Another week and another Newsround.
This week sees the Renters Rights Bill return to the House of Commons for its final approval following its last discussion in the House of Lords.
The team has been busy this week, let’s see what else they have found in the news this week.
The Renters’ Rights Bill – the end of the line?
The government managed to get it all its own way in the last stage in the Lords on 14 October, with just one amendment to go back to the Commons for approval.
So Lord’s proposals to extend the student possession ground, reduce the period of prohibition on letting after repossession under grounds 1 and 1A, and the amendment to allow an additional pet deposit have all been defeated.
The bill goes back to the Commons on 22 October.
There is just one issue for discussion, on shared ownership, so it looks as if the bill could shortly become law. The main question will be ‘when will the commencement date be?’ Some think it will be January, others think it will be April.
It looks like we will find out soon.
Damp and Mould Awareness week
As we are now into the winter months where damp and mould can be more prevalent, next week, October 20th to 26th is Damp and Mould Awareness week.
Safety firm Aico are running a series of free webinars giving practical advice on dealing with mould and damp to knowing your legal responsibilities as a landlord. This comes at a key time. Awaabs Law is due to become law on October 27th for social landlords, after which they will legally have to deal with any damp and mould issues within strict timescales.
Councils will be under-resourced for the Renters’ Rights Bill
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health has written to the select committee claiming that when the Renters Rights Bill becomes law and gives councils new powers to prosecute, they will be grossly under-resourced and need more funds, as they are already stretched to capacity.
It says
We welcome the Renters’ Rights Bill but are concerned about the large enforcement burden that the provisions of the bill will impose on local authorities and the need for proportionate funding that is sustained and predictable.
They also want separate fees for the Ombudsman and the Database schemes with the ombudsman fees to go to enforcement costs of the scheme.
The CIEH also state that selective licensing schemes should remain as this helps vulnerable tenants with poor housing conditions, and that they should be extended from five to ten years.
Housing Allowance must reflect today’s rental market
There has been renewed vigour sector-wide from forty odd bodies such as Crisis, NRLA and both landlords and tenants, calling on the government to increase Local Housing Allowance in the budget next month. They claim that it ‘no longer reflects today’s rental market’ locking the lowest income renters out of the rental market.
In doing so they claim that it would bring 75,000 children and 125,000 adults out of poverty according to research from the Resolution Foundation. Matt Downie chief executive of Crisis says that it must unfreeze this benefit to cover the cheapest 30% of private rentals, which would prevent homelessness from getting worse. He also adds
Without this, the UK Government risks failing in its efforts to tackle homelessness, and councils will be forced to keep spending billions of pounds each year on poor-quality temporary accommodation.
You can read more here.
Council widens its selective licensing scheme at high costs
Leeds council has expanded its city’s selective licensing scheme with hefty fees of between £950 and £1,225 which higher than the average national standard. It comes into force next February and will affect 12,500 landlords. The council claim that the fees will cover the running costs of the scheme.
The council said
Given the clear link that exists between poor housing and poor health, it’s our hope that this scheme will also have a really positive impact on the general wellbeing of residents in disadvantaged communities.
Snippets
Fire in a rental property – How Insurance Responds
Under 30s priced out of the UK cities as they struggle to afford rent
Council hits landlords with £180,000 in fines
Revealed: Labour-run council using legal loophole to serve families with no-fault evictions
Saying landlords under-taxed ‘complete nonsense’ says economist
See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law
Newsround will be back again next week
Leave a Reply