International Law

Another TDPS case - Locke & Orchard v Osborn

Posted on July 20, 2009
I have just learned about this case decided at the end of June. Here Mrs Osborn was let down by her agents, Countrywide Residential Lettings who, despite having protected the deposit, had failed to serve notice on the tenants giving the prescribed information, or return the money within the proper period of time...

Letting agents - instead of renewal fees

Posted on July 19, 2009
I was a bit shocked, although I suppose not entirely surprised, to read in the excellent 4wallsandaceiling property tribes forum about what some greedy letting agents are doing to replace the renewal commission they are going to lose as a result of the decision in the OFT v...

Fool?s Gold

Posted on July 16, 2009
Having been impressed by seeing Gillian Tett on Bremner Bird and Fortune a while back, and being curious as to the cause of the recent global financial crisis, I recently bought her book, Fool's Gold. Despite the book being mainly about the financial markets, a subject which would normally have my eyes glazing over within a couple of minutes, I have read it with enjoyment (well sort of) and in the space of 24 hours (albeit having skimmed most of the more technical sections)...

NLA Property Women Awards

Posted on July 15, 2009
Further to my post yesterday, I have been reminded by the National Landlords Association that they also have awards, and have recently announced the finalists in their Property Women Awards 2009. I am happy to support the sisterhood and publish their names here:?East of England: Karen Murray, Irene Turner and Christeen Wilson?East Midlands: Tracey Abbiss, Rachel Hutchinson and Sarah Stanier?London: Barbara Gwyer, Kate Partridge and Valerie Pierres?North East: Anne Jackson, Karen Rutter and Julie Willis?North West: Pauline Ginty, Malika Jennings and Sylvia Marrs?Scotland: Elaine Stenson, Pauline To and Gerry Whelan?South East: Susan Hainsby, Kathy Nevell and Rosemary Robertson?South West: Anne Jarrett, Caroline Lindegaard and Fiona Macaskill?Wales: Sandra Cook, Jane James and Elizabeth Paterson?West Midlands: Gillian Coleman, Glenda Houston and Joanna Phillips?Yorkshire & The Humber: Samantha Allen, Shona Davison and Sandra WiddringtonThere is also a green property women awards, whose finalists are?Green: Fiona Macaskill, Kathryn Nevell and Elaine Stenson?Young: Amy Dixon, Elaine Duthie and Sophie MacaskillGood luck to you all! I trust that there will also be many women entrants to the Landlord and Buy to Let awards.

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The OFT v. Foxton case - commission on renewals

Posted on July 15, 2009
There is still quite a bit of confusion regarding the recent decision in the case of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) v. Foxtons (which I reported on here). One of the questions being asked is what exactly is the status now of clauses providing for commission on renewals?I should make it clear here that we are talking about non management contracts, where the agent just finds the tenant, and the landlord then takes over the management of the property, but where the agent's agency agreement with the landlord provides for him to continue to receive commission whenever the tenancy is renewed...

Tessa is a Judge!!

Posted on July 14, 2009
Just to let you know that Accession Exhibitions & Publishing Ltd (who run the Landlord & Buy to Let Show) have now launched the Landlord & Buy to Let Awards which look to be very exciting. There are a number of award categories (for example landlord of the year, insurance services, customer service, letting agent etc) and entries can be submitted up to Friday 21st August...

McMillan Cancer Support - Charity of the month (July 2009)

Posted on July 13, 2009
McMillan Cancer Support exists to support and improve the lives of people affected by cancer. As one in three people get cancer this will affect us all in one way or another. The support given is not just medical but also practical, helping people cope with it all...

Worrying Court underfunding report

Posted on July 10, 2009
I have just read a report in the Times which makes it clear that the current problems in the courts due to underfunding are only going to get worse. The report states that Judges are having to sit longer hours and for more days, and that a recruitment ban on all but the most exceptional posts is being imposed...

