Letting Agents Call For Dedicated Housing Court

Letting agents have called on the government to create a dedicated Housing Court system within England and Wales to prevent a ‘catastrophic’ situation when ‘no fault’ Section 21 notice evictions are abolished. Agent trade body Propertymark has used the Law Commission’s latest reform proposal programme to call for a new system of dedicated courts, which would replace the current County Court system. It says the current system is in need of urgent reform because, even before Covid struck, the time taken from claim to repossession was getting longer and longer – reaching on average 21 weeks. Read more on the Negotiator website.

https://thenegotiator.co.uk/letting-agents-call-for-dedicated-housing-court-to-avoid-evictions-catastrophe/ 

One In Four Concerned About Paying The Rent

 There has been a rise in the number of letting agents reporting rental arrears with huge swathes of tenants admitting that they are anxious about meeting their rental obligations following the pandemic. The data found that large numbers are considering moving to a new property as working from home becomes the norm and financial situations shift. A quarter of the 2,750 tenants expressed concerns about paying the rent, with 12.5% saying that they had either missed rental payments due to COVID-19 or had to make alternative arrangements in order to pay their rent. An additional 12% said they were concerned about their ability to pay their rent going forward. Read more on the Property Reporter website. 

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/one-in-four-concerned-about-paying-the-rent.html

Housing Market Reopens

Landlords can now hold viewings and allow tenants to move in and out of rental homes – provided they follow social distancing measures. The changes to the rules -­ amendments to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) regulations in England – means estate and letting agents’ offices can open; viewings are permitted; show homes can open; removal companies and the other parts of the sales and letting process are re-started with immediate effect. Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said more than 450,000 buyers and renters have been unable to progress their plans to move since March. Read more on the RLA website.

https://news.rla.org.uk/housing-market-to-reopen/

Some Letting Agencies Are Wrongly Charging Tenants Fees

Some letting agents appear to be breaching the Tenant Fees Act introduced in June 2019 by charging fees. A couple were charged a £170 checkout fee when vacating their property, despite having renewed the contract after the ban took place. After they pointed out that this was in breach of the act, the agent tried to charge the money as an ‘invoice’, claimed the law doesn’t apply to renewed contracts, and even tried to illegally take it out of the deposit. The agent in question dropped the demand after being reported to the Trading Standards Agency. The agent then blamed the Association of Residential Letting Agents for giving misadvice. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/some-letting-agencies-are-wrongly-charging-tenants-fees

Courts Are Failing Landlords And Tenants

Seventy nine per cent of private landlords with experience of using the courts to repossess properties are dissatisfied with the way they work. According to one of the largest ever surveys of landlords and letting agents, 91 per cent of landlords would support the establishment of a dedicated housing court. In a letter to the new Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland MP, the RLA, which conducted the research, has warned that with Ministers pledged to scrap Section 21 ‘no explanation’ repossessions, the courts are simply unable to cope with the increased pressures they will face. Read more on the RLA website.

https://news.rla.org.uk/courts-are-failing-landlords-and-tenants/

Housing Recommended For Another New Regulatory Body

Housing could have another regulatory body, if proposals in a newly released report to professionalise the way property agencies do business for the government get the go-ahead. The report on regulation of property agents calls for estate agents, letting agents and managing agents to hold “compulsory” formal qualifications and abide by a code of practice policed by a watchdog they pay for. Currently, anyone can operate as a property agent regardless of qualifications or whether they are a member of an official body. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/housing-recommended-for-another-new-regulatory-body/

Letting Fees Ban: Agents Urge Landlords To Increase Rents

The government has banned agencies from ripping off tenants – but there is evidence that rents are rising to offset the losses. Just two weeks after the ban came into force, a north London lettings agent has started telling its landlords to raise all future rents by £20 a month to offset the new costs they face. And it is unlikely to be alone in proposing such a measure. The move, which was this week branded by one landlord as “not in the spirit of the law”, had been predicted by some commentators, though few thought it would happen this quickly. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/jun/15/letting-fees-ban-agents-urge-landlords-to-increase-rents

Tenant Fees Bill Passes Final Commons Hurdle

The  Tenant Fees Bill is headed for Royal Assent having passed its final hurdle in the House of Commons. And Royal assent is expected within weeks to have the Bill passed into law and implanted by June. The Bill went back to the Commons after its passage through the Lords last week. There is currently no cap on the level of fees that letting agents can charge in England, although since 27 May 2015 agents have been required to display a tariff of fees. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/tenant-fees-bill-passes-final-commons-hurdle/

Renters Ready To ‘Stand Together’ Against Exploitative Landlords

London Labour housing leads have demanded government ends to letting fees and “extortionate” deposits for private renters ahead of the Tenant Fees Bill. Their letter is backed by a warning of renters across the capital ready to ‘stand together’ against exploitative landlords and letting agents. The leads from 19 London Boroughs echo Sadiq Khan’s calls calls for the Government to strengthen the Bill and protect the capital’s 2.4m private renters. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/london-renters-ready-to-stand-together-against-exploitative-landlords/

London ALMO Launches Letting Agent

The Barnet Group has set up the agent as a subsidiary, called Bumblebee. It will operate online only, with all profits set to be reinvested in the group’s other services. According to Bumblebee’s website, tenants will not be charged any fees apart from a £350 holding fee, which will then be offset against an advance payment of one month’s rent, plus a deposit. The Barnet Group is made up of Barnet Homes, which manages the council’s housing stock; Opendoor Homes, its housing association; recruiting arm, TGB Flex; and social care provider, Your Choice Barnet. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:fM95KN_byjgJ:https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/london-almo-launches-letting-agent-56413+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&safe=vss

