Landlords in England and Wales are obliged to put deposits paid by landlords into a Tenancy Deposit Scheme. This third party keeps hold of the money and prevents a landlord from unlawfully keeping the cash in the event of a dispute with his tenant. Up until now, landlords in Northern Ireland have been exempt from the deposit scheme, which has attracted criticism from some quarters.

How will the scheme work?

The Northern Ireland Assembly has approved the scheme and it will come into effect on 1st April. Four administrators will be appointed to operate it and Nelson McCausland, Social Development Minister, is confident that it will help to minimise disputes between landlords and tenants and help provide protection for all parties.

“Tenants across Northern Ireland in the private rental sector can now be afforded the same protection as those in Great Britain. This is a positive development for the private rental sector.”

Tenancy Deposit Scheme welcomed

Student leaders have applauded the new scheme and call it: “a victory for students and other tenants” and the NUS-USI president is very happy the scheme has had the go-ahead.

“We hear horror stories of students and other people who have rented a house and at end of the contract have left it in excellent condition but have had their deposit withheld by an unscrupulous landlord,” said Adrienne Peltz.

Severe penalties

Not everyone is happy about the scheme, including the Landlords Association:

“It’s very onerous and the penalties here are going to be more severe than in the UK, for whatever reason.”

Despite the fact that the majority of people are feeling the financial pinch these days occasionally a tenant may opt to pay their rents several months in advance, as well as handing over the specified deposit. In the case of a deposit, landlords must place the sum in a deposit protection scheme, but this is not the case with an advanced rental payment.

Rent or deposit

The issue of whether an advanced payment of rent can be classed as a deposit s recently been the subject of legal argument in the Court of Appeal. In the case of Johnson vs. Old, when a landlord tried to gain possession of his property, the tenant argued his advance rental payment had in fact been a deposit and since the landlord had not protected it, he could not be evicted under a Section 21 notice.

Case dismissed

The case went to court, but unfortunately the judge ruled in favour of the tenant. The landlord’s claim for possession of his property was thrown out and he was ordered to pay the tenant’s costs. The landlord was not happy about this, so he took his case to the Court of Appeal and won.

Landlord vs. tenant

However, the tenant decided he wasn’t about to back down yet and although he was initially refused leave to appeal, he applied directly to the Court of Appeal and was granted an appeal. The appeal case will now be heard at the beginning of March, so landlords will have to wait and see what the outcome is and whether (or not) rent paid in advance must be treated as a deposit, and therefore protected as such.

The Government’s Green Deal comes into effect today, so if you haven’t already made energy saving improvements to your properties, now would be a good time to look into what is on offer.

How does the Green Deal work?

The Green Deal is designed to let landlords and other property owners make energy saving improvements without having to pay the costs up front. Typical home improvements worth considering include:

 Double-glazing
 Loft insulation
 Cavity wall insulation
 Energy efficient heating system
 Renewable energy technology, including solar panels

Any one of these home improvements will cut energy bills and make the property a lot more attractive to potential tenants.

The Green Deal is fairly simple: an assessment needs to be carried out to see what improvements are necessary and how much can potentially be saved. Any work agreed upon is then paid for through the electricity bill on the property, so even if a tenant moves on, the Green Deal contract remains with the property.

Do I need to ask permission from my tenant?

Landlords must obtain permission from their tenant before signing a Green Deal contract allowing work to go ahead; the same applies to tenants.

What happens if I don’t bother having any work done?

All rental properties must reach a minimum level of energy efficiency by 2018, and if they don’t, landlords will not be allowed to let them. So it makes sense to have the essential work done now while government funding is available. A failure to do so may incur penalties at a later date.

It took well over a year and numerous court hearings, but a landlord finally
admitted he was in the wrong and pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the
Improvement Notice issued more than a year previously. As a result of the
action taken against him by Ashfield District Council, the landlord was fined
£1600.

