Disrepair…..

We often get asked by Landlords whether the council can inspect their houses and force them to carry out works. Therefore the answer is below:

The Building Act 1984 ss77 and ss78 allows local councils to take action where they believe a property is dangerous. Under s77 they can apply to the Magistrates Court for an order that the owner of the building repair and under s78 the council can do the work itself and claim the money back from the owner of the property, but only if it is not reasonable to proceed under s77.

Swindon BC v Forefront Estates Ltd concerned a Grade II listed building called the Institute which had originally been designed to provide recreation and education for railway employees but at the time planning permission had been granted to turn it into flats and Forefront owned it. It came to the attention of Swindon Council that the Institute, and particularly its roof, may be dangerous. It carried out various inspections to the property and deemed that this was indeed the case and the roof was in imminent danger of collapse. It carried out the work needed to make it safe and sought to claim the sums expended back from Forefront. When Forefront did not pay, the Council issued a claim against it and Forefront put in a defence that the works might reasonably have been carried out under s77.

The High Court found that the Council could not reasonably have proceeded under s77, largely based on two grounds. The first was that the roof of the property had been found to contain asbestos and lead paint and there was a real danger that this could be dispersed into the air in a busy area used by members of the public and some 450 people would have to be advised to keep doors and windows closed and stay inside their houses. The second point was that there was a real risk that falling masonry could land on a passer by or someone seeking shelter in the building. The Council was awarded the sum of £331,242.69 and costs of over £60,000.

In short, yes the council can even where the property is not Let!

Filed under: England & Wales, FLW Article, disrepair, legislation

LEASEHOLDERS RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL

As many of you will no doubt be aware in relation to long leasehold property there is generally a right of first refusal to the freehold title when it comes to be sold. The purpose of this blog post is to give a brief overview of the framework.

Part 1 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 contains the statutory provisions governing when Leaseholders have this right, the process to be adopted and the penalties for non-compliance. Certainly any freeholder and their advisers before dealing with the freehold title need to consider whether the provisions will apply.

So what is required?

For the Act to apply the premises must contain 2 or more qualifying flats ( ie residential flats with lease terms originally of more than 21 years) and the number of such flats must be more than 50% of the total number of flats and there is not more than 50% of the floor area of the building occupied by commercial parts.

Next consideration needs to be given as to whether the disposal is “relevant”. Generally an outright transfer of the freehold title would be covered as would any other estate/disposal save for certain specific exceptions. The most relevant examples of exceptions are: any lease of an individual flat, disposal by a liquidator or trustee in bankruptcy, disposal to an associated company or disposal under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. Full details of relevant disposals are set out in section 4 of the 1987 Act.

If the Landlord is intending to make a disposal he then needs to serve a Notice. Often these are simply referred to as Section 5 Notices being the section of the 1987 Act detailing the requirements. The Act lists various types of Notice which need to be served dependant upon the circumstances of the disposal e.g by auction or private treaty. In general terms the Notice tells the Leaseholders what the Landlord intends to do. If then the Leaseholders want to purchase, not less than 50% of the Leaseholders collectively, must serve a response notice by a date given in the Landlords original Notice. They can then force the Landlord to sell the interest to them on the same terms as the intended disposal. The time limits are strict and if no notice is served by the Leaseholders the Landlord can proceed with their intended disposal provided they do so within 12 months of the date by which the tenants should have replied.

As can be seen Landlords have been known to serve a section 5 Notice even when they have no intention of selling to try and draw out of Leaseholders whether they can be persuaded to buy and often to pay a higher price than perhaps a collective enfranchisement would achieve. For this reason Leaseholders are certainly advised to take professional advice on any Notice served to consider whether a purchase is the best way to proceed for them.

If a Leaseholder does become aware that a disposal has taken place without Notice being served then there are various courses of action open. Firstly this may be a matter which could be reported to the local Tenancy Relations Officer as the Landlord will have committed an offence for which they could be prosecuted and if found guilty fined. Secondly the Leaseholders can (assuming there is the requisite majority) in effect require the Purchaser to dispose of the interest they acquired to the Leaseholders on the same terms as per their contract with the Landlord. Once again there are strict time limits and so as soon as the Leaseholders become aware of a disposal they should urgently take advice as generally they will only have 6 months to enforce their rights under the 1987 Act.

