The Renters Reform Bill could end up with landlords going bankrupt, a housing law specialist is warning.
Des Taylor, director of compliance service provider Landlord Licensing & Defence, claims the Bill - which is slowly going through the House of Commons - will criminalise common errors and oversights that landlords and agents make, and give local councils the power to impose financial penalties up to £30,000 for each offence.
Taylor says: “The Bill will not only end the use of ‘no-fault’ evictions, but also introduce new requirements for landlords to register on a national register and with an ombudsman scheme, to provide meticulously correct paperwork and notice forms to tenants, and to comply with even more standards and regulations.
“Failure to do any of these things exactly, will expose landlords to the risk of hefty fines from coincils who will have a statutory duty to enforce them under the bill when it is enacted.”
The Bill also expands the scope of controversial rent repayment orders which Taylor says could be “devastating” in their impact.
He continues: “They could face multiple RROs and fines, which could wipe out their income and assets.
“The consequences for their tenants’ security of tenure would also be dire.”
Taylor calls for a national authority to set the level of fines and RROs, rather than leaving it to the discretion of Local Housing Authorities.
“We have seen how many LHAs have abused their powers under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, which introduced civil penalties for rogue landlords.
“LHAs have instead targeted the low-hanging fruit of reasonable landlords, not rogues, and imposed exorbitant fines that are massively disproportionate to the offences, often without proper evidence or due process.
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An extremely worrying time for landlords.
I paid my large chain agent who claimed to be all heart, but obviously didn’t to do my paperwork. Come S21 time my solicitor picked up they didn’t refer to the deposit clause in the AST where deductions could be made. When politely requested to ‘correct it’ they didn’t acknowledge it was an issue and needed to be asked half a dozen times before they relented on the basis they took no responsibility for the new paperwork. When do they ever take responsibility?
Also one card payment for a holding deposit say £300.56. They only log £300.00 so took the balance for the first months rent to £1,300.56. £0.56 too much. So the rent was not 12 equal payments so contravened the Tenant Fee Act. They said they had to refund the card. No other way. Couldn’t as didn’t have the details. They said they wrote to the tenant for it without response 🤥. Therefore blocking the issuing of the S21. So I refunded the tenant my myself.
All small little oversites that led to disasterous consequences. I dread to think what more 💩💩💩💩💩 is coming from Gove let alone the 43 year old angry lefty ginger lady. The benefits funded grandmother. Labour claim the RRB is just the start 😂😂😅😅 🆘🆘🆘🆘🆘 Will she be paving the way up and down the country for girls to get pregnant at 14, 15 or maybe even 16 and have the right to remain in a landlord’s house forever? Rent free? A nice annual income from fines and compensation? The landlords being unable to get rid and eventually go bankrupt?Will they even be U.K. girls leading going forward, or will they be Romanian, Syrian, Eritrea? Who will be the leader with Sir Kier’s open door and red carpet?
I think this country is going down the toilet fast.
Hi Nick,
I completely understand your frustration with estate agents. In my 26 years as a landlord, I have consistently found them to be ineffective in handling crucial aspects of property management.
When it comes to full management, estate agents prove to be useless. They excel at finding tenants and getting them through the doors, but once that initial step is done, they often become surplus to requirements. Particularly in cases of non-payment of rent or antisocial behavior, estate agents offer little assistance. Instead of actively addressing these issues, their typical response is to advise landlords to summon tenants to court, leaving the landlords to handle the process themselves.
In my experience, estate agents are far from reliable in these scenarios, and I have found it necessary to take matters into my own hands. Their lack of effectiveness in crucial situations has led me to adopt a more hands-on approach to property management.
I remember it Nick. Back in late eighties if a girl needed to leave home and have her own accommodation, all she had to do was just get pregnant. I have been a landlord for over forty years and always said abolition of Section 21 together with introduction of open ended tenancies and rent control that will be introduced in future, will create sitting tenant or bad old Rent Acts 1977. Add Section 1 of the Children Act 1989, Child Welfare is paramount will result in exactly what you said. Tenancy for life for the teenage mother.
