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Judge tears into Northampton Council’s Samantha Ling and her department
14 Jun 2021 In a shocking, and embarrassing for Northampton Borough Council (NBC), determination by Judge Wayte of the First Tier Tribunal property, he went so far as to suggest that the landlord should make a claim for costs against the Council. A move...
Yet another landlord fined massively for unlicensed property
11 Jun 2021 A London council has prosecuted a landlord for renting out an unauthorised and unsafe House in Multiple Occupation. Daniella Mbachu, who owns property in Mitcham, was found guilty of failing to apply for an HMO licence from Merton council, and failure to...
Council announces free property licensing!
10 Jun 2021 Instead of charging landlords around £1,000 like most UK councils - for the dubious honour of going into a database - which the council will then use so they can easily inspect properties and issue eye watering fines, Jersey (which is of course part of the...
Is your town on the £610m Town Deals funding list?
10 Jun 2021 Twenty-six councils have been awarded funding by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government programme, intended to boost local economies and create jobs through projects including housebuilding.It is especially aimed at upgrading neglected...
‘Responsible’ approach to short lets welcomed by UK trade body
10 Jun 2021 Airbnb says it’s working to consider new approaches to short-term letting and the burgeoning holiday lets sector - and this has been welcomed by a trade body. Last week Airbnb, which has been criticised by some for its impact on local rental markets,...
HMO deemed dirty & unsafe. Lettings firm fined £21,000
09 Jun 2021 A council investigation found no fire alarms, routes of escape blocked, and a broken window covered with a 'to let' sign A Manchester letting and management company has been fined more than £21,000 after one of their properties was found to have multiple...
The strongest five-year rental yield, only 5.5% says research
09 Jun 2021 Manchester had the best rental yields between 2015 and 2020, averaging at 5.5% per year over that time, analysis has revealed. The second-best hotspot between 2015 and 2020 is Sunderland (5.4%), followed by Nottingham (5.3%) and Newcastle (5.2%). In 2020...
One in the eye for council ‘Anti-Planning’ departments as 40% increase in approvals needed if housing targets to ever be met
09 Jun 2021 Planning permissions must rise by 40% if the government is to meet its target of building 300,000 homes by the mid-2020s, a report has said.Research produced by planning consultancy Lichfields and commissioned by the Land Promoters and...
Mortgages to become more expensive the worse your EPC
08 Jun 2021 Under new legislation being considered, homeowners living in poorly insulated and draughty homes (meaning they would have a low EPC rating) could pay more for their mortgages and lose value from their homes under Government plans to prioritise mortgages on...
Council declares war on Landlords while stealing housing from them
07 Jun 2021 A council has explicitly announced it’s “on the side of tenants against landlords”. Totally ignoring the fact that landlords are its citizens too. And citizens they are legally required to serve! To date, this council boasts that is has stolen...
Generation Rent wants Landlords to be forced to take even more risk. Will it all end in tears?
07 Jun 2021 Many people will have heard on the radio over the Bank Holiday weekend reports about the eviction ban ending. A Joseph Rowntree Trust claim that 800,000 households face losing their homes was repeated throughout the day. Not once did Radio 4 or Times Radio...
Rental properties could boost EPC rating for £100 or even less
09 Jun 2021 Some low-cost energy efficiency improvements to a property could boost its EPC rating according to an analysis undertaken by Rightmove. The portal has looked at over 15m homes across England and Wales, and has suggested five low-cost means of improving...
Landlords threaten council with Judicial Review over HMO Licensing Scheme
27 May 2021 For once, well organised LANDLORDS are threatening to take the council to the High Court over plans to expand a housing licensing scheme. York Residential Landlords Association claim City of York Council's proposals are "unlawful and irrational". The...
Enfield Selective Licensing in 14 Wards confirmed
25 May 2021 Every single rental property in 14 wards of Enfield will need a licence soon. They will need either a selective licence, an Additional HMO licence or a Mandatory HMO licence. The civil penalty fines for failing to licence are punitive and almost...
Duty is on owner to prove building is NOT a section 257 HMO – states Upper Tribunal
24 May 2021 Converted buildings are frequently “section 257 HMOs” under the Housing Act 2004. As such they must comply with the HMO Management Regulations for s257 HMOs and increasingly, councils are requiring the building to be licensed under their...
