Hidden How to Rent update – “MHCLG, do not do this again”
Lawyer Giles Peaker, in an article for Nearly Legal, ‘How to rent guides – sneak updates‘ uncovered that the official How to Rent guide has recently been updated twice since the 31st of May without reference to the date of the most recent changes.
Giles said: “This really should not happen. While the changes are relatively minor tweaks, they are changes nonetheless.
“And as the statutory requirement is for the tenant to be provided with the version of the guide current at the time, silent changes obviously present problems. How many landlords and agents will be using the original 31 May version without knowing it has since been changed?
“While I would imagine a court would give a certain leeway in the circumstances, should it be raised, this is not an issue that should have arisen in the first place. Please MHCLG, do not do this again.”
The changes include:
- 03/06/19 Change of reference and link page 5 from “NALS” to “Safeagent” .
- 29/07/19, Change on page 4 from “If you don’t have a guarantor, you can ask Shelter for help.” to “ask Shelter for advice.”
Click here to download the most recent How to Rent Guide.
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Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 754
7:15 PM, 11th August 2019, About 7 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Chris at 10/08/2019 – 14:42
I would, to be on the safe side – in fact I have, also to some tenants with a new tenancy effective 1st August. I also sent them a link to the Nearly Legal article so they could see the MHCLG nonsense and why I was re-serving the guide.
Member Since July 2014 - Comments: 59
9:56 AM, 12th August 2019, About 7 years ago
Re: How to Rent update.
A cynic might suggest that this is another indicator of entrapment.
Your section 21 won’t work if you haven’t served the correct and current ancillary doc’s. If you don’t know about ‘ hidden revisions you don’t stand a chance. Good news for a corrupted Gov that doesn’t want responsibility to rehouse your bad tenant.
Member Since February 2016 - Comments: 1056
7:35 AM, 13th August 2019, About 7 years ago
The latest news from Nearly Legal is that after the fiasco of ‘silent’ updates on the government site being exposed only through the vigilance of a couple of members of the legal profession acting in the interests of landlords both these forms have now been corrected and are safe to use, ie they have reverted to the old version.
Member Since August 2013 - Comments: 428
9:12 AM, 13th August 2019, About 7 years ago
The How to Rent guide is still dated May 2019 despite the textual amendments in June and July.
Member Since April 2014 - Comments: 38
9:24 AM, 13th August 2019, About 7 years ago
Is it correct that the old version is now correct please as per Old Mrs Landlords comment?
Member Since August 2013 - Comments: 428
9:48 AM, 13th August 2019, About 7 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Chris at 13/08/2019 – 09:24
No I don’t think this is correct. When I read her post I downloaded the guide from the government website and as previously stated it is still dated May 2019. The only safe procedure is to download the guide on the day that you want to use it.
Member Since March 2015 - Comments: 1969 - Articles: 1
10:26 AM, 13th August 2019, About 7 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Old Mrs Landlord at 13/08/2019 – 07:35
On at least one of the three versions labelled as ‘May 2019’ what is now Safeagent was referred to by their old name of NALS. The current version as of today’s date shows (the corrected) Safeagent within the document, so it definitely hasn’t reverted to the ‘original’/first version of May 2019.
It is beyond belief that they have amended the changelog (even explaining what has changed and the date the log itself was amended), but haven’t bothered to reissue a newly dated version of the document. What harm would there be to date-stamp it as it should be?
Member Since February 2016 - Comments: 1056
11:14 AM, 13th August 2019, About 7 years ago
So is it now the case that the Right to Rent guide wording has been updated but is still dated May 2019 but the Form 6(A) has reverted to the former, legally valid wording?
Member Since April 2014 - Comments: 38
11:51 AM, 13th August 2019, About 7 years ago
Do we have to re issue the How to Rent please?
Member Since March 2015 - Comments: 1969 - Articles: 1
11:53 AM, 13th August 2019, About 7 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Chris at 13/08/2019 – 11:51
You don’t have to re-issue for any updates. The answer though is unclear as if you’ve served a version that states ‘May 2019’ you’ve technically complied, but equally depending on which of the three ‘May 2019’ versions you’ve served, because the content has been altered (but not the title/date-stamp of the document), you’ve perhaps *not* served the correct version. Different Judges on different days in different moods could rule both ways.