Regulation & Law
News articles looking at national legislation and local regulation and the application of law to the residential property industry.
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More Stamp Duty changes? Spending plan and OBR forecast brought forward
Halloween date will reveal a trick or treat from Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng as spending plan and OBR forecast brought forward by three weeks.
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Landlords and agents warned over unlicensed student properties
Students could be in line for a rent rebate after £85,000 student accommodation ruling against management company.
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Politics of envy scuppers Scottish PRS
GUEST BLOG: The Cost of Living (Protection of Tenants) (Scotland) Bill will impose a freeze on rent increases and a moratorium on evictions.
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Government takes first legal action on cladding – “Enough is enough!”
Simon Clarke at DLUHC has taken the first step in legal action against Grey GR, as the cladding scandal continues.
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Covid strikes again as conveyancing law firm hits buffers
Covid continues to count its conveyancing scalps with another law firm hitting the buffers after it couldn’t keep up to complete cases. Now hundreds of jobs could be at risk after HMRC issued a winding-up petition against Linder Myers Solicitors. The 100-year-old firm has offices in Manchester, Chester, Lytham, York and Shrewsbury, and is one of 14 legal brands operated by Metamorph Group. WINDING-UP Three of those brands – Linder Myers, Gosport-based Donnelly and Elliott Solicitors, and SLC Solicitors in Telford – form MLL Ltd, which has been issued with a winding-up petition. The Neg contacted Linder Myers for comment. Previously, a spokesperson for the group had told TheBusinessDesk.com that it was ‘working hard in collaboration with HMRC to resolve any outstanding matters’. A search on Companies House confirms that accounts for MLL are currently four months overdue. ACCOUNTS Its most recent accounts filed report a £2.1 million loss for the 18 months to June 2020. However a note on the account shows this was partly due to a restructure that saw the amalgamation of businesses Donnelly and Elliot Solicitors, SLC Solicitors and Linder Myers Solicitors. During that period the company employed more than 300 people and had assets of…
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Letting agency working for rogue landlord under the spotlight
A Leamington Spa letting agent has been thrown under the spotlight after one of its rogue landlords was fined £31,000 by Warwick District Council. Grzegorz Surminski had rented a 6-bedroom property in St Brides Close, Sydenham, Leamington Spa through Golden Key Letting Agents and was subletting the property to eight sub-tenants when the property was inspected by Warwick District Council Housing Officers in February 2022. DISREPAIR The property was reported to the Council for disrepair by one of the sub-tenants. Surminski had not applied for a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence for letting the property to so many tenants and had not provided safe or adequate measures for his tenants. As well as the lack of fire safety provisions, there were numerous repair issues also found including unsafe electrics, lack of a working shower and broken floor tiles in the bathroom. A tenant was provided with a mouldy mattress to sleep on, and there were large accumulations of rubbish in the rear garden as well as insufficient wheelie bins for the size of the household. This landlord has flouted the laws which are there to protect the most vulnerable members of society.” Surminski was found guilty last month by…
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LAUNCH: New regulations and ombudsman covering new homes sales
New ombudsman is designed, among other aims, to prevent agents or developers employing 'pressure sales' tactics when selling new homes.
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Agents warned not to fall foul of UK’s new Russia sanctions
As Putin issues nuclear threats and mobilises hundreds of thousands of reservists, the threat to UK estate agents is closer to home.
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The Property Ombudsman kicks out five agents for failing to pay fines
The Compliance Committee has taken action against all agents that did not comply with the Ombudsman’s decision.
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Scottish letting agents brace for ‘rushed’ rental regulations
Legislation is expected to be passed in just three days this week that will allow the controversial rent freeze and eviction bans to be implemented by Thursday.
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