordered you to carry out work found necessary by the inspection.  It is only if you fail to comply that they can take enforcement action.

As you may have heard, the Renters Rights Bill will be setting a new decent homes standard. What is less well known is that landlords will be obliged to comply with at all times. As is the case now with the HMO Management Regulations.  This means that if Local Authority inspectors turn up at your property and find it is not compliant with the standard, they can immediately start penalising you as well as ordering you to fix whatever the issue is.

So once this part of the act is in force, to protect your position, you will need to ensure that your properties are compliant at all times.  Critically, you must also be able to PROVE compliance.  For example, to protect your position if tenants maliciously damage the property and then report you to the Council.  Remember, if you can’t prove something, evidentially it did not happen.

The decent homes standard will not come into force for some time. So you should take advantage of this period to check your properties carefully and do any necessary works to ensure that they are (if necessary) brought up to standard.

Note that landlords will also need to ensure that their property meets the minimum energy efficiency standard of EPC band C before the anticipated compliance deadline of 2028.

5. Set up a program of regular inspections

In view of the increased regulations coming for landlords, it is important that you are kept aware of the condition of your properties. This can only be done by setting up a regular inspection program.

Reasons why this is critically important include:

  • Keeping you informed of the occupiers of the property so you can guard against unauthorised HMOs being created or occupation limits in HMO licenses being exceeded. Both of which can make you vulnerable to penalties
  • Allowing you to check that you are fulfilling your legal obligations – such as maintaining the condition of the property to a proper standard.
  • Allowing you to check that the tenants are using the property properly and have not carried out any unauthorised alterations or changes or damaged the property in any way
  • Making sure that nothing is being done to adversely affect your insurance. Be aware that increasingly insurance companies are requiring regular property inspections as a condition of insurance cover.  Check to see if this is the situation with your insurance.  (NB we have a free insurance mini course here).

Note that if you are unfamiliar with conducting property inspections, our Property Inspection Kit (available free of charge to all Landlord Law members) will serve as your detailed guide.  Our Audit Kit is also a useful guide to help you do an annual check of your properties to make sure you are compliant with all rules.  Both of these are available to all Landlord Law members as part of their membership entitlement.

6. Set up a record system

It is increasingly important that landlords not only comply with regulations but are able to PROVE that they are compliant.

This means not only keeping all relevant documents – such as tenancy agreements, gas safety and other similar certificates, receipts for work done and purchases made and the like, but also keeping records of things done. For example:

  • All telephone calls
  • All meetings
  • All reviews of the property, recording the things considered and why you took the decision you did

It does not matter whether the records are physical and kept in a box or filing cabinet, or are online and kept on Dropbox or Google docs. The main thing is that you have them and know how to access them easily.

They will be essential if you need to prove compliance to the Local Authority or need to evict your tenant.

Further guidance is available to Landlord Law members on this important topic, plus we have handy telephone attendance notes and our diary sheet (for recording meetings) which you can use for your record keeping.

7. Ensure that you are kept up to date with legal developments

At the time of writing, the final form of the Renters Rights Bill is not known. We know mostly what it will contain, but there could be last minute amendments.

As a landlord, is it really important that you are aware of the new legislation and what it will mean for you.

The following will help keep you up to date:

Magazines include Property Investor News and Your Property Network.

My Landlord Law membership site for landlords (and letting agents!) has extensive guidance, and we will be updating all our online information and landlord documentation in time for when the bill comes into force.

And finally

The changes in regulations are coming. The bill is expected to receive the Royal Assent some time in 2025 and will come into force a few months later.

Many landlords with good tenants whose properties are in good condition will not need to worry about this too much. However, even if you are sure that your property is compliant, you should follow the guidance above and keep detailed records.

See my other posts on the Renters Rights Bill here.

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Tenant making false deposit claim through debt collectors

Bag with deposit

This is a question to the blog clinic from Richard (not his real name), who is a landlord in England.

I am selling my flat. The sale fell through. I got a tenant for 6 months who agreed to rent it on an AST for 6 months without a deposit. He paid rent and was paid up for 3 months. After making the last 3rd payment, he decided to leave suddenly and return to Albania.

