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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Landlords Beware - new How To Rent Guide issued by government

The government has issued a new How To Rent Guide - the critical document that landlords or their agents have to issue to tenants.

This is more than just a bureaucratic nicety, as failure to serve the most up to date guide invalidates any future Section 21 action.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which has issued the update today, says the most recent previous version was dated August 7 2019 - this is now out of date.

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Today's new version is here.

In the light of the importance of serving the correct version on tenants, the Guild of Letting and Management is advising landlords not to save the document as a PDF but instead save the website address so there will be access to the most up to date version.

In the event of further action, landlords must also prove the document has been saved on the tenant. The guide can be served in hard copy format or - with the consent of the tenant - via email in PDF form.

Failure to serve the document correctly, and to have proof of it being served, will invalidate any Section 21 (form 6a) served.

Want to comment on this story? If so...if any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals on any basis, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.

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    Yet another trap laid to ensure unprofessional Landlord's are unable to gain possession.
    If you are not on top of everything (and I mean everything), then you may well end up with a sitting Tenant.
    Any corner cutting landlords out there will be shaking in their boots...if they are not, they jolly well should be.

    Franklin I

    In all honesty John, I think most of the rogue Landlord's are oblivious to these guidelines, hence the reason why they get hefty fines!

    Ignorance is a disease, education is the cure!

    Some people choose to live and learn the hard way!

     
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    John,
    You don't seem to understand the so called un professional landlord. Their way works irrespective of what ever the government legislation is out there. The ones who get caught are the innocent landlords who happen own a second property that they rent in good will and not understand the full impact of any issues that may rise. They won't be shaking in their boots either as they would be non the wiser until they have to serve such notice as section 21.

     
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    "How to Rent Guide" but I know one of them at least wasn't called not called a Guide at all. Surely not another NEW ONE I think it has changed 9 times in just 6 years from memory since introduction, is Shelter so incompetent when they brought it in, they couldn't get it right first time and none of their Business anyway. What ? 9 or 10 goes at it maybe they should be on the Brexit Team, can anyone tell me where I can get a good Race Horse it has to be good to keep up with this.

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    Its a Fraud on Private Landlords.

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    There'll be a how to breath guide and a how to walk guide for tenants next.

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    But never a how to keep a house clean pay your rent guide.

     
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    Franklin I, Rules for Landlords is a disease and is Highly Contagious even more so than Corona. Ignorance is bliss.

  • PossessionFriendUK PossessionFriend

    I did Chuckle at Page 4 that advises Tenants who struggle to find a Guarantor, - to speak with SHELTER ;-)))
    Who promptly off-load tenants to Local Authorities, - also quick to back - pedal from taking any risk.

  • George Dawes

    May as well rewrite the header as ‘how to rent without paying any rent’

    Good old Tories , screwing the electorate for all it’s worth . Then again labour are even more useless , if that’s humanly possible

  • Bill Wood

    Actually, I appreciate this new guide, a bit more plain information than the last one. A lot of it is common sense of course, but some renters aren't aware of all the ins and outs of renting, and this would help them.
    I have a newly married couple in my flat, moved in July this year, and neither had rented before, both lived with their parents. Page 11 lists what the tenant *must* do, in black and white, and re-inforces what I have put in the tenancy agreement. So the couple now know the agreement is only echoing government advice.
    Page 13 is good too. If I offer them a 'rolling periodic tenacy' next year, they can see this is quite normal, and won't be worried by it.
    There is a new 'How to Let' guide too, but I haven't read it yet.

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    Bill, Totally disagree its all rubbish in the highest degree adding more costs and brought in by Shelter to under mine S21 as you all know by now & stop LL's from taking Court Action., "How to Rent" do people think Tenants are so stupid they don't know How to Rent what have we been doing for over 40 years, now we have Tenants far more educated than LL's in the main, many with iPhones /Lap tops and probably secondary if not University Degrees. Anything they want to know all they do is look at internet. It used to be 8 pages How to rent guide & it been out 6 years but now 18 pages and changed about 9 times its disgraceful interference and not their property, we now have to incorporate it into our Tenancy Agreement or it prevents you using S21. Yours furious

  • Keith  Johnson

    So if we served a howvto rent 3 years ago do we still need to send out the updated version?

