£17,000: Council issues highest ever penalty against non-compliant landlord

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A landlord in Mansfield has been ordered to pay a £17,000 penalty after renting out a sub-standard and unlicensed HMO.

The landlord, who was investigated by Mansfield District Council officers after a complaint about alleged overcrowding, was found not to have a licence for their six-bedroom property. 

The Nottinghamshire authority decided to pursue a civil penalty rather than a criminal prosecution in order to use the cash to help support its private sector housing team. The landlord can’t be identified as an agreed condition of them accepting the penalty.

This was the third civil penalty issued by the council against private landlords in the past three years. The others resulted in penalties of £4,787 and £12,900.

Vigilant

Councillor Anne Callaghan (main picture), portfolio holder for housing, says the case shows why the authority needs to be vigilant about standards in the private rental sector – especially when the need for housing is so high.

She adds that the cost of obtaining a five-year HMO licence – £724 – is a good deal less than any penalty they might have to pay for trying to circumvent the law. 

“A strong market for rented accommodation can lead to landlords cutting corners on standards and fulfilling their legal obligations,” says Callaghan.

“I hope this case sends a message out to other private landlords in this district that if we find them acting unlawfully, we will not hesitate to take action against them.”

Read more about landlord fines.

View Full Article: £17,000: Council issues highest ever penalty against non-compliant landlord

NEW: It’s time to phase out traditional gas boilers says lobby group

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The Heat Pump Association (HPA) wants the government to firm up a date for phasing out traditional gas boilers as UK heat pump installations continue to trail the rest of Europe.

The government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy states that it wants to phase out new natural gas boilers after 2035. However, an independent review earlier this year pressed for the date to be brought forward to 2033.

HPA chief executive Charlotte Lee (main picture) says while heat pump sales have grown year-on-year in the UK, total sales when compared with the rest of Europe are low.

“We believe the UK government’s projected deployment target of 600,000 heat pumps installations per year by 2028 remains achievable provided it moves swiftly and decisively to introduce the Future Homes Standard, provides early clarity of a date for the full phase out of 100% fossil fuel boilers, and takes steps to reduce the price of electricity,” she says.

Take-up

Lee adds that greater take-up of heat pumps in the rest of Europe is proving to mitigate emissions and grow economies. “We believe the UK can afford to be equally ambitious provided the government takes swift and decisive action to support the market.”

The latest European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) report shows a direct link between a fall in the ratio of gas to electricity prices and an increase in heat pump sales. In 2022, the ratio of electricity to gas prices in the Netherlands fell significantly, resulting in the heat pump market almost doubling.

“Our members are clear that the price of electricity relative to gas is a critical factor, and we support the EHPA’s view that electricity prices should be no more than twice those of gas,” says Lee.

View Full Article: NEW: It’s time to phase out traditional gas boilers says lobby group

LATEST: Huge spike in number of young landlords entering buy-to-let market

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The Renters Reform Bill won’t lead to a mass landlord exodus as an army of youngsters are already starting to take older investors’ place.

The Property Sourcing Company’s poll of its 3,000-strong investors and landlords community bfound that while there had been a 74% drop in the number of older, more established buy-to-let landlords during the past year, it was more than compensated by a 181% increase in younger buyers.

The firm also found that the number of professional builders and investors who owned BTL properties remained steady at 27% between June 2022 and June 2023.

It believes that while the end of Section 21 notices has spooked many in the PRS, the Bill will address some of the stress that tenants and landlords feel when dealing with each other.

Huge spike

CEO Jonathan Christie dsays there’s been a huge spike in buy-to-let landlords looking to sell their tenanted properties because of fears they will not be able to evict troublesome tenants.

“However, this is not the case; in fact, the Renters Reform Bill looks to bolster landlord confidence by introducing a structured framework around the eviction process and even introduce new eviction grounds for if a tenant is persistently unable to meet their rent,” he explains.

Landlords will still be able to evict using Section 8 grounds for anti-social behaviour, rent arrears, selling the property or moving into their property. Although there are fears more court work required around Section 8s could end up making evictions take longer and become more expensive, Christie tells LandlordZONE he doesn’t believe this would make much difference to new landlords who had not experienced using Section 21s.

“If Section 8 is set to be law under the Renters Reform Bill, then this is what they will learn and abide by,” he adds.

View Full Article: LATEST: Huge spike in number of young landlords entering buy-to-let market

House prices fall 3.5% and rising interest rates will hit buyer confidence

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House prices in June saw a modest rise of just 0.1% – but year-on-year prices are down 3.5%, Nationwide says.

The current average home price stands at £262,239.

First-time buyers are struggling as they need to put down 55% of their gross annual income as a deposit –

View Full Article: House prices fall 3.5% and rising interest rates will hit buyer confidence

Labour U-turns on tenant protections in just 24 hours

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The potential rise in evictions means the government must immediately introduce the Labour Party’s Private Renters’ Charter to help protect tenants.

Labour’s call follows Shadow housing secretary, Lisa Nandy, announcing that Labour would not introduce a rent freeze –

View Full Article: Labour U-turns on tenant protections in just 24 hours