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The Prime Minister announced that the proposed plans, which would require landlords to upgrade private rented properties to EPC band C by 2025 or 2028, would be scrapped. The sector was awaiting confirmation following a consultation under Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) Regulations about when properties would be required to meet EPC band C for all new and existing tenancies.
This move leaves landlords with no long-term clarity around what is expected of them and by when energy efficiency upgrades would now be required. It is important to realise that the current standard is for rental properties to be E or above- this still remains in place. It was unclear in the speech whether the ambition on non-domestic building is also being delayed.
Read more here; https://www.financialreporter.co.uk/sunak-scraps-epc-regulations-industry-reacts.html
It’s been a while since we last met with Alison, so we had lots of catching up to do. Items on the agenda included the lack of housing both in the Private Rented Sector and Student Sector, unrealistically low Local Housing Allowance rates, the high number of possession cases and landlords exiting the market (due to tax changes, mortgage rate changes and legislation changes).
We invited Alison to our next face to face Landlord Accreditation course which will be held in Plymouth in February.
A message from Plymouth City Council –
We are fast approaching the anniversary for HMO Licensing Legislation changes that took place in October 2018. As you will be aware, those changes introduced Licensing across a wider spectrum of property type and five years have now passed. Most of the properties where a Licence was issued following this change are due for renewal on the 30th September 2023 (some in October and November). If you are unsure please check your licenses. To assist in this and in preparation, Plymouth City Council have been issuing early renewal reminders – hopefully some of you may have received these already. If your Licence is due for renewal please visit our website by following this link to renew:
https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/apply-house-multiple-occupation-licence
The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is a tool used to assess hazards in residential premises.
The HHSRS is risk-based and covers a range of 29 potential hazards, which are set out in Schedule 1 of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (England) Regulations 2005. The HHSRS operates by evaluating the potential risk of harm to an actual or potential occupier from their living environment and is a means of rating the seriousness of any hazard identified. An HHSRS assessment does this by categorising a hazard by seriousness, generating a numerical score that falls into 1 of 10 hazard bands, with band J being the safest and band A being the most dangerous.
The HHSRS itself does not set a minimum standard, so the categorisation of hazards was introduced in order to do so. Hazards scored at bands A to C are ‘category 1’, bands D to J are ‘category 2’.
If a local council carries out an HHSRS assessment and identifies a category 1 hazard they must take enforcement action under the Housing Act 2004. The form this enforcement action should take is set out in section 6 of the Act.
The HHSRS also forms part of the Decent Homes Standard, 1 of the 4 consumer standards that registered providers of social housing must comply with. Criterion A of the Decent Homes Standard says that to be decent, a dwelling should be free from category 1 hazards.
A reviewed HHSRS that is accessible to landlords and tenants and efficient for local councils to use forms a vital part of our reforms to both the social and private rented sectors.
In our white paper, The charter for social housing residents, we committed to review the Decent Homes Standard and consider whether it needs to be updated to ensure it is delivering what is needed for safety and decency now. The first part of the Decent Homes Standard review concluded in autumn 2021. In March 2022, we brought together representatives from across both rented sectors to discuss what might be included in a revised Decent Homes Standard that applies to both sectors.
On 16 June 2022 we published our white paper, A fairer private rented sector, which sets out our plan to fundamentally reform the sector and level up housing quality in this country, delivering a private rented sector that is fit for the 21st century for 4.4 million households who call it their home. Our consultation on introducing a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector closed on 14 October 2022 and we are considering the responses.
The second part of the Decent Homes Standard review will now consider how best to deliver on our ambition on reducing non-decent homes for both social and private rented sectors.
The HHSRS was introduced in April 2006 by the Housing Act 2004 and has remained unchanged since then. In October 2018 the government launched a scoping review to consider whether the HHSRS should be updated and, if so, to what extent. The scoping review involved a wide-ranging consultation exercise in 2019.