I agree Nick, most agents dont understand the fine detail of legislation, the headlines alone usually and certainly dont know how to impliment processes to remain compliant. There is then a worrying number who dont even do the very basics, eg gas certs, EICRs etc, there are millions of landlords who could fall foul of the Deregulation Act as the CAB knows only too well, their default position is that every S21 served is invalid and ask agents to prove them wrong, knowing a great many wont be able to. Keeps me busy though, send them my way if you come across anymore that need some assistance.
Perhaps the only thing that will come of this madness is the Register of Landlords, might give rise to a Landlord Association that has a pair and starts to act in their interests and fight like the looney left lobbyists do.
Fat chance of that!
I think there must be a Landlord Association dedicated to legally protecting the rights of landlords and taking crucial judicial reviews and wrong decisions to the High Court. It would also fight for a sense of rebalance in the landlord, government, and tenant relationship. Most landlords would pay a small fee for this legal advice/action organisation.
The Bill has Devastation consequences for Private Housing over all.
It’s about time someone called it out for what it is.
How are Tenants being taking-in by all this being done in their name, its done enormous damage to them driving up their Rents 30%, if they can even find somewhere, go on tell me I’m wrong and we have to most educated young generation ever, not a murmur, are they completely brain washed. Where are to Renters Union?, where are the Students Unions. They will be property owners of the future are they voting for those obstacles.
At the moment they are being lead by the nose like a sheep going through a hole in the wire fence once one does it thousands follow.
We are now a total Police State forget about Democratic Elections. I haven’t voted the last 2 Elections no one to vote for the same MP has been returned for years and years on the back of spongers, dossers and Benefit Claimants. I gave about 10 years writing to him but given up that this last 5 years, yes he’s a nice man and responded but clearly getting no where. I have about 30 cream coloured envelopes for the House of Commons.
Now I have a skip to fill to steady the nerves.
The problem started in the Schools & Universities, they have been infested with academics that have no real world experience and live in a fantasy land of Che Guevara posters and Corbyn fairy tales of a socialist Utopia. Of course these are the same people that support the recent terror events and attacks on those they disagree with, remember how many of the champagne socialist celebrities clapped when Farage had a milk shake thrown at him and one saying it was a pity it wasn't Acid....
That's what's being pushed by the academics. Until the Right side of politics start rooting out the ideological rot the chaos seen in the USA now will come to our streets.
'' Most educated young generation'' with zero common sense there's the problem
We are being targeted from every angle, it’s never ending, I see totally why landlords of my age with a few mortgage free properties are just calling it a day 💰💰 life is for living, not for that much unnecessary stress.
100% agree Simon. If it wasn't so difficult in Scotland to evict I'd be well on my way to selling the lot. I've been fighting the courts here for a year now to evict tenants in a house I want to sell. Total nightmare... Never will I invest in buy to let again!!
John, steady on please how many times are we Registered already.
Yesterday I renewed a house Insurance policy premium gone well up £830.00 to include £88.00 Premium tax Penalty for being so stupid to Insure it.
Urgent Concerns for Landlords: Taking Action to Safeguard our Future
These are undoubtedly troubling times for all of us. If we choose to remain passive, we risk becoming vulnerable and facing significant challenges that could severely impact our livelihoods. It feels as though we are sitting ducks or lambs to the slaughter, unless we take action to navigate through these turbulent waters.
The solicitor has brought to our attention a disconcerting reality: the average yearly rent in the UK is estimated to be around £18,000 to £22,000 per annum. However, with the Reform Bill looming over us, the consequences for landlords could be severe, including fines of up to £30,000. It is crucial that we recognise the potential implications and act accordingly.
The introduction of Section 24 and the government's prevention of current LLs from booking possession order dates have further compounded our concerns. Additionally, the impending implementation of new EPC ratings in 2025, with a specific focus on achieving a C rating, along with new regulations and legislations, and the interest rates reaching 10%, all contribute to a sense of impending disaster. It is akin to boarding the Titanic, knowing full well its tragic fate, yet still deciding to embark on the journey.