1 in 20 Tenancy Applications are Fake
21 May 2021 There’s been a huge 263 per cent increase in the value of fraudulent tenant applications in just three months, it’s been claimed. Homeppl, a tenant due diligence and guarantee firm, says agents have to be on high alert; the firm’s detection tests...
The future of the tenant experience
20 May 2021 The last 12 months have heralded significant change across the property market and indeed we could argue across all markets in one form or another. But one change has been in the pipeline since before COVID and before work-from-home adaptation...
Two years on – how can agents comply with the Tenant Fees Act?
20 May 2021 It’s nearly two years since The Tenant Fees Act came into force for tenancies in England. On 1 June 2019 it became illegal for landlords and letting agents to charge certain fees in connection with a tenancy, and caps were placed on the amount that could...
Tenant Frames Landlord for Terror Attack in Grudge over Tenancy Dispute
13 May 2021 A former tenant who tried to frame his landlord’s partner as being involved in the Westminster terrorist attack has been convicted of perverting the course of justice - but he is now on the run. Gerald Banyard, 67 and from Lancashire, sent two handwritten...
Landlord Wins £15k Compensation Against Council
07 May 2021 In what was only a hollow victory for the owner, the almost toothless Local Government Ombudsman has given Worcester City Council only a small slap on the wrist for giving a landlord false information as part of his Pre Application planning advice which...
700,000 tenants set to use “Breathing Space” to avoid paying arrears
05 May 2021 The government has admitted that “hundreds of thousands” of people will use the new Breathing Space system, during which they cannot be chased for outstanding debt. John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, says: “We’re determined to tackle...
HMO Landlord ordered to hand over 18 HMOs to Managing Agent & fined £30,000
26 Apr 2021 A landlord has been handed nearly £30,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to maintenance and safety failures at three properties. Landlord Naomi Knapp, of Bedminster in Bristol, agreed to pay £2,000 a month for at least the next year to meet the...
Tenants suffer fire, but council only interested in prosecution for lack of HMO licence
23 Apr 2021 Following a rental property fire in a house in Hendon, all the council appeared to be interested in was that it had discovered an unlicensed HMO and proceeded to prosecute the landlord “for failing to licence the HMO”. According to the council’s press...
Shelter wins a 3rd “No DSS” discrimination case in County Court
23 Apr 2021 Another lettings agency has been found to have unlawfully discriminated against a tenant receiving benefits. Worthing County Court declared that Michael Jones & Company unlawfully refused to show Hayley Pearce a potential rental property...
Trading Standards call for more comprehensive details in rental property advertising
22 Apr 2021 Several high-flying lettings sector bodies say rental properties advertised on portals should carry much more upfront information. This means landlords who use agents advertising on Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket are likely to be told to...
Rental Market Has Gone To Pot
20 Apr 2021 Police seized more than 100 cannabis plants from a rented property in Eastbourne after responding to reports of suspicious behaviour in the area. Officers attended the house in Desmond Road at 9.20am last Wednesday, after receiving information from the...
New Landlord Money Grab by Salford City Council
19 Apr 2021 Three and four person shared houses are to be taxed at £1,985 by Salford Council under a new ravens generation scheme called Additional Licensing. Under the scheme people living in shared houses have to have all sorts of fire doors and fire alarms that are...
Government Land Grab Advised as BTL Landlords Forced Out of Market
12 Apr 2021 The private rented sector is unwilling and unable to house those in greatest need. As landlords seek to exit that sector, the government should purchase their properties for social rented housing. It is a year on from the publication of the Affordable...
Why London Rent Control Will Be a Disaster
09 Apr 2021 Labour’s proposals to introduce rent controls in London risks reducing the number of private homes available for rent, as landlords look to exit the private rented sector. Shadiq Khan is being urged to forget about rent controls and instead focus on...
Lettings Council calls for slow-down on band C EPC requirement
09 Apr 2021 A respected private rental sector body wants the government to slow its timetable for energy efficiency reform, warning that landlords could sell up if the current schedule remains in place. The Lettings Industry Council has written an open letter to the...
Rent Arrears Mediation Scheme Details Announced
09 Apr 2021 The government has at last released details of its mediation scheme - this was hinted at when Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick last extended the ban on bailiff enforced evictions in February. Now the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local...
HMOs And Council Tax Banding!
