The second scheme of Selective Licensing started on 1 December 2023. The team licences family and singly occupied houses and flats and checks landlords are providing safe properties and complying with the conditions on their licence.
The HMO licensing team licence houses in multiple occupation (HMO's). There are two licences: Additional and Mandatory licensing.
Here is a snapshot of the work done by the Selective Licensing, Additional and Mandatory licensing teams:
We inspected a few properties with smoke alarm issues.
We've found a number homes without the right number of smoke alarms, alarms that aren't working and ones with out of date appliances.
At this one house we found two smoke alarms that were 9 years out of date and should have been replaced in 2015.
Click here for guidance for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
This month’s focus on a licence condition is all about your legal duty to inspect your properties.
The Licence Holder must inspect the property every six months. They also need to record details of the visit, including recording the inspector's name, the date and time of the visit and any issues found, and actions taken.
These records must be maintained throughout the Licence term and provided to the Council within 28 days if requested.
The minimum inspection requirement is every 6 months, but you may need to inspect your property more regularly depending on the property circumstances, e.g. ASB at the property.
The Renters’ Rights Bill, introduced to Parliament, will ban Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions for new and existing tenancies, extend Awaab’s Law into the private rented sector and end blanket bans for those on benefits or with children.
We have a full breakdown of what this means for your tenants and you as landlords.
No-fault evictions banned
The Bill will abolish Section 21 evictions for both new and existing tenancies at the same time, meaning landlords will need to provide a valid cause to end a tenancy early. Landlords will still be able to evict tenants if they have a legal reason, such as if the tenant is in several months' rent arrears or commits anti-social behaviour.
Ban on mid-tenancy rent increases
The bill will also ban rent increases being written into contracts to prevent mid-tenancy hikes, leaving landlords only able to raise rent once a year at the market rate.
Tenancy reform
The bill will remove fixed-term assured tenancies, which mean renters are obliged to pay rent regardless of whether a property is up-to-standard and prevent them from easily moving out in response to changing circumstances, such as a relationship breakdown or new job.
Instead, all tenancies will be periodic, with tenants able to stay in their home until they decide to end the tenancy by giving 2 months' notice.
When a landlord's circumstance changes, such as their need to sell up or move into the property, they will have to give four months' notice instead of two.
All renters will get a 12-month protected period at the beginning of a tenancy, during which landlords cannot evict them on these grounds.
Decent Homes standard
Standards will also be driven up, as the Decent Homes Standard will be applied to the private rented sector for the first time. Currently 21% of privately rented homes are considered non-decent and more than 500,000 contain the most serious of hazards.
Social home health rules to tighten
Landlords who fail to address serious hazards will be fined up to £7,000 by local councils and may face prosecution for non-compliance.
Ombudsman
A new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman will also be introduced to "provide quick and binding resolutions" about complaints, alongside a database to help landlords understand their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance.
Bidding wars crackdown
The reforms also crack down on bidding wars between potential tenants. Bidding wars for rental properties have become increasingly common. The Bill will include a legal requirement for landlords and letting agents to publish the required rent for a property. Landlords and agents will be banned from "asking for, encouraging, or accepting any bids" above the publicly stated price.
Awaab's law extended
Awaab's Law was named after the toddler who died after exposure to mould in his family's social rented home in Greater Manchester. This will be extended to the private sector to ensure all landlords speedily address hazards and make homes safe.
Ban on benefit discrimination
The bill will also outlaw landlords imposing a blanket ban on tenants receiving benefits or with children.
Allowing pets
The reforms will also give tenants the strengthened right to request a pet, which landlords must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse.
To support landlords, the Renters' Rights Bill will give them the right to request insurance to cover potential damage from pets if needed.
Don’t forget, there are resources and support for landlords on the Nottingham Rental Standard website.
It has an inspection checklist form to prepare landlords for a inspection and a useful checklist for for on-going management of your properties. It’s been developed by DASH and UNIPOL, shows what is good practice.
There’s also details on training courses for Landlords with DASH and UNIPOL.
Visit Nottingham Rental Standard
Calling landlords, agents and tenants – help by providing the accurate rent data.
The Valuation Office Agency is asking for data on rent levels from tenants and landlords to understand the local housing allowance levels better.
Landlords and agent – Provide us with your rental information - rooms (landlords) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Tenants - Provide us with your rental information - self-contained properties (tenants) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
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