October 2014

In the wake of the recent prosecution of a twelve-man gang jailed for 52 years over one of the UK’s largest cannabis factories that made £2m worth of drugs in Wakefield, landlords and agents need to be vigilant, as the number of cannabis factories soar in suburban rental accommodation…Protect your investments!

New 4G services are now launching, bringing mobile broadband across the UK. For some households and businesses, the new masts could disrupt Freeview, TV received through an aerial.

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Private Rented Sector (PRS) has launched a short inquiry into Sarah Teather MP’s Bill regarding supposed ‘retaliatory’ evictions in private rented housing. The RLA are the secretariat for the PRS APPG which is an informal group of Members of both Houses with a common interest in private rented accommodation.

Council is seeking to implement a Selective Licensing scheme for private landlords despite local residents telling the Council that a previous scheme was ineffective in dealing with nuisance and anti-social behaviour.

Landlords have responded positively to the HMRC ‘Let Property Campaign’ that encourages disclosure of past rental profits for tax purposes. In fact, the response has been so overwhelming, landlords could face a six month wait for disclosure forms to be accepted.

Statistics come as Shelter once again embark on a scare campaign. The proportion of private sector tenants leaving their homes at the direction of their landlord or letting agent has fallen over the past year.

Labour party housing review fails to support housing tenure that has provided almost 60% of all additional homes since 1986. Analysis by the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) of figures produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government has revealed that of the over five million dwellings were created between 1986 and 2012, and 57% of these have been private homes to rent.*

Liverpool City Council approved proposals for a city-wide Selective Licensing scheme during a Council Cabinet meeting on Friday 10th October. This decision follows several weeks of consultation and thousands of responses from local residents, tenants, landlords, letting agents, and other stakeholders. The scheme will require all privately rented properties to have a licence from 1st April 2015…

Report launched today highlights problem of council tax being charged on bedsits…

Taken from the September/October RPI magazine, some important information for letting agents and mandatory registration to one of three redress schemes. Currently, all estate agents who handle sales must belong to an ombudsman scheme, but letting agents do not. While a number do, this is on a voluntary basis. This anomaly is due to be put right, on October 1, all letting agents must be members of an authorised redress scheme. These will allow tenants and landlords to complain about their agents and seek redress…