Shelter victory in sale and rent back case

Posted on July 10, 2009
Housing charity Shelter are jubilant after succeeding in saving the home of Paul Amanda Jackson of Shrewsbury, where they had lived for over 20 years. According to the BBC report, Mr and Mrs Jackson entered a sale and rent back deal with a company, Repossessions Stopped, in 2005 after getting into mortgage arrears...

OFT victory in Foxtons unfair contract terms case

Posted on July 10, 2009
Landlords up and down the land will be jumping with glee at the Office of Fair Trading (OFT)?s victory over Foxtons regarding their unfair contract terms. To read the background to this, see my previous posts here and here. The OFT was challenging the clauses under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (The Regulations)...

Canadian landlords trample on tenants human rights, says survey

Posted on July 09, 2009
A newspaper report here, describes a survey in Toronto in Canada which shows that vulnerable people are regularly being discriminated against by landlords. To quote the article:To test landlord compliance, the centre created five "renter profiles" ? a single mother with one child; a black single mother with one child; a single South Asian man, a single man with a mental illness and a married woman on provincial disability benefits...

The corporate way of dealing with complaints

Posted on July 09, 2009
A couple of weeks ago I was concerned as my online bank statement seemed to be showing me as not having any available cash when I knew for a fact that I did. The lady at the bank told me to speak to their online banking customer services department. I duly did this and they said they would get back to me...

Tenant Txt

Posted on July 08, 2009
I have recently been told about Tenant Txt, a web-site which landlords (particularly those with a large number of properties, and social landlords) can use to contact their tenants.The landlord signs up to the web-site, and also signs up his tenants...

65% of ARLA landlords report tenants in arrears of rent

Posted on July 07, 2009
A new report from ARLA gives the unsurprising result that many more tenants are finding it difficult to pay their rent. With the massive number of people being made redundant and the general downturn in the economy this is hardly surprising The question is, what do you to about it? Here are my top tipsIf you are a tenant:Apply for housing benefit if you think you are eligible...

Possible scam with tenants' deposit money

Posted on July 06, 2009
There has been quite a bit of publicity over the last few months about agents and the unjust charges they impose on both tenants and also the landlords they represent. The CAB did a report on this which I wrote about here. I have now been contacted by a tenant telling me about what he suspects may be another scam by agents (and potentially also landlords), although it is not something he can prove...

How to choose the right tenancy agreement- some guidance for landlords

Posted on July 04, 2009
Many landlords don?t bother too much about their tenancy agreement. They consider it to be a disagreeable necessity, something filled with legal ?mumbo jumbo?, and just try to get the shortest and/or cheapest one they can find. This is a mistake. A tenancy agreement sets out the rights and obligations between you and your tenant/s, and needs to be clear and unequivocal...

Take your complaint to the Property Ombudsman

Posted on July 02, 2009
I stumbled upon this excellent article on the BBC website today, which is by the Property Ombudsman about his service in respect of letting agents. Due to the problems in the property market, many agents are now turning to lettings and, if they are unfamiliar with this area of work, their customers may have some cause to complain about them...

Revolving door for housing ministers

Posted on June 30, 2009
Did you know that the new housing minister is the ninth since labour came to power in 1997? They are:1997 ? Hilary Armstrong1999 ? Nick Raynsford2001 ? Lorde Falconer2002 ? Lord Rooker2003 ? Keith Hill2005 ? Yvette Cooper2006 ? Ruth Kelly2007 ? Hazel Blears2008 ? Caroline Flint2008 - Margaret Beckett2009 ? John Healey How can the department hope to have a consistent policy with so many different ministers? Roof Magazine (the source of this information) is generally approving of Mr Healey?s appointment...

Homeless hostel VAT bill withdrawn

Posted on June 30, 2009
Readers may remember that in December I reported that a new homeless hostel in Newcastle was at risk because the VAT had ruled that it was a commercial building and not a hostel (mainly because they did not have a workable definition of a homeless persons hostel) and that therefore VAT was payable...

