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In the run up to the General Election, the government has rushed out several pieces of legislation that directly affects the private rental sector.
New Landlord Legislation
The Superstrike amendment to the Deregulation Bill is one of the most important changes
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since it provides clarity to the whole issue of deposit protection, but there are other pieces of legislation landlords should be aware of.
New fire safety measures have been introduced for properties in the private rental sector. All properties must have a smoke detector installed. Risk assessments need to be carried out for carbon monoxide detectors – they only need to be installed in high risk properties.
Letting agents will have to be a lot more transparent as of May 27th. They will need to publish a breakdown of their fees, tell their clients whether they belong to a money protection scheme, and be up-front about what redress scheme they are a member of.
Selective licensing will need government approval if they are to cover more than 20% of a local authority’s geographical area. This should prevent councils from implementing blanket schemes where they are not necessarily needed.
Less Welcome Legislation
Other, less positive, points of note include the fact that the government is not extending the Landlord Energy Saving Allowance (LESA), so landlords won’t have access to any more funds to help them meet their energy efficiency obligations. Landlords will also no longer be able to issue a Section 21 notice if a tenant has complained about their property and their complaint has not been dealt with.
