Trade group wants new government to improve slow court process

By Graham Norwood

The Residential Landlords’ Association is demanding that the new government improves the “slow, complex, and underfunded” system which means that it takes an average of 43 weeks for landlords to repossess properties after tenants stop paying rent.

The association says that it is unacceptable but not entirely surprising that faced with such a long wait some landlords seek to take the law into their own hands and force tenants out.

The RLA has made an improved court system one of its key demands of political parties in the build up to the June 8 General Election.

It says tenants, too, find the court system equally slow and hard to navigate. When faced with landlords who are not fulfilling their repairing obligations it is difficult for tenants to establish what their rights are, to obtain expert evidence to prove the disrepair, and to actually get the money that they are owed, or get an order to make a landlord put their property in repair.

As a result tenants are driven to under-funded and over-pressed local authorities who, the RLA claims, only respond to around half the complaints about property standards made to them.

The RLA says it wants a new, properly funded, housing specialist court modeled on the existing Residential Property Tribunal.

This would have its own experts within the tribunal, removing the need for parties to hire external experts. It would also, again like the current tribunal, visit properties itself in order to assess their condition, minimising the need for witness statements and arguments over the state of a property.


This specialist court could deal with cases on paper where appropriate and also direct parties to mediation to settle their disputes quickly where possible. It would be able to use its specialist knowledge of property and of the law to decide matters without the need for expensive lawyers and long arguments.

This would reduce costs for landlords and tenants, provide better access to justice, and reduce the cost of the process for the parties and for the government, the association claims.

“We know this model works. Scotland has been using a similar specialist tribunal successfully for some time for housing disrepair matters and has now expanded it to cover possession matters as well. Ireland also has a successful specialist housing disrepair tribunal” says a statement on the association’s website.

“We have invested a great deal into the existing Residential Property Tribunal structure but continually limit its operations to matters involving HMO licensing.

The RLA is calling for that tribunal to be able to do much more and to use its substantial expertise to benefit the PRS across a wider range of issues.”

https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/5/trade-group-wants-new-government-to-improve-court-process

Letting agents and landlords could be operating illegally after law change

By Conor Shilling

Agents and landlords with properties in Wales have been reminded they could be breaking the law if they're not signed up to the Rent Smart Wales scheme.

Enforcement powers for the licensing scheme - which was introduced in 2016 - are now active, meaning non-compliant agents and landlords could be prosecuted.

Those operating in the Welsh private rented sector are required to register with the Rent Smart Wales scheme. On top of this, self-managing landlords and agents are required to obtain a licence, complete a training course and pass a 'fit and proper' persons test.

Sanctions for non-compliance include prosecution, fixed penalty notices, rent repayment orders and the inability to serve a valid Section 21 eviction notice.

The licensing scheme has now added a searchable register to its website, and is encouraging tenants and the wider public to check whether landlords and agents are registered.


Registration can be completed online and a Rent Smart Wales licence and registration lasts for five years.

“I would urge any landlords or agents with properties in Wales and who have not yet registered or become licensed, to contact us immediately to avoid legal action," says Bethan Jones, operational manager of Rent Smart Wales.

"We are still keen to assist those who willingly want to comply."

She says that she is still of the firm belief that the licensing scheme will improve the PRS for agents, landlords and tenants.

The scheme has not been without its controversy and it was estimated in November that only around 65% of landlords and agents working in Wales had met the deadline for licence registrations.

https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/5/letting-agents-and-landlords-could-be-operating-illegally-after-law-change

Another council demands every HMO in its patch be licensed

By Graham Norwood

Greenwich council in London is the latest to announce an extension to its HMO licensing policy.

The council is already legally obliged to license the largest HMOs that provide accommodation over three storeys or more to at least five residents. Now a new policy created by the council means every HMO will be required to have a license from October 1.


The council claims this has come about because of concern "about poor standards in the private rented sector".

Since 2013 a team of officers has visited over 1,750 properties in total in the borough and carried out over 1,330 formal investigations into unsatisfactory conditions. More than 2,200 hazards to tenants' health or safety have been identified.

