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We had a great turn out for our General Meeting on Wednesday 24th April at the Future Inn, Plymouth.
Over 80 of our members came along to hear our 3 speakers present;
We also had Jeremy Wood from Excaliber Associates speaking about the importance of having comprehensive landlord insurance.
We’d like to thank all our speakers for their interesting and informative presentations and all our members and guests for coming along.
At present, the government is proposing a consultation on the abolition of Section 21 repossessions, in the private rented sector. Please be reassured, we will respond and keep you informed as and when updates are received.
The government will collaborate with and listen to tenants, landlords and others in the private rented sector to develop a new deal for renting.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-end-to-unfair-evictions
A new guide on how to complete inventories on tenant ‘check in’ and ‘check out’ has been designed to help landlords and agents avoid tenant disputes over fair deposit deductions.
The guide is produced by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).
Accurate inventories are vital for providing proof to support claims to deduct repair and replacement costs from tenant deposits.
From 01 June 2019, the Tenant Fees Act comes into force, from that date, the maximum refundable tenancy deposit that a landlord can request is up to 5 weeks worth of rent where the total annual rent is less that £50,000.00.
For further information see the recently published guidance;
Tenant Fees Act 2019 – comes into effect on 01 June 2019.
Included in the comprehensive guide;
The only payments you can charge in connection with a tenancy are:
a) the rent
b) a refundable tenancy deposit capped at no more than five weeks’ rent where the annual rent is less than £50,000, or six weeks’ rent where the total annual rent is £50,000 or above
c) a refundable holding deposit (to reserve a property) capped at no more than one week’s rent
d) payments to change the tenancy when requested by the tenant, capped at £50, or reasonable costs incurred if higher
e) payments associated with early termination of the tenancy, when requested by the tenant
f) payments in respect of utilities, communication services, TV licence and council tax; and
g) A default fee for late payment of rent and replacement of a lost key/security device, where required under a tenancy agreement
More information can be found on the gov.uk website;
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tenant-fees-act-2019-guidance
On Tuesday 2nd April 2019, Iain Maitland (Vice Chair), Gillian (Office Manager) and Anna (Senior Administrator) attended the Landlord Expo event in Bristol organised by the 4 West of England Local Authorities. The theme of the event was ‘The Key to Staying Ahead’ and was open for all landlords in the private rented sector. There were seminars throughout the day, 60 exhibitor stands and was well attended by landlords.
The next Expo that SWLA will attend is the Teignbridge Landlord Open evening on Thursday 23rd May from 4.30pm – 8.30pm at Old Forde House in Newton Abbot. All private landlords are welcome to attend.