As with many aspects of long residential Leasehold Law the process is relatively complicated and full of pitfalls for the unwary. Both Landlords and Leaseholders should look to take advice at the earliest opportunity to ensure that their respective positions are properly protected.

Filed under: England & Wales, FLW Article, legislation, long lease

Data Protection

A letting agent has been found guilty under section 55 of the Data Protection Act and the Criminal Attempts Act.

The agent was fined £200 and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge and £728.60 prosecution costs by Highbury Magistrates Court.

The offence was uncovered in June 2011 when the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) received a call from the agent who was fraudulently trying to access the account of a tenant on benefits. The DWP investigated before reporting the matter to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).

The agent had no authority to access the tenants’ information held by the DWP and it was only when the agent could not recall the tenant’s middle name that the DWP became suspicion.

Unlawfully obtaining or accessing personal data is a criminal offence under section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998. The offence is punishable by way of a financial penalty of up to £5,000 in a Magistrates Court or an unlimited fine in a Crown Court.

So what should you do if you want to check the details given to you by a tenant or potential tenant?

A signed letter of authority should be obtained from the tenant and then the DWP contacted to obtain the information you need. The DWP will want sight of the letter of authority which could be faxed before any telephone call.

Whilst the fine was small the agent and the company are no doubt having to deal with the publicity that this case has attracted. It simply is not worth it in such a competitive market and guidance can be sought on the ICO website.

Finally the Data Protection Act is likely to be replaced by the new General Date Protection Regulation which is likely to be introduced next year. Agents should take this seriously and should consider implementing changes if they are aware that staff is not adhering to the law as ‘strictly as they should’.

Filed under: England & Wales, FLW Article, Agents, comment, Data Protection, Fines, legislation

The Property I let / manage is an HMO.

What do I need to do?

1. Comply with the Regulations (see below)
2. Check whether your HMO needs planning permission (see next blog)
3. Check the council tax requirements (see next blog)
4. Check whether needs licensing (see blog on licensing)

1. Comply with the Regulations
ALL HMOs need to comply with the HMO management regulations [SI 2006/372 in England and SI 2006/1713 Wales] , which apply regardless of licensing status.

The person managing* [ i.e normally the agent] and the person having control [normally the landlord] for the property must:

• Ensure that the name, address and contact number of the person managing are made available to each household, and the same must be displayed clearly in a prominent position in the HMO (Reg 3)

• Take the following general safety measures:
o Keep fire escapes free from obstruction and in good order and repair
o Ensure that any fire fighting equipment are maintained in good working order (Note: no stated requirement as yet to have alarms installed, but these are usually demanded on the basis that it is a reasonable measure to keep an occupier safe from injury).
o Take all reasonable measures to keep the occupiers safe from injury, having regard to the design, structural conditions and number of occupiers (Note that this means that even where under normal L&T principals the Landlord is not required to remedy a design defect, the Landlord/agent may have to attend to the same in HMO).
o Make safe, or prevent access to unsafe roofs or balconies
o Make sure low level windows are barred, or made safe from “accidents which may be caused in connection with such windows”, which we interpret to include falling out of them.

• Keep water supply and drainage in good, clean and working condition, including preventing frost damage and must not unreasonably cause or permit interruption to the supply (Reg 5)

• Provide a gas safety certificate to the local authority within 7 days of them requesting it (Reg6)

• Obtain an electrical fixed wiring certificate every 5 years ( at least), and supply to the local authority within 7 days of them requesting it (also reg 6)

• Not unreasonable cause or permit interruption to the supply of gas or electricity ( also reg6)

• Ensure the common parts are in good decorative repair, clean and free from obstruction, and in safe working condition including:
o All handrails and banisters in good repair
o Provision of handrails and banisters as are necessary for the safety of the occupiers
o Stair coverings ( i.e. carpets) safely fixed and in good repair
o Windows in common parts in good repair
o Light fittings in common parts to be available for use at all times to occupiers
o Shared Fixtures, fittings and appliances ( i.e. used by two or more households) to be in good and safe repair and working order, except where the occupier is entitled to remove it and/or beyond the control of the manager
o Shared outbuildings ( i.e. used by two or more households) in repair, clean condition and good order
o Garden to be kept in safe and tidy condition

• With regards to the entire HMO, to keep the internal structure in good repair, fixtures and fittings and appliances in good repair and clean working order, and all windows in good repair –unless repair is required as a result of the occupier failing to treat the property as she should do under the terms of the lease/licence ( i.e. fails to act in a tenant-like manner)

• Provide bins or arrange for the local authority to provide bins.