This exercise concluded that, while there was considerable support for the strong links between health and housing that the HHSRS provides, all stakeholders would welcome a simplification of the assessment process. Local council officers found the system complicated to apply and full assessments were resource intensive. Housing providers and tenants found it difficult to understand the outcomes of assessments and felt that there was a discrepancy between the assessment process and other housing-based regulatory regimes that applied to housing provision. There was also majority support for an approach that sets out standards that could be met in most cases, supplementing the risk assessment aspect of the HHSRS.
Following this exercise government initiated a review of the operation of the HHSRS with the aim to bring it up to date, empower landlords and tenants to engage with the system, ensure alignment with other legislative standards and systems, including the Building Safety Act, and help with the effective enforcement of housing standards. To address the support for a standards-based approach, the review also defined what have been described as ‘indicative baselines’ used to make an initial assessment of whether a property contains serious hazards, and also investigated barriers to the use of digital technology to support assessments.
External researchers RH Environmental (RHE) were contracted to undertake the 2-year review, which concluded in 2022. RHE sourced the expertise to explore, assist and challenge their findings, and worked with academics from Cardiff Metropolitan University, Middlesex University and the University of Bristol.
Legislation and guidance that govern the enforcement of standards were outside the scope of the HHSRS review.
New regulations will be necessary to bring the revisions to the HHSRS into force.
Extensive stakeholder engagement was critical to the success of this review and was undertaken in the initial stages of the project along with in-depth literature reviews for each of the project outputs and workstreams. A multi-method approach to engagement, using a combination of regional online focus groups, one-to-one interviews and online surveys, was undertaken. Over 1,000 stakeholders with specialist experience and relevance to the HHSRS and housing sector contributed to the consultation.
To make it easier for landlords and tenants to understand the system, our suppliers produced a checklist that can be used to make an initial assessment (eg ‘stairs must be safe, secure, in sound condition, free of defects and projections, well maintained’).
Indicative baselines are incorporated into the revised HHSRS operating guidance (see above). These do not replace the whole risk assessment but are easier to understand. Where these baselines are met it is likely a property will be free from category 1 hazards.
The statutory HHSRS operating and enforcement guidance (section 9 of the Housing Act 2004) has been revised ensuring the guidance facilitates local councils’ effective use of the system, is more accessible to non-experts, and incorporates new thinking on assessments of high-rise residential buildings with cladding systems.
The proposed structure of the reviewed guidance consists of a suite of 3 ‘Housing Health and Safety Inspection and Assessment Manuals’:
New guidance has also been developed specifically for tenants, providing a simple overview of the way that local councils check the safety of homes using the HHSRS. This will explain how homes are checked and what happens if problems are found. This will empower tenants to understand what they should expect and better hold their landlords to account.
A comprehensive set of new case studies has been produced, encompassing the range of hazards, illustrating the utilisation of standards and incorporating a spectrum of high, medium and low risk scenarios. These will be available in digital format and, to continually refine the consistency of assessments, local councils will be able to regularly add to the case studies.
To make the assessment process more efficient for local authorities and more accessible to landlords and tenants, our suppliers produced a simpler means of banding the results of HHSRS assessments.
Our suppliers also recommended removing scoring ranges for each representative scale point to simplify the assessment process and found that colour coding and the use of descriptor terms aided both in assessment and comprehension of the scoring report by non-experts. Conclusions therefore include replacing the way the severity of a hazard is described (currently ‘Class I-IV’) with descriptor terms from ‘extreme’ to ‘moderate,’ and the use of colour coding to help convey the message around the seriousness of the hazard score, often termed a ‘traffic-light approach.’
Instructions on the final version of this simpler system have been written into the revised HHSRS operating guidance (see above).
Our suppliers have made recommendations for:
Our suppliers also carried out analysis of digital assessment, setting out how this should be interlinked with existing databases.
We will consider these recommendations in our ongoing work to support the rented sectors as part of our reform programme.
