Legislative Update Teresa – NLA Giles – EMPO

1. Legislative Update Teresa – NLA Giles – EMPO

2. New ‘How to’ Guides Published • How to Rent (Compulsory) • How to Let • Information and advice about your responsibilities as a landlord. • How to Lease • Information and advice to help leaseholders understand their responsibilities. • How to Rent a Safe Home • Information and details about the main hazards you can find in a rental property, including what to do if you have concerns.

3. Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) • PRS properties now require a minimum EPC rating of E • From 1 April 2018 – Ban on new tenancies. • 1 April 2020 – Ban on ALL tenancies. • Will be exemptions, such as lack of tenant consent, and “no upfront cost”. • Maximum fine of £5,000.

4. GDPR implications for landlords • GDPR will change the way you obtain and handle data. • GDPR will carry more robust fines for non-compliance. • You will become a data controller. • GDPR will change how you deal with data processors. • You will need to audit existing data you hold.

5. HMO mandatory licensing • From 1 October 2018 • Remove the storey requirement – now applies to all properties with five or • more people, comprising two or more households, with shared basic amenities. • Set a minimum room size of 6.51sq-m in line with existing overcrowding standard (Housing Act 1985). • Must comply with waste requirements.

6. Fitness for Human Habitation Bill • Ensures all rented properties are fit for human habitation. • Tenant has right to take legal action in court on grounds that the property is unfit. • Landlords are exempt where the damage is due to the tenant’s actions. • Will not introduce new standards for landlords, but help tenants enforce existing standards.

7. Gas Safety Certificate flexibilities • A new MOT-style flexibility has been introduced to landlord annual gas safety checks. • Allows landlords to undertake gas safety checks within the 2 months leading up to the deadline date. • Gas Installation Boiler Requirement, 6th April 2018 • Any new boiler installation MUST include an additional energy saving method such as a • Flue Gas Heat Recovery System or • Weather Compensation

8. Section 21 – Deregulation Act • Timing: A Section 21 notice cannot validly be served in the first four months of a tenancy. • Expiry: If proceedings do not begin within 6 months of the service of a Section 21 notice then the it will be invalid. • Process: A landlord / agent’s failure to provide the required information to tenants during a tenancy can invalidate a Section 21 notice. Form 6a must be used to issue notice. • Repairs: Failure to follow the prescribed and time-limited repairs process can both invalidate a Section 21 notice and prevent one from being served for a further six months.

9. Section 21 Changes (2) 6a Form • From 1st October 2018 • Landlords who wish to serve a Section 21 Notice to Assured Shorthold Tenants in England must use Form 6a • From (01/10/18) 6a form will cover ALL ASTs (including pre 1st October 2015 tenancies)

10. An Overview of the Housing & Planning Act 2016 • Why more Reforms? • Around 4.7 million households in England live in thePRS. Over a 25% increase since 2010 with 20% of allhouseholds now living in the PRS • Government wants to encourage more B2Rdevelopment to cater for the increasing numbers of people entering the PRS • B2R investors wants to see higher standards & management practices before investing outside the big cities. They want to see a better regulated sector offering more quality well managed accommodation for people to live in. • Government have therefore embarked on introducing a series of reforms to help rid the sector of bad practices and in doing so help remove the worst offenders from it

11. Housing & Planning Act 2016 There are 8 parts of which only 3 are of interest to the PRS landlord • The Act introduces a raft on new landlord legislation • which started in April 2017 & April 2018 with the • following measures:- • Introduction of Civil Penalties • Extension to Rent Repayment Orders • A duty for TDP schemes to provide information they hold on tenancies in England to LA who request it • Landlord Banning Orders • Register of Rogue landlords • Although the Act became law in May 2016, it does not mean all measures will immediately come in to force. In many cases the timeline for these reforms is still not known,