He is now claiming deposit liability twice the 3 months and wants 6 months’ rent in compensation.

He has realised he didn’t pay a deposit, so none was registered, but has engaged a vicious debt collection agency to hound me with demands. Do I have to pay?

Answer

If the tenant did not pay a deposit, then no, you should not pay.

It may be difficult to get the debt collectors off your case though. I assume that you have already written to them, telling them that no deposit was paid by the tenant.

If they continue to be difficult, then write to them saying that if they do not leave you alone, you will be instructing solicitors to apply for an injunction and compensation under the Protection from Harassment Act, plus an order that they pay your legal costs.

If they continue, then instruct solicitors to write to them.

Have any readers had this problem?

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Landlord Law Newsround #391

Landlord Law Blog NewsroundLandlord Newsround comes with another week of latest housing news straight to your inbox.

Date set for the Renters Rights Bill report stage

This is 1 July.  After that there are three further stages before the bill can become law:

  • The third reading in the House of Lords
  • The Consideration of Amendments stage in the House of Commons, and then, finally
  • The Royal Assent.

It looks as if the bill will not get the Royal Assent before the summer as was promised, so we shall have to see when this happens.

Mind you, the bill to nationalise the steel works in Scunthorpe went through in a day, so they can speed up if they want to.

Are you Renters’ Rights Bill ready?

There are lots of articles telling landlords to get ready and prepare in advance for the Renters’ Rights Bill and this week Leaders lettings agents is re-emphasising exactly that.

Managing Director, Allison Thompson is urging all landlords to inspect their properties, review their tenancy agreements and try to minimise void periods. Landlords need to be more proactive especially with the changes coming in for fixed term tenancies to periodic ones.

She says

Landlords would gain more flexibility to adjust rents in line with market conditions and regain possession of their property more easily, provided they follow the correct legal process.

She also reminds landlords that non compliance will carry larger fines once the Bill comes into force.

HMO tenant demographic is evolving

Renters aged over 40 years old now account for 11.5% of HMO tenants, whereas previously sharing accommodation was primarily used by students, young professionals or those looking for a more affordable living arrangement. Of this 11.5%, 55.7% were male and 44.1% were female. Southampton has the highest percentage or mature sharers at 20.2% with London not far behind on 19.8%.

These are the findings out this week by COHO, an HMO management platform. Vann Vogstad the founder said

 Co-living has evolved into a lifestyle choice rather than an economic necessity, and we’re seeing more and more people in their 30s, 40s and even 50s actively choosing to live with housemates.

He also added that ‘Modern co-living is a world apart from what it used to be’ and is now the ‘modern way’.

Shocking claim of ‘Category 1’ hazards in PRS homes

Following research carried out by Inventory Base they claim that one in ten homes in the private rented sector has a ‘Category 1’ hazard. These hazards are the most severe and can cause life altering or even have life ending consequences. They can be fire risks, structural issues, electrical, damp or mould that can cause ‘immediate threat’ to a tenants health and safety. The classic example of this is Awaab Ishak who died of respiratory infection due to damp and mould that was not dealt with.

According to Sian Hemming-Metcalfe, Operations Director of Inventory Base says that whilst category 1 hazards have been law for many years now it is enforcement that has been ‘very weak’ leaving tenants left ‘very exposed’. She says that the Renters Rights Bill will make landlords more accountable with higher penalties for landlords who do not deal with these complaints in a timely manner.

She did add however that tougher enforcement is only effective and works if the local authority concerned has the resources to ‘carry it through’.

Another licensing scheme

Another licensing scheme is due be given the go ahead next week. Wirral Council want to charge a £605 fee for their new a new licensing scheme but are offering a large discount to £230 if landlords register their properties within the first three months of the scheme coming into force, join the national landlord body and take onboard energy efficiency improvements. Those landlords with more than one property would also benefit from further discounts.

The scheme, if approved on next week will come into force on 1st October. 79% of respondents agreed with the scheme, however 74% of landlords did not.