Our suppliers have recommended amalgamating and reducing the number of hazards assessed overall from 29 to 21:
To be suitable for amalgamation, hazards had to meet the reasoned criteria set out below, namely:
The revised list of hazards has been incorporated in the revised HHSRS operating guidance (see above).
To make sure the risk of fire in tall buildings can be assessed effectively (following the Grenfell tragedy), our suppliers carried out extra work on the Fire hazard and have recommended amalgamating it with ‘Explosions in Dwellings’. The ‘relevant matters affecting likelihood and harm outcome’, as listed in the operating guidance, were updated with specific minimum standards which were then field tested and found to mitigate 90% of significant fire hazards.
New regulations (an ‘affirmative Statutory Instrument’) are required to bring the conclusions of the HHSRS review into force. These will replace the existing regulations, which prescribe descriptions of hazards, the method for assessing their seriousness and the manner and extent of inspections of residential premises.
These regulations will be introduced after the conclusion of the Decent Homes Standard review.
Article from gov.uk Summary report: outcomes and next steps for the review of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
We are proud to be supporting Gas Safety Week 2023, taking place 11 – 17 September.
Gas Safety Week is an annual safety week to raise awareness of gas safety and the importance of taking care of your gas appliances. It is coordinated by Gas Safe Register, the official list of gas engineers who are legally allowed to work on gas.
Badly fitted and poorly serviced gas appliances can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions, and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. CO is a highly poisonous gas that can kill quickly with no warning, as you cannot see it, taste it, or smell it.
Landlords are legally responsible for the safety of their tenants. Landlords must make sure maintenance and annual safety checks on gas appliances are carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer to ensure their tenants and wider communities stay safe.
If you’re a landlord, you are legally obliged to make sure:
Before any gas work is carried out always check the engineer is qualified to carry out the work that needs doing e.g., natural gas, domestic boiler. You can find this information on the Gas Safe Register website or by checking the back of the engineer’s Gas Safe ID card. Encourage your tenants to also check the card when the engineer arrives at the property, and to be aware of any warning signs that their gas appliance is working incorrectly, such as dark or sooty staining, excess condensation, pilot lights which frequently blow out and and error messages on the appliance’s control panel
For more information and to find or check an engineer visit GasSafeRegister.co.uk.
To book your free tickets, register here; https://somerset.homebuildingshow.co.uk/swlandlords
The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) has partnered with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) Charitable Foundation to advise and support landlords of privately rented properties to understand and meet MEES obligations. MEES stipulates that privately rented homes must have a minimum EPC of E before they are let.
The main aim of MEES is to help reduce the number of renters who struggle with high energy bills and live in cold and unhealthy homes. Everyone wants to make rented homes more energy-efficient, which can save money and prevent issues like dampness and mould. Both landlords and tenants benefit from better energy efficiency.
When properties are well taken care of, they’re cheaper to run and have fewer problems. This also means that people who live in them are healthier, and it helps to reduce the likelihood of fuel poverty. When homes are properly insulated – residents stay warmer and healthier.
If you’re a private landlord renting out a domestic property on an assured tenancy, regulated tenancy or domestic agricultural tenancy, CSE can help you to:
For full information on the support CSE can offer you, visit www.cse.org.uk/support-for-landlords or email luke.buckler@cse.org.uk
Article by The Centre for Sustainable Energy
Government-funded legal advice and representation (legal aid) is available to any tenants facing possession proceedings.
Help is available from the moment tenants receive written notice that someone is seeking the possession of their home. Tenants financial situation will not affect their right to access this support and they will not need to pay.
A housing expert (funded by the government) will work with tenants to identify what may be causing someone to seek possession of their home and recommend potential solutions. For example, they may be able to provide legal advice on matters such as:
In the event tenants are unable to resolve matters and they are asked to attend a court hearing, a housing adviser can also provide free legal advice and representation at the court.