12. LA’s can now issue civil penalty notices for certain offences (up to £30K per offence) instead of going through the costly court process • Failure to apply for a licence or breaching a licence condition • Breaching an overcrowding notice or HMO management regulation, Failure to comply with a improvement notice & permitting occupation of a licensed HMO beyond that authorised by the license • The Process • LAs must produce their own written policies on when to prosecute & when to issue a civil penalty- (Little guidance from Government so there are wide variances between councils on levels of fines handed out for the same offences) • LAs can keep the money from a civil penalty to fund housing enforcement activity • Applies to both landlords and letting agents • LA’s must serve notice of intent within 6 months of offence • Landlord can appeal to FTT (Property tribunal) against a CPN and/or level of penalty within 28 days of receiving the notice. • FTT can confirm, vary or cancel the notice, but it cannot increase the amount of the penalty over that specified in the notice. • West Lindsey District Council issued a fine of £232K plus costs to four Leicester portfolio landlords in October 2017, Lincoln landlord fined £405K in June 2018 for a total of 28 offences across 6 flats. Introduction to Civil Penalties

13. Extension to Rent Repayment orders The H&PA widens the grounds on which an RRO can be obtained and also makes the process of getting one far easier. • Previously limited to non-license offences, where landlords were prosecuted • Now expanded to cover all HA 2004 offences, plus eviction with violence or eviction or harassment of occupiers, breaching a Landlord Banning Order, failure to comply with an improvement and prohibition notice • The Process • Applications for RRO can only be made within 12 months of offence. RRO can only cover the period the offence was committed • A landlord must be given 28 days notice of an intention to apply for a RRO so there is an opportunity to make representations • After 28 days LAs can apply to FTT or cancel the order • FTT will judge legitimacy and issue the RRO & set amount of rent to be repaid. Must consider conduct, convictions & financial circumstances of the landlord • Tenants can apply directly to the FTT settings out the reasons for the claim & dates it relates to. LAs have a duty to assist tenants in bringing such a claim • RRO apply to rent paid by HB/UC to landlords and letting agents by the tenant T

14. TDP schemes are required to provide information they hold on tenancies in England to LA’s who request it • Only information which relates to properties in the geographic area of the LA which requests the information will be provided. • LA must only use the data for purpose connected with the exercise of their functions under Parts 1-4 of the Housing Act 2004 in relation to licencing of HMOs and licensing under discretionary schemes • TDP information is restricted to:- • Rented property addresses of landlords under investigation • Private addresses of the landlords/ letting agents managing properties • LA’s can request information on the number of deposits registered at a property address

15. Register of Rogue Landlords & Banning orders • A register of convicted landlords/letting agents & banning orders went live on 6th April 2018. • These measures allow local authorities to seek a landlord banning order where a landlord has been convicted of a ‘banning order offence’ and then add that landlords details to a rogue landlord register. • The register is managed by MHCLG and can only be accessed by MHCLG and LAs. The purpose of the register is to allow LA’s to populate and share data to stop those who have been issued with a banning order or two or more civil penalty notices in a 12 month period setting up elsewhere in England. • LAs will need to apply to the FTT for an order to ban landlords/letting agents from engaging in letting activity. Once issued with a banning order LAs cannot issue CPN for the same offence. New measures under the Act in 2018 T

16. Register of Rogue Landlords & Banning orders • What are Banning Order Offences? • Relevant Housing Offences • Failure to comply with a Prohibition or Emergency Improvement/Prohibition Order under sections 20, 21 and 43 of the Housing Act 2004 • Offences under section 32 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. • Offences in relation to licensing & management of HMOs & failure to licence under p3 of HA 2004 • Unlawful/eviction or harassment  of a residential occupier in breach of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 or the Criminal Law Act 1977 • Immigration Offences • Letting to someone disqualified from renting as a result of their immigration status • Serious Criminal Offences • Fraud offences • Violence & sexual offences • Offences relating to the production, possession or supply of drugs • Offences of stalking, harassment, property damage, theft, blackmail, handling stolen goods • Those given banning orders will not be able to earn income from lettings or work as part of managing agents for a minimum of 12 months. Breaching a banning order will mean a prison sentence of up to 6 months or an unlimited fine or both T

17. Thank You • Any questions? • Teresa Kaczmarek: NLA • Teresa.kaczmarek@landlords.org.uk • Giles Inman: EMPO • Giles@empo.co.uk