AT LAST: Appeal Court sees sense and allows eviction despite typo in Section 8 notice

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Landlord wins argument and eviction proceeds despite original judge ruling that one digit in date on notice justified denying permission to evict.

Landlords are being warned to
double check the details on eviction notices following a legal case where the
wrong date for starting possession proceedings was inserted, prompting a legal
case.

In Pease v Carter the landlord had granted tenants
an assured shorthold tenancy for six months on 1st August 2007 which, after
expiry, continued as a statutory periodic tenancy.

The landlord claimed the tenants
hadn’t paid the rent and served a notice under Section 8 on 7th November 2018 before
starting possession proceedings.

Although it was legally accurate,
the court date included was incorrectly written as 26th November 2017 rather
than 26th November 2018.

In the court case, the judge ruled
that the notice was invalid because of the error, and the landlord appealed. But
the Court of Appeal disagreed, concluding that the notice was valid and decided
that it was an obvious typographical error and that the landlord had given the
tenant time to deal with proceedings.

As the Government prepares to
ditch Section 21 evictions, and publish new proposals for Section 8 notices, Shoosmiths
law firm says landlords and agents serving
similar notices should carefully check all details beforehand.

A spokesman says: “Attention to
detail in the service of notices remains extremely important, as [this legal]
test will only go so far in saving defects.”

The Government aims to
abolish Section 21 by removing assured shorthold tenancies. Instead, Section 8
would have enhanced grounds for which a landlord can evict a tenant and a
simpler, faster process through the courts, so landlords don’t have to wait too
long to evict a tenant.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – AT LAST: Appeal Court sees sense and allows eviction despite typo in Section 8 notice | LandlordZONE.

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Body sized hole in bathroom escape – Who pays?

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The tenant has caused damage to my property during an emergency. I have just had a call from my management agent regarding a block of apartments they manage for us, which are currently let out to students on an AST.

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Selling a property which has a difficult tenant?

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I want to sell a property which has a difficult tenant.

I would like to know what happens if he does not let potential viewers access to the property?

Are there any documents can I get the tenant to sign which could/will make the tenant cooperate in allowing agents access to the property for viewings to go ahead?#

Many thanks

Rachael

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Landlord fined £5,851 following extraordinary persecution of vulnerable tenant

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Cauline Thomas from Bristol has admitted harassing the mother of four children and financially exploiting the tenant’s worries over her family’s right to remain in the UK.

A Bristol landlady who drove a tenant from her property in
a campaign of harassment and financial exploitation has been fined by
magistrates.

Cauline Thomas’s crimes included not telling her tenant
in advance how additional charges for her bills would be calculated, failing to
safeguard the tenancy deposit in an approved scheme and sending communications
in the name of a fake person.

Following an investigation by the local council’s Private
Housing Rogue Landlord Unit, she admitted harassment under the Protection from
Eviction Act as well as knowingly or recklessly engaging in a commercial
practice which contravened the requirements of professional diligence.

Thomas was fined £2,500 at Bristol Magistrates Court,
with a victim surcharge of £170, and ordered to pay the tenant £1,181
compensation. The council was also awarded £2,000 costs.

Magistrates said Thomas had shown calculated behaviour in
selecting a vulnerable victim with children, who had moved into a multiple
occupancy flat in Easton during July 2017, without a tenancy agreement. Several
months later, Thomas started making additional charges that had no contractual
basis after enquiring about her tenant’s immigration status.

The prosecution argued that Thomas believed she could
financially exploit the victim because of a mistaken belief that she had no
leave to remain in the country.

When challenged over the charges, Thomas began a campaign
of harassment, including interfering with the flat’s water and electricity
supply, entering the flat without consent before issuing verbal threats and
illegal eviction notices. Her behaviour caused the tenant to pay the additional
charges under protest until she was finally driven out of the property in
November 2018.

Councillor
Paul Smith, cabinet member for housing, says: “This case demonstrates how the
council are taking action to protect vulnerable tenants and penalise those
landlords who harass and exploit vulnerable tenants.’’

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlord fined £5,851 following extraordinary persecution of vulnerable tenant | LandlordZONE.

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Brent licensing bid rejected

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Brent Council’s application to extend its selective licensing scheme in the wards of Willesden Green, Harlesden and Wembley Central have been rejected by Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick MP. The council had also hoped to extend the scheme to 10 new wards in the borough, following a consultation last year.  However, the government has said today more evidence […]

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Dampness, Condensation and Mould

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Damp:

It’s that time of
year landlords dread: their tenant complains about dampness in their
home and expect the landlord to do something about it, but what?

