Tenants who live in the coldest privately rented homes are trapped into higher fuel bills because they rely on landlords to make their properties energy efficient. So claims the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and Friends of the Earth, who are calling on private landlords and government to take action on homes that are costing tenants [...]
Tenants
Private tenants punished with high fuel bills
Tenants who live in the coldest privately rented homes are trapped into higher fuel bills because they rely on landlords to make their properties energy efficient. So claims the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and Friends of the Earth, who are calling on private landlords and government to take action on homes that are costing tenants [...]
Changing patterns for younger tenants
More 18 to 34-year-olds are leaving the family home to enter the private rental sector, according to HomeLet. Latest research from the landlord and tenant insurer indicates that in September 2009, 44% of tenants under the age of 35 previously lived with parents, with the proportion rising to 54% today. This trend is most noticeable [...]
Changing patterns for younger tenants
More 18 to 34-year-olds are leaving the family home to enter the private rental sector, according to HomeLet. Latest research from the landlord and tenant insurer indicates that in September 2009, 44% of tenants under the age of 35 previously lived with parents, with the proportion rising to 54% today. This trend is most noticeable [...]
Factsheets to curb landlord / tenant disputes
Tenants and landlords are being brought up to speed on their rights and responsibilities by Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, who is convinced that disputes between those renting and those letting are commonly caused by misunderstandings that could be prevented. By way of remedy, the minister has published advice in the form of easy-to-understand factsheets as [...]
Rogue landlords surface in rental boom
Rogue landlords are taking advantage of the rental sector boom, Shelter warns. The housing charity is calling on the Government to give tenants more protection as the number of households privately renting hits 3.4 million. Shelter says it has seen a 23% increase in the number of tenants seeking help for problems with their landlord [...]
Peverel property services group in administration
Peverel Limited, Peverel Group Limited, Aztec Opco Developments Limited and Aztec Acquisitions Limited have been placed in administration.
The companies are holding companies within Peverel group, which includes many of the UK’s leading providers of property-related services.
However, the following operating companies, which provide services for residents and landlords, will be continuing business as normal.
These companies [...]
Residential cannabis farming on the increase
Landlords are being warned that residential cannabis farming is on the increase, with Aviva having reported a 30% year-on-year rise in property damage claims resulting from such activity.
The insurer settled 92 cannabis-related claims last year, the highest number on record, and according to underwriting manager, Matthew Gordon, cannabis farming comes with serious risks for landlords.
Properties [...]
Bed bug awareness for landlords and tenants
The Residential Landlords’ Association has produced a downloadable factsheet on bed bugs, in response to warnings of a worldwide pandemic of the human parasites.
The factsheet provides basic information about the bugs, what they look like and how to combat them, with sections provided for both the landlord and the tenant.
According to Bed Bugs Limited, which [...]
Private landlords to mop up anti-social behaviour evictions
The Residential Landlords’ Association (RLA) is calling for greater efforts to combat the problem of anti-social tenants in the private rented sector.
The move follows an announcement by Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, that “neighbours from hell”, who cause misery and fear for social housing tenants, face swifter eviction.
New measures mean those found guilty of housing related [...]
“Neighbours from hell” face swifter eviction
“Neighbours from hell”, who cause misery and fear for their fellow tenants, face swifter eviction under plans outlined this week by Housing Minister, Grant Shapps.
Mr Shapps has announced a package of new measures aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and giving greater support to tenants and landlords.
For example, new mandatory grounds for possession will mean [...]
Landlords note rise in cash-strapped tenants
More tenants were at risk of slipping into arrears in the final quarter of 2010, with 40% of landlords reporting a rise in cash-strapped renters, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has reported.
The proportion compares with 35.9% of landlords with tenants in financial straits during the previous three-month period, representing the first increase for [...]
Landlords “lukewarm” on Green Deal
The Residential Landlords’ Association (RLA) has given a lukewarm reception to the government’s “Green Deal” as a means of raising energy efficiency in private rental properties, and lowering gas and electricity bills for tenants.
The Green Deal, due to start in 2012, will allow householders, landlords and businesses to improve insulation in their properties, with the [...]
MPs wary of benefit cuts in the private rental sector
An influential committee of MPs has expressed “a level of uncertainty” regarding the impact of the Government’s proposed housing benefit cuts.
A new report from the Work and Pensions Select Committee focuses particularly on claimants of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in the private rental sector, who face new caps in LHA on property size, plus an [...]