NB where the property is an HMO because it is a conversion ( an HMO under s257) , the manager is not expected to go into individual flats, but the above will apply to the common areas.

What if I don’t comply?

Failure to comply with the HMO management regulations is an offence. The maximum fine is £5,000.00 for each offence, although the average fine is considerably less, unless the landlord has refused to cooperate with the local authority. An example of the latter can be seen here.

To be continued…….

Filed under: England & Wales, FLW Article, HMOs, Housing Act 2004, legislation

Update on EPCs.

The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 will come into force on the 6th April 2012 and amend the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007.

A lettings agent will now need to be satisfied that an EPC has been commissioned prior to marketing a property for rental. Obviously this will not pose a problem where the agent obtains it him or herself. The previous regulations required a seller to obtain a EPC upon marketing but where this was not possible then the seller or a person acting for him had up to 28 days from the date the property was placed on the market to use reasonable efforts to obtain it. The amended regulations have now reduced the 28 days to 7 and apply not only to sales but also to rental properties. There is also however an additional allowance of up to 21 days immediately upon the expiry of the 7 days during which the EPC must be obtained. It may see a bit odd to reduce the requirement from 28 to 7 days and then immediately add back on 21 days to get back to 28 days. However, the spare 21 days being given back is only available if an EPC has not been obtained “despite using all reasonable efforts” so a failure to obtain an EPC in 7 days will lead to hard questions being asked. From a lettings point of view, though this does represent a liberalisation as previously the requirement was to have the EPC prior to the offering of the property with any written particulars.

All of you will have seen the asset chart of the EPC on marketing material when properties are advertised to let. Unfortunately the placing of the asset chart will no longer be permitted on its own. Any ‘written particulars’ will now need to include the first page of the EPC. That is the asset chart and the various calculations that underpin it. Page 2, which contains recommendations for improvements, can be handed to the tenant at a later stage but before signature of the relevant tenancy agreement.

‘Written particulars’ include electronic communications (emails) and are defined in the new regulations as containing at least two of the following:
• a photograph of the building or any room in the building,
• a floor plan of the building,
• the size of the rooms in the building,
• the measured area of the building, or,
• in relation to a building being rented out, the proposed rent.

Any advertisement (whether print or electronic) or window display, which includes at least 2 of the above conditions, should therefore include the first page of the EPC. As almost all adverts include a photo and the price or a size and price it will be hard to avoid this. Theoretically, one could bypass this by giving a description without specific sizing along with a price or an artist’s impression plus price.

The penalty for failing to adhere to the regulations remains the same. This is £200 for dwellings and will still be enforced by trading standard officers.

There is no doubt that the reason for these amendments was to clear up what the obligations are and when they apply and this appears to have been achieved. However the requirement to use ‘reasonable efforts’ will no doubt cause problems when people attempt to circumvent what is in essence an effort to achieve a greener attitude to housing.

Filed under: England & Wales, FLW Article, energy efficiency, EPCs, legislation

SUBJECT TO CONTRACT: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Many people dealing with short term residential tenancy agreements will have seen the term “subject to contract” used but what does this actually mean?

The basics are that in English law a contact does not have to be in writing (and in this context we are talking about usual residential tenancy agreements). For a contract to be made one part has to offer to do something, e.g.. let a house, on the basis they will receive something in return, e.g.. Rent, and this offer is then accepted by the other party telling the person who made the offer. This could simply be a conversation.

To avoid contracts being unintentionally created most agents make clear that all negotiations are “subject to contract”. In practice many agents have a standard form of words on emails or letterhead setting this out. This mans that the parties are free to have negotiations and in principle reach an agreement. It is usually at this point that an actual tenancy agreement will be sent out. Provided the initial negotiations are “subject to contract” even at this point no contract will have been created. This means that the parties are not yet bound by the terms.

For the contract to bind all the parties both sides need to physically complete the document. What this usually means is that the Landlord (or his agent when so authorised) and the Tenant will each sign their part of the agreement. Usually these agreements will then be returned to the agent who will then oversee completing the transaction by exchanging and completing the documents by dating the same. It is at this point that the contract is completed and the parties are then bound by the terms.

