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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Landlords will be legally required to join a redress scheme, or face £5,000 fine

For the first time ever, buy-to-let landlords will be legally required to become members of a redress scheme, as part of measures for a new Housing Complaints Resolution Service for the entire residential property market, it was announced yesterday.

Landlords that fail to become members of a redress scheme will face a fine of up to £5,000, under the plans unveiled by the housing secretary, James Brokenshire.

From broken boilers to cracks in the wall, it is hoped that the new Housing Complaints Resolution Service will help dissatisfied homeowners and tenants resolve disputes quickly.

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Housing and Communities Secretary James Brokenshire said: “Creating a housing market that works for everyone isn’t just about building homes – it’s about ensuring people can get the help they need when something goes wrong.

“But all too often the process can be confusing and overly bureaucratic, leaving many homeowners and tenants feeling like there is nowhere to go in the event of problems with their home.

“The proposals I have announced will help ensure all residents are able to access help when they need it, so disputes can be resolved faster, and people can get compensation where it’s owed.”

News that private landlords will be legally required to join a housing redress scheme has been welcomed by Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action and brand ambassador for Hamilton Fraser.

He commented: “Personally, I think this is a really positive step, not only in boosting protection for millions of renters across the country but also for recognising landlording as the professional business that it should be.

“It will encourage landlords to focus on customer service and building relationships, as well as the quality of their properties, help to professionalise the industry and provide a level playing field for landlords and tenants.”

However, the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has a number of concerns about the plans.

Policy director David Smith believes that the evidence the government has does not support the need for the changes. He also feels that little thought has been given about how all the new legislation will fit together and how it will be enforced.

The association is also concerned about the cost element.

Smith said: “It will be yet another cost and yet another layer of complexity, possibly with relatively little end product.

“We also need clarification on what the situation will be for landlords who use letting agents. Agents already have to be a member of a redress scheme – so landlords using them would be paying twice.”

No firm date has been set for the introduction of the new rules.

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Poll: Do you welcome the news that all private landlords, including individuals, will have to join a redress scheme?

PLACE YOUR VOTE BELOW

  • Neil Moores

    Of course it make sense but can someone think up some rules and regulations in one go please? Not over a hundred bits and pieces of rules and regulations being thrown at us over a successive governments.

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    I can understand the need for self managing landlords to become members of a redress scheme but landlords who use an agent, who should already be a member of a scheme, does not make any sense & is just another unnecessary cost.

    PossessionFriendUK PossessionFriend

    I'm sorry to disagree, But I can't.
    If a tenants is unhappy with the state of repair of their rental property, they can approach the Local Authority who will carry out a HHSRS. From 20 March, they'll also be able to get Legal Aid to sue the Landlord in court. FFHH [sic] Act 2019
    How much more ' protection ' do the MINORITY of tenants with a problem need. - Not forgetting English Housing Survey states 82 % are satisfied with their properties.
    Its just another layer of bureacracy and cost for the majority of good landlords.

     
  • icon

    OMG yet another piece of legislation/regulation we have to deal with.
    When will it all end?

  • Bill Wood

    This may become a victim of it's own success, like the NHS.

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    Just meddling with things they don't understand don't really care about whether it is right or wrong, they just blunder on doing as they please...making noises to hopefully win votes for the next election...

    James B

    Correct this is all about winning generation rent votes .. nothing else
    There is already vehicles to complain to this is just vote chasing

     
  • Gary
    • Gary
    • 25 January 2019 09:39 AM

    How about the same for tenants? like a credit file, allowing Landlords to provide details of arrears, damages etc which stays with the tenant on a register. With a tracked history and rating over their heads which may see tenants lose housing opportunities in the future, I think this will improve the industry on both sides. It is unfair to bring in measures to hold landlords accountable for contractual breaches, but not tenants!! I’ve never broken an obligation as a landlord but my tenants have broken plenty of theirs with absolutely no redress.

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    I agree totally, however their is something we can all do to mark the bad tenants, when a tenant leaves owing rent and/or damage issue a money claim online, £60 last time i did it and worth every penny, doubtful you will get any money back but the tenant will earn themselves a ccj which will show up on their credit file for 6 yrs, I have found that satisfying.

     
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    • 25 January 2019 10:29 AM

    Don't know how long you have been a LL but EVERYTHING you desire regarding a tenant record ALREADY exists and has done for over 10 years.
    You just have to use the service to make it totally effective.
    Have you truly NEVER heard of

    Landlordreferencingservices!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????
    Check out their website and so should EVERY other LL that exists.
    If EVERY LL registered their good and bad tenants with LRS NO LL would ever need to take on a wrongun tenant EVER again!!!!
    The resources are out there.
    If LL are too ignorant or lazy to find these easily available resources then that is really the LL fault.
    I believe LRS comes up quite high on a google search!!!
    This is the only site which facilitates LL to communicate with eachother and actually tell the truth about a tenant.
    Called network referencing.
    Probably the most effective referencing there can be!!!
    Give them a call.
    They are more than willing to discuss with you how the service works and what they can offer you.

     
    James B

    No interest from government to do anything that may jeopardise generation rent votes

     
  • icon

    we have always taken Dss tenants , we will Look very deep into should we no longer take them.
    OK so up goes the rent again when working class people just cant afford them now.

  • icon

    breaking news,more rent increases !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • icon

    Don't you just love politicians with their constant fiddling. I agree with the inputs provided previously about the need for a similar scheme for bad/rogue tenants, yes I know Landlordreferencingservices exists however, wouldn't it be better to have a comprehensive government backed scheme whereby all verified "rogue tenants" are listed. Although, of course we have the idiocies of certain sections of the Data Protection Act which would prevent such a useful facility.
    Additionally - and in line with Governments own stated criteria - how about having a system in which a "rogue tenant" is held accountable for debts, costs etc as a result of their tenancy/tenancies which will continue to be paid for - if relative out of their benefit payments - even after they have vacated the given property.

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    • 25 January 2019 17:29 PM

    Yep I totally agree with you.
    Even better would be for a National Tenant Licensing process by which EVERY tenant had a tenant passport.
    This would detail all their previous tenant history and it would be a legal requirement to keep it updated with harsh penalties if any tenant tries to deceive a LL with an out of date or incorrect tenant passport.
    I also believe the same should be asked of LL.
    Any tenant would be permitted to view the LL details to see their business performance as far as being a fit and proper person would be concerned.
    Of course such a fair and transparent service will NEVER occur.
    Reasons!?
    It would reveal the over 2 million illegal immigrants.
    It would reveal all the wrongun tenants who new LL would refuse to take on
    It would reveal all the criminal LL and cause in total millions of homeless as all the illegality was exposed.
    This redress scheme is a start of this process and I don't believe that Govt realises the Pandora's box they will be opening.
    I would love a system which totally exposed criminal LL and tenants but Govt simply couldn't cope with the millions of homeless.
    There would also be a run on the banks when millions of illegal tenants surface.
    Mortgages won't be paid.
    It could cause a depression in the UK.
    So practical and pragmatic reasons are why we will never see Govt sanctioned licensing schemes.
    But as I have stated LL don't need one for Tenants.
    Just use LRS.
    It already has been proven to work. LL just have to USE it!!!

     
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