Nobody wants to live
in a damp home. It causes mould on walls, furniture, bedding and
clothes and it creates an unhealthy environment.

There are three
main causes of damp:

(1) rising damp
which emanates from the foundations up and shows itself on the lower
parts of ground floor walls , skirting, floorboards etc. and if left
unchecked can lead to wet and dry rot in floor timbers.

(2) penetrating
damp which result from faults in the structure of the building,
leaking roofs, gutters, downpipes, window frames etc. This can also
damage the fabric of the building if left unchecked and again can
result is wet and dry rot.

(3) condensation,
perhaps the most common cause of black mould and mildew on fabrics,
clothes and wallpaper.

Points one and two
are problems for the landlord to see to without delay. The landlord
is under a legal obligation to maintain the fabric of the building
which provides a safe, warm and dry home.

Condensation is
slightly different because although it can be caused by problems with
the building it is also something which may be caused by the actions
of the occupants – the tenants. That’s why it is so difficult to
deal with for landlords.

Older buildings with
limited insulation are more susceptible to condensation than modern
fully insulated buildings, but any building can be affected if the
conditions are right, even newly built ones. In fact new-builds are
often more like an air tight box, so poorly ventilated and new
plaster takes some time to fully dry out.

Condensation occurs
when moist air comes into contact with a cold surface like a wall,
window, mirror, wallpaper, clothing and fabrics etc. Warm air rises
so it is more often the tops of walls and ceilings which are
affected, usually in upstairs rooms like bathrooms and bedrooms.

The warm
moisture-holding air can’t hold the moisture when it hits cold
surfaces and it deposits tiny drops of water. When there is still
air, like the corners of rooms, behind furniture or inside wardrobes
the problem will be worse.

The usual causes are
when steam is produced from cooking, drying clothes on radiators,
baths and showers, where the steam produced is not immediate vented
to the outside.

Condensation and
black mould is unsightly and can cause health problems, so tenants
may need to be “educated” as to methods of preventing
condensation:

How to reduce
damp and condensation in the home, what the tenant can do:

(1) Produce
less moisture and make sure
it is vented to the outside.

Simple things will
make a big difference, like opening a window when cooking and
showering, keeping the doors closed to prevent moisture spread
throughout the house, keeping the lids on pans when cooking and using
cooker extractor fans, drying clothes outside (and especially not on
radiators), venting tumble dryers to the outside. Paraffin heaters or
flue-less bottled gas heaters produce a lot of excess moisture.
Landlords can help here by providing automatic ventilation fans in
kitchens and bathrooms. These come on automatically when they sense
steam / moisture.

(2) Maintain a
reasonable level of heat. A cold house leads to cold surfaces which
absorb moisture. By maintaining a good level of heating in the home
the surfaces will not absorb the moisture and therefore there will be
little on no condensation. Heating, coupled with good ventilation at
the source of the moisture will cure most cases of condensation
completely.

Invariably, in bad
cases of condensation the tenant is scrimping on heating and because
the house is so cold is reluctant to ventilate. I’ve even seen
cases where ventilation ducts and trickle vents are blocked to
prevent drafts because the house is so cold. This coupled with drying
clothes indoors and all the other sources of moisture generation
leads to a vicious circle of more cold, more moisture penetration and
more condensation.

Once this cycle is
started the fabric of the building absorbs the moisture and in
extreme cases timber, plaster and masonry are damaged permanently.
Also, once the spores are established the mould will quickly return
every time the right condition are present even when deep cleaning
has occurred.

How to reduce
damp and condensation in the home, what the landlord can do:

(1) Make sure the
building is free from external defects, rising and penetration damp.

(2) Make sure the
home is insulated to modern standards meeting the latest Energy
Efficiency Standard of E or above.

(3) Make sure the
heating system is up to standard and is reasonably efficient to run –
tenants will avoid using energy if it is costing them too much.

(4) Provide
extractor fans which are an effective way to get rid of moist air and
steam so that less condensation forms. Some very modern homes have
extractor fans which are automatic or run continuously, fitted in the
ceilings of kitchen, bath and shower rooms.

(5) Provide door
closers to keep moisture confined to where it is generated.

(6) In extreme cases
think about a fully forced ventilation system where an air pump in
the attic continually circulates the air.

(7) Provide written
information to educate tenants as to how they can minimise the
problem.