The system can seem cumbersome but provides safeguards for both sides. Usually both sides want to have the opportunity to have negotiations. In particular Landlords will often wish to check references and ensure monies etc are paid before the agreement is actually completed. Tenants may be looking at more than one property. It is vital then that parties understand that once they sign (or Landlords give the agent authority to sign), exchange and date the agreement they will be contractually bound. If a party does not want to become bound until some condition or additional authority is given they should either withhold the signed agreement or make clear the terms upon which they agree to the agreement being completed. Once completed either side can then require the other to comply with their obligations.

Subject to contract is a useful device to protect all parties but you should be clear as to when completion has taken place and only allow completion of an agreement if you actually want to be bound by the contract! Once completed there may be no way back.

Filed under: England & Wales, FLW Article, comment, litigation, tenancy agreements

Owner Managed Freeholds

Another case involving Owner Managed Freeholds has recently been decided by the Court of Appeal in Newman v. Framewood Manor Management Co Ltd.

In this case the Various leaseholders were in a typical way shareholders in a Company which managed the development. It would appear that this was a smart development which had various communal leisure facilities which had given rise to various problems. The various leases had covenants governing the provision of the various leisure facilities by the Management Company. As all too often can be the case various problems arose concerning the leisure facilities and repairs and replacement. The costs involved looked as though they would be considerable and many leaseholders seem to have had little appetite to incur these costs.

The Company then after various meetings at which a majority of Leaseholders agreed with the Companies proposals made various changes. Sadly Mrs. Newman, as Leaseholder, did not agree and proceedings were bought for specific performance and damages.

The lease contained a provision which appeared to exonerate the Company from damages claims if these were not covered by Insurance. The Court of Appeal found firmly that in there view this clause did not prevent a leaseholder bringing a claim for loss of amenity under the lease.

The Court then went on to consider the various individual claims. Whilst it did not award specific performance (although certain works had been undertaken or undertakings were given by the Company) damages were awarded. What is clear from the decision is that Owner Managed Freeholds as with any Freehold/Leasehold relationship are bound by the terms of the lease. In practice it is vital that all Freeholders have regard to the lease terms. If services are to be provided under the lease simply because a majority is happy with a change that of itself will not be sufficient to just proceed as the Freeholder will be open to claims as in this case.

That is not to say that the situation cannot be resolved. It is always open to parties to mutually agree variations (if all agree) or in certain circumstances can an application be made to the LVT to vary the terms of the lease.

As we have flagged before in various articles it is vital that Freeholders and their advisers consider the Lease terms and check exactly what they allow or provide. A failure to do so can be expensive for all and whilst it seems in the case referred to there is a separate costs appeal undoubtedly all sides will have spent large sums given the matter has got as far as the Court of Appeal. PainSmith Solicitors are happy to advise Freeholders or Leaseholders on the obligations under a lease and generally with regards to this complicated area of law.

Filed under: England & Wales, FLW Article, legislation, litigation, long lease, procedure

Common Questions- “Olympic Lets”

1. Are the tenancies ASTs?
Most of you will be aware that for an AST the conditions are that the property is let to an individual who will use it as their principle home. Many Olympic visitors will be here in the UK on holiday therefore it is safe to assume that they will not be residing here and so will not have ASTs but “holiday lets”. These are simply common law tenancies. However some visitors maybe visiting contractors or employees and they will be working either at or during the Games. In those cases the property that you let could actually be let under an AST and the tenant could potentially remain there for 6 months provided they pay the rent as you will not be able to remove them using a section 21 notice. You are therefore strongly advised to find out the purpose behind the visit in order to safeguard the landlord’s position.

2. Do I have to protect the deposit?
Where a tenancy is not an AST then the deposit protection provisions of the Housing Act 2004 do not apply. However the risks described above should be borne in mind and there is no harm in registering a deposit if you are unsure.

3. Do I have to grant a tenancy at all?
It will be seen as a tenancy unless a landlord is living in the property and sharing basic amenities with an Olympic visitor. If you are concerned that the visitor could be eligible for an AST then you could adopt a serviced apartment arrangement whereby you provide services which are so extensive that they are incompatible with the tenants presumed right to exclusive possession. This will prevent the occupancy being a tenancy at all and so the protection granted by the Housing Act 1988 will not apply. However, this can be very hard to do in practice.

