Eddie Hooker
-
Features
The zero option
A raft of new products aims to replace tenancy deposits, Andrea Kirkby reviews the current offerings and where it may all end.
Read More » -
Latest property news
A third of tenants have to wait ‘too long’ for deposits to be returned, claims Which?
A new investigation into the rental deposit system has revealed that a third of tenants are forced to provide a deposit to their new landlord while waiting to have their previous deposit returned. Some 31% of these tenants then turn to friends and family to fund their ‘second deposit’ while 9% borrow money off loan sharks or use their credit card, while the rest rely on overdrafts, says consumer organisation Which? It is calling on the government to both review the system to prevent this ‘two deposits’ problem and also tackle the other major area of conflict for tenants; contested deposit deductions. Its report also recommends the recently-launched slew of insurance-based deposit schemes because they “potentially help tenants better transition when moving between rental properties”. Millennial rental deposits The report also found that Millennials get a rougher deal from the renting process and are more likely to encounter problems with letting agents. This includes being asked to pay a holding deposit and be pressurised into making a quick decision about a property. Which? also discovered that among those who had money taken from their deposits, half disputed the deduction. The two most common deductions are for inadequate cleaning of the…
Read More » -
Latest property news
Turn the taps off! Most common damage to properties by tenants revealed
Leaving baths running, red wine spillage and cracked shower trays top list of most common damage inflicted on buy-to-let properties.
Read More » -
Latest property news
Rental deposit scams stole nearly £1m off tenants during 2017, says campaigner
Rental deposits protection campaigner and insurance-based scheme operator Ajay Jagota (picture,below) has claimed that £926,000 in deposits has been stolen from tenants during 2017. The figure, which only shows the tip of the iceberg because it only reports reported cases, reveals that 25 landlords and letting agents were convicted this year of stealing various amounts ranging from a few hundred to, in one case, £130,000. The most common way deposits are taken illegally is through simple scams – people posing as landlords or letting agents and then taking deposits for fake properties or homes they haven’t been instructed to market or have the authority to rent out. A good example of this is James Bennett, who was sentenced to six years in prison last week after conning at least 17 people in South London out of £10,000 in total using this method. Rental deposits Bennett, who failed to appear in court and is now on the run, used listings on SpareRoom.com to advertise rooms to rent in Brixton, Walworth, Clapham, Elephant & Castle and Tooting despite not having permission to do so. In each case he was staying at the property but, prior to being evicted, advertised the rooms to…
Read More » -
Latest property news
Hamilton Fraser buys Paul Shamplina’s Landlord Action
TV star Paul Shamplina’s tenant eviction solicitor firm Landlord Action has been bought by a subsidiary of Hamilton Fraser, the Hertfordshire-based landlord insurance group. The Landlord Action legal team, along with Paul, will relocate from their current offices in Edgware to Hamilton Fraser’s HQ in Borehamwood. Paul started up Landlord Action in 1999 as the UK’s first fixed-fee tenant eviction firm and so far has processed some 35,000 tenant cases. The award-winning company, which played a role in persuading the government to make some forms of squatting a criminal office in 2012, gained Solicitors Regulation Authority status four years ago. The acquisition makes Hamilton Fraser unusual in the property industry, mainly because it now has so many fingers in the property pie. This includes offering landlord insurance as well as professional indemnity insurance to landlords and agents. It also operates one of the three government-approved deposit protection schemes, called mydeposits. Hamilton Fraser also operates Client Money Protect while its subsidiary HF Resolution, which it has used to buy Landlord Action, operates one of the industry’s redress schemes, PRS. Nightmare tenants Paul has been a busy recently. As well as being a brand ambassador for Hamilton Fraser and running Landlord Action,…
Read More »
