April 2016

The Independent has today claimed that renting an ‘average London flat’ is more expensive than living in most European hotels. A headline grabbing shock statistic ….. but is it actually true? When taking a closer look at the facts there are clear inconsistencies with the newspaper’s statistics. In the article it is claimed that latest […]

A landlord has been issued with a 10-year Criminal Behaviour Order, after a court found he had been causing harassment, alarm and distress to his tenants through the poor standards and management of his privately rented properties.

Radical action is needed to protect tenants from the grip of criminal landlords, as new data points to worryingly low levels of enforcement of rented housing regulations by local authorities.
According to Freedom of Information data, collected by the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), among the 255 councils that responded, just 827 prosecutions had been taken out against landlords over the last five years following notices to improve a property being issued.

Members of Parliament have approved measures that will give greater protection to landlords wanting to evict illegal immigrants.
Changes to the Immigration Bill proposed by the Government and approved yesterday will provide protection for landlords who take reasonable steps in an appropriate time frame to terminate tenancies of tenants in the country illegally.

The implementation of selective licensing has caused a massive headache for many landlords across the country, but few areas have had more migraines than London. This week’s case is a perfect example of how it can all go wrong for the landlord.

The popularity of short term rentals is increasing, and here at the RLA we are becoming more and more aware of tenants subletting their property on short term rental sites such as Airbnb.

Ryan Buckley is co-ordinating the RLA’s London Campaign ahead of the mayoral elections in the capital next month.
Last week was a busy period with Ryan attending meetings at both the Liberal Democrats’ and Labour Party’s headquarters, as well as exhibiting twice with members of the RLA’s Manchester team and attending the University of London’s Landlords Forum.
Here he shares his weekly diary – detailing the lobbying work going on the capital ahead of May 5th.

New legislation opening the door for the Government to force letting agents to protect clients’ cash has been backed in the House of Lords.
The Government agreed an amendment to the Housing Bill that gives the Secretary of State the power to introduce new regulations demanding letting agents join client money protection schemes.

The Government’s new Universal Credit payments could have a disastrous impact on the Private Rented Sector, with more and more landlords saying they will refuse to rent to tenants on benefits. Research carried out by the Residential Landlords Association showed that landlords are frustrated with the new system, which sees benefits paid directly to claimants, […]

The RLA understands the Government is planning to update its Right to Rent guidance following the roll out of the scheme across the country.
The controversial checks came into force in February this year for landlords in England and require them to check that all new tenants have a right to rent in the UK.