Snippets

Licensing scheme gives council power to crack down on landlords
Dramatic EPC rating improvement produced by retrofit project
Landlord to pay £20,000 after converting house illegally

See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law

Newsround will be back again next week

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Landlord Law Newsround #390

Welcome to our first Newsround for June, let’s take a look at what has been in the housing news headlines this week.

Fire risk warning for kitchen appliances

Air fryers have been in the news this week for being a potential fire hazard if not used correctly and if left unattended.

This is not good news for landlords who need to protect their rental homes from unnecessary fires and ensure that they are complying fully to their insurance policies to maintain their cover.

A recent incident with an air fryer caused £80,000 worth of damage for one landlord. Insurance company Aviva states that one in five adults have ‘encountered potential or actual fire hazards from air fryers’, and the Home Office have said that there has been a 57% increase in air fryer related fires in England.

Landlords need to warn their tenants of the potential hazards of air fryers offer some safety guidelines to protect both their tenants and their property. You can read some basic guidelines that are offered here.

Beware WhatsApp message could create a contract

David Smith from Spector Constant & Williams solicitors this week warned landlords to be careful when messaging their tenants as what they say could create a contract after a ruling by a court stated that a WhatsApp exchange between a contractor and a developer discussing the pricing of a contract did form the basis of a contract.

David Smith warns that there have been other rulings of this type of informal exchange via WhatsApp messages and warns landlords to be very careful when messaging tenants and be clear that ‘any agreement is pending a full written contract’. This will become more imperative once the Renters Rights Bill becomes law, as this will let tenants give notice by any means if it is in writing.

He says

I have been concerned that this would include notice by WhatsApp. The fact that the courts will accept a contract being formed by WhatsApp increases my concern that they will also accept a notice being given in the same way.

This could also prove tricky for letting agents who use WhatsApp messages with various members of their staff and many different tenants. Messages might not get dealt with immediately or left unanswered.

New EPC ratings coming into force in June

New rules on the accuracy of EPC’s and how they are assessed are due to come into force this month.  Landlords, be warned that it will be underpinned by paperwork evidence.  So keeping all your records and receipts will be key.

Otherwise, with no documentary evidence that you have improved your property, the system’s efficiency could be rated lower, which could impact the EPC rating.  For example, see our post here.

Properymark says specific information will now be collected, such as the condition of glazing, heating systems efficiency based on evidence on model numbers and manufacturer data and home improvements such as insulation will only be included if evidence is supplied. Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure (RdSAP) will calculate more precise floor area calculations and insulation levels giving a more accurate reading of how heat is retained and energy is used.

Propertymark says

Going forward, accurate records and receipts will be critical—especially for insulation, heating upgrades and double glazing. EPC ratings might initially drop if no evidence is provided, even if improvements have been made, so having a clear paper trail can protect property owners from unnecessary retrofit costs.

This comes in hand with the government’s ambitious future plans to totally re-vamp the EPC structure as we see in the article below.

Governments’ EPC targets ‘unrealistic’

The government’s plans to improve the energy efficiency of properties in the private rental sector to an EPC rating of C or above have been classed as ‘unachievable’ and could result in 2.5m homes in the PRS having less than two years to comply, according to the National Residential Landlords Association.

The timescale that the government has proposed is for new tenancies to be EPC C by 2028 and existing tenancies by 2030. With a national shortage of tradespeople to carry to the upgrade work and any government funding yet to be announced, the NRLA is suggesting a two-stage implementation plan:

  • By 2030, landlords should be required to meet standards related to the fabric of a building, such as installing insulation where possible and required;
  • By 2036, all landlords should then meet further secondary standards related to the installation of smart meters and efficient heating systems.

You can read more here.

Snippets

Student HMO landlords face rent-in-advance ‘crunch’ this November
Generation Rent activists claim the credit for 2019 fees legislation
City landlords sign up to sue council over ‘extortionate’ licensing fee
How pragmatic landlords are preparing for Renters’ Rights changes
Treat social housing as critical infrastructure to unlock billions, says Peabody boss

See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law

Newsround will be back again next week

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Renters’ Rights Bill: Key Takeaways from the Civil Procedure Rule Committee Minutes

LegalThe Civil Procedure Rule Committee is a statutory body which has responsibility for the Civil Procedure Rules, which govern civil court proceedings in England and Wales.