4. What about HMOs and licensing?
Whether the property is considered an HMO will depend on how many occupiers there are and whether they are occupying as their only and main residence. It is assumed that migrant workers occupy the property as their only or main residence. However, anyone here for a holiday will not be doing so. As always, the advice is to consult your local authority in cases of doubt.

5. I have heard there is some issue with short lets.
Lettings under 90 days inside London can be controlled by local authorities. A number of them will do so during the Olympic period. However, the control is by way of planning and requires a planning permission to be obtained for a short letting. However, a breach of planning is not a criminal offence. The local authority will have to identify the breach and then serve an enforcement notice. It is only once this notice has expired that an offence is committed. Normally these notices give a period of time to put the planning breach right and by the time this is up the Olympics will be over and the short let will have ended. However if you want to be cautious you should be able to obtain the permission for a modest fee.

6. What if the tenants do not leave at the end of the term?
The usual common law principles apply to a holiday let. That is that the tenant must vacate at the end of the tenancy. If they do not then landlords may apply for possession to the Courts the day after the term ends.

Filed under: England & Wales, FLW Article, comment, deposits, HMOs, Holiday Lets, Housing Act 2004, legislation, Olympic Lets, tenancy agreements

Is my property an HMO?

For a full definition go to s254 & 257 Housing Act 2004. For those who want a translations, read on.

This area is not straight forward so we have tried to make sense of the legislation and hope that you find this helpful! Basically, there are two definitions of HMO.

1. Whether your property is a house, or a flat, if you rent it out, and the property has 3*** or more occupiers ( note you need to count the occupiers not just the tenant, including children) and these occupiers make up more than one household*, sharing basic amenities ( e.g. kitchen, bathroom), then the property is likely to be an HMO for the purposes of the Housing Act 2004. There are other criteria, for example, the property must be the principal home of at least one of the occupiers. A Student house is considered the occupiers’ principal home thanks to s259 (2)(b). There are exceptions, including owner occupiers, prisons, care homes, student halls of residence, convents.

*For the purposes of the legislation a household includes members of the same family. Family members include partners** and relatives , partner’s relatives, partner’s relatives’ partners.

**Partner = husband, wife, civil partner (i.e. the other half of the couple)

*** Strictly speaking section 254 of the legislation states that 2 occupiers making up more than one household i.e. 2 non-related sharers, is an HMO but schedule 14 contains a series of exceptions which cannnot be HMOs’ and one of these is 2 person properties. Therefore these properties are not HMOs’.

2. A house that has been converted into flats may also be an HMO for the purposes of the Housing Act 2004. If it was converted not in accordance with the Building Regulations 1991, and one-third or more of the flats are let on leases of less than 21 years then the building may qualify as an HMO.

Scenario 1:
• Do you rent out your property?
• Is the property a house or a self contained flat?
• Is it occupied by more than 2 households* who share at least one basic amenity ( e.g. kitchen, bathroom)?
• Do you ( as landlord) live elsewhere ( i.e. you are NOT one of the households)?

If you answered YES to ALL the above questions then your property is most likely an HMO.

Scenario 2:
• Do you rent out your property?
• Is the property a house or self contained flat?
• Is it occupied by more than 2 households who share at least one basic amenity ( e.g. kitchen, bathroom)?
• Do you as landlord live in the property ( i.e. you make up one of the households?)
• Do you have 3 or more unrelated people living in the property with you?

If you answered yes to ALL the above questions then your property is most likely an HMO.

Scenario 3:
• Do you rent out your property?
• Is the property a converted block?
• Does it comprise only self-contained flats?
• Are one third or less of the flats owner occupied [ an owner occupier is someone with a lease of at least 21 years]?
• Was the conversion done before 1991, and therefore not compliant with 1991 Building Regulations?

If you answered yes to all the above questions then your property is most likely an HMO.
NB a purpose built block of flats, built after 1991 will not be an HMO, but its individual self-contained flats may well be.

If you are not sure as to the status of your property, then do look in the legislation here.
Next: The property that I let/manage is an HMO. What does that mean for me?