02 Apr 2021 Guest Post by Hasan Sadik of Home-Share There is much to consider when investing in an HMO and I spend a lot of time advising landlords on the best way to source, finance and manage their investments, as well as providing guidance on areas such as...
Councils using ‘Intelligence” to track down rental properties with low EPCs – £5,000 fines
29 Mar 2021 And so the EPC witch-hunt begins…. Threatening fines of up to £5,000 for any rental property with an EPC lower than Band E, councils are now using artificial intelligence to pull together all manner of records and information to cross-correlate properties...
Volume of properties falls nearly 22% across UK – study
25 Mar 2021 The average volume of properties advertised on the market has fallen by nearly 22% since it hit a peak in November, according to apropos. Analysis by the lettings firm reveals that the average number of properties advertised has fallen by 21.9% across...
Battle of Hastings: Upper Tribunal Decision underlines end of Magic Money Tree for Rogue Tenants and their No Win/NoFee allies
17 Mar 2021 In a landmark decision, the Upper Tribunal (Lands) has confirmed that the judgement of the First Tier Tribunal that “Rent Arrears must be accounted for BEFORE rent is eligible to be reclaimed under a Rent Repayment Order (RRO).” This Judgement of the...
Labour Council hopes to vote in major Revenue Generation Licensing Scheme despite Statistically Invalid Consultation
11 Mar 2021 A Labour-controlled council says it’s confident a huge new Revenue Generating licensing scheme for one of Britain’s most high-profile cities will be voted through today. But it admits there’s a big clash of opinions between landlords and agents on the one...
Sefton Council entraps Hotel Landlord into providing Free Emergency Accommodation to their Homeless
08 Mar 2021 Sefton council has reached a new low in cynical entrapment in its relentless war against landlords. Like many councils waging war against landlords, they do this in the single-minded pursuit of raising revenue from Landlords’ investments and pensions. So...
Councils are persuading even experienced landlords to self-incriminate
02 Mar 2021 by Des Taylor & Phil Turtle, Landlord Licensing & Defence You may well receive a letter from the council. It will look relatively innocuous and particularly bureaucratic. There is no standard format for these letters, and one could be forgiven for...
Landlords pay for Council incompetence
04 Mar 2021 by Des Taylor & Phil Turtle, Landlord Licensing & Defence Yes, their incompetence is blatant to those who have to challenge them on a daily basis. The arrogance and aggressive methods are leaving landlords terrified and they produce no evidence...
Own goal! Failure to licence HMO cost ex-footballer £34,000
23 Feb 2021 A landlord who failed to licence his properties has been ordered to pay back over £8,000 in rent. Dexter Blackstock, a former professional footballer, has been told he has to refund £8,592.98 in housing benefit that he was paid for two unlicensed...
Salford City Council orders landlord to re-instate gas safety hazard
23 Feb 2021 In what we see daily as nonsense from council housing enforcement officers, Salford City Council has today exceled itself. The situation is a bog standard 2-up 2-down terrace of which there are thousands in Salford. Because it is inhabited by three...
Study finds Covid caused 41% drop in sales despite stamp duty holiday
18 Feb 2021 Residential transactions across England and Wales fell by 41% in 2020 when compared to the previous year despite a boost in the market from the stamp duty holiday, GetAgent has revealed. The initial lockdown in March last year saw the property market...
It’s Rubbish being a Landlord: 40 Landlords Prosecuted by One Council for Tenants’ Mess
18 Feb 2021 A landlord’s firm has been fined after waste accumulated in the rear yard of a tenanted property. Elahi Properties of Blackburn was ordered to pay £1,259 by a court, comprised of a £750 court fine and £500 costs. The firm was summonsed to appear in court...
London Mayor to put rent controls at heart of election fight
18 Feb 2021 London Mayor Sadiq Khan is to keep a call for rent controls in the capital as a major plank of his next election manifesto. The poll for London Mayor is in May - a year later than scheduled because of Coronavirus - but it is already known that Labour...
£22,000 landlord fine for inadequate fire precautions and poor maintenance
15 Feb 2021 Two landlords who let an unlicensed London HMO property without providing proper washing facilities or tackling serious fire hazards have been taken to court. The pair were fined over £22,000 after letting out a property in Hackney without proper...
