February 17, 2009
HMO water contaminated
Story link: HMO water contaminated
If you are a landlord and you are presented with a Emergency Prohibition Order then you know you have done something wrong on a major scale.
Houses in Multiple Occupation as rental properties are extremely complicated and hard to look after, so if you are looking to purchase one, then its advisable to do extensive due diligence.
A landlord who failed to ensure a wholesome supply of water to his property pleaded guilty to failing to comply with an Emergency Prohibition Order (EPO) pursuant to Section 43 of the Housing Act 2004 when he appeared before Holyhead Magistrates Court recently.
The Isle of Anglesey County Council served an EPO on Barry Lloyd in May 2007 for the offence at his property at Tyn Coed Farm, Talwrn Road, Llangefni. As the landlord and owner, he was responsible for the House in Multiple Occupation (HMO).
Landlord fined £2,000
Story link: Landlord fined £2,000
Landlords who fail to ignore subtle advice should definitely be treated in this way, after all, the properties they are being asked to improve are peoples homes and way of life, so should be treated with care and respect, not disrespect.
A landlord who ignored calls for him to improve his cold, damp property has been ordered to pay almost £2,000.
Andrew Bevan, who lives in Southend on Sea, was convicted of failing to comply with an Improvement Notice for the house he let on Kara Street in Seedley, Lancashire.
Russian Prostitute row
Story link: Russian Prostitute row
I don’t understand why the landlords are being treated as the victim for the majority of the time and big companies like Foxtons are able to get away with such poor business practice.
Their power within the industry allows them to trample all over private landlords and they definitely should not be able to.
A residential landlord is suing Foxtons estate for more than £16,000 in damages for allowing a 22-year-old ‘Russian prostitute’ to move into one of her Chelsea properties.
The woman did not pay further rent after handing over payment for the first month in advance. She left after three months, but not before damaging the property.
Landlord gets reduced fine
Story link: Landlord gets reduced fine
If a law is put into place and then broken and there is a set penalty for the offender, then I do not really understand why that penalty should be decreased, after all, the landlord was just confirming what the courts already knew by pleading guilty.
Rogue landlords such as the one mentioned should be made an example of.
A landlord has had his fine reduced from £7,500 to £2,500 in recognition of making an early guilty plea to charges arising from his failure to license a house in multiple occupation.
Gravesham Borough Council told Dartford Magistrates Court that Paramjit Singh Bansal, of Milton Road, Gravesend had jeopardised his tenants’ safety at the four bedroomed property he rented to them in the same town.
Increase in number of squatters
Story link: Increase in number of squatters
The global recession that has being gripping the UK economy over the last few months has meant that there has been a huge increase in repossessions.
In turn this has led to landlords reporting a huge increase in squatters in their properties, which can cause a huge amount of distress for a landlord.
Increase in number of squatters
Despite the government’s assurances that repossession will be an absolute last resort it is anticipated that the number could hit 75,000 over the next year.
With increasing numbers not being able to pay the mortgage or rent, Landlord Assist, the nationwide tenant eviction service are seeing an increase in instructions from Corporate bodies to remove squatters from properties.
February 9, 2009
Increase in rental means decrease in property value
Story link: Increase in rental means decrease in property value
The higher demand for rental properties means less and less people are purchasing. This has led to a long term decline in property values.
Of course we have seen a short blip in the property values this month, with a slight increase, although I wouldn’t expect that to carry on for much longer.
Increase in rental means decrease in property value
Residential landlords in England and Wales saw house prices fall by two percent in December. According to the latest figures from Land Registry the average house price is now £158,946 representing an annual decrease of 13.5 percent.
But another property company says there has also been a 30 percent increase in rentals activity.
More rights to evict bad tenants
Story link: More rights to evict bad tenants
It feels like landlords have little or no rights when it comes to evicting bad tenants due to various acts that protect the tenant in the rental industry.
I would have expected that all landlords, if they knew about the petition, would have signed on the dotted line, as it would be in their interest.
More rights to evict bad tenants
An E-Petition on www.number10.gov.uk, the official website of the Prime Minister’s Office, which pleaded ‘give more rights to landlords to evict bad tenants’ attracted less than 20 signatures.
The petition submitted by Asif Mirza said: “There are many good tenants but occasionally you come across a tenant who deliberately rents a property then stops paying any rent.