The minutes of the meeting on 7 March 2025 are particularly interesting for the light they shed on the work being done in preparation for the Renters’ Rights Bill.

Insights from the Civil Procedure Rules Committee Minutes

There was a throwaway comment towards the start of the relevant section referring to an ‘anticipated future state digital service’ to cover England and Wales. I suspect this means a new digital court procedure (referred to briefly in this post)

The main purpose of this part of the meeting, though, was to discuss the implementation of the Bill, which, it seems, will be in three stages.

  • Stage 1 – the commencement of Tenancy Reforms in the Private Rental Sector (PRS)
  • Stage 2 – the commencement of the remainder of the Bill provisions in the PRS
  • Stage 3 – reforms to the social rented sector

It looks as if the proposed abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and Section 21 will only apply in the PRS, as social landlords (the notes tell us) will continue to be able to issue ASTs and evict using Section 21 for some time afterwards.

The notes also referred to ‘transitional arrangements of three months after the Act comes into force’. Although this could just be a reference to the period of time during which claims under section 21 (in the PRS) will be possible.

Here are a few other points thrown up by the minutes:

  • The accelerated procedure will, once section 21 is abolished, be completely removed in England (although not in Wales)
  • There will be changes to the Pre-Action protocols to take into account the new forthcoming rules requiring landlords to address heath hazards in rental properties within strict time limits (Awaabs law).
  • A new digital service is being developed for possession claims, where users will be able to select the grounds being used, possibly via a drop-down list
  • This new digital service, once operational, will supersede the PCOL (possession claims online) system.
  • There are going to be amendments made to the current forms, so landlords should watch out for this. I would advise that forms are always downloaded from the gov.uk website so you can be sure that they are the most up-to-date version.

It would be good to know exactly what parts of the bill will come into force in Stage 1 and what will be put back until Stage 2.

Although we have been repeatedly told that the abolition of ASTs and section 21 will take place as soon as possible (for the PRS).  I assume that Stage 2 will deal with matters that take longer to set up, such as the Redress Scheme, the Landlords Database, and the new rules for decent homes standards and Awaabs law.

No doubt we will be given more details in the extensive awareness campaign, which we are told will be launched at or shortly before the Bill comes into force.

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What to do if previous tenants break in and squat?

Police StationThis is a question to the blog clinic from Sarah (not her real name), who is a landlord in England.

Our tenants have moved out, and we’ve changed the locks. New tenants haven’t moved in yet. What happens if a previous tenant who is now homeless decides to break in and squat?

Answer

The most important thing, if you think this is likely, is to secure the property so they can’t get in.

You say you have changed the locks. Make sure also that all the windows have locks on them, and maybe consult a security company.

There are companies which specialise in making rented properties secure after evictions and during voids. Prevention is always best.

If you find that your property has been entered and occupied by squatters, then speak to the police.

If squatters occupy someone’s home, or somewhere which is about to be occupied as a home, and remain after being asked to leave, this is a criminal offence. So the police should help you recover possession.

Do not do this yourself. If you use force or the threat of force you will yourself be committing a crime.

If the Police refuse to help then make a complaint. This may or may not make them take action for you.

Failing police action, you will need to bring court proceedings for possession using the special procedure for squatters. It is best to use solicitors for this – one firm which offers this service is Landlord Action.

However, you should not need to do this as the police should help you.

Note that you should also notify your insurers of the situation, as this will affect your insurance (particularly if you don’t tell them!). They may also be able to help – for example, the cost of eviction may be covered by your insurance.

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Landlord Law Blog Roundup for May

Here are all our posts for May.

Friday 2nd May

Landlord Law Newsround #385

Our first Newsround for May

Sunday 4th May

Why we need the Renters Reform Bill to improve Local Authority enforcement

Why councils need to step up and carry out enforcement

Monday 5th May

How to increase rent when the tenant refuses to sign a new tenancy agreement

This was a question asked via my popular Blog Clinic

Friday 9th May

Landlord Law Newsround #386

Another week and another Newsround

Monday 12th May

Will the Renters Reform Bill Create chaos in the courts? The Government response:

Read my blog on the renters reform bill bringing additional pressure for the courts

Sunday 18th May

Landlord Law Newsround #387

Read our popular Newsround item

Monday May 19th

Achieving Compliance with the Renters Rights Bill – Free Legal Webinar for Landlords

Don’t miss out on this free Landlord Law Webinar open to non members

Do you need to serve a Section 21 Notice at the end of a fixed term tenancy?