Landlords Who Say 'No DSS' Breaking Equality Laws

The thousands of lettings agents and landlords around the country who reject housing benefit claimants could be flouting equality laws, due to a recent legal case. The widespread practice has led to "no-go zones" for those on lower incomes - especially in desirable residential areas. But a single mother won compensation for sex discrimination from a lettings agency that refused to consider her as a tenant because she was on state benefit. The woman successfully argued that blanket bans on benefit claimants indirectly discriminated against women, especially single women. This is because they are proportionately more likely to be claiming housing benefit than single men, according to official figures. Read more on the BBC website.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-42979242

‘Renters In For A Rough Ride’ In 2018

Rising rents and an increasing number of households renting meant that 2017 was a record year for rent, with the total rent bill rising to £1.8 billion, according to the latest figures from Countrywide. Meanwhile, ARLA Propertymark’s latest survey of its letting agents reveals that almost one in five (19%) tenants saw rents go up in January 2018 – as compared to 16% in December. The number of properties its letting agents managed dropped by 8% in January, with 185 properties per branch, compared with 200 in December 2017. Read more on the Moneywise website.

https://www.moneywise.co.uk/news/2018-02-23/renters-rough-ride-2018

Over Half Of Buyers, Sellers And Renters Have Issues With ‘Rogue’ Agents

New research from Propertymark today reveals that a worrying number of buyers, sellers and renters assume all estate agents, letting agents and landlords are regulated. Propertymark sampled those who have bought, sold or rented a property in the last five years about their experiences with letting agents, estate agents and landlords – to find more than half (54%) have faced issues. However, the research found that 37% of buyers and sellers, and 42% of renters didn’t consider whether their agent was part of a professional body before progressing with their transaction. Read more on 24housing.

http://www.24housing.co.uk/news/over-half-of-buyers-sellers-and-renters-have-issues-with-rogue-agents/

Letting Agent Fee Ban Bill Published

The draft bill creates a blanket ban on all fees charged by a landlord or agent for the grant, renewal, or continuation of an assured shorthold tenancy or a licence. Any tenancy that falls outside the Housing Act 1988 regime will not be covered. The draft bill also does not mention lease assignments. This means that ASTs and licences cannot have fees charged in respect of them but other tenancies such as company let agreements and the like can. There appears to be no particularly good reason for ignoring other types of tenancy although that has been the case before and the reality is probably that the government only had a weak understanding of such tenancies.  Read more on the RLA website.

Landlords And Tenants Split On New Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Both landlords and tenants are split on the effectiveness of new insurance-based tenancy deposit schemes. Research conducted by letting agent Upad.co.uk revealed concerns from both landlords and tenants regarding various aspects of these schemes. Specifically, landlords were concerned that the insurance would not cover them fully for repairing any damage at the end of the tenancy. Some tenants felt that despite sometimes having to borrow money to pay their deposit, at least in the majority of cases they would get their deposit back, whereas paying for the replacement insurance would see them making payments they’d never get returned. Read more on 24housing.

ALMO’s Letting Agency Being Investigated By Its Own Council

A lettings and estate agency owned by a London ALMO is being investigated by its own council’s trading standards department. CityWest Residential is a subsidiary of CityWest Homes, which manages 21,000 units on behalf of Westminster City Council. The authority confirmed it was taking action against the company for breaches of the Consumer Rights Act, but said it could not comment further. CityWest Homes was the first ALMO to launch a lettings agency in 2009. CityWest Residential now handles lettings and sales for private landlords across the borough, including those previously owned by the council. A proportion of the agency’s profits are channelled back into Westminster City Council to help pay for more affordable housing. Read more on Inside Housing.

Scammers ‘Making Millions’ Off Desperate Renters

With more and more tenants seeking out private landlords online and cutting out the traditional letting agent, scammers and bogus landlords have been making millions by targeting desperate renters. These scammers pose as landlords and post fake adverts on classified ad sites and other free-to-list platforms, then attempt to convince potential tenants to transfer a holding deposit or up-front fee – (often over £1,000) to secure the property without ever having seen it in person. New YouGov research from TheHouseShop.com shows that consumers are becoming more aware of the dangers and are now demanding better security checks on the platforms they use to search for property online. Read more on 24housing.

Sudden Spike In The Use Of Letting Agents

The proportion of landlords who use a letting agent to help manage their property has spiked since the end of last year, a survey of property investors shows. Six in 10 (61%) landlords say they currently use a letting agent to manage their properties, a rise of 7% on Q4 2016. This sudden rise represents a break from the norm, as the proportion of landlords who use an agent has remained relatively consistent over the last few years, having only risen from 53% to 54% between 2014 and 2016. Research also reveals the proportion of landlords who self-manage fell from 46% to 39%. Read more on 24housing.

Letting Agents ‘Routinely’ Flouting Fee Rules

Rules for letting agents are being routinely flouted with newly released research revealing rogue agents enjoy a very low risk of facing any penalties from councils. An investigation examined enforcement work done by the capital’s councils since new rules on displaying letting fees and membership of deposit and redress schemes were introduced in May 2015. The results show that less than one third of complaints made were acted upon. Despite 1,351 complaints made to councils about letting agents, only 444 visits were made by trading standards officers, just 462 warning letters were sent and only 52 final notices were issued. Read more on 24housing.

Most Landlords Will Keep Their Letting Agents Despite Ban On Tenant Fees

The majority of landlords using a letting agent won’t be put off if they see their own costs rise following a ban on tenant fees, a survey claims. According to the survey by the UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA), 71% of landlords would continue to use a letting agent even if their premiums rise. What’s more, the research  shows that eight in ten landlords (79%) think their letting agent will increase their fees as a result of the proposal to ban charges to tenants, as announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement last year. However, just 9% of landlords say they will part ways with their agent if their premiums rise. Read more on Housing Excellence.