Similar to the events that unfolded in June 2023, when five individuals tragically lost their lives during the Titanic submersible expedition, we cannot ignore the signs that point to a potential disaster. It is crucial that we take this analogy to heart and acknowledge the urgency of the situation.
In light of these challenges, I urge you to approach this predicament as if it were a game of Monopoly, where we must strategically make use of all available resources, including our "get out of jail free" card. We must come together and proactively explore every possible avenue to safeguard our investments and ensure our long-term sustainability. This is why I was calling for a "Tenant's licensing scheme."
Let us engage in open dialogue, share information, and collaborate with relevant stakeholders. By staying informed and taking decisive action, we can navigate through these treacherous waters and protect our interests. Just as the survivors of the Titanic tragedy emerged stronger and more resilient, we too can overcome these challenges if we stand united.
I implore you to join me in rising to this occasion. Together, we can weather this storm and emerge as stronger, more secure landlords, ready to face whatever lies ahead.
Go to change.org and sign the petition entitled "Petition for Equitable Rights for Tenants and Landlords."
It's better to do something than nothing at all.
What makes you think this is going to make any difference. The bill is to attack private Landlords. This is a normal behaviour of low class people in this country, they use a party called labour. The fact that conservatives are doing it is because there is support from public for this.
Precisely like Brexit, a conservative ideology which was supported by Labour supporters as the jobs you don’t need much education for such as building trade, factory work etc were being taken by eu migrants.
So the Conservative Party, the media are all obsessed with migrants of one form or another while there are delays in every sector. There is a shortage of parts and Labour in the car industry, supermarkets are still struggling to get certain items in. I can go on. Main contributor to these problems are Brexit.
Why do landlords have to do gas safety checks every year and not owner occupiers.
Do the government think the tenants are like vermin and will attack the gas equipment?
Or
Do they think the equipment may deteriorate to unsafe levels within a year.
If so, why not check all gas equipment in all house holds.
Or
Do they think that tenants are a higher class of beings that should be protected?
The class war in this country is real, they want to destroy private housing market. The council houses or housing associations are not being discussed. THIS IS BECAUSE LOW CLASS PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY HATE THE SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE, PERIOD.
There shouldn't be fines at all for Landlords who make a mistake about anything. They should just be required to correct what is wrong in a timely fashion.
The whole of the Renters Reform legislation is causing landlords to "call it a day" as Simon so aptly puts it.
Thanks Franklin, petition signed.
It's a very articulate, balanced and sensible petition.
Well done Franklin. Action not just words.
I think it could be start of new national landlords association.
Must get use social media to promote this petition well and importantly try to get a well known member of the public /celebrity such as Phil Soencer on board who have been campaigning about property matters
Does anyone remember when EPC was introduced. The main purpose of that reform was to change the property sales process, EPC was just a minor point. The main point of that reform was to stop people backing off after accepting an offer.
Once the estate agents body made it clear that the bill will destroy the housing market, the only thing that was left behind was EPCs. Which was then extended to the rental sector too.
It will take the Banks and the likes of NRLA to specify the problem with these reforms. It won’t happen until the government specify the reforms.
We already have a delay to reform the courts- that’s like how long is a piece of string?
Stupid Labour can say what ever when they are in opposition, but as government, they wouldn’t want to take the country into recession at the first point of asking.
In 22 years of renting properties, I have used s21 once and S8 twice, each time to evict tenants who were in breach of the tenancies. Now I have included annual rent rises as part of the new contracts and increased rents across the portfolio.
I have had some agents who supply properties for councils offer me the same as the market rents. So if you add their cut on top, the councils are paying through the nose to house people on temporary basis yet they haven’t changed the rent they pay their tenants.
Even Labour have to wake up to the stupidity eventually. When government can’t explain their stupidity, they point the finger at people with no voice - the immigrants.
