We have discussed a number of these cases on this blog, perhaps the worst example being this case here.  However hopefully this sort of thing won’t happen again (or if so, it won’t be as bad), as the private members bill introduced in the last parliament, has now been made law, the Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010.

This gives tenants the right to apply to the court for an order that the date for possession be delayed for two months, to allow them time to find somewhere else to live.  It also requires mortgage companies to serve a notice on tenants before the apply for a bailiffs appointment, so that they will know to do this.

The act has now come into force and there are new regulations, The Dwelling Houses (Execution of Possession Orders by Mortgagees) Regulations 2010, setting out exactly what needs to be done by the mortgage company and the tenant:

• if the mortgage company wants to enforce an order for possession it must first serve a notice at the property
• this notice must be in a prescribed form, which you can see at the end of the regulations
• if you receive a notice like this and you are a tenant, you should immediately contact the mortgage company
• the mortgage company should give you at least two months to find somewhere else to live
• they may also consider allowing you to stay on in the property, for example if you pay your rent to them rather than to the landlord, but this is not something they have to do if they do not want to
• if you have difficulties contating the mortgage company, you should make an application to the court asking for the two months
• the form also suggests you take legal advice on your situation

This new act is a step forward for tenants rights, as at least it means that never again (hopefully) will tenants suddenly find the bailiffs at the door and be expected to move out within a couple of hours, as happened here.

Note that if the mortgage company is not prepared to give you any more than the two months, you will may be justified in withholding rent, particularly if you are being evicted during the fixed term of your tenancy.  This will be a major breach by your landlord of the terms of your tenancy agreement, for which you will be entitled to claim compensation and the re-reimbursement of any expenses you incur as a result, for example removal costs.

However it may advisable to take legal advice on this, and as always any rent withheld should be kept in a separate, interest bearing bank account (ie don’t have a party and spend it all) until matters have been resolved.

Has anyone had any experience of these regulations in action yet?  Do you think they will, in reality, make much difference?

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In essence landlords must:

• Repair and maintain gas pipework, flues and appliances so they kept in a good condition
• Carry out an annual gas safety check on each appliance to be done by a Gas Safe Register approved installer, and
• Keep proper records.

It is sometimes difficult to find detailed information about this, so I was very pleased to see that >> this web-site has now been launched by the Health and Safety Executive on landlords’ responsibility for gas safety.

I would suggest that all landlords who manage their own properties (assuming these have gas appliance in them) and all letting agents book mark this site for future reference.

There is also a set of FAQ for tenants >> here.

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This is a guest blog provided by The Purple Teardrop Campaign. Note that the figures given in this post have been challenged by some readers. If you have any queries or comments regarding this please contact the Purple Teardrop campaign direct.

Modern day Slavery

Slavery died out two hundred years ago, didn’t it? Eradicated. The world saw the error of its ways and freed all the slaves. No more mass shipping of Africans to the plantations in the USA and West Indies. The trouble is, evils that we think we have eradicated, from tuberculosis to racial and religious persecution, have a habit of insidiously creeping back.

And slavery is no exception. There are more slaves in the world today than there ever were in the centuries leading up to its ‘abolition’. Incredible, isn’t it? But sadly all too true. Why? The same old reason – its a great money spinner. Slavery, or human trafficking as it tends to be referred to these days, is the world’s third most lucrative illicit trade, after weapons and drugs. It is a trade that is largely hidden, surrounded by the silence of fear of violence and reprisals. And it is happening in a town near you right now.

Slavery past and present

Before ‘the abolition’, people were kidnapped from their towns and villages and sold into slavery. Today, poverty in the third world and less developed countries, forces people to leave home in search of a good job, a better life elsewhere and the opportunity to send money home to their families. Nothing new in this, nothing wrong so far. But this is where the slave trader steps in. All he or she has to do is to offer a way to that better life and the slave-to-be is unwittingly hooked and reeled in.

How it happens

The slave trader, usually referred to these days as the human trafficker, offers a young woman passage to a western country, a job and somewhere to live. She will have to repay the cost of her travel out of her wages. Seemingly nothing wrong so far. What a wonderful opportunity! But the reality is very different. When she arrives in the UK, her passport is immediately taken away from her and the nightmare begins. Typically she will be beaten and raped several times on her first night in England and then imprisoned in a house or flat the next day. She is forced to have sex with multiple clients every day, not allowed to leave the house and the beatings will continue to break her spirit. Quite often she is also made to take drugs to make her dependent and therefore more compliant.

Marta’s story

My name is Marta. I’m going to England. These good people have got a job for me at a hotel in London. I’m going to be a waitress. I’ll work hard so I can send money home to help my family. I’m so excited! I’ll learn English and make new friends. My family are so happy for me”

A wonderful opportunity for a girl from a poor country, on the face of it. However a very different Marta picks up her story just a few weeks later.

