Unusual council deal agreed to help tenants claim cash off landlords

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York Council has teamed up with Justice for Tenants (JFT) to help more residents claim rent repayment orders from errant landlords in what is claimed to be a ‘ground-breaking partnership’.

Councillors agreed the deal with the campaign group, which represents tenants during tribunals and takes a cut of the financial award if they’re successful.

JFT claims to be involved with more than half of rent repayment cases in England and already has service level agreements with many other local authorities, through sharing intelligence to support enforcement activities.

Costly

York Council’s health and sustainable homes manager, Anthony Dean, told a housing executive decision meeting that JFT provided tenants with the ability to make an application which was often time-consuming and costly.

“From the local authority’s perspective, it will assist us in terms of identifying properties that are problematic and try to encourage local residents who live in poor quality accommodation…to make a complaint because they’ll have the financial recompense should they be successful in the application,” he said.

Tenants who complain will be directed to the group.

Executive member for housing, councillor Michael Pavlovic (pictured), explained it would replace the council’s less efficient method of checking landlords.

“As a ward councillor with a lot of HMOs in my ward, one of the things that we rely on, frankly, are residents to be our eyes and ears effectively,” he said. Pavlovic added that he wanted to see the authority and JFT working together to make sure that tenants knew the partnership exists.

“It’s great having it as a system but if nobody knows it’s there, they can’t have recourse to it. And if we are trying to encourage landlords who are not aware they have to licence – there may still be some – this might be a prompt for them to register.”

Read more about rent repayment orders.

View Full Article: Unusual council deal agreed to help tenants claim cash off landlords

The Telegraph wants to speak to landlords about EPC targets and Scotland

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The Telegraph is looking to speak to landlords for two feature stories.

The first one is following the news that EPC C targets have been scrapped, The Telegraph is looking to speak to landlords who were considering selling up or reducing their portfolios because of the cost of the targets – but are now thinking of putting off any drastic decisions.

View Full Article: The Telegraph wants to speak to landlords about EPC targets and Scotland

Interest rates remain unchanged at 5.25% – ending 14 months of rises

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The Bank of England (BoE) has hit the brakes on base rate rises with news that the current rate of 5.25% will remain unchanged.

The decision brings to an end 14 months of base rate rises and follows an unexpected slowdown in price rises last month when inflation fell to 6.7%.

View Full Article: Interest rates remain unchanged at 5.25% – ending 14 months of rises

Big council to regulate more HMOs despite landlord criticism of inspection regime

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Haringey Council has given the green light to an additional HMO licencing scheme consultation.

The authority reports that nearly half of the borough’s population live in a private rented home, and that a quarter of these homes are in poor condition.

It believes this additional scheme – which replaces the existing scheme that comes to an end next May – will give it the tools needed to improve the condition of its PRS homes.

However, Haringey was recently criticised following an NRLA investigation into its additional scheme.

It said the council’s own data revealed that, “Haringey is inspecting properties but finding significantly fewer category 1 (i.e. serious) hazards than you would expect if the properties were substandard, which the council used as justification for introducing the designation.”

Keen enforcer

Despite this, the authority is a keen enforcer of its schemes – including a selective scheme which took effect last November – and revealed that landlords with properties within its boundaries had been issued with fines totalling £207,500 for not licencing HMOs in the past four years, including 43 fines with a further 16 warnings that were resolved before becoming a Civil Penalty Notice.

Councillor Sarah Williams (pictured), cabinet member for housing services, private renters and planning, says the council is committed to ensuring that Haringey residents have access to a safe, sustainable, and affordable home.

She adds: “The new additional HMO scheme will provide a clear regulatory framework to support the many good landlords in Haringey, while giving the council powers to act against rouge landlords.”

Read more about Haringey.

View Full Article: Big council to regulate more HMOs despite landlord criticism of inspection regime

Right to rent checks?

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Hello, could anyone from Property118 please help? As fines are going to increase from early 2024 does anyone know how we can ask the home office to check whether a passport document is genuine?

There are some excellent forgeries out there so how are we supposed to differentiate if unsure?

View Full Article: Right to rent checks?

Property sector reacts to Prime Minister’s announcement on watering down green targets

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The Prime Minister has confirmed plans to water down the phasing out of gas boilers.

The delay will mean landlords do not need to install all new gas boilers in new builds and existing properties in England by 2035.

View Full Article: Property sector reacts to Prime Minister’s announcement on watering down green targets

Free guide published for landlords and tenants on tenancy disputes

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A new comprehensive guide to dispute resolution for landlords and tenants has been published.

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) and the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) have teamed to provide a guide on how to navigate potential conflicts that may arise during a tenancy without the need for legal action.

View Full Article: Free guide published for landlords and tenants on tenancy disputes

Brum council: ‘We’re bankrupt but still enforcing new selective licencing scheme’

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Birmingham Council has confirmed to LandlordZONE that its selective licensing scheme will continue to be enforced despite its dire financial situation.

The authority issued a section 114 notice earlier this month, effectively declaring bankruptcy, mainly due to a bill to settle equal pay claims which is expected to be about £760m.

However, it insists it has a statutory duty to administer both the selective and additional licensing schemes which were approved by the DLUHC.

A spokesman tells LandlordZONE: “The fees received are ring-fenced for use by the schemes and cannot be used elsewhere in the council. The service has received approval from the Section 151 officer to continue delivering the service as planned.”

Disappointed

Many landlords with properties in the city will no doubt be disappointed that compliance activities are scheduled to continue.

LandlordZONE reported earlier this month that thousands faced being hit with a big fine as only a small percentage had applied before the 1^st September deadline.

The selective scheme covers up to 50,000 properties across 25 wards – the largest in the UK – but the council now reports that it has received more than 18,400 applications and issued nearly 4,000 draft or final licences. If they have not completed an application, landlords could face a fine of between £5,000 to £15,000.

The spokesman adds: “Landlords can get more information by visiting www.Birmingham.gov.uk/prpl or by emailing pl@birmingham.gov.uk for advice.”

It’s expected that the council will soon announce council tax rises, job losses, service cuts and asset sales as part of a recovery plan, following the government’s decision to intervene in the running of the authority.

View Full Article: Brum council: ‘We’re bankrupt but still enforcing new selective licencing scheme’