Welcome to our first Newsround for March and we have no shortage of housing news this week.
Could Scottish councillors force energy efficiency in the PRS?
Scottish councillors are asking for powers to force private landlords to make their rental properties more energy efficient.
Cllr Ruairi and Cllr Kenny McLean are asking for more flexibility with the grant scheme, Energy Efficient Scotland fund which is currently only available to private landlords with less than three properties.
They claim this is stopping thousands of households from benefitting from using the scheme and putting in energy improvements that are otherwise just unaffordable for landlords. This, in turn, is impacting directly on tenants, especially in deprived areas.
Cllr Kenny Mclean says
We need to remove the barrier of landlords having to pay upfront for work to improve homes. We want ministers to allow the council to do the work compulsorily and get the money back when the property is sold. This is similar to what we do with emergency repairs. We do the work and add the cost to the landlord’s deeds.
The Scottish Government, however, state that they are already helping landlords in becoming more energy efficient via their Private Rented Sector Loan scheme and claim that most landlords own fewer than three rental properties.
Short lets could have extra bin collection charges imposed
Short lets could soon be charged extra for their bin collections and no longer have them collected for ‘free’ in the normal waste collection service and council tax or business tax in Edinburgh. This is to ‘improve street cleanliness’ and follows other councils in England such as Dorset and Oxford.
However, some feel that this is a step too far, Andy Fenner of the Short Term Accommodation Association said
Currently, holiday let owners will either be subject to council tax or business rates. If they pay council tax, then bin collections are included.
Whichever way you look at it, these rentals are already paying someone for this service, so it’s not clear what the justification for an additional charge would be.
This could be yet another change for short lets in Scotland following new rules which came in last October where Airbnb’s and bed and breakfasts now have to obtain a licence before they can advertise to guests.
Will no fault evictions be delayed further?
It is widely speculated that the Renter’s Reform Bill will be amended, or as some state ‘watered down’ and that the government will not implement the banning of Section 21 evictions until the court system has been upgraded and backlogs cleared as it is feared not doing so would cause landlords to sell up, thus reducing the number of rental properties on an already struggling market.
But some MP’s are not happy with this. Tom Darling, Campaign manager of the Renter’s Reform Coalition says that this will put no-fault evictions ‘even further into the long grass’.
Other draft amendments include
- Getting rid of selective licensing schemes when the national register is in place
- Tenants to give at least four months notice before giving notice
- Loosening proof of evidence when evicting anti-social tenants
- Protecting HMO student landlords from periodic tenancies
A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said
We continue to meet regularly with a range of groups, representing all those in the private rented sector.
The NRLA has put out a statement asking for a ‘speedy implementation of the Renter’s Reform Bill to avoid uncertainty’ and it insists that compromises do not equate to either side ‘losing’.
And finally, this week, we finish with some justice on a rogue landlord that has been hit with a 1.44 million Proceeds of Crime penalty!
£1.4m Proceeds of Crime penalty dished out to rogue landlord
Ealing Council in west London have finally successfully won a Crown Court hearing against a rogue landlord after decades of disputes and orders against Ali Bahbahani. Mr Bahbahani, a landlord, converted his property into flats and even built an extension with no consultation, planning consent or approval from Ealing Council.
The council had repeatedly issued court applications to have the property restored over a period of ten years, someone else even impersonated him in court as he lived abroad. His property has now been confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act, and he has been hit with a £1.44 million penalty. The council is also working with a receiver to recover years of unpaid council tax and business rates.
A council spokesperson said
You must make sure you have planning permission for major changes of any sort to your property. Failure to do so will result in court action and, as we have seen, can be very costly.
Somewhat staggering that it took 10 years to stop this rogue landlord, but justice has prevailed in the long run.
Snippets
Landlord hit with big fine after ignoring improvement notice
Council threatens hefty fines as landlords struggle with faulty licensing system
Lawyer steps up criticism of Gove’s attack on private landlords
Councils call for eviction notice periods to be doubled to four months
Black mould: How dangerous is it in the home and how can it be treated?
Newsround will be back next week.