Article from Gov.uk
For more information;
Legal aid for possession proceedings – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Further article on the subject; New FREE court service for tenants risks more landlords facing big eviction costs – LandlordZONE
PLUS AN EXTRA 10% OFF FOR SWLA TRADEPOINT MEMBERS! 4th – 7th AUGUST 2023
Along with ARLA-Propertymark and other Landlord Associations, we are campaigning to ensure that the Renters (Reform) Bill and future UK Government legislation leads to positive changes for the sector. Please complete this survey, all results will be pooled by Propertymark and the responses will be presented to the UK Government.
Private Landlord Survey;
https://r1.dotdigital-pages.com/p/Z6K-175L/renters-reform-bill-landlords-survey
Letting Agent Survey;
Luke visited our office on 29th June for meeting with Iain Maitland (SWLA President) and Steve Lees (SWLA Chair) to discuss all things housing. Many discussions were had, mainly highlighting the lack of housing and the reasons for that –
What can we do? Luke heard our views and experiences and takes that knowledge forward for future meetings and discussions in parliament. We look forward to seeing Luke again later in the year – and welcome all South West MPs to our office so we can advocate for landlords who provide quality housing in the Private Rented Sector.
The Rent Smart Devon landlord open event was a brilliant afternoon/evening. We had a stand amongst other landlord related businesses and services – we caught up with many of our Exeter based members and spoke to lots of new members who were keen to sign up when they heard what we had to offer our members. Talks were held throughout the day – keeping attendees updated on Renters Reform, Landlord Tax Planning and more.
Thank you to East Devon, Exeter City, Mid Devon District and Teignbridge councils for putting on a lovely event.
If you missed this event – look out for the next one! We will let our members know where and when……
A huge Happy 90th Birthday to Bob Usher – a valued founder member of the SWLA’s (voluntary) Committee!
CHEERS TO YOU BOB!!
Further Legal Update 2023 Course Booked As August Course Now Full
Venue – Online
If you are accredited this will count towards your CPD hours, but the course is open to all.
Cost for SWLA members – £35, Cost for non-SWLA members – £40
Course will cover –
As well as other relevant issues.
Places secured upon receipt of payment, book your place through the office 01752 510913.
Course will be instructed by Stephen Fowler from Training for Professionals.
The Bank has raised rates for the 13th time in a row. The surprise jump from 4.5% to 5% aims to tackle inflation.
The Bank has been aggressively hiking interest rates for over a year as it tries to get inflation back to its target of 2% – a task that has been complicated by record food prices and high energy costs.
According to the notes of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the reason for the big hike in the base rate is because inflation in the services sector has remained persistently high, while wages are growing faster than it had predicted back in May.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said of the announcement to push rates up to 5%: “High inflation is a destabilising force eating into pay cheques and slowing growth. Core inflation is higher in 14 EU countries and interest rates are rising around the world, but the lesson from other countries is that if you stick to your guns, you bring inflation down.”
The increase in interest rates will bring further misery to homeowners on tracker mortgages and those about to re-mortgage, but it could benefit savers.
WHY IS THE BANK OF ENGLAND RAISING INTEREST RATES?
The rate of CPI inflation continues to be very sticky: it was 8.7% in the year to April, and again in the year to May. Experts had expected inflation to fall.
It means that inflation is currently over four times the Bank’s 2% target.
Raising interest rates is one of the tools that the Bank uses to try and bring inflation down. The idea is that increasing rates makes it more expensive to borrow money, meaning people have less to spend, and so reducing demand and therefore easing price rises. It had been anticipated that the Bank would raise rates to either 4.75% or 5% today.
WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR INTEREST RATES?
Commentators expect that more rate rises could be on the way.
Daniel Casali, chief investment strategist at the wealth manager Evelyn Partners, said: “With inflation still elevated (albeit slowing) and a tight labour market to boot, the Bank may well continue to raise interest rates well into the latter part of 2023. Of course, much will depend on the incoming macro data before the MPC decides on whether to raise interest rates again. For the moment, expect sterling to continue to appreciate against a dollar that is weighted down by a Fed pause on interest rates, at least for now.”
