Making renting open for landlords & tenants
New rules in England and Wales on how courts will engage with landlords and tenants during coronavirus are due to begin on 23rd August. The measures, announced in a court ‘Practice Direction’ called PD 55C are intended to deal with the large backlog of possession cases that have built up since possession hearings were stayed in March.
Continue reading “New Coronavirus Eviction Rules Begin this Month (PD 55C)”
OpenRent started offering landlords a free renewal service in 2018. Instead of paying an agent hundreds of pounds just to renew a contract with tenants who already lived in your property, you could just click ‘renew’ to send a new contract out and handle your legal duties.
Continue reading “OpenRent Can Now Help You to Add or Remove Tenants from Your Tenancy When You Renew Your Contract”
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced new measures that help landlords. In a speech titled ‘A Plan for Jobs’, he put forward new policies designed to protect jobs and stave off mass unemployment ahead of the withdrawal of the flagship furlough scheme in October, which has paid 80% of the wages of over 9 million workers since lockdown began.
Continue reading “‘Mini-Budget’ Brings Good News for Landlords”
Many tenants have seen a substantial or even total loss of income during the COVID-19 shutdown. Some landlords have responded to this by offering a ‘rent holiday’. I wrote in a previous post about how landlords and tenants could agree a temporary rent reduction without falling into any legal traps.
Continue reading “How to Agree a Rent Repayment Plan”
The Tenant Fees Act came into force on 1st June 2019 for new tenancies and was then extended to cover all tenancies on 1st June 2020. At the centre of the new rules is a ban on tenant fees, including admin and agency fees.
Continue reading “Tenant Fees Act (2019): What Landlords & Tenants Need to Know”
Landlords with properties in England will need to conduct an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) in order to let their English properties from 1st July 2020. The requirement will extend to all tenancies in England from 1st April 2021.
Continue reading “New EICR Rules: Electrical Checks Become Mandatory for Rented Property from 1st July 2020”
Any activities related to the sale or letting of property in England will be allowed from Wednesday, 13th May, as long as other coronavirus guidance is followed. To help all parties remain safe, the Government is asking landlords to perform as much of the lettings process online as possible.
Continue reading “Lockdown Lifted for Lettings Industry”
Tenants can now search properties based on whether they can view them online. By ticking the ‘Video Tour’ filter in the search options, tenants will only see properties that support virtual viewings and video tours.
As the UK lockdown continues, many tenancies will begin or come to an end. Usually, landlords would perform an inventory of the property, compare it to the inventory at the beginning of the tenancy, and use this as evidence of any damage caused during the tenancy.
There is new guidance on accessing rental properties to carry out inspections, repairs and safety checks. Properties should only be accessed for serious matters and all non-essential visits to properties should be postponed. There is also new guidance on how landlords, tenants and tradespeople must act to remain safe if they do need to attend a property.
Continue reading “Can Landlords Arrange Repairs and Safety Checks During Coronavirus Social Distancing?”