Filed under: England & Wales, FLW Article, comment, HMOs, Housing Act 2004, legislation, licensing, procedure

The Localism Act

Most landlords and agents are aware of the current provisions relating to tenancy deposit protection under the Housing Act 2004. Many will also be aware of the damage that has been done to the provisions by the many, many, many, many court decisions. As a reminder two of the Court of Appeal decisions:

Tiensia v Vision Enterprises Ltd (t/a Universal Estates) – a landlord can protect the deposit at any stage, even if more than 14 days have elapsed since it was received, without penalty as long as they do so before the case comes before a court.

Gladehurst Properties Ltd v Hashemi – a tenant could not bring a claim for an unprotected deposit at all once the tenancy was over.

The government has therefore resolved the problems posed by these cases by radically amending the legislation. This is being done by way of the Localism Act, which should come into force on or around the 6th April.

The New TDP Legislation
The changed legislation has three components:
1. Alteration of the current 14 day timescale for protecting the deposit;
2. The closing of current loopholes exposed by the courts;
3. Change to the current regime of penalties.

1. Under the old current provisions the landlord is obliged to protect the deposit and provide the prescribed information to the tenant and any relevant person within 14 days of receipt, however this 14 days will be changed to 30 days from the date of receipt.

2. The decisions in Tiensia and Hashemi will no longer assist landlords who have failed to register the deposit within the 14 days. Therefore, a landlord will be obliged to protect the deposit within 30 days and if he fails to do so he is in breach of the legislation and the tenant can immediately issue proceedings against him or his agent. Protection after 30 days, or after issue of proceedings, is not sufficient to cure the landlord’s failure. Landlords will not be able to argue the Hashemi point once the tenancy is over either as tenants are also going to be entitled to issue proceedings once the tenancy has ended. The so-called ‘must also’ loophole, which allowed landlords to return the deposit to a tenant before a hearing and then assert that the court could not return that money to the tenant and therefore it could not ‘also’ make an award of the three times penalty, has also been closed by the simple expedient of removing the word ‘also’ from the text of the legislation.

3. The draconian three times the value of the deposit penalty will also cease. The court will have a discretionary power to award a penalty of between one and three times the value of the deposit. Therefore, a landlord who has protected the deposit as soon as they became aware of the problem and acted reasonably will be penalised at the lower end of the scale while landlords who have been less cooperative will find themselves penalised at the top end of the scale. If a landlord has however failed to protect they will be liable for not less than a penalty of one times the deposit.

What has changed?
This all means that the Tiensia and Hashemi decisions will not have any force after the 6th April. However, many parts of the legislation are wholly unchanged. There is no change in the definition of a deposit, or the restriction on taking property as a deposit instead of money. So, court decisions which interpret these unchanged parts of the legislation are not affected.

There is no change in the requirement to protect the deposit within a set time after it has been received in connection with an AST. So money that the landlord or agent has obtained which is intended to be used in relation to an AST agreement falls within the legislation.

Therefore, the county court guidance that states that taking the last months rent in advance at the start of the tenancy is probably a deposit remains valid, as does the Court of Appeal decision which holds that a promise to pay money at some future date does not qualify as a deposit, as this requires money to be paid by the tenant with the intent that it will be returned. Likewise, the obligation to serve the prescribed information properly and in full also remains unchanged. It also remains the case that a lettings agent is liable for a failure to protect the deposit and can be sued in preference to the landlord. However, the advent of the new variable penalty would now allow a court to make an order against the agent with the penalty fixed at the lower end of the scale if they were not responsible for registering the deposit.

One component of the Hashemi decision also remains valid that is that any claim for an unprotected deposit must be taken by all the tenants together and not by one acting unilaterally without the consent of the others.

Section 21
Where the deposit has not been registered and the prescribed information not sent to the tenant within 30 days the landlord only really has one option if he seeks vacant possession. That is to hand the deposit back to the tenant and the serve the notice. Landlords will of course not be happy about this as many like the security of being able to call for that money when there are dilapidations, so this is all the more reason for getting it right.

What do you need to do now?
It is not clear whether the new provisions will apply to tenancies that began before the 6th April 2012 however we advise that agents and landlords should begin to check agreements now and register deposits and provide prescribed information if they discover they have not done so to avoid the new scale penalties.

Filed under: England & Wales, FLW Article, comment, deposits, Housing Act 2004, litigation, tenancy agreements