This was a question asked by a landlord via our Blog Clinic

Friday 23rd May

Landlord Law Newsround #388

Another week and another Newsround

Saturday 24th May

Here are answers to delegates questions at my recent webinar on Renters Rights’ Bill compliance

Following my webinar here is a helpful blog on most of the questions that were asked

Friday 30th May

Landlord Law Newsround #389

Our last Newsround for May

Further Reading

Landlord Law News Blog

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Landlord Law Newsround #389

Landlord Law Blog NewsroundWelcome to our last Newsround for May, where this week we have seen quite a varied amount of housing news, so let’s see what has caught our eye this week.

Councils step up their powers of enforcement

Brent council officers were directly targeting their streets last weekend, knocking on doors trying to catch out unlicensed landlords and checking to see that properties were not breaching any health and safety hazards and taking immediate action where needed.

All property in Brent that is rented out requires a license apart from one area. They were patrolling the areas on foot using targeted intelligence where they suspected there were landlords operating without a license. They found 15 people in one seven bedroom property following a tip off and a visit.

A councillor spokes person said

Responsible landlords play a vital role in providing quality homes and helping to ease the housing crisis – we won’t let rogue landlords ruin the reputation of those doing the right thing.

They emphasise that if landlords are breaking the law they will ‘face prosecution and hefty fines’.

More due diligence needed when vetting tenants

A Welsh judge this week has expressed his concern over the lack of ‘due diligence’ taken by some landlords when vetting new tenants after he jailed a man found working at a cannabis farm in a privately rented property.

The judge said that politicians should enforce more rules around landlords vetting processes. Police found that this particular property had specially made re-enforced doors and the whole privately rented property was being used as a cannabis farm with 398 cannabis plants growing to the value of £171,000.

The judge was surprised that police were not putting ‘more effort’ into finding out who were running these illegal farms and why they were not ‘vigorously pursuing’ the landlords of the properties concerned.

21% of landlords unaware of EICR regulations

As we approach the fifth anniversary of the compulsory EICR certificates (electrical Installation Condition Report) for the private rented sector, a new report out by Direct Line business insurance claims that one in five landlords are oblivious to the implications of not having a valid EICR certificate, which can result in them having anything up to £30,000 of fines.

Whilst one in twelve landlords do not even hold a valid EICR certificate or if they do, know if it is valid.

They further identified that shockingly only 10% of landlords knew if they had all the relevant and legal documentation in order to evict a tenant. Only two thirds of landlords are aware of the gas safety legal requirements and even less knew about the EPC laws for rented properties.

The representative for Direct Line business insurance  said that not staying on top of all the legal paperwork can not only result in heavy fines but can also invalidate their insurance.

Bailiffs calling for reform

Bailiffs are campaigning for reform with a new survey that they have launched via their High Court Enforcement Officers Association. They are lobbying the government for a change in the law to make things quicker  in transferring possession claims to the High Court where once there, enforcement is more often than not executed quicker.

The association is asking for all landlords and agents to complete the survey to detail the challenges that they have experienced so that they can produce this information to the government to highlight the severity of the problems faced by landlords and how this can unfairly cause delays for landlords. They are being backed by NRLA and Propertymark.

You can participate in the survey here.

Snippets

Council claims selective licensing scheme will support landlords
Annual drop in number of HMO licenses granted by councils
Social housing landlords still failing on emergency repairs ahead of Awaab’s Law
Welsh landlords face new rent data reporting rules

See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law

Newsround will be back again next week

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Here are answers to delegates questions at my recent webinar on Renters Rights Bill compliance,

Questions and answersI did a training webinar recently on achieving compliance with the Renters’ Rights Bill. Although the time of the webinar had been extended, there was still not enough time to answer all the questions asked by delegates.

