Westminster online tool encouraging HMO tenants to claim Rent Repayment Orders!

Westminster online tool encouraging HMO tenants to claim Rent Repayment Orders!

9:10 AM, 27th August 2020, About 4 years ago 33

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In a move designed to punish as many landlords as possible with crucifying Rent Repayment Orders of up to 12 months rent, the City of Westminster has launched a “Find out if you can screw your Landlord” tool on their website.

They are obviously using this ‘hook’ to get tenants to ‘grass-up’ landlords who have not paid their ‘licence tax’.

Cynically, It has everything to do with punishing landlords for not paying their licence tax and nothing to do with improving housing.
ALL LANDLORDS BEWARE. You can expect every council in the land to adopt this punitive measure to make sure you all pay your licence tax.

The new page on the City of Westminster website boasts:

“Tenants of some shared houses, known as ‘Houses in Multiple Occupation’ (or HMOs) are entitled to apply for a rent repayment order if their landlord does not have an HMO licence.”

We have created an online rent repayment tool so you can quickly and easily see if you are owed a rent repayment order. 

A rent repayment order is a financial award decided by a tribunal, requiring a landlord to pay back up to 12 months rent to a tenant.

Payments are not guaranteed, but the amounts can be substantial.

Use our rent repayment tool to see if you can apply for a rent repayment order.

This will also verify if the property has a licence. If you are eligible, we will ask for your details in order to arrange a confidential conversation to discuss your situation and give you advice on how to apply for a rent repayment order.

Rent repayment tool – check your eligibility

We cannot take action directly on your behalf. Once you have spoken to a member of the team, we can refer you to a charity partner who specialise in helping tenants apply for rent repayment orders.

Affected by this? Landlord Licensing & Defence is here to help you

We help landlords every week who are being pursued for Rent Repayment Orders. Always £10,000s sometimes £50,000 or more.

Sometimes we are able to prove – against the Council – that they are wrong and the property did not need an HMO license sot here is no guilt.

Other times although the landlord is guilty of not having a licence, there are mitigating circumstances that we can use to negotiate the Rent Repayment down from 12 months’ rent to a far lower figure.

If you have this problem get in touch at once. You have very little time to put together a defence.

Contact us for help here [https://landlordsdefence.co.uk/contact]


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Comments

St. Jims

20:10 PM, 28th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Oh get over yourselves.

Westminster Council's tool would not hurt a law-abiding landlord, so who could reasonably object?

This site is cheapened by this sort of breathless and manipulative marketing. I doubt I'll be coming back. Don't you have editors? It's hard enough being a landlord without being lumped in with this sort of self-pitying claptrap.

There are rules. There will always be rules. You won't like some of those rules, but you can still make money.

Grow up.

colette

21:13 PM, 28th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 27/08/2020 - 20:20
should this scenerio occur then I do not think any council would chase the landlord when given an explanation, confirmed by the couple who split up. The landlord should be doing due diligence and checking his property regularly so would see the 3rd bedroom has been taken over or he should have locked it up in the first place so no-one had access to it, which any self aware landlord would do so again it comes back to an educated landlord taking all necessary steps to protect himself

colette

21:17 PM, 28th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Penny Lyon at 28/08/2020 - 11:56
penny it would serve the landlord right because he should have thought of all avenues in all circumstances and the buck stops with him.

Penny Lyon

21:27 PM, 28th August 2020, About 4 years ago

At the end of the day there is no excuse about landlords not educating themselves about responsibilities, is the conclusion to this. I agree, regular inspections, dialogues with tenants and training/self development. You have to be at the top of your game, one step ahead, not behind. No use complaining. we need to be driving standards and welcoming them.

Luke P

22:05 PM, 28th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by colette at 28/08/2020 - 21:13Having access to the third bedroom or otherwise does not change the status of a now separated couple.

Mark Hartell

23:25 PM, 28th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Agree with some of the earlier comments. Whatever you think about the motives, methods and tactics of the council there is a requirement for HMOs to be licenced and for good reasons.

Since I am sure Property118 is not condoning or supporting the idea of tax/licence evasion then just live with it. If you don't like it get out of property and put your cash under the mattress.

If you chew yourself up worrying about whether others are getting away with something you are not focusing on your own business so change that.

If you chew yourself up being upset about policies, laws, requirements and taxation then go into politics or join/form an effective lobbying group and campaign for change. Otherwise suck it up and get on with it.

Mark Shine

22:00 PM, 29th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 27/08/2020 - 20:20
“In a case of Additional Licensing, the landlord lets to a couple and 1 unrelated person - no licence required.”

That is not the case where my properties are.

In ur example- 2 “households” with 3 tenants is deffo an hmo where I am..

Yvonne Francis

18:48 PM, 30th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 27/08/2020 - 20:20
Luke, I once considered this scenario in a three bed property, a couple and one other, to avoid having to have a HMO licence. But on refection I did not go there, considering it too risky and went for licensing. It just a matter of common sense.

Colette, I imagine we are talking about some form of shared tenancies in which case you let the whole house, so in no way is a Landlord is entitled to lock a room.

colette

19:17 PM, 30th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Yvonne Francis at 30/08/2020 - 18:48
yvonne, no, I was suggesting that if he had let one room to a couple and one to a single person and wished to avoid the issue of the couple parting and one of them moving into a vacant bedroom then he should have kept that bedroom locked away from them all so one of the couple would have had to leave given their personal issues. A landlord is entitled to lock up a room in any sort of house excluding it from the tenancy and making it clear it is excluded from use by any of the tenants. in a shared tenancy you let the bedrooms or a single room, ensuite or not ( not the whole house, and the community areas such as kitchen, bathrooms, lounge are noted as such in the tenancy as far as I am aware

colette

19:19 PM, 30th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 28/08/2020 - 22:05
of there were no 3rd bedroom available for one of the couple to move inot then one of them would have had to leave or move their stuff and sleep on the sofa and share such sofa with their ex and the other tenant so not likely to do this for too long.

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