The next interest rate announcement is due on 3 August.
WHAT DOES THE RATE RISE MEAN FOR HOMEOWNERS?
Another rise in interest rates spells bad news for those with mortgages and loans. There are more than 1.4 million people on tracker and variable-rate mortgage deals, and these people will often see an immediate increase in their monthly payments.
Eight out of 10 mortgage customers are on a fixed rate. The so-called “mortgage bomb” – with rocketing mortgage rates and a shrinking range of products to choose from – has become a huge issue. An average two-year fixed deal was 2.29% in November 2021, but is now 6.19%, according to Moneyfacts. The average five-year fixed rate is 5.82%.
Article from Money Week
https://moneyweek.com/economy/uk-economy/bank-of-england-hikes-interest-rates-5-per-cent
Article by GoSimpleTax
Register as a sole trader or set up a limited company? It’s a key question to answer when you decide to take the plunge and start your own business because your decision can have major implications.
Even after making a choice, with your business firmly established, every once in a while, you should crunch the numbers to work out whether the legal form you chose is still the right one for you and your business, whether that’s sole trader or limited company.
Sole trader v limited company: what’s more common?
Sole trader v limited company: personal financial risk
A major reason why people set up a limited company concerns personal financial risk. As the name suggests, your personal financial liability is limited, provided that you don’t trade recklessly or fraudulently or give personal guarantees for company loans. That’s because, in law, the limited company is a separate legal entity to its director(s).
The opposite is true for sole trader businesses. In law, there’s no distinction between you and your sole trader business, so you are personally liable for your business debts. That liability is unlimited, which can mean you’re forced to sell off things you own to pay off your business debts, including your car and home. This is less of a consideration if your business is unlikely to build up considerable debts.
Sole trader v limited company: customers and staff
Will potential or existing customers care if you run a sole trader business or limited company. Probably not, because being a limited company is no guarantee that your business is more stable, reliable or superior in any way. And being a sole trader is unlikely to prevent you from being able to tender for contracts, either.
Just because you set up your business on your own, doesn’t mean you’ll have to work on your own. Sole traders can employ others and many won’t care whether you’re a limited company or sole trader, because it has no bearing over how much you pay them or how you’ll treat them.
Sole trader v limited company: finance and tax admin
In many cases, accessing finance and funding won’t be any easier because you run a limited company rather than a sole trader business. Having a sound business plan can be much more important.
Running a limited company involves much more tax admin when compared to running a sole trader business, which is far simpler. You may be able to do some yourself, although with limited company admin, there’s more of it and it’s much more complicated.
You could pay an accountant to take care of your tax admin, of course, but if you’re operating a limited company, your fees are likely to be significantly higher, because an accountant will need to do more work for you. To save money, many sole traders do all of their own tax admin, including completing and filing their own tax returns, which is made much easier by technology.
How are sole traders and limited companies taxed?
As a sole trader, you’re taxed on your net profits (ie actual profit once all costs have been deducted). HMRC allows you to deduct many expenses and costs from your sole trader income and once any tax allowances have been accounted for and your other taxable income factored in, HMRC will tell you how much tax you owe.
You provide summaries of your sole trader income and expenses to HMRC via your SA100 tax return and SA103 supplementary page (hence “Self Assessment”).
You’re taxed according to the Income Tax band into which your total taxable income falls. You do not pay Income Tax on your first £12,570 of gross (ie total) taxable income, because this is your tax-free Personal Allowance. Thereafter:
The Personal Allowance decreases by £1 for every £2 of net income over £100,000 and if your net income is £125,140 or more, you don’t get any Personal Allowance. If you don’t claim any allowable expenses, you can claim the £1,000 tax-free Trading Allowance.
Limited companies pay Corporation Tax on their profits (19% for 2023/24 tax year), while Income Tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) may be payable on salary the limited company pays you, with tax also payable on share dividend payments that you receive (8.75% if you’re a basic Income Tax payer; 33.75% if you’re a higher rate Income Tax payer; and 39.35% if you’re an additional rate Income Tax payer – all get a £1,000 tax-free Dividend Allowance).