So I thought it would be helpful to answer some of them here.

Most of the questions asked are covered, although some have been omitted as they were not relevant, were duplicates of earlier questions, were answered during the webinar, or were merely comments on the law or policy.

The questions are in the order they were asked in the webinar.

RRB = Renters Rights Bill
PCN = Penalty Charge Notice
NTQ = Notice to Quit
AST = Assured Shorthold Tenancy

List of questions and answers:

Q: Will the conversion happen overnight, or will it be phased to let the current fixed terms be able to play out?

A: When the bill comes into force (which will be some time after it receives the Royal Assent), we are told that all assured shorthold tenancies will convert immediately to periodic assured tenancies.

Q: Some lenders insist on AST’s What will happen here?

A: The legislation will amend terms in existing mortgage deeds to replace ‘assured shorthold tenancy’ with ‘assured tenancy’. It is to be hoped that mortgage companies will accept this for new mortgages.

Q: Do you have to have initiated court possession for s.21 for it to still count when RRB come in

A: Landlords will be able to evict under existing section 21 notices after the bill comes in during the notice period. However, no new notices can be served.

Q: If tenancies convert to a Periodic (Statutory) tenancy, will ALL pre tenancy and tenancy documentation need to be re-served?

A: From the information given, it looks as if landlords will not have to re-serve tenancy agreements and other documents. However, the government will provide a form (which I suspect will be prescribed) which landlords and agents will need to serve on exiting tenants within a time limit.

Q: When a tenant wants to move, they need to give two months’ notice. Their next landlord won’t wish to hold a property for two months and their current landlord may not choose to let them leave early. Do we expect tenants to pay rent on two properties for two months? Lengthening voids is wasteful.

A: It will be up to tenants to time their notice to minimise any period where they will be liable for double rent. Their existing landlord will be entitled to be paid rent for the full notice period (whether the tenants are actually living there or have moved out), unless they agree to waive this.

Q: Will the RRB affect live-in landlord/lodger licences? Short-term lets, eg Actors Digs, ie the Landlord database?

A: At the moment, the legislation provides for landlords of assured and Rent Act 1977 protected tenancies to register with the database. However, it also allows the Secretary of State to provide by regulations for landlords of other occupation types (eg landlords of residential licenses) to register with the database too.

Q: Are there any plans to inform tenants about the changes?

A; The government are planning an awareness campaign.

Q: Are students in shared houses with joint tenancies also included or will they be exempt?

A: Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) is excluded from all or most of the provisions of the act, but it will apply to other student accommodation.  Although there is heavy lobbying on this issue and it could be the subject of a late amendment.

Q: Can we give a periodic tenancy now so we don’t have to do all of them on the day the law is implemented?

A: Landlords can always give a periodic tenancy, a fixed term is not mandatory. And there is no point in giving tenants a long fixed term as it will be converted to a periodic tenancy when the RRB comes into force, which will probably be before the end of 2025. But you won’t have to do anything to convert the tenancies to periodic when the RRB comes into force; this will happen automatically.

Q: How will the portal work if the landlord lets properties in several areas? Will we need to register on the property address or our own address?

A: Landlords will need to register both themselves and, separately, all their rented properties. Further details will be provided in delegated legislation.

Q: If we manage properties ourselves, will we have to provide our home address on the database?

A: I know this is of concern to many landlords. We don’t know the answer to this, it is one of the things that will be set out in the regulations when they are published.

Q: What about registering foreign properties – would it be the same way?

A: This legislation will (in the main) only apply to properties in England. Some parts, such as the anti-discrimination rules, will also apply to Scotland and Wales. But it will not apply to any property outside the UK.

Q: Will we be able to access information about criminal tenants and criminal councils

A: I doubt the government will accept that any of the Councils are criminal! So far as tenants are concerned, landlords and agents will need to carry out careful referencing to avoid inadvertently letting to rogue or criminal tenants. You should also do a financial sanctions search against tenants’ names to see if they are on the sanctions list.

Q: What about Airbnbs?