Serious hazards in the rental property

Local authority inspectors had identified a number of serious hazards at the
rental property, which was occupied by a young family with a child. There were
no fire detectors in place, it was damp and full of mould, and the landlord had
also failed to produce evidence to show gas appliances had been safety checked.
The landlord evidently chose to ignore the case against him for a long time and
made no effort to resolve any of the issues, but by the time he arrived at the
magistrates court for the most recent hearing, he must have had a change of
heart, for he pleaded guilty.

A landlord’s defence

The landlord tried to defend himself by saying his tenants had been very difficult and had refused to pay their rent, but he did accept that perhaps he could (and should) have done more to make improvements to the property when the Improvement Notice was first issued.

Landlords beware

Ashfield council was keen to remind other landlords following the conclusion of
this court case that it is always willing to prosecute those who fail to
maintain standards in their rental properties, particularly when people’s lives
are at risk.

How often do you check up on your properties when you have long-term tenants in residence? A lot of landlords don’t think about doing checks once they have a tenant in and the rent is paid up on time. But, unfortunately, making the assumption that everything is fine could cost you dearly further down the line and if you fail to keep a close eye on your properties, you could end up having to deal with a dispute.

Why should properties be inspected regularly?

Just because a tenant pays their rent on time, it does not automatically mean that they are looking after your property. A lot of tenants don’t bother telling their landlords when things need repairing and it is not unusual for tenants to have had a flood and not reported the subsequent damage. Condensation and mildew are another common problem caused by a lack of ventilation in the property—over the course of a year, the damage can be immense, but if spotted early enough, mildew and damp can be successfully treated before it destroys carpets and soft furnishings.

Sub-letting problems

Another good reason to keep a close eye on your properties is to check that your tenants are not sub-letting to other people. If you let your property to a respectable young professional couple, the last thing you need is to find out that subsequently they sub-let the property to a family of six illegal immigrants who have caused irreparable damage.

How often should I check up on my tenants?

Mid tenancy checks are essential because they will help you become aware of any problems. And if you do find problems, make sure you document them in order to protect yourself in the event if a dispute further down the line.

The weather is pretty grim at the moment. There is a lot of snow on the ground and with freezing temperatures most days, it is hardly surprising that the majority of tenants would rather stay put than go to the trouble of moving house. Of course this is a double-edged sword for landlords – on the one hand you are unlikely to lose any existing tenants, but on the other, if you have an empty property, you may have a problem filling it.

Why are rents falling?

Most landlords would rather lower their rents than have an empty property sitting on their books. Empty properties during the winter are a nightmare. You need to keep them heated in order to prevent the horror of a burst pipe and with the shorter daylight hours, an empty home is a far more attractive target for burglars and anyone else up to no good. So in order to avoid these issues, a lot of landlords are willing to take a drop in rent.

How much have rents fallen?

Figures recently compiled indicate that rents have fallen by 0.9%, although rents are still higher than they were a year ago. However, before you start panicking that your buy to let investment is in danger of depreciating, experts say that this fall is only a seasonal blip and as soon as the weather warms up, so will the rental market.

Will the rental market continue to thrive in 2013?

The indications are good that the rental market will remain strong this year. It is still difficult for buyers to obtain mortgages and since demand for rental accommodation is high, the future looks bright for property investors.

Being a landlord can often be challenging, but winter brings a whole new set of problems and unless you stay on the ball and take steps to prevent minor problems from snowballing, you could find yourself significantly out of pocket or getting out of bed in the middle of the night to deal with disgruntled tenants.

Empty properties during the winter

Holiday rental properties are more likely to be empty during the winter, but any property is vulnerable to winter related problems if it is empty for more than a day or two during bad weather. Cold snaps are a major cause of burst pipes and water damage, so make sure pipe work is well insulated (and don’t forget pipes and tanks in the loft). Keep a close eye on holiday lets during empty spells and it is also worth reminding tenants to leave the heating on if they intend on going away during cold weather.

