News

• Jul 10

  Another new How to Rent Guide

  The How to Rent Guide is the prescribed information stated in the Deregulation Act 2015. This act, via subordinate regulations, required that the document "entitled ‘How to rent: the checklist for renting in England’, as published by the Department for Communities and Local Government, that has effect for the time being" is given to the tenant before a section 21 notice can be served. This makes getting this right very important as failure to get it right could jeopardise possession claims.
  
  The guide was updated without fuss or comment in January 2018. Another update was provided on the 26 June and a previous news item refers to that. However, the revised version had some concerns. Most particularly the name of the document got subtly changed and this raised concerns as to if the new guide, with a different name, matched the requirements under the Deregulations Act 2015. It introduced another confusion in that the  file name of the PDF said it was the Jun18 version, the last edit date on the MHCLG web site stated 26 June 2018, though the bottom of page two of the PDF version of the guide said it was July 2018 (the HTML version now says updated 9 July).
  
  This has created a great deal of confusion about which version should be issued in which situation. It should also be said that there are no clear answers till a court of record makes a decision on some of the points. For example, there is a potential that the 26th June version is considered not valid because of the name not matching the regulations (but we won't know till a court decides!). This could mean that for a tenancy starting the 30th June the Jan 2018 guide would have been the one that should have been served at the time. However, in the quote in the first paragraph you will see that the version for the guide to give is "that has effect for the time being". Now what is not clear is if this is the version that had effect when it should have been served or when it was actually served. Again a point without a court judgement to make it clear. Therefore for that tenancy starting 30th June (or, of course, for the statutory periodic tenancy arising after the fixed term), it is not clear if the guide that should have been give was the one from the 26 June (as it was valid), the one from Jan 2018 (as the June one was not valid and Jan 2018 was the last correct guide at the point the obligation to give it arose), or indeed the July 2018 edition as this will be the version that will the current at the point the guide is actually given.
  
  All this only makes getting the tenant's consent to email the PDF even more important!!
  
  Obviously users of Training for Professionals' model agreement have the problem for the new tenancy but they do not run statutory periodic so the problem is reduced.

• Jun 29

  New How to Rent Guide

  On the 26th June 2018 the Government launched a new "How to Rent Guide". This is important as this must be given to all new tenants at move in. As a new guide has been issued you must also remember that if a renewal tenancy is signed, the new How to Rent Guide must be issued. This requirement also applies in the situation where a statutory periodic tenancy arises after the fixed term.
  
  There are some other changes, notifying the tenant of the online benefits calculator, telling tenants to ensure the property has  a licence if this is required, telling tenants of their rights around EPCs, gas safety records and deposits and explaining the requirement for a minimum EPC band E property, or a registered exemption.
  
  Additionally it has become one of a suite of guides with information now provided for tenants (this guide), two for landlords, one on legislation and one on safety and one for leaseholders. We have long said that landlords would have to raise their game if tenants ever got to understand their rights and these guides may have this effect, if the tenant ever reads them.

• Jun 14

  New HMO Licensing Regs

  The Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018 amends the description of which propertiesfall within Mandatory Licensing. The previous rule was where five or morepeople from two or more households in a building with three or more storeys.

  The new rules basically leave the people andhouseholds unchanged but require houses in multiple occupation on any number offloors to be licensed. There is an exclusion that if the property is in apurpose built block of flats of three or more flats, then it is not covered bythe requirement to be licensed under Mandatory Licensing.

  This means that if you have five people from two ormore households in a two storey house, this will now fall into mandatorylicensing.

  Transitional provisions clarify that if the property isalready licensed under additional licensing, this licence will continue tillexpiry and the property will not need to re-license

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