Sole trader v limited company: which is more tax-efficient?
There’s a popular perception that operating as a limited company means you’ll pay less tax than if you were a sole trader. In some cases, with certain amounts of taxable profit, it’s true – but certainly not in all cases. And tax changes introduced in April 2023 mean the tax advantages of limited company structure are significantly less than they were.
Let’s look at some examples, to compare your take-home if you were a sole trader against your take-home as the sole director of a limited company.
Sole trader Ltd company Outcome
Profit £20,000 £20,000 You take-home
Total tax & NIC £2,334 £2,452 £118 more as a
take-home £17,666 £17,548 sole trader
Profit £40,000 £40,000 You take-home
Total tax & NIC £8,134 £7,670 £464 more as a
take-home £31,866 £32,330 Ltd Co director
Profit £50,000 £50,000 You take-home
Total tax & NIC £11,034 £10,278 £756 more as a
take-home £38,966 £39,722 Ltd Co director
Profit £85,000 £85,000 You take-home
Total tax & NIC £25,699 £25,773 £74 more as a
take-home £59,301 £59,227 sole trader
Profit £100,000 £100,000 You take-home
Total tax & NIC £31,999 £33,469 £1,470 more as a
take-home £68,001 £66,531 sole trader
Profit £150,000 £150,000 You take-home
Total tax & NIC £59,270 £62,424 £3,154 more as a
take-home £90,730 £87,576 sole trader
*All figures calculated by GoSimpleTax, based on 2023/24 tax year figures, and one limited company director taking £9,100 a year as salary and the rest as share dividends, to minimise their tax liability.
At the lower and higher end of the profit scale, operating a sole trader could give you a greater take-home, while you could also save money by doing your own tax admin.
However, even where your take-home as a company director is higher, much if not all of that can be wiped out if you have to pay an accountant to take care of your company and personal tax admin. Your monthly fee to an accountant could be, say, between £60 and £120 or more a month (ie £720 up to £1,440 or more a year), so operating as a limited company could in fact be less tax-efficient, not more.
How to switch from limited company to sole trader
It’s reasonably simple to change from a limited company to sole trader. You can either close down the limited company completely or make it dormant (ie the company still exists but doesn’t trade or receive income from other sources).
Income, Expenses and tax submission all in one. GoSimpleTax will provide you with tips that could save you money on allowances and expenses you might have missed.
Our software submits directly to HMRC and is the digital solution for Landlords to record income, expenses and file their self-assessment giving hints on savings along the way.
Covering all self-assessment pages, not just property, GoSimpleTax does all the calculations for you saving you ££’s on accountancy fees.
For tickets please visit;
SWLA will be there. Come and say Hi if you pass our stand!
People of State Pension age may be entitled to Pension Credit even though they may have modest savings, or a retirement income or own their own home. An award of Pension Credit can provide access to a range of other benefits such as help with housing costs, council tax, heating bills and for those aged 75 or over, a free TV licence. If you work with people over State Pension age, or with those supporting them, or know anyone who might be eligible, then please encourage them to find out more.
About Pension Credit
Pension Credit tops up weekly income to a guaranteed minimum level of £201.05 a week for single pensioners or £306.85 for couples. It is a tax-free payment for those who:
Someone may still get Pension Credit if they:
Use the Pension Credit calculator to find out how much Pension Credit someone could get – without giving any personal details.
A quick guide to entitlement
There are 4 main questions when considering whether a pensioner may get Pension Credit:
1.How old are they?
2.If they have a partner, how old is their partner?
3.What is their weekly income? Is it less that £201.05 if they are single or £306.85 if they are a couple?
4.Do they have any savings? Have they got less than £10,000?
