Luton
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Latest property news
Letting agency fined over failure to comply with investigation
Poplar Homes and director Sarfraz Yousaf did not provide documents including safety certificates despite repeated requests.
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Latest property news
Spicerhaart and Savills jointly win contract to sell 785 apartment development
Spicerhaart has won a contract to handle the Phase 1 sales of LU2ON, an integrated mixed-use development that's part of a major regeneration project.
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Latest property news
Rogue agent: Ombudsman bans firm for 10 years over unpaid £181,000 award
In a shocking case of a rogue agent, a firm in Luton has been banned from The Property Ombudsman for ten years after failing to pay an award of £181,254 after it was found to have ‘deliberately’ not passed on substantial amounts of money to a landlord. Altavon Property Managemnet Ltd (APM), which was dissolved late last year but had been trading for three-and-a-half years prior to the award, was asked by a local landlord to manage 31 properties on their behalf based on a two-tier agreement. The landlord rented the properties to APM in return for a fixed return over a set period, leaving APM to manage and rent the properties to whoever they saw fit. By December 2016 APM was behind in rent payments to the tune of £57,000 and continued to miss payments, eventually leading the landlord to complain to TPO. Rogue agent After finding in the landlord’s favour, a large award was then agreed, based on the monies owed plus £200 for each missed payment and compensation for aggravation, distress and inconvenience. But APM failed to pay the award and, after being referred to its Disciplinary & Standards Committee, has now been expelled from TPO for ten…
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Latest property news
Two more councils clamp down on rogue landlords and agents
Two new schemes have been announced by two local councils to clamp down on rogue landlords and agents, joining a further half a dozen or more initiatives launched so far this year. Luton Borough Council and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets have both introduced different schemes with varying levels of enforcement. Luton has begun consultation on a selective landlord licensing scheme, while Tower Hamlets has launched a ‘private renters’ charter’ in addition to its existing licensing scheme. Luton wants to introduce licensing in five key wards of the town’s 19 wards. The scheme would see landlords required to apply for a license to operate each of their properties within these areas. Landlords are to be charged £110 per property, plus £110 per bedroom for a five-year licence. “The aim is to improve the overall quality of private housing provision and ensure that parts of the town that are currently blighted by poor quality accommodation and issues that often go hand in hand, are eradicated and improve the quality of life for all,” council Tom Shaw (pictured, left) told Bedfordshire on Sunday. The council says it want to introduced the scheme to stamp out ‘speculative landlords’ who offer over-crowded and…
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Features
House price growth: the only way is up… or is it?
Designs on Property tracks and summarises the monthly property indices. Kate Faulkner says, “The number of properties coming onto the market is likely to be restricted.”
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