Councillor Apologises For 'Unacceptable' Error That Saw Thousands Overcharged Rent

 Darlington Borough Council overcharged 5,241 of its tenants a total of £220,000 in rent fees - averaging at around 81p per person per week over a ten-month period. This represents an average overcharge of around £40 per tenant, though some are thought to have been charged up to £80 extra. The majority of affected tenants were receiving housing benefit and universal credit which covered the erroneous increase, but 1,300 have been directly paying it. The overcharge occurred after a 2.70 per cent rent increase agreed by councillors in February 2020 was wrongly inputted into the system as a £2.70 increase. Read more on the Northern Echo website.

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/19153739.darlington-councillor-apologises-unacceptable-error-saw-thousands-overcharged-rent/

Stability Returning To Rents Across The UK

Newly released data from Goodlord has revealed a mixed picture across the UK during October. Some regions are enjoying lower void periods and stable rents, with others a little slower to stabilise. However, overall it seems to be a return to a more consistent period following a summer boom and a variable September. The UK average for void periods remained at 18 days during October, no change from the previous month. However, five out of the eight regions monitored by Goodlord saw void averages drop or remain steady. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/october-data-shows-stability-returning-to-rents-across-the-uk.html