HMOs charging for a license

Aug 06 | 2018
Mr Gaskin operated a HMO.  The authority granted him a HMO license in 2009.  When he tried to renew his license, the authority tried to charge him £1,799.  Mr Gaskin refused saying that the fee was excessive and unlawful.  Mr Gaskin paid just £850.00 being what he felt was a reasonable amount to pay.  The Authority refused to accept it and refused to process his license.  Not having a valid license will mean he can be prosecuted.  Mr Gaskin was therefore prosecuted by the Authority.  Mr Gaskin applied for a Judicial Review, and he was successful.  The Authority had no way of identifying what element of the £1,799 related to 'permissible costs' and the whole fee had to be quashed.  If you have any queries about obtaining a HMO license, then please speak to our housing team.

Disability rights and housing.

Aug 06 | 2018
The Court has decided that if you are living in rented accommodation, despite the fact you may have special needs or feel vulnerable, you cannot demand more suitable accommodation to meet your particular circumstances.  In the case of Ms Lomax, she was a disabled lady who felt isolated where she lived, she had no visitors and there was little facilities in her area for disabled people.  Ms Lomax applied to be relocated to more suitable accommodation.  The Court did not agree with Ms Lomax, unfortunately accommodation is difficult in her area, and the Local Authority was unable to offer her better accommodation.  The Court of Appeal allowed an appeal under S149 of the Equality Act. If you need help with your rights as a disabled person, then please call us and we can advise you whether you have been discriminated against. If you want to take advantage of 'right to buy' and your house has been altered to meet your disability, you may not be eligible to buy the property.  Our conveyancers will be able to advise you about this.

MINIMUM ENERGY LEVELS

Jul 27 | 2018
From 1 April 2018 any building that is rented on a new tenancy must have an energy rating of at least an E.  From 2020, all buildings must have an energy rating of at least an E.  There are some exemptions to this, so please speak to Kirsty for further advice and assistance.  This new legislation does put a burden on Landlords to ensure that their properties meet the energy standards.  How this effects the availability of rental properties we will have to wait to see.

HOW TO RENT GUIDE

Jul 27 | 2018
If you have entered a tenancy agreement on or after 26 June 2018, your Landlord or the Lettings Agent, must have provided you with a 'How To Rent Guide'.  If the guide was not provided to you, then you may have grounds to remain in occupation when and if the time comes for the Landlord to seek possession.  At the time of writing this blog, this is required in England only, . Housing Law is complex as the law changes so frequently, speak to us about our news letter, or keep reading our blogs, follow us on Facebook, or attend one of our training events.  Speak to Kirsty for further information.

ELECTRONIC PAYMENT CHARGES AND LETTING AGENTS

Jul 27 | 2018
Electronic payments are prohibited from 13 January 2018.  This means that if a Landlord takes a deposit from a tenant via an electronic payment (e.g. a credit or debit card), they can no longer add a surcharge onto the payment.  This may effect Lettings Agents from agreeing to take bonds on credit cards.  If you have been asked to pay a surcharge, then you may be entitled to have it returned to you.  If you have any questions then please speak to Kirsty John.

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