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Housing Law

Housing Law  Advice (Tenants & Landlords) 24hrs a day, 365 days a year.

 

Housing

Whatever the size of your property portfolio, all residential landlords need legal advice at some stage. At DML Legal Services, we specialise in representing residential landlords. Our residential landlord client base ranges from portfolio owners to Housing Association and Local Authorities. We also advise and assist letting agents and their clients alike.

 

Our housing specialists provide advice to landlords on all areas of landlord and tenant law. This may include the drafting of a tenancy agreement, advice in relation to housing disrepair, advising and assisting in relation to evicting a tenant and recovering rent arrears or advising on the law in relation to unlawful eviction.

 

As a residential landlord it is important to consider the above issues and where possible, to prevent problems with tenants from arising. If problems do arise, our specialits can offer a range of solutions to solve the problem as quickly and cost effectively as possible.

 

At DML Legal Services, we understand that cost saving is important to our clients. As a result, we offer a fixed-fee package to suit the needs of a residential landlord whilst at the same time providing an unrivalled level of service.

 

Areas of specialism

• Residential Tenancy Agreements

• Evicting tenants

• Eviction Instruction

• Unlawful eviction

• Housing disrepair

• Landlord responsibilities

 

 

Tenancy agreements

Assured Shorthold Tenancies are one of the most common forms of letting arrangement for residential properties in England and Wales.Though not an exhaustive list, Assured Shorthold Tenancies are not suitable in the following circumstances:

 

• If you will be living in the same property

• If the rent is in excess of £25,000 per annum (for Wales) or £100,000 per annum (for England)

• If the property is not your tenant’s principal home

• If your tenant is not an individual For example, if the Tenant is a limited company or housing association 

• If you have any doubt that the proposed tenancy may not be an Assured Shorthold Tenancy then we strongly advise that you speak to a member of our Property department before proceeding further as there could be implications for you.

 

Assured Shorthold Tenancies have two advantages for you as a landlord:

• There is a fixed date on which your tenant must leave the property; and 

• If any of the terms of the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement are breached, you may be able to remove your tenant by an order of the Court.

 

Whilst an Assured Shorthold Tenancy does guarantee repossession of the property, it is still necessary to apply to the Court if the tenant refuses to give up possession at the end of the specified period. An Assured Shorthold Tenancy can be for any period of time. However, a Landlord cannot obtain possession via the Courts during the fixed term of the Agreement unless the Tenant has breached any of their obligations under the Tenancy Agreement.

 

An Assured Shorthold Tenancy is generally only appropriate for short term lettings of between 6 and 12 months. Indeed, there are no provisions for reviewing the rent within our standard Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement and consequently if you grant a tenancy say for a term of 3 years, the rent will be the same throughout. The market rent may not therefore be reflected within your Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement. If you wish to grant an Assured Shorthold Tenancy for a term greater than 12 months then, again, we advise that you speak to a member of our Property department before proceeding further.

 

At the end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, if no actions are taken by either party to renew the tenancy or by you as landlord to seek repossession, then the tenancy continues and is terminable by you on two months written notice. If however you wish your tenant to leave at the end of the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement term you must give him/her two months prior notice in writing.

 

You may wish to obtain a deposit from your tenant to safeguard your interests in case the tenant breaks any fixtures and fittings at the property, or if any of the tenant(s) obligations, such as payment of rent, are breached. Should you wish to obtain a rent deposit for an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, please note that there are rules in force which require landlords to place deposits received from tenants into one of two designated schemes within 14 days of receipt. Failure to comply with the rules can have serious consequences for a landlord.

 

Our standard Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement does not make provision for any third party to guarantee the obligations of the Tenant. Therefore, if you do not obtain a rent deposit there is a greater risk for you. It should also be noted that if you have a mortgage on your property, you may have an obligation to obtain your Lenders' consent before granting the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement.

 

Further, if you own the property under a lease then you may have an obligation to obtain consent from your own landlord. Please note it is against our advice for you to enter into an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement without first of all obtaining all necessary consents. 