“My name is Marta. I work 16 hours a day. I am raped by up to 30 men each day. I learn English words – for sale, whore, hurt, sex, client. This room is my prison. I was beaten again today after. I tried to escape. They say they’ll kill my family if I try again. I am so alone, so frightened. I have no hope any more”

And Marta is just one of many girls and women who are tricked into a life of sexual slavery. These girls are not prostitutes. They are the unwilling victims of human traffickers, exploited, enslaved, beaten, threatened and raped.

The figures

No-one knows how many Martas there are in this country. The Home Office made an estimate of 4000 women. Independent research suggests up to 10,000 women are trafficked into the UK every year.

The number of times each girl will have to have sex will depend on her age and appearance. The younger and prettier she is, the more the traffickers can charge and the less frequently she will be used, to keep up her value. The average per year is probably around 4000 times. If you take the conservative figure and multiply 4000 girls by 4000 times, that equates to 16 million rapes a year. A commodity, bought and sold, a girl is worth £150, 000 a year to her traffickers. Multiply that by 4000 girls and you can soon see why slavery is alive and well today.

It could be in your street right now

It is happening today in towns all over Britain, not just in the cities. It could be happening on your round. Typically the traffickers will legitimately rent a small house in a residential street. It could be in a middle class area, not necessarily in a red light area or one known for drugs. Small and discreet, probably only the one girl enslaved there. No other criminal activity goes on at the address. Not the sort of thing you expect to be happening in your area, so it doesn’t cross your mind that it might be.

Modern slavery is a shaming indictment of life in the 21st century. We are not going to stop it overnight, but the more people who know about it, the more women and girls can be rescued. And you as landlords are uniquely placed to spot potential trafficking.

Watch out for these signs

What are the signs to look out for?

• Are the people in the property the same ones who signed the lease?
• Has it been sublet?

If a property is being used by people traffickers

• The women and girls staying there will rarely be seen, will not make any contact with their neighbours and
• there may well be frequent changes of women and girls staying in the house.
• The curtains may be closed all day and
• the occupants will not be seen maintaining the house or garden.
• The women will be foreign, unlikely to speak English, unsmiling and fearful .

Ring Crimestoppers

If you have any suspicion at all of somewhere that trafficked women may be kept, then ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. You do not have to give your name. You could be saving one woman from being raped thousands of times.

*****

About the Purple Teardrop Campaign

The Purple Teardrop Campaign against sex-trafficking was set up to do something about this appalling crime. It aims to make people aware of what is going on and let them know how to report any suspicions of women being held against their will and sexually exploited.

The Purple Teardrop Campaign also raises money to support the safe houses which provide practical care and support for those who have been rescued. Traumatised by their experiences and terrified of everyone, victims usually do not speak English and need specialist care.

If you can keep an eye open and report any suspicion of trafficking to Crimestoppers, you are helping enormously. If you would like to do more and help the Purple Teardrop Campaign to raise funds, we would very much welcome your support. For more information or to contact us, please visit www.purpleteardrop.org.uk.

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This is a guest post written by Ruben Martinez

Google and the property industry

It comes as no surprise to hear that Internet giants Google are expanding into the property industry with their new property listing service on Google Maps.  After all they own a vast amount valuable industry data about what visitors are searching for. Google are supposed to know what we are looking for, how, from where and when.

How can we learn more from the data Google do share with us? What interesting data can we extract from the various Google tools about the property industry in just 5 minutes?

1. A larger proportion of people are looking to rent a house rather than buy one compared to previous years

This Google Trends screenshot shows the relative search volumes for the terms ‘houses to rent’ (blue) and ‘houses for sale’ (red). The graph shows that there is a distinct closing of the gap between the search terms, and whilst ‘houses for sale’ is the more popular search term, the interest in online search of property to rent in consistently growing over the last five years.

2. There are 24,900,000 searches a month for people looking to ‘rent houses’

You can see from the keyword search volume tool results above, that the number of searches for property renting related terms is incredibly high. Interestingly, more people search for the plural term ‘houses’ rather than house, yet more people search for the non-plural ‘property’ than ‘properties’.

3. Property is a term found in almost 77 Million results pages of co.uk sites indexed in Google

Interestingly, the leading property portals or estate agents do not rank highest for the query on Google but large national newspapers: Guardian, Telegraph and Independent.

4. Google wants in on the property industry

It’s hardly surprising that with all this insightful data to hand Google are beginning to try and monetise their knowledge of the property industry with Google Maps Property, which was recently launched in the UK. It is possible that in the near future Google might begin to show ‘universal’ listings in the Google search results for Google listed properties rather than results to RIghtmove, Nestoria, Gartoo and other vertical property search engine results.

5. Milton Keynes is the number 1 city in the world for people searching for ‘house for sale’

Milton Keynes is the area in the whole world where searches of ‘houses for sale’ show the highest frequency in relative terms to all other searches about any topic from that location. Interestingly has seen a rapid decline in asking prices for housing since 2008 as displayed below (source: Gartoo.co.uk).

*****

Ruben Martinez is marketing director of Lokku Ltd, a company specializing in online property search and a writer for Lokku Labs. Lokku Labs is the experimental platform to test ideas of vertical search, like where-can-i-live.com and Gartoo.co.uk.

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