Amongst the raft of new measures are new regulations requiring landlords to install adequate smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, the introduction of a new notice to quit form (Section 21) and new rules about the information landlords must give tenants at the start of their tenancy.
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Research carried out by Shelter and British Gas in 2014 suggested more than 200,000 private renters had been evicted in the previous year for asking their landlord to fix a problem.
A third of landlords said they feel the law sides with tenants because of “extortionate upkeep costs, cuts to tax breaks and nearly half of tenants not paying their rent arrears, even after court proceedings”. They can get free help by visiting shelter.org.uk/advice or calling Shelter’s helpline on 0808 800 4444. A few nine per cent of the tenants surveyed claimed they had been the victim of a revenge eviction, while 82 per cent said they feel assured by the new law now that they are aware of it. For the vast majority of renters (78 per cent), their last tenancy ended at their own request. “The majority of landlords only choose to end a tenancy if it’s absolutely necessary, so we have to make sure that the system isn’t abused by those simply trying to prolong the evictions process” says Richard Lambert, chief executive officer of the National Landlords Association.
However, the guidance indicates that if a local authority has served an enforcement notice or emergency remedial action notice then a tenant will be provided with protection from eviction for six months from the date of notice irrespective of whether they have first raised the issue with their landlord.
“Landlords” circumstances can change and if they need to end their tenancy, but can’t because they are waiting for an inspection or to gain access from the tenant, landlords are going to lose valuable time, ‘ he pointed out.
Housing minister Brandon Lewis said: “We’re determined to create a bigger, better private rented sector – a key part of that is to tackle the minority of rogue landlords that shirk responsibilities and blight the lives of their tenants”. That means ensuring the safety of tenants with smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
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Once a tenant moves out of a rent-regulated apartment, landlords can charge more for the space.