A: Airbnb is a portal you can use to market properties for rent. The fact that a property has been marketed via Airbnb does not affect its occupation type or your legal obligations as a landlord. So if, for example, the property is let under an assured tenancy, then yes, it will be subject to the act. The same as all the other assured tenancies. Renting it via Airbnb will not change this. See also my series of articles on Airbnb.

Q: Re details of past evictions required for the database. Please elaborate. Does it mean evictions SINCE the D’base has been in place or listing all previous evictions from the property BEFORE the dbase came into effect?

A; This is currently unknown and is one of the many things which will be set out in regulations in due course.

Q: Re no fixed terms – are tenants bound by a minimum of 6 months initially? Or can they simply up and leave after 2/3 months?

A: As the act stands at the moment, tenants of assured tenancies will be able to give two months’ notice at any time, and there is no minimum period they have to stay. So if they want, they can serve their tenants a notice to quit the day after they move in. The government’s reason for this is so tenants will not be forced to stay in (for example, substandard) accommodation against their will.

Q: If a challenge to a (Penalty Charge Notice) PCN fails – can you appeal to the First Tier Property Chamber?

A: Yes, there is the right to appeal. Local Authorities will also need to give landlords a ‘notice of intent’ before serving any PCN.

Q: Can you advise if HMOs will be exempt from accepting children as most HMO rooms have a single occupancy stipulation, and introduce a safeguarding issue

A: So far as I can see, there are no exceptions for HMOs under the Act regarding the discrimination rules or anything else. However, if a property were a one-room HMO then it would normally be reasonable to refuse to accept a tenant with children. Otherwise, this would almost certainly breach the mandatory bedroom sizes rules for HMOs.

Q: (Re maximum rent and prohibition against rental bidding) So you can state the max rent will £800, but applicants are free to make an offer under this if they wish? I presume the clause is to stop an increase in rents above a figure not below?

A: Yes, landlords will be able to agree a lower rent than the proposed rent in the property advert. However, it will be illegal to accept a higher rent,.

Q: Presumably, all the ‘guidance’ that will put the meat on the bones of the RRB will all come out at the same time? If it comes later, then how is a LL supposed to know what to adhere to?

A: Not all of the RRB will come into force at the same time. Guidance will need to be published for the parts that come into force immediately. So this will include the transition regulations and the new prescribed terms for tenancy agreements. However, regulations for the parts of the bill that come into force later will be published when they come into force, or maybe shortly before.

Q: What can be done about tenants giving notice on day one for a 2-month notice, therefore setting up a short let and getting a property at a cheaper rate than Airbnb rates for example?

A; Landlords will need to be on the watch for this when selecting tenants. Tenants should be asked how long they intend to stay, and landlords should be alert to any signs that they might be intending to move out quickly.

Q: Given Gov’t history with IT systems, will the Bill come into force only when the database etc are ready, or will it be bill first and then tech whenever?

A; The government have indicated that they wish to implement the parts of the bill which abolish assured shorthold tenancies along with section 21 no fault evictions, and also which convert tenancies to periodic tenancies, within a short period of time. Other parts of the bill will come into force when the government is ready to implement them.

Q: Is the government’s model AST a suitable free template?

A; Not in its current form, although no doubt it will be amended at some stage. However, I would recommend that landlords use a tenancy specifically drafted for landlords, such as the Landlord Law tenancy agreements or those provided by Propertymark or the NRLA. These will include more clauses to protect the landlord’s position. At the moment though, none of us can provide RRB compliant tenancy agreements as we have not seen the relevant regulations.

Q: If a tenant adapts your property and then leaves, can you ask them to put it back to the same condition?

A: If they do this with permission, then you will need to make the permission subject to the tenant reinstating the property to its original condition when they go. If they did this without permission, then you will also be able to require this, plus you may be entitled to compensation.

Q: Are contracts provided by tenants such as investment banks exempt from this new law? eg Japanese investmenat banks insist on using their own contracts

A: So far as I am aware, they will not be exempt. You will need to make it clear to them that there are new legal requirements for tenancy agreements, which, if not complied with, can make you liable for a PCN. And refuse to accept them as tenants if they refuse.

