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Government Section 21 blunder
causes concern for landlords
A major drafting error in Government
regulations affecting the private
rented sector risks undermining
confidence in new legislation being
applied to the sector, according
to the Residential Landlords
Association (RLA).
The Deregulation Act, passed prior to
the General Election, provides ministers
with the power to introduce a new
standard form for landlords to complete
and provide to a tenant when seeking to
regain possession of a property on a nofault basis, known as a Section 21 notice.
With the form due to become legally
binding from the 1st October, the RLA
has written to the Housing Minister,
Brandon Lewis MP, to seek a delay
following the revelation of a serious
drafting error.
The standard form, as currently
drafted, notes that where a fixed-term
tenancy ends and then turns into a
rolling or periodic tenancy the Section
21 notice would only be valid for four
months from the date that it is served
on the tenant.
This contradicts the Deregulation Act,
which makes clear that the required
period to regain possession of a
property where a tenancy is a rolling
or periodic tenancy, should instead be
four months from the date the Section
21 notice expires.
Despite having engaged thoroughly
with the Government on its proposals,
the final version of the standard form,
published last week, had not been
shown to the RLA.
The RLA is warning that the drafting
exposes landlords to a legal minefield,
and is calling for the implementation
of the plans to be delayed to give more
time to get them right.
RLA Policy Director, David Smith,
said; “The RLA continues to share the
Government’s ambitions to ensure that
all landlords understand and properly
implement their legal responsibilities
and obligations.
“In light of the major changes being
introduced for the sector it is vital
that all documents published by the
Government are clearly understood. This
drafting error will serve only to dent the
confidence of landlords in the legislation.
“Whilst Ministers are understandably
eager not to let these new measures
drift, it would make more sense not to
rush their implementation than face the
potential legal difficulties that will now
arise for landlords.”
Richard Lambert, Chief Executive Officer
of the National Landlords Association
(NLA), has wider concerns about the raft of
new rules being introduced. He said: “This
is just plain farcical. These regulations are
poorly worded, badly timed and are being
tabled with just days to spare before they
are due to come into force on 1 October. As
we understand it, there will be no guidance
from the Government explaining how to
comply before then. How can a landlord
about to let a property on a tenancy
from the start of October be expected to
comply with these new requirements if
they’ve not been told what they are and
what is expected?
“Given that there is no Government
budget for marketing these new
laws, and so it is relying on industry
organisations and professional advisers
as the main route to compliance, it’s
shoddy, to say the least.
“Coming hot on the heels of the
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm
debacle in the Lords yesterday, which
due to official incompetence looks
highly unlikely to come into force this
year, this is something akin to a Laurel
and Hardy sketch.”
Landlord fined £20,000 over
HMO licence and safety concerns
A Newport landlord of a house in
multiple occupation (HMO) was
recently successfully prosecuted by
the city council for failing to license
the property and manage it safely.
Kaneeza Abid, of Alexandra Road,
pleaded guilty by letter to failing to
license a HMO in Alma Street under the
Housing Act and was fined £10,000.
She also admitted 10 offences of failing
to comply with the 2006 Management
Regulations and was fined £1,000 on
each offence.
Abid, of Alexandra Road, was ordered
to pay council costs of £1,229 and a
victim surcharge of £120.
Newport City Council is obliged
to license HMOs and enforce the
management regulations to ensure
HMOs are provided with the correct
facilities and that they are maintained
to provide safe homes.
Environmental
health
officers
inspected the property on 22 January
2015 and found that it needed a licence
and that fire escapes were not clear of
24 Landlord & Buy-to-Let Issue 61 • September 2015
obstructions and had poor lighting.
This put tenants at risk of severe [