Portsmouth lettings agency Kings Estates and Southsea landlord fined £18,000 for unlicensed 12-bed student house
11 Feb 2021 A LETTINGS agency has been fined £12,000 after council officers found 11 students living in a ‘high risk’ unlicensed converted pub. Portsmouth letting firm Kings Estates was initially handed a £6,000 fine by Portsmouth City Council after a tenant blew the...
Rogue Birmingham landlord endangering lives successfully prosecuted
George Lindsay, 55, from Erdington, has been successfully prosecuted and ordered to pay close to £20,000 for breaching housing regulations. The rogue landlord pleaded guilty for failing to obtain a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence and to 13 breaches of HMO...
City Centre Rents Down, Outer Areas up – statistics
10 Feb 2021 The fall out from Coronavirus is forcing the rental market into a once in a lifetime change as tenants reassess priorities. This is the view from Zoopla which says the consequence is felt most acutely in the growing disparity between inner city and outer...
Government Eviction Mediation Scheme – Law Society raises concerns
10 Feb 2021 The Law Society is raising concerns about the government’s mediation scheme announced at the time of the last eviction ban decision. The government says it will offer mediation as part of the possession process to encourage landlords and tenants to reach a...
Shawbrook Bank buys up The Mortgage Lender
10 Feb 2021 Shawbrook Bank has strengthened its position in the residential and buy-to-let (BTL) markets with the acquisition of specialist intermediary mortgage business, The Mortgage Lender (TML). Shawbrook, a specialist lender to UK small and medium-sized...
Tradespeople are victims of ‘cowboy landlords’ shows new study
09 Feb 2021 Many landlords may be all-too-familiar with cowboy builders but new research reveals a problem with ‘cowboy customers’ robbing tradespeople of income. Mobile billing service Powered Now has commissioned a study which suggests many tradespeople encounter...
Is Rishi Sunak about to continue George Osbourne’s vindictive attack on Landlords?
09 Feb 2021 A very informative article written ‘to the chancellor’ by Dr Rosalind Beck - a campaigning landlord, Conservative member, and long-time critic of government changes to landlords’ taxes. Well worth reading: The Government’s desperate search for ways to pay...
MPs want better deal for landlords with break clauses for students
03 Feb 2021 An influential all-party committee of MPs and members of the House of Lords is calling for a new council tax fund to subsidise landlords left high and dry when students are forced to study from home and not at college. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on...
Success for landlords: City of Westminster extends HMO licensing consultation after complaints
29 Jan 2021 After the expose by Landlord Licensing & Defence in property118.com Westminster has responded professionally by extending the deadline until the 18th February and asking us to give landlords this direct link to the survey where they can give their...
Landlords unable to respond to London council’s so called “consultation”
28 Jan 2021 Landlords you need to make your voice heard! You have only until February 11 to respond to the licensing proposals of the City of Westminster council. Except you can’t. The City of Westminster has some 52,700 rental properties constituting 43 per cent of...
Industry calls on Councils to stop new cynical life-threatening licensing money-grab during Covid Crisis
22 Jan 2021 Momentum is building against councils pushing ahead with licensing schemes despite the pandemic and despite instructions from the government not to. One wonders why so many councils are going against the Governments wishes and public health concern to...
Capitol Riot Suspects Self-Incriminate Just Like Landlords Do Every Day
19 Jan 2021 Capitol riot suspect Aaron Mostofsky (Source: New York Post, as cited in criminal complaint) Many of the insurrectionists who marched on the UA Capitol building on Jan. 6 and violently forced their way into the building stupidly livestreamed...
Landlord get £13,850 in fines for no HMO licence
19 Jan 2021 A landlord has been fined £10,000 by her local council for failing to licence a HMO. Tracey Davies of Bath was found guilty in her absence when the case came before magistrates in the city. The local authority - which says it was “acting on information...
Five Tenant Tricks to throw out a Section 21 eviction notice
19 Jan 2021 Landlords need to be in no doubt that tenants are being educed by councils, shelter, a wide range of no-win, no-fee ambulance chasers- and now tenants unions too - into not only the ‘tricks and hacks’ they can use to stop you being able to gain...
New Breathing Space law to halt landlords seeking arrears or eviction
18 Jan 2021 The government has set out details of its new Debt Respite Scheme - also known as Breathing Space - which comes into effect in May. This will give someone in 'problem debt' the right to legal protections from being chased up by creditors - and as this...