Q: What happens when all tenancies become Statutory periodic and the tenant leaves the property before the notice they have to give? At present, under a contractual periodic tenancy, they pay the Council tax until the notice period lapses

A: The RRB amends the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to provide that a material interest will include having an assured tenancy. So I assume that this means that tenants will be liable under the bill for council tax during the notice period.

Q: What is the situation if an existing tenant disagrees with the new terms brought in and argues they did not sign up to those terms?

A: Tell the tenant that both he and you are subject to the new terms, as they are the law. It is not up to individuals to just comply with parts of the law that they agree with. If he objects, he should speak to his MP.

Q: Can you indicate a rent and state that if tenants have pets there is an additional rent of £x per tenant?

A: No, the proposed rent in your advert is the most that you can charge. However, you can say that the proposed rent will be for tenants with pets and tenants without pets will pay a lower rent.

Q: Will the new tenancy terms and rent reviews affect regulated tenancies?

A: I suspect not. New laws tend not to affect Rent Act protected/regulated tenancies. Although landlords will need to join the redress scheme and register for the database.

Q: How about tenants without income. Now you either ask for guarantor or 6 months rent upfront? Will 6 months’ rent upfront be banned?

A: Yes. It has been pointed out to the government that this could seriously affect tenants with a poor credit history who may struggle to find any landlords willing to accept them.

Q: What is the position on costs at the tribunal if the proposed rent is ordered or not allowed?

A: Costs are not normally awarded at Tribunal.

Q: If I choose to charge a peppercorn rent to a friend, will there be any adverse consequences?

A: Only to your bank balance! But I don’t see any reason why you can’t do this.

Q: ( Re ground 8 repossessions not being available where tenants are in receipt of benefit) How will the landlord know if their tenant gets universal credit?

A; No doubt the tenant will notify their landlord when he serves the section 8 notice.

Q: Before, an AST typically only allowed viewings in the last two months of the agreement. Presumably, moving forward, sales viewings can now shortly take place on day one under the new (ill-thought-out) laws??

A: This is something we will have to consider when drawing up new RRB compliant tenancy agreements. I suspect that a clause allowing viewings during the tenant’s NTQ notice period will be used.

Q: Are joint and several contracts still going to be legal?

A: Yes. I can’t see any reason why not.

Q: Can you take 6 months rent advance from overseas students?

A: No. Rent in advance is forbidden, save for 1 month’s rent in advance once the tenancy agreement has been signed and both parties are committed.

Q: Will the pet insurance be in the name of the landlord? If so, how will claims be handled in the event of disputed ‘damage’, as the tenant will have to pay the excess

A; This will no doubt be set out in regulations or in the insurance policy terms and conditions.

Q: (Re allowing pets) Is it ONE pet or multiple pets?

A: It depends on the circumstances. Often, it will be reasonable to allow one pet but not multiple pets. Permission will need to be given very specifically and refer to a named pet.

Q: Will landlords still be prosecuted and imprisoned if tenants deny access?

A: Depending on the charge, landlords will normally have a defence if tenants refuse access. If a landlord is ever convicted of an offence, when this was due to tenants refusing access, the conviction should be appealed.

Q: What about when you are selling a property? Can you serve notice to a tenant?

A: There will be a new possession ground 1A, which can be used if you want vacant possession to sell. Or you can sell the property tenanted as an investment property.

Q: Ground 6A – can you use this if T refuses access for inspections/gas certs/elec certs etc?

A: Ground 6A is for social housing landlords. Landlords would be able to use ground 12 (breach of a tenancy agreement term) but would be best advised to apply for an injunction first. Note that our forthcoming Property Access Kit will contain guidance on both of these procedures

Q: (Re landlrods being unable to relet properties within 12 months of the possession notice if obtained to let to a family member or for sale) What happens if a family member moves in but subsequently serves a NTQ within 12 months?

A: I am not sure, but the landlord would be advised to leave the property empty until the end of the 12 month period.

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That is the end of the very lengthy list of questions!  Hopefully, it will be helpful for readers.

If you have any comments on the questions or my answers, please put them in the comments section below.

The post Here are answers to delegates questions at my recent webinar on Renters Rights Bill compliance, appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.

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