Banks swiping our cash

Posted on June 28, 2009
An article in the Observer today 'Banks exploiting obscure law to raid accounts and recover debts' prompts me to remind readers on housing benefit (HB), or landlords of tenants on housing benefits, of the advantages of using Credit Unions.If you find it difficult to keep your bank account under control, you are always at risk that your housing benefit is going to be used up and will not be available to pay out to your landlord, thus putting your home at risk...

FIve legal housing/landlord & tenant law blogs

Posted on June 27, 2009
When I first started blogging in February 2006, there were only a few British legal blogs. For a while I think I was the only blogger covering housing/landlord and tenant law. However since then a few more have started up. I thought it would be nice to list them...

Rent increases in periodic tenancies

Posted on June 26, 2009
Most landlords know that after the fixed term of a tenancy has ended, if it is an assured or an assured shorthold tenancy, section 5 of the Housing Act 1988 intervenes and provides for a new 'periodic' tenancy to be created. This tenancy runs from month to month (if rent is paid monthly) or from week to week (if rent is paid weekly), and the section provides that it will be subject to the same terms and conditions as the preceding fixed term tenancy...

NLA publishes merger court order

Posted on June 26, 2009
Having been alerted by a twitter posting by the National Landlords Association (NLA) stating that their web-site page on the merger between the NLA and the National Federation of Residential Landlords/Southern Private Landlords Association had been updated, I was intrigued to see that they have published the court order online...

Tenancy deposits with student lets

Posted on June 24, 2009
Readers may be interested in hearing about the solution to a problem experienced by a Landlord Law member, Roger, who lets to students. Roger uses a Shorthold Tenancy Agreement (four students per house) and formerly obtained a Rent Guarantee from the parents...

FSA to regulate sale and rent back sector

Posted on June 20, 2009
Homeowners in distress who have sold their property to a 'sale and rent back' company in the belief that they will be able to live their for the rest of their lives, only be to kicked out a year later, will be pleased to learn that this sector is now to be regulated by the Financial Services Authority...

Night falls on Night Jack blog

Posted on June 17, 2009
A chill wind is blowing through the halls of anonymous blogdom, after the High Courts decision that the writer of Night Jack, an anonymous police blogger who told it like it was, did not have the right to prevent The Times naming him.I am in two minds about this...

Consultation on private housing in Northern Ireland

Posted on June 12, 2009
A report on the BBC web-site states that plans to overhaul the private rental sector are being considered in Northern Ireland. The key proposals are - A central scheme for tenants' deposits so that landlords cannot simply refuse to pay back deposits for "flimsy reasons"Government deposit guarantee for vulnerable people who cannot afford themAn independent body to manage disputes between landlords and tenants and encourage compliance with their tenancy agreementNew fitness standards implemented by 2015...

Time taken to get possession of a property through the courts ? an example

Posted on June 11, 2009
One of my clients has a non paying tenant living in a property in the jurisdiction of the Luton County Court. Proceedings were issued on 19 March and an order for possession was obtained on mandatory grounds on 11 May, when the tenant was ordered to vacate on or before 25 May...

Good news for tenants - receivers of rent now eight times more likley

Posted on June 10, 2009
A report on the BBC site today regarding problems experienced by buy to let landlords indicates that mortgage companies now seem to be more willing to appoint a 'receiver of rent', as opposed to evicting the tenant so they can sell as mortgagee in possession...

The Woodland Trust - Charity of the Month (June 2009)

Posted on June 08, 2009
Founded in 1972, the Woodland Trust is the UK's leading woodland conservation charity. It has four main aims and objectives:Preventing further loss of ancient woodland Restoring and improving woodland biodiversity Expanding the area of new native woods Increasing people's understanding and enjoyment of woodsAt present it is trying to raise sufficient money to purchase almost 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of existing conifer woodland at Cwm Mynach within Snowdonia National Park, a site of extraordinary wildlife abundance, with buzzards, ravens, owls and otters...

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