Pension Credit True or False
Useful Links
The Renters (Reform) Bill will deliver on the government’s commitment to “bring in a better deal for renters”, including abolishing ‘no fault’ evictions and reforming landlord possession grounds. It will legislate for reforms set out in the private rented sector white paper published in June 2022.
Please note – 17 May 2023 was the Bill’s first reading in Parliament. The next step is a second reading which is where MPs have a chance to debate the themes of the Bill. You can track the progression of the Bill here; https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3462
The Renters (Reform) Bill will improve the system for both the 11 million private renters and 2.3 million landlords in England. The Renters (Reform) Bill will:
Alongside the Renters (Reform) Bill, the government are working in partnership with the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunals Service, to ensure that, in the small proportion of tenancies where court action is required, court users can use a modern, digital service. This remains a priority for the government. Following the recommendation of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee, the government will align the abolition of section 21 and new possession grounds with court improvements. This includes end-to-end digitisation of the process and working with the courts to explore the prioritisation of certain cases, including anti-social behaviour.
The private rented sector white paper also committed to further reforms to support both landlords and tenants. The government will bring forward legislation at the earliest opportunity to:
All information from gov.uk
For more information on the measures in the Bill, please visit:
The Renters (Reform) Bill will deliver the government’s commitment to a fairer private rented sector. It will legislate for reforms set out in the private rented sector white paper published in June 2022.
The Renters (Reform) Bill will improve the system for both the 11 million private renters and 2.3 million landlords in England. Reforms are carefully balanced and have been developed in consultation with landlord and tenant groups over the past five years. The Renters (Reform) Bill will:
| · Abolish section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and move to a simpler tenancy structure where all assured tenancies are periodic – providing more security for tenants and empowering them to challenge poor practice and unfair rent increases without fear of eviction;
· Introduce more comprehensive possession grounds so landlords can still recover their property (including where they wish to sell their property or move in close family) and to make it easier to repossess properties where tenants are at fault, in cases of anti-social behaviour and repeat rent arrears; · Provide stronger protections against backdoor eviction by ensuring tenants are able to appeal excessively above-market rents which are purely designed to force them out. Landlords will still be able to increase rents to market price for their properties. · Introduce a new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman that private landlords must join that is intended to provide fair, impartial, and binding resolution to many issues and to be quicker, cheaper, and less adversarial than the court system; · Create a Privately Rented Property Portal to help landlords understand their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance, alongside providing better information to tenants to make informed decisions when entering into a tenancy agreement. It will also support local councils – helping them target enforcement activity where it is needed most; and · Give tenants the right to request a pet in the property, which the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse. To support this, landlords will be able to require pet insurance to cover any damage to their property. |
Alongside the Rented Homes Bill, we are working in partnership with the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunals Service, to ensure that, in the small proportion of tenancies where court action is required, court users can use a modern, digital service. This remains a priority for the government.
The private rented sector white paper also committed to further reforms to support both landlords and tenants. We remain fully committed to implementing these reforms and will bring forward legislation at the earliest opportunity to:
| · Apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector to give renters safer, better value homes and remove the blight of poor-quality homes in local communities. This will help deliver the government’s Levelling Up mission to halve the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030. We launched a consultation in September 2022 to ensure the Decent Homes Standard is applied and enforced appropriately and fairly in the private rented sector. We will respond to this and set out the next steps in due course;
· Make it illegal for landlords and agents to have blanket bans on renting to tenants in receipt of benefits or with children – ensuring no family is unjustly discriminated against when looking for a place to live; and · Strengthen local councils’ enforcement powers and introducing a new requirement for councils to report on enforcement activity – to help target criminal landlords. |
We’ve put together a helpful guide which explains the reforms in more detail which can be found here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guide-to-the-renters-reform-bill
The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee launched its inquiry into the Private Rented Sector Reform in July 2022. The aim of the inquiry was to scrutinise the Government’s plans to, among other things: introduce a decent homes standard for the private rented sector; reform the system of tenancies and abolish no-fault evictions; reform the grounds on which landlords can take possession of their properties; and better protect tenants from unfair rent increases.
