June 2015

On 9th June Redbridge Councillors approved proposals for a Selective Licensing scheme of privately rented properties. However, new rules require the Council to present the scheme to the Secretary of State for DCLG, the Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, for approval. Mr Clark could prevent the scheme from going live. It will be interesting to see the result, as this is the first case these new rules will deal with…

Recent numbers show that Police are discovering record number of cannabis farms, which are often housed in privately rented properties. The RLA’s Landlord Advice Team (LAT) has some advice for landlords to ensure their properties remain intact and their relationship with police is not strained. Insurance companies can abandon landlords, and difficulty with the police […]

RLA trainer, and Housing Benefits expert, Bill Irvine recently represented an RLA member (Letting Agency) and enabled them to rebuff a housing benefits overpayment and council tax liability demand, relating to an ex-tenant who was found to have been claiming benefits fraudulently while residing at another address. The agent’s property had coincidentally been turned into a cannabis farm. When all of this was discovered, a year after the situation occurred, the council pursued the landlord on the basis it should have known what was happening…

Landlords are calling for urgent discussions with Ministers following a ruling by the European Court of Justice that will make it more expensive to insulate private rented housing. On Thursday the Court ruled that the lower 5 per cent rate of VAT charged on energy efficiency products breached EU law and could only be applied where such products are used for social housing. All other housing tenures, including private rented housing, will be required to pay the upper 20 per cent VAT rate.

The Residential Landlords Association has written to Camden Council urging reconsideration of a borough-wide additional licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). The Council’s Cabinet delegated responsibility for determining the scheme to its lead member for housing, meaning just one councillor, Patricia Callaghan, has the final say on whether thousands of homes will require a licence to be legally let.

Some Local Councils behave as if they are able to dictate minimum room sizes. The RLA has published updated guides from the Landlord Advice Team (LAT) and RLA Policy Director, Richard Jones, showing this is not the case. However, this does not mean any space can be used as a room!..

RLA trainer, and Housing Benefits/Universal Credit expert, Bill Irvine has written the following article for RLA members to be aware of potential changes to benefits under the newly formed Government after May’s General Election. With a slim majority, nothing is guaranteed…

The RLA has recently received information from a new report ‘What Students Seek’ which surveyed students around the country to gauge what is most important when considering a property to rent. Despite three quarters of students surveyed being satisfied with their shared accommodation it is important for landlords and agents to be aware of changing priorities…

The RLA has received queries from landlords in the West Midlands, asking what will happen to immigration ‘right-to-rent’ checks now that six-month evaluation period has ended…