 

Should you wish to proceed with an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement, please contact DML Legal Services or email our Housing Specialists on legal@dmlconsultancy.co.uk

 

 

Rent deposits & residential tenancies

Rent deposit rules are intended to give greater security to tenants and help facilitate any disputes arising in connection with deposits. Any sum taken by a landlord as security for the performance of tenant’s obligations (regardless of the label it is given) will be subject to the provisions. Basically deposits will have to be put into 1 of 2 schemes; the landlord has the choice as to which scheme to use. 

 

The two schemes are the custodial scheme or the insurance based scheme. Landlords have 14 days from receipt of the deposit to place it into such a scheme. If a landlord fails to do so then the tenant can apply to court for the deposit to be repaid to the tenant or paid into a scheme. Failure by the landlord to arrange for the deposit to be paid into a scheme prior to the court hearing will result in the court ordering the landlord to pay 3 times the deposit amount to the tenant. Furthermore, failure to place the deposit in such a scheme will stop the landlord being able to regain possession of the property under the “no fault/notice only” ground of the Housing Act 1988. It is therefore essential that landlords comply with these provisions.

 

Custodial scheme

• The landlord pays the amount of deposit into the scheme. 

• Within 14 days of receiving a deposit, the landlord must give the tenant the prescribed information about the scheme being used. This is a prescribed printed form which must be used. 

• At the end of the tenancy, if the landlord and tenant agree how the deposit should be divided, they will tell the scheme which returns the deposit, divided in the way agreed by both parties. 

• If there is a dispute, the scheme will hold the amount until the dispute resolution service or courts decide the dispute. 

• The interest accrued by deposits in the scheme will be used to pay for the running of the scheme and any surplus will be paid on the amount refunded. The amount of interest has yet to be set.

 

Insurance based schemes

• The landlord retains the deposit and pays a premium to the insurer - the key difference to the custodial scheme. 

• Within 14 days of receiving a deposit, the landlord must give the tenant prescribed information about the scheme being used and the tenancy. This is a prescribed form. 

• At the end of the tenancy, if the landlord and tenant agree how the deposit should be divided, the landlord returns all or some of the deposit. 

• If there is a dispute, the landlord must hand over the disputed amount to the scheme for safekeeping until the dispute is resolved. 

• If for any reason the landlord fails to comply, the insurance arrangements will ensure the return of the deposit to the tenant if they are entitled to it.

 

Both schemes will have to offer alternative dispute resolution as a method of resolving any disagreements relating to amount of deposit to be kept/returned, although its use will not be compulsory. The rules should reduce the problems with repayments of deposits for both landlords and tenants.

 

 

Evicting residential tenants

At DML Legal Services we are able to provide comprehensive advice and assistance to residential landlords in relation to evicting tenants.

 

Our residential eviction specialists are able to offer fixed fees so that you will know exactly how much each stage of the eviction process will cost. We will review your documentation and advise you of the best route for you to take in the eviction process.

 

Stages of the eviction process:

• Initial warning

• Issue of notice seeking possession

• Court proceedings to obtain posession order

• Enforcement with bailiff action

 

 

Unlawful eviction

Unlawful Eviction is the removal of a tenant from a property without a court order. Our team of dedicated specialists can provide advice and assistance to Landlords if they are faced with an Unlawful Eviction claim by their tenant.

 

At DML Legal Services we provide complete advice and assistance to Landlords to help prevent or minimise the cost of a claim for Unlawful Eviction seeking to help solve the problem at the earliest possible point.

 

 

Housing disrepair

We can advise and assist you on defending any dispute relating to the condition of your property. DML Legal Services are specialists in the field of Housing Disrepair.

 

After an initial consultation with a member of our team, we can advise you on your liability as a Landlord and of the best possible way to resolve the issues in the quickest possible time.

 

 

Landlord responsibilities

There are an increasing number of legal requirements imposed on residential landlords. In the last 5 years there have been a number of changes and additions to the responsibilities and legal obligations landlords face whether they have one property or multiple properties. A basic understanding of these factors is crucial to ensure that you do not face action against you and have penalties imposed.

