Welcome to our weekly edition of Newsround, looking into the housing news highlights this week.
Sharp rise in repossessions
A new report out this week by Dwelly, a lettings agency aquisition company claim that there has been a 6.8% nationwide increase in the number of repossessions compared to that of last year with some towns having a marked increase.
Thurrock has had a 2540% jump and then Basildon at 889%. Welwyn Hatfield has risen by 165% and Horsham by 150%.
Sam Humphreys from Dwelly said
It’s important to understand this isn’t about landlords leaving the market, or evicting tenants for the sake of it, but about them seeking to retain control of their assets whilst they can do so via current processes.
Interestingly Wales’ repossessions fell by 33.8% and the South East by 12.3%.
Landlords won’t be forced into ‘Making tax Digital’
The government has released its impact assessment on their new ‘Making Tax Digital’ scheme which comes into force next April 2026 for landlords earning over £50,000 and for those earning between £30,000 to £50,000 the following April 2027.
They claim that as landlords are going to incur costs in setting themselves up with digital records (£450 for those in the lower earning remit and £400 in the upper earning bracket) they will not force landlords to go digital but landlords will need to write into HMRC to get exemption from the scheme.
HMRC say
Where a business is not already exempt from engaging with HMRC digitally, they may request that HMRC consider an MTD exemption so they will not have to meet the MTD requirements.
The full impact assessment can be read here.
Landlords, prepare for pets to become the ‘norm’
It is claimed that two in five tenants want to have either a cat (56%) or dog (52%) when the Renters’ Rights Bill becomes law, which will make it easier for renters to keep pets.
This could prove to be contentious with their landlords as the government will not be allowing pet insurance as a requirement to have a pet, or will the landlord be able to take up to three weeks’ rent up front. Go.Compare an insurance company claims that of the high percentage of tenants that will now take on a pet, 8% will not take out pet insurance and 18% remain unsure.
High fines for student landlords’ mis-managed waste
As university students move into their accommodation for this academic year, HMO student landlords are being reminded of their legal obligations for providing proper waste management facilities for their HMO rentals or risk fines of anything up to £50,000.00.
Landlords are legally obliged to provide and maintain the correct number of bins and access to appropriate storage areas whilst the student tenants are responsible for the correct day to day disposal of their rubbish. Landlords must also comply to any storage & waste disposal scheme if their council has one. Failure to do so risks very high fines.
Ensuring tenants are aware of how to dispose of their rubbish correctly reduces fly tipping, pest infestations and neighbour complaints.
Demand for MPs to be banned from being landlords
The former Labour MP Zarah Sultana has tabled an early day motion calling for MPs to be banned from being landlords while in office. Which she says is a challenge to a ‘corrupt labour government’.
The motion does not seem to have any support from MPs apart from herself and Democratic Unionist Party member Jim Shannon. Although it is supported by tenant groups.
What no one seems to mention is that MPs often have to move to another area if they are offered a constituency far away from their original home. If they already own a property there, they may not want to sell it, and so will rent it out. PMs and Chancellors of the Exchequer, of course, have to move to one of the Downing Street flats as part of their job and so are unable to live in their own home.
Ms Sultana’s bill would force them either to sell their homes or leave them empty – which is either unfair to the MP or deprives someone (ie the potential renter) of a home. So I am not surprised that her motion has little support.
Snippets
Landlord fined for repeated housing breaches
Council sees rise in uncontactable mould-hit homes
‘No pets, no guests, no music’ and now no ‘WFH’:Why house-share ads are getting ever stricter
Number of landlord letting properties plummets
Tenants rate self-managed landlords above agents – research
See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law
Newsround will be back again next week
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