Tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell fire, but are high rises any safer today than they were then? On 14th June 2017, 72 people died in a fire in the Grenfell Tower high rise in North Kensington, West London. A further 74 people suffered non-fatal injuries, 20 of which were seriously injured, while …
As a landlord, your main concern should always be your tenant’s safety in your property, so should you PAT test for additional safety? Legally required certification is designed to ensure that all properties are as safe as, well… houses! Over time, the legal requirements for housing has changed, so as a reminder, here is what …
First details of the ‘private rental portal’ revealed in last weeks’ Queen’s Speech have emerged. It is thought the portal will be similar to portals already in use in Wales and Scotland, but more comprehensive. These portals will use the address of each private rented property in England to create a database of homes and …
Prince Charles reveals plan to overhaul housing policy in Queen’s speech Prince Charles has officially delivered the Queen’s Speech and opened Parliament today this week, with plans to overhaul the housing policy were among the 38 bills discussed. The purpose of the Queen’s speech, which she had to ‘reluctantly’ pull out of due to ‘episodic …
In a bid to improve home-ownership, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is considering a return of the right-to-buy scheme for housing association tenants Young people today have long struggled to get on the housing ladder, due to rising rents and spiralling house prices. So Boris Johnson is looking at the Thatcher era scheme, to give people …
While the new Building Safety Law appears to assist some landlords, others aren’t so lucky. The cladding crisis, with landlords and homeowners worried about the impact on their investments, continues to rumble on. In light of this crisis, the new bill, which has been passed and is now law, relates to building protection and will …
Rotherham Council set to implement banning orders on landlords In an attempt to crack down on local rogue landlords, Rotherham Council is set to ban landlords from renting out properties, if they are found guilty of: Unlawful eviction Harassment Overcrowding Fire or gas safety offences Those who ignore the order could then be faced with …
It’s illegal to discriminate against disabled tenants, but are you doing it without even realising it? Most non-disabled people don’t even notice how difficult it is to navigate transport, roads and buildings if you are disabled, and when it comes to renting and buying, life can be even trickier. According to the figures from the …
A new report has found that one in eight private rented homes pose ‘serious threat’ to occupants’ health and safety A damning report from The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has revealed that fast-rising rents and low standards in the private sector mean that ‘safe, suitable housing is too often out of reach for …
The first landlord in England to be fined under the recently introduced Electrical Safety Standards legislation is from Coventry. As of July 2021, all residential landlords in England must ensure that the electrical installations in the property are safe and are inspected and tested at least every five years. Wales will be bringing in the …