 

You may think that by using a letting agent the responsibility is with them, this is not the case landlords can be responsible for the agent’s mistakes as well as for the  property itself. Here are some of the important areas that you need to be aware of:

 

Repair

There are various pieces of safety legislation relating to the repair of the property and as landlord it is your responsibility to ensure you comply with them. Landlords are responsible for repairs to the structure and exterior of the property, heating and hot water installations, basins, sinks, baths and other sanitary installations. The legal terminology is that they should be kept in “repair and proper working order.” Landlords are not obliged to effect improvements to the property. Nor are they expected to repair any of the items listed above in cases where the tenant has caused the damage or disrepair. The Landlord's obligations will only arise when he has received notification of the defect. If a landlord fails to carry out the repairs the landlord can be ordered by the courts to carry the repairs out, the tenant can claim for damages or the tenant could carry out the repairs and set the cost off against payable rent.

 

Health & safety - gas, electricity & fire

Regulations surrounding gas safety provide the requirements for the safe installation and maintenance of gas appliances, fittings, flues, metres, pipe-work, etc.

 

If you let a property, you must make sure that pipe work, appliances and flues provided for tenants are maintained in a safe condition. You need to have a gas safety check every year and a Gas Safe registered engineer must carry out the safety check. You must give your tenants a copy of the gas safety record within 28 days of it being carried out or before they move in.

 

You are also obliged to show your tenants how they can turn off the gas supply in the event of a gas leak.

 

In terms of electricity the law states that, all electrical appliances and installations, as well as all plugs, sockets and adaptors must be completely safe and adhere to electrical safety standards. The Regulations cover all mains voltage household electrical goods but do not include any fixed electrical wiring or built-in appliances such as central heating.

 

Although there is no statutory obligation on landlords or agents to have professional checks carried out on the electrical system or appliances, the Regulations state that the supply of electrical equipment must be safe. Failure to comply is a criminal offence and may result in:

 

A fine of £5,000 per item not complying, Six month's imprisonment; and/or Possible manslaughter charges in the event of deaths. The Tenant may also sue you for civil damages and your property insurance may be invalidated.

 

Regulations concerning Fire outline that; all furniture supplied by the landlord must be fire resistant and meet fire safety standards.

 

The Regulations provide for levels of fire resistance for domestic upholstered furniture, furnishings and other products containing upholstery, including the measures to be taken to improve the fire safety of materials.

 

Where smoking in the property is permitted, Landlords must ensure that there are sufficient smoke alarms in all areas where smoking is permitted

 

If you break any of these health and safety regulations the Health and Safety Executive could investigate and prosecute.

 

Obtaining possession

Many landlords still think that because they are the ‘owners’ of the property they can seek to remove tenants in their own chosen way, without realising that there are set procedures that have to be followed. Landlords are only entitled to bring court proceedings to evict tenants if they have served the proper possession notice first and waited until the notice period has expired. There are two types of notice: section 21 and section 8 which are set out in the respective sections of the Housing Act 1988. These notices are particular to the type of tenancy and details relating to it. Once the Notice has been served on the tenant, the landlord must wait until the Notice has expired. Should the tenant not have vacated the property, or otherwise rectified any applicable default, the landlord should apply to court for an order claiming possession

 

Unlawful eviction

Landlords should be mindful of entering the property without a court order, even where you think the tenant has vacated. Unlawful eviction is a criminal offence and you could also be liable in the civil courts for a substantial order in damages and legal costs.

 

Deposits

Landlord need to be aware that they can no longer hold deposits independently. From April 2007 a mandatory system was introduced for all Assured Short hold Tenancy Deposits. Landlord must select either a Custodial Scheme or Insurance scheme and pay deposits into this scheme within 14 days of the receipt of a deposit. If landlords do not follow this, they can face fines of up to three times the deposit value or the inability to serve a notice and remove a tenant. Both of these penalties can be extremely costly to the landlord so using one of the nominated deposit schemes is essential.

 

Insurance

Ensuring the building is covered by insurance is the homeowner's obligation. However, any personal possessions are the responsibility of the tenant so they should ensure a contents insurance policy is in place from the date they move in. 

 

Lettings Agents advise landlords to check their homeowner's insurance policy. Most don’t cover damage by a tenant or any liability issues that arise in the event of an injury to an occupant whilst they are in the property. An additional policy may be required to ensure appropriate cover and this is worth looking into.

 

If you are facing action as a result of allegations that you have not met your obligations to the tenant(s), please contact us and we can advise you regarding your defence and resolving any issues.