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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All 33 London councils sign up to join Mayor’s new rogue agent database
The Mayor of London's new rogue agent database, which also includes landlords, will now be supplied with details by all the capital's councils.
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Leading estate agent changes website after complaint to advertising watchdog
Edinburgh-based MOV8 agrees to amend copy after complaint that its fixed estate agency fee claim may have been misleading.
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Citizens Advice attacks Tenant Fees Bill over ‘lost keys’ clause
Citizens Advice has attacked the default fees allowed within the government Tenant Fees Bill because it will create a loophole that unscrupulous agents could exploit. The independent advice organisation, which is a network of 316 charities around the UK which also campaigns on consumer issues, says agents will be able to charge without limit for tenancy breaches such as late rent or lost keys and that this will enable them to carry on charging unrestricted fees. Citizens Advice is also unhappy at how long the legislation is taking to enact, highlighting how it believes £13 million a month is being taken in “uncompetitive fees” from tenants by agents. Default fees Default fees were debated last night in the Commons during the second reading of the Tenant Fees Bill, but Citizens Advice says the ‘guidance’ that the government promised to issue later on in the legislative process “would not be legally enforceable”. Instead it wants to government to include what can and cannot be charged for various services to tenants, and has called for deposits to be capped at four weeks’ rent, not six. “The government’s pledge to ban fees will be fundamentally undermined unless the clause on default fees is…
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Tenant Fees Bill – MPs unanimously vote through second reading
Letting agents hoping for a miracle defeat for the Tenant Fees Bill last night in the Commons during its second reading were disappointed when it was passed unanimously by MPs following a three-hour debate. Although 123 MPs are landlords, only two pointed out any failings in the legislation that might have given letting agents hope. These were Labour’s Andrew Lewer and Conservative Alex Chalk, both of whom asked that not all agents should be tarred with the same ‘rogue’ brush and that the bill could prompt higher rents. “There are hard-working people in this sector and we shouldn’t punish the unscrupulous at the expense of the far more numerous hard-working ones,” said Lewer (pictured, right). Default fees But all of the dozen or more other speakers were in support of the bill’s aims, many on both sides of the political divide calling for it to be tightened up particularly in relation to ‘default fees’. “Rogue letting agents have for too many years been able to profit from unsecure tenancies,” said Dr Paul Williams. Default fees are one of the few fees agents will be able charge soon and will be permissible only when a tenant prompts work, for example if…
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First MP to reply to ARLA’s tenant fees ban letter say industry is “perverse”
The mountain that the industry must climb to defeat the tenant fees ban has been revealed after a Labour MP replied to a letter sent to him by a local letting agent following ARLA’s recent call for action. ARLA last week asked agents to write to their local MPs, and Reading branch manager Khalil Iqbal obliged – only to receive a blunt rebuttal from Matt Rodda, his MP for Reading East and Shadow Minister for Local Transport. From his letter it’s clear that not only does ARLA have to persuade the Conservative government that the bill will damage local rental markets and employment, but also must change Labour thinking too. Khalil, who is a branch manager at Reading agency Adams Estates, received his letter on Saturday from Rodda, who in his reply dodged all the points made by Khalil about the damage the bill may wreak. Perverse Instead the MP says the industry is “perverse” because tenants are charged by agents for a service provided to landlords and that agents fees increased by 60% between 2010 and 2015, he claims. The MP also highlights in the letter how closely Conservative and Labour policy is aligned on housing. For example, Rodda…
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It’s war! ARLA urges agents to take tenant fees ban battle to MPs’ constituencies
After failing to persuade the government that the tenant fees ban will lead to a rise in rents, poorer quality properties and fewer jobs within the property industry, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has taken its war direct to MPs in their constituencies. This is somewhat of a U-turn compared to the organisation’s position earlier this month when David Cox, ARLA’s Chief Executive, (pictured, above) appeared to throw in the towel and told members following the Bill’s Introduction to parliament that they “must start preparing for when it comes into force”. The trade association, which says the fees ban is not the “black and white” issue portrayed by the government, has emailed all its members urging them to contact their local MPs ahead of the Tenant Fees Bill’s passage through parliament, which was announced earlier this month. Agents are being asked to both book face-to-face meetings at MPs’ surgeries and send letters. The ARLA tenant fees ban campaign includes a briefing paper for agents to use when they contact their local MP, and a toolkit that includes a letter ready to send to the politicians. As well as urging MPs to consider the impact on their local property…
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TPO pushes back against government plans for whole-sector ombudsman
The Property Ombudsman believes the industry should have separate redress schemes for the social and private halves.
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Crackdown begins on agents who ignore bribery, corruption and money laundering
RICS is set to require member agents to adopt personal money laundering statement including promise to report both fellow agents breaking law and sporting donations.
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Landmark property fraud appeal case decision rocks conveyancing world
A decision by the Court of Appeal yesterday changes who is responsible when a property fraud criminal successfully sells a property they do not own.
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Landmark property fraud appeal decisions due this week
The Dreamvar vs Mishcon De Reya and P&P Property vs OWC/Winkworth property fraud case appeal decisions will have huge implications for property sales.
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