How to get rid of
black mould

If the home is
already affected by black mould after a long period of condensation
build-up, it needs to be properly cleaned with a spray containing
bleach. Wear a mask to prevent inhaling mould spores which are
dangerous to health. After the area is dry it should be sprayed with
an anti-fungal wash and allow that to dry again – follow the
manufacturer’s instructions.

You can also treat
the affected areas with mould-resistant paint, available from most
major hardware stores, but this should not be necessary if the
problem is properly cured.

Images of black and
unsightly mould in the corners of rooms are always the focus of TV
documentaries and reports on the housing conditions that tenants are
living in, and almost always the blame for this is put at the
landlord’s door. A proper understanding of condensation and mould
and its causes shows that very often it’s caused by the lifestyle
of the tenants, and its only they who can do something about it.

A typical
scenario goes like this:

“I have noticed
black patches on the wall paper, mould on my clothes in the wardrobe
and a damp musty smell throughout the house but particularly
upstairs. Landlord, what are you going to do about it, are you going
to compensate me for the damage to my clothes?

“I’ve asked a
damp specialist who tells me there’s definitely damp in here, so
it’s not just me saying this, can we get someone in to deal with
it?”

A few points to
consider if you are faced with this:

Condensation, damp
and mould is a very complex issue and it’s not always obvious what
the cause is and who should be held responsible, so you should avoid
jumping to conclusions as to whose fault it really is.

Also, it must be
born in mind that advisors on damp often have a vested interest in
finding a problem, which they can then be contracted to “cure”.

If it comes to legal
action and blame, enforcement has just as often been against the
tenant as it has against the landlord when with expert witnesses
cases have come to court.

Unless a specific
cause can be identified for the dampness such as leaking roof, walls,
gutters, drains, water pipes or rising damp, the black mould is more
often than not caused by condensation – air born water vapour.

Condensation in turn
is sometimes caused be inadequacies in the building construction,
such as poor ventilation, insulation and inadequate heating systems
and older properties are more susceptible because they generally
require more heating and suffer greater heat loss.

A full investigation
should be carried out and if necessary a temperature monitor can be
installed to check the average level of heating which should not fall
below 18 degrees minimum.

If the issue results
in a dispute it is useful if landlords have a record of the history
of the property; have previous occupants experienced the same
problem, or is this down to one tenancy?

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Dampness, Condensation and Mould | LandlordZONE.

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SHORT-LETS: Beware ‘guaranteed rent’ schemes, warn undercover blogger and evictions specialist

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Increasing numbers of landlords are being left out of pocket and facing the wrath of local authorities, building managers and lenders when short-let based guaranteed rent schemes go wrong.

An anonymous blogger has spilled the beans on
the growing but shadowy world of companies who persuade landlords to let them
sub-let properties to corporates and holiday makers in return for ‘guaranteed
rent’ schemes.

The blog, written by an un-named London
letting agent, warns landlords on two fronts.

Firstly, managing agents who look after large
blocks of leasehold apartments are wising up to the practice, which is often in
breach of the head lease, as are mortgage companies who often exclude
short-lets within their terms and conditions.

The anonymous blogger, who is believed to be the
boss of a London letting agency, says he recommends to his landlords that they
turn down these ‘corporate let’ offers because, all too often, the intermediate
companies disappear, leaving the landlord out of pocket.

“We recently took on and rented an apartment that had been let
to a short let company on a ‘guaranteed rent’,” they say.

“Unfortunately
the short let company was struggling and by the time we re-let the apartment, the
Landlord was owed several months of rent.”
Paul Shamplina of Landlord Action says this kind of activity has increased
ten-fold in recent years because, with rent rising dramatically, companies
operating in the ‘sub-letting with consent’ market – as it is also known – are
aware that there are huge profits to be made.
“There are some professional companies that do it
correctly, but mostly it’s the wild west,” says Shamplina.

“At Landlord Action we see it at
the other end, when the landlord is not being passed on the rent, or their
property is overcrowded and breaching so many regulations…but they are on the
hook for any action the authorities decide to bring. 

“It’s a multi-million pound business, that
will keep growing and will not be controlled, unless there is stiffer
regulation and much more resource needed for stiffer enforcement”.Read
the blog in full.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – SHORT-LETS: Beware ‘guaranteed rent’ schemes, warn undercover blogger and evictions specialist | LandlordZONE.

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Extra £112m funding for councils to help get people off the streets

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More rough sleepers are to be helped off the streets and into safe accommodation after an extra £112 million funding for councils, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick.

This funding is a 30% increase this year and will be used by local authorities

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