Keep central heating boilers in good condition

As a landlord, you have a legal obligation to keep boilers and other appliances regularly serviced and in good working order. However, it is always a good idea to make sure older boilers and central heating appliances are serviced just before winter comes to ensure they don’t break down during a cold spell. But on the off chance that something unexpected happens, keep a supply of portable heaters handy in case your tenants need emergency heating.

Make sure tenants have the right information in case of emergencies

In the case of a burst pipe, turning the water off sooner rather than later is essential, so make sure your tenants know exactly where the stopcock is in their property. You should also check that it operates correctly.

According to the BBC, Mr Miliband has apologised for the way the last Labour government failed to help ordinary people in Britain. He says his party has already learned from its mistakes, although that comment is probably open to debate, and he has also pledged to help tenants in the private sector with a number of new Labour housing policies Labour in the pipeline.

Dealing with rogue landlords

Speaking to the Fabian Party a few days ago, Mr Miliband promised to deal with the increasing problem of rogue landlords and rip-off letting agents. He said the Labour party was committed to tackling the many issues surrounding housing and one of his proposals was the creation of a national register of landlords.

“We will root out rogue landlords, we will stop people from being ripped off by letting agents and we want to give new security to families who rent”

Concern expressed by the RLA

However, although the RLA has welcomed Labour plans to regulate letting agents, it has already expressed concern about the potential costs involved in implementing a nationwide landlord register. They believe that such a measure will only put further pressure on a housing sector that is already under a great deal of stress.

“The RLA is calling on all parties to support local authorities to improve the skills available to environmental health officers to more swiftly bring prosecutions against the minority of criminal landlords who bring misery to tenants lives. Accreditation schemes would enable councils to better target those who operate under the radar.”

Many landlords live in the same property as their tenants, so it is essential that all parties get along fine or it won’t be long before arguments ensue. With this in mind, it is not unusual for landlords to have a set of house rules in place to make sure prospective tenants are aware of what they should and should not be doing if they decide to take the tenancy. However, some landlords apparently go the extra mile when writing their house rules, as was evidenced by the hilarious list of house rules given to one tenant when she went to view a room to rent.

Landlord rules tweet goes viral

The young lady was so shocked by the list of demands that she published them on Twitter. Not surprisingly, within a few hours the list had gone viral and several thousand people had retweeted it. Some of the rules were fairly standard, including “no drugs” and “no loud parties”, but some of them were just plain crazy and included:

1. No pork to be brought into the house

2. No more than two visitors per month

3. Showers can’t last longer than fifteen minutes

4. No using other people’s shampoo, hand wash, etc

In total, there were thirty-one separate rules on the list, as well as various references to random penalty charges depending on how the landlord felt at the time.

Were the demands unreasonable?

I suppose that depends on your point of view. Clearly the “no pork” rule is a bit excessive and limiting guests to two per month is rather draconian, but if you are sharing your home with strangers, there has to be SOME rules in place or the living arrangements will soon deteriorate.

In most cases, if you want to attract new tenants in a rented home, you will probably have to advertise your property. Advertising can take many forms—a postcard in the local shop window, an advertisement on a property marketing website, or a picture in the window of a letting agency. But as of today, no matter how you choose to advertise your rental property, the advert has to include the property’s energy rating, which can be found on the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

Are HMOs affected by the same rules?

No, HMOs are exempt from the new rules, so if you are a student landlord or social landlord who operates shared houses or bedsits, you don’t need to include an energy rating on advertisements.

Changes from the original DCLG guidelines

The Department of Communities and Local Government originally implied that all properties (not including HMOs) were required to have the entire first page of the Energy Performance Certificate (which includes the graph and energy rating), on any advertisement. However, they appear to have changed their minds and now only the overall energy rating has to be included in any property advertisements.

Critics say that this makes a mockery of the government’s pledge to introduce green measures and meet green targets set out by Europe. Original plans are being watered down left, right and centre, and consumers are being given less information to make a decision on which rental property is right for them.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!