I've been a landlord well over 20 years now and I've had more than enough
This is the end for me , I'm selling up and enjoying he fruits of my labour before they think of a way of making that illegal too
They've already done just that in Scotland George.
Only 2 to go and I’m out, high interest. Account and sit on a beach, I don’t get paid enough to be. A tax collector, border force officer, fraud investigator , social worker, charity worker, health and safety officer , lawyer and all the rest of the nonsense imposed on me
Imposing fines of up to £30,000 who’s going to be a landlord in towns and cities up north then?
Some properties only rent for gross £6000 per annum.
The Renters reform bill is making it completely unpractical to be a landlord in England it’s literally a decree that makes landlords outlaws (£30000 fines oh my god!) its draconian and needs to be scrapped.
The NRLA need to be completely adamantly opposed to this piece of toilet paper (as should the tories themselves) but from where i’m standing their agreeing with it in parts, as soon as that piece of toilet (RRB) paper becomes law we will be at the tenants and local authorities mercy.
As for the actual Tories they have done a complete idealogical U turn from their core beliefs with this piece of toilet(RRB) paper “so much for their beliefs in small government and free markets with as little government intervention in the markets as possible”.
Margaret Thatcher will be turning in her grave at this nonsense.
Rant over.
I thought that the NRLA had assisted in the drafting of this legislation.
Ellie, I think Beadle's About helped a lot with the newly proposed amendments to student housing. I think there's an understanding that's where he has investments ;) ;)
Aiding and abetting the biggest threat to the industry there has ever been Ellie, the very people tasked with being the voice for landlords.
In Scotland one of the architects of the HMO and Landlord Registration Wee Nicola who just passed here driving test at 53 years of age ( no doubt so she can drive her spanking new campervan that the cops grabbed off her and her hubby which she will get back as politicians only make the rules they are never subject to them like most people are ) if a Landlord forgets for whatever reason to Register as a Landlord he or she can get a fine of £50,000 !!!! plus there are numerous other reasons why a Landlord could get fines ranging from £5000 to £10,000 for minor so called ` failures ` of administrative practices..meanwhile thousands of students and families cannot find a place to live in and 90% of these major problems have been caused by people like Wee Nicola and her cronies but there will be no fines for Wee Nicola and her comrades..you could not make it up but is clear as night follows day
If you use an agent and they mess up do they get fined ?
They must have CMP. PII and be a member of an Ombudsman scheme.
Hi Pat Gan,
In my last sentence, I wrote the following;
It's better to do something than nothing at all!
We all have a choice, you can either sink or swim.
I commend you for trying, in politics, as in life you get nothing for nothing.
In other words, assuming you get 10000 signatures, then what? What does it change? As it is you have a few hundred signatures.
This is something the NRLA should be asking their members and presenting to the government.
As in the case of Brexit, the facts are ignored and the sensationalised sentiments are followed. In Brexit uncontrolled immigration was the problem and with this People making money by renting homes is the problem. The government are doing all this because there are people in this country who dislike Landlords for making perceived easy money. They don’t understand that we could put our money into other investments. The government is pampering to them.
Pat. I think the same can be said of EPC’s as gas /electric Certificate’s it seems to only applies to Private landlords and not Resident Households. Our relatively small Country is not going to save the World, there’s a lot of Black smoke on TV every night in foreign places.
I also remember they wanted us to provide a Survey prior to Marketing the property to speed up Sales buy it back fired putting sellers at risk and finding fault with their own property.
Yes Michael,
There has been continuous attack on private landlords. We need a union to properly represent Landlords.
The s8 can be modified with some other changes to be more effective than s21. s21 takes about 6 months to get rid of a tenant.
Wee Nicola and her cronies already did this years ago it's called a Home Report which the sellers must get or guess what could be another big fine or the agent will not put the house up for sale and it costs the owner of the house on ave around £700 for a house worth £200,000 in Scotland..another one I thought Wee Nicola and her cronies could not have thought up but did
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