The committee sought contributions from key stakeholders including the NRLA, the British Property Federation, Shelter and Generation Rent and members of the public to inform its thinking. The Committee published its report and recommendations in February 2023.
We have considered and responded to each of the committee’s recommendations in our response which we will publish shortly.
SWLA COMMENTS
When it is introduced to Parliament (expected today), the Bill will be published in full, which is known as the ‘first Reading’.
The next step is a Second Reading, which is the first opportunity for MPs to debate the general principles and themes of the Bill. This is expected to take place week commencing 5 June 2023.
The legislation will implement many of the proposed measures from the White Paper ‘A Fairer Private Rented Sector’ that was published in June 2022. This can be read in full here; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-fairer-private-rented-sector
Read the Government announcement here; https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-introduces-landmark-reforms-to-deliver-fairer-private-rented-sector-for-tenants-and-landlords
In a Sky News interview last week, Michael Gove announced that the Renters Reform Bill would be ‘out next week’ and introduced into Parliament. This decision has now been back-tracked due to ‘procedural issues’.
Over the Bank Holiday weekend, speculation was mounting that Tory backbenchers were unhappy with the pro-tenant, anti-landlord sentiment contained in the proposed legislation.
The Bill was first pledged by the Conservative administration back in 2019.
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities spokesman said: “We are absolutely committed to delivering a fairer deal for renters.
“We will bring forward legislation very shortly, which will include a ban on ‘no fault’ evictions, so that all tenants have greater security in their homes and are empowered to challenge poor conditions.
“We are also introducing a Decent Homes Standard for the Private Rented Sector for the first time ever which will make sure privately rented homes are safe and decent.”
We had a great turn out last night at the Future Inn, Plymouth for our General Speaker Meeting. We had over 65 members in attendance.
Huge thanks to our brilliant speakers.
Iain Pring and Sean Bolter from Westcotts Chartered Accountants, shared their extensive knowledge of all things tax related. They discussed tax deductible expenditure, capital gains, inheritance tax planning and Making Tax Digital.
Our second speaker of the evening was Martyn Taylor of Ashley Taylors Solicitors, who made quite a journey in order to present for us. He shared his experience on court possession cases and gave great advice on how to prevent landlord errors in order to ensure a smooth tenancy. Martyn also shared tips on how to gain possession when required. Look out for Martyn’s next webinar, which SWLA members are welcome to join for free.
Thank you to all who attended, it was great to see everyone and we look forward to the next meet!
The UK Government has announced an action plan to crack down on anti-social behaviour giving more powers to the police to target perpetrators with swift and visible justice in England and Wales.
16 areas will be funded to support either new ‘hotspot’ police and enforcement patrols or trial a new ‘Immediate Justice’ scheme. A select few areas will trial both interventions and following the initial trailblazers, both schemes will be rolled out in 2024.
A new reporting tool will also be developed over the next twelve months to act as a digital one-stop shop where people can quickly and easily report incidents of anti-social behaviour.
Under the zero-tolerance approach, nitrous oxide or ‘laughing gas’ will also be banned. The drug is now the third most used among 16 to 24-year-olds in England and both the police and the public have repeatedly reported links between the use of the drug and nuisance or anti-social behaviour.
The UK Government’s plan to reform the private rented sector outlines tougher enforcement on nuisance tenants.
The Action plan highlights that sustained acts of intimidating or disruptive behaviour will not be tolerated and should lead to the eviction of the tenant involved. The UK Government will be changing laws and arming landlords with tools to ensure that anti-social tenants will face consequences including making the grounds for possession faster and easier to prove.
Other measures include:
We need to see clarity on how the measures will work in practice and when the new legislation will be in effect, until then landlords will continue to struggle to evict nuisance tenants.
Article by PropertyMark; https://www.propertymark.co.uk/resource/landlords-to-be-given-more-powers-to-evict-unruly-tenants.html