News

• Sep 16

  Notice Service

  We have just launched our new Notice Service tool. For many agents they don't often serve notice and so when it is needed, they are not confident. We have developed and tested for a couple of years a service where we can serve the notice on your behalf. We are starting only on section 21 but we will expand it to section 8 and some of the RHW notices in Wales.

  If you or the landlord want to do the service, perhaps you want to hand deliver it, this is an option in the system too.

  
  In order for us to prepare and serve the notice you will have to give us tenant data, so when you sign up to use the service we need to you agree a data processing agreement to comply with GDPR. We don't want getting this paperwork organised to delay providing the notice.  Join now and next time you or a landlord need a notice, why not give it a try?

  
  You can find the new Notice Service product in our shop.

• Sep 11

  Renters' Rights Bill

  11/09/24
  
  Following the first reading of the Renters' Rights Bill today, guidance has been released which confirms the contents of the Bill. 
  The Bill will cover:
  

  • Abolish section 21 evictions
  • Ensure possession grounds are fair to both parties
  • Provide stronger protections against backdoor eviction
  • Introduce a new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman
  • Create a Private Rented Sector Database
  • Give tenants strengthened rights to request a pet in the property
  • Apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector
  • Apply ‘Awaab’s Law’ to the sector
  • Make it illegal for landlords and agents to discriminate against prospective tenants in receipt of benefits or with children
  • End the practice of rental bidding by prohibiting landlords and agents from asking for or accepting offers above the advertised rent
  • Strengthen local authority enforcement
  • Strengthen rent repayment orders

  See here for the guidance in full. 

• Sep 06

  Open consultation for The Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings) (Wales) Regulations 2025

  This consultation is for The Council Tax (Chargeable Dwellings) (Wales) Regulations 2025, and is open until 26 November 2024 It seeks views on draft Regulations:

  • to ensure HMOs are banded as a single property with 1 Council Tax band
  • to ensure the HMO owner remains liable for Council Tax

  To achieve this, we are proposing to disapply the CouncilTax (Chargeable Dwellings) Order 1992 (“the 1992 Order”) and the Council Tax(Liability for Owners) Regulations 1992 (“the 1992 Regulations”) in relation toWales and make the Council Tax (Chargeable dwellings) (Wales) Regulations 2025and the Council Tax (Liability for Owners) (Wales) Regulations 2025. 

  The new Regulations would replicate the existingprovisions from the 1992 Order and 1992 Regulations that apply to Wales andinclude new provisions so that HMO properties are aggregated and treated as asingle dwelling for Council Tax purposes. The Regulations would also expand theprescribed class of HMO for which the owner is responsible for paying CouncilTax. Regulation 4 of the Council Tax (Liability for Owners) (Wales) Regulations2025 transfers the liability to pay Council Tax to the person who has the mostinferior interest (whether freehold or leasehold) in the whole of the dwellingor, where there is no such person, the freeholder of the whole or any part ofthe dwelling, rather than to the owner. For the purposes of this document, theterm ‘owner’ will be used but in relation to HMOs, this will mean the personoutlined above.

  See here for the draft Regulations and here for the link to the open consultation

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