Search Results for: Tenant Fees Act
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To keep our economy strong, drastic policy changes are needed from the Government to support our struggling housing market...
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Latest property news
Exeter estate agent rented out homes FOR SALE in £10k lettings fraud
An Exeter estate agent who fraudulently rented out homes on Gumtree that were for sale and who also stole over £1,000 in cash from his employer has been released on bail. Andrew Boyne, who in court admitted theft and 13 counts of fraud totalling £10,000, conducted the brazen lettings scam by advertising properties to let on Gumtree that were really properties for sale in Exeter listed with both his own agency and others. The 34-year-old then asked potential tenants for £200 holding fees and in some cases rent in advance. During the case at Exeter Crown Court, Devon Live reports that Gareth Evans, prosecuting, told the court that “on more than one occasion, people would actually move in, only to be told later that they had no right to be there”. Financial dificulties Boyne, who appears to have had a good reputation as an agent prior to the offences including several glowing reviews online for his sales progression and negotiating skills, got into financial difficulties and then turned to gambling to solve them but making his situation worse, Lee Brembridge, defending, told the court. The alarm was raised when Boyne entered his branch office during the weekend and stole £1,025…
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Latest property news
Letting agents face £30k on-the-spot fines
Letting agents in one of London’s poorest boroughs face on-the-spot fines of up to £30,000 and will be forced to repay rents to tenants if they fail to manage properties to the required standards, it has been announced. The London Borough of Hackney, which is the 11th most deprived borough in England but famed for its Hackney Empire theatre and hipster areas such as Stoke Newington, says it will fine agents and landlords who fail to comply with council instructions to make improvements to properties, let overcrowded properties or fail to meet licensing conditions. The borough says it has introduced the civil penalties so that it can take “immediate action” against agents rather than engaging in lengthy court proceedings. Some 34,000 properties are rented privately in Hackney, a third of all households, and rents have increased by 20% over the past five years – a two bedroom apartment in the borough can cost £2,000 a month to rent. “While we’ll still prosecute the most serious offenders, these new fines will give us the powers we need to quickly punish the minority of rogue landlords out to exploit tenants where it hurts – in their pocket,” says Councillor Sem Moema (pictured…
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Features
Balancing the business – how the employment market is changing in agency
Clients want 24-hour service, staff want a ‘life’, so, asks Joanne Christie, how do you balance your business?
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Guest Blogs
Upad boss: traditional letting agents will soon go the way of Yellow Pages
Not only has our food, cars, insurance, retail shopping, and just about anything else you can think of been propelled forward into a technology-driven world. And so too has property. As companies like Amazon and Uber dominating their markets, so they are transforming the way customers buy goods and services. And now there’s proptech, the coined phrase for the collision of the property and technology worlds. This means landlords can no longer rely on outdated methods of finding people to rent their homes. Tenants, particularly those under 30 years old who are the largest demographic in the market, are searching online for their next home, not in agent’s shop windows. This shift not only paves the way for online agents like Upad it also means landlords need to become technology-savvy and up their game. Much as the Yellow Pages is a thing of the past, so traditional lettings services will soon be too as landlords turn to more manageable and cost-effective solutions for promoting their rental properties. Our research shows 92% of tenants go online to search for their next rental home and 91% said good photos where their number one concern. In a technology driven world, we want information…
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Features
Refresher course: selling leasehold properties
Fahmida Chowdhury, Associate Solicitor at ELS Legal, sets ten key questions homemovers should ask before buying a leasehold property.
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Features
Rogue landlords and agents are not the norm
There are unscrupulous landlords who lock out their tenants and, says Frances Burkinshaw, there are rogue agents too, but they are not the norm!
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Features
Does buy-to-let still stack up?
The media says buy-to-let is crashing down, but, says Kate Faulkner, let’s look at the facts and figures.
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Latest property news
Agent warns over “increasingly common” Facebook scam
Martin & Co has warned of an “increasingly common” Facebook scam after two women in Devon were duped out of £1,200 by sophisticated online fraudsters. National Fraud Reporting Centre police are now looking in to the case after Jenny and Cheryl Foster-Mitchell lost the money after being lured into paying a deposit and fees for a rental property in Plymouth (pictured, right). The fake landlord had stolen images and copy from Rightmove and used the material to create a fake listing on Facebook for the property, and then persuaded the two women to part with £600 as a deposit and £600 as a month’s rent in advance, which they paid they bank transfer. But Jenny and Cheryl did not get to see inside the property in person and instead were told the keys weren’t available. As an alternative, they were told to visit the property and look through the windows. The landlord then asked the two women for references and copies of their driving licences. Perfect home After they told the fake landlord that it was their “perfect” home because pets were allowed, they were then asked for a further £400 as a ‘maintenance fee’ but became suspicious the payments…
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Features
The Queen’s Speech delivers more bad news for letting agents
Richard Price, Executive Director of UKALA, outlines two clear problems arising from the Queen’s Speech.
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