The council says an extensive public consultation was carried out and approximately 80 per cent of residents and tenants who responded were in favour of the changes to HMO licensing.

https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/5/another-council-demands-every-hmo-in-its-patch-be-licensed

Angry buy to let investors launch petition against council licensing

By Graham Norwood

Angry landlords in Shropshire have set up an online petition against local council proposals to introduce selective licensing.

The Wrekin Landlords Association says Telford and Wrekin council’s scheme to licence private landlords in seven locations - at £160 a time - will raise £1.2m for the authority but will ultimately be paid by tenants because rents will have to increase as a result.

“The council appears to be blaming private landlords for anti social behaviour and littering which is a nonsense. The council should concentrate on identifying the perpetrators who litter and carry out anti social behaviour and use the laws that are already here to deal with it” says Bernie Lewis, association spokesman, in an article in the Shropshire Star.


“Hard hit local private residential landlords have had enough. Many are planning to get out of the business. It has all become too much for many small landlords” he says.

Under the scheme, landlords and letting agents in Hadley, Leegomery, Malinslee, Hollinswood, Brookside, Sutton Hill and Woodside would be required to apply for a five year licence. Landlords face up to a £20,000 fine if they don’t comply.

The petition - which you can see here - claims the proposal is a form of discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

“The Equality act clearly states that it is illegal to discriminate against a person in their work place or when buying or renting property. The council has failed to prove the need for the license to every landlord therefore they are discriminating against those landlords who clearly do not need to be licensed. Many of the proposed items are already covered by law and therefore the licence is not needed” the petition claims.

https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/3/angry-buy-to-let-investors-launch-petition-against-council-licensing

Website claims thousands of London lets defy licensing rules

By Graham Norwood

An advice website claims that more than half of the privately rented properties in the selective licensing area imposed by a London council have not got the appropriate licence - four months after the scheme came into effect.

Research by London Property Licensing has found the problem in Tower Hamlets.

On October 1 last year the council introduced a selective licensing scheme in three wards in the west of the borough. The regime applies to all private rented homes within the boundaries whether they are houses or flats and are let to an individual, single family or are in multiple occupation. “There are very few exemptions” says the website.


The application fee is £520 to £660 per property and - in common with similar schemes across the country - until an application is submitted, the landlord and letting agent are committing an offence if they let a property in the selective licensing area, which covers an estimated 6,000 private rental units.

In response to a Freedom of Information request, Tower Hamlets council has told the website that by last month, only 2,100 applications had been received by the council of which 1,000 licences had already been approved.

“Based on the council’s own estimates, there could be around 3,900 private rented homes in the west of the borough where no selective licence application has yet been submitted – accounting for almost two thirds of all private rented homes in the area” says London Property Licensing.

The website says there are now 23 different property licensing schemes currently operating in London.

“The myriad of schemes operating across London is becoming a major headache for landlords and letting agents as they struggle to understand what rules apply where” says Richard Tacagni, London Property Licensing’s managing director.

https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/3/website-claims-thousands-of-london-lets-defy-licensing-rules

Victory for landlords as council scraps proposed licensing scheme

A landlord group has successfully halted the planned introduction of a selective licensing scheme proposed by its local council.

More than 80 buy-to-let landlords in Weston-super-Mare teamed up over the summer to raise more than £12,000 with a view to taking North Somerset Council to court in a bid to overturn a decision to introduce a licensing scheme across parts of the town.

The landlord group, called the Somerset Property Network, strongly opposed the planned new license which would have covered Central ward and part of Hillside, and cost £320 for a five-year license, and felt that a legal challenge was necessary to stop the initiative being introduced.

Now, North Somerset Council has said it will not be proceeding with the planned scheme, which would have meant that anyone failing to meet a minimum standard criteria potentially face prosecution. The council will now deliberate additional feedback provided by landlords ahead of a further review.

https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/8/victory-for-landlords-as-council-scraps-proposed-licensing-scheme