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    We’ll have to ask our Boss Shelter who forced How to Rent guide upon us in 2014 and changed 10 times/ 11 issues since is my recollection. We have to be a fit & proper person but also the most appropriate person then put up with this nonsense making it up willy- nilly as to go along, are they fit & proper ?. All I know if you do a new agreement you have to serve the latest one whether it’s possible to know what that is another matter, also any other changes to Contract or becoming periodic may have to re-serve to be completely stupid and compliant.

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    Kieth, look at what you done you rekindled the subject a year on, if ignorance is a disease the education didn’t do much for the authors of “How to Rent”

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    I must be on a different planet to the rest of you as my problem is getting tenants to stay and pay. I want my tenants to stay forever provided they pay and behave. I have no intention of ever evicting a tenant who pays and behaves so section 21 is of no value to me and its demise does not worry me . If I want to sell and I have I sell the property with tenants in situ. Unfortunately, I have had to evict hundreds of tenants for not paying the rent.
    I see very little value in issuing the how to rent guide though I do issue it to give the appearance of being professional not because I want to ensure I can use section 21 because I have no intention of using section 21. In the time I have been issuing the how to rent guide I have never seen a tenant read it then again I've only had one tenant in 30 years I have been a landlord I have seen read the tenancy agreement before taking on their tenancy. What they do with these documents when they get home I do not know but I very much doubt they read them . It is just a waste of paper and trees then again virtually everything the government has introduced on the PRS does not stand up to a cost benefit analysis. It is all a waste of time effort and money.
    Jim Haliburton
    The HMO Daddy

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    Morning Jim, you are not on a different Planet just operate a different model really in my view. Section 21 is very necessary for the private rented Sector to have any control over the property, yes seldom we need to use it because its there, remove control over any business you know what happens and you know what I mean. I don’t mind if you are having a dig, S 21 is completely necessary. How 2 Rent now 17 pages more than doubled since start and I agree it has no value for improvement of renting because it was never meant to, only brought in as an extra cost and encumbrance to increase LL’s work load and waste time, paper, prevent use of S.21 if you didn’t serve latest one whether you could have known what that was. MHCLG moron Dept’ has 65 pages so called model Tenancy Agreement that they was us to use desperate to waste paper. There is a very simple way to avoid evictions which I have but its very risky my rents are away below the market value so no one wants to leave me.

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    Michael we will have to agree to disagree. All that will happen if section 21 is abolished is I believe, that the same number of evictions will take place as previously except the reason will be given which is the tenant is not paying the rent.

    Just as the tenancy deposit scheme was brought in on flawed grounds the abolition of section 21 will not stop evictions and will in practice have no effect on the business of being a landlord. The abolition of section 21 will pass without being noticed. I do not believe we have anything to fear from the abolition of section 21 and it may be a good thing as it gives tenants the perception of greater security.

    The opposite could apply and by the law of unintended consequences could result in more homelessness as as if I am correct the reson tenants are being evicted using section 21 is mainly for not paying their rent. Evictions for rent arrears results in a county court judgment and the tenants may struggle to be rehoused in the private sector due to having a CCJ and in the social sector as the tenants could be declared to be making themselves intentionally homeless by not paying the rent so adding to the homeless crisis.

    I say 'may' result in a CCJ as I've seen no evidence of the CCJ being registered when evicting for rent arrears and I've done a lot off eviction for rent arrears.
    Jim Haliburton
    The HMO Daddy

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    Hi Jim. I have to disagree on this major stumbling block its
    massive. I know what it was like before, why it was needed and fought / campaigned so hard for it. There was virtually no buy to let prior. I don’t expect you to understand with the greatest respect because you weren’t there, as you say yourself 30 years / 1991 of course after the 1988 Act which would have been irrelevant without S.21 having been a LL since 1978 I think I should know that one. Anyway no point in calling it S.21 anyone now that its only a remnant undermined as you rightly say by Deposit debacle. How 2 Rent, EPC,
    DEICR, 2015 De-Regulation Act, property damage excuse,
    Licensing etc, any of which is likely to prevent you using S.21 its disgraceful behaviour.
    It will and has been noticed by the damage already done creating ASB, Cannabis growing, overcrowding, subletting, etc, didn’t exist before interference
    Section 21 should be reinstated to its original function to do what it was meant to do, don’t worry it will get worse, christ I struggle with this little HE.

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    Well let's hope I am right Michael and it turns out to be a storm over nothing

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    Jim
    I beiieve that 85% of your tenants kept the money when the government benefits were paid direct to tenants. What did you do about it? How did you evict the hundreds of tenants you described recently.

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