Even Martin Lewis money saving champion of the UK is having a go at landlords!

Even Martin Lewis money saving champion of the UK is having a go at landlords!

15:38 PM, 18th November 2020, About 3 years ago 13

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I realise there might be the occasional rogue Landlord caught with this, but I would imagine there will be plenty of decent Landlords about to be clobbered because they have fallen foul of some minor licensing detail.

More ammunition for the rogue tenants of this world as the council has their back and our taxes to fund their court cases. Good luck to anyone renting property in London or any other borough that has a fake licensing scheme, you’re going to need it.

“Tenants in London can now use a new tool to check whether their landlords need to license their homes – and some could be owed £1,000s in rent refunds if their landlord doesn’t have the right documentation.

“Some privately rented homes need a property licence before they can be rented out to tenants, to show that the property is suitable to be lived in and managed to an acceptable standard. But confusingly, different London boroughs have different property licensing rules, which can make it difficult for tenants to know whether their landlord has the right licence.”

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/11/london-rent-licence-checker-refund/

Amazonia Starbuck

 

 


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Comments

Old Mrs Landlord

14:09 PM, 21st November 2020, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Prakash Tanna at 21/11/2020 - 10:29
As a law-abiding landlord I agree with your sentiments but there is a problem if, as seems to be the case, the site is inaccurate and misleading. This could cause unnecessary distress to compliant landlords who do not need a licence if the site lists their properties while missing properties which should be licensed but are not on the list.

Prakash Tanna

14:22 PM, 21st November 2020, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Old Mrs Landlord at 21/11/2020 - 14:09
Thank you and I totally agree with you. Problem in London is there is mandatory licensing and selective licensing in different boroughs and even the HMO officers don't know 1/2 the time if a property needs a licence or not.

I had one HMO officer recently say on an email, "He thinks it may need licensing but if I was to direct him to legislation to confirm it does not then he would accept it doesn't". You can only imagine what I thought about that!

I had a look at website the day it was launched and depending on how you answer the questions it suggests if a licence may or may not be needed and advises you to contact the LA to clarify.

The website is in it's infant stage. Over time no doubt it will develop and be updated, hopefully!

David

18:59 PM, 21st November 2020, About 3 years ago

Council also undertake poorly publicised reviews of their licensing schemes and can change the parameters. Brent did this last February and now 3 bed HMOs and s257 HMOs need a licence. I have not yet come across a Brent landlord (or Agent) who is aware that they have changed the scheme.

There is also the issue of the Goldbrough vs CA Property Management Ltd case, which has now been confirmed by the UTT. This means that if the tenants are not necessarily limited to claiming an RRO from their immediate landlord, but could claim from the superior landlord in cases of rent to rent for example.

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