• Are you a property investor?
• Do you invest in residential property to rent out to tenants?
• How much do you really know about the rules that govern your investment business?

Renting a Property is governed by strict legal rules and it behoves property investors to be aware of them and how they will affect their investment business.

For example:

• If your tenants have been in occupation a long time – are you able to prove that you handed them a gas safety certificate before they moved in?

No? Then you, assuming your tenancy has been periodic since 1 October 2015, you should not give your tenants a new tenancy agreement.

If you do, this will affect your right to use section 21 (while we still have section 21).

• Are you considering renting your property to a tenant to manage on a rent to rent basis?

If so you need to be aware of the case of Rakusen v. Jepsen.

This tried to make property owners liable for rent repayment orders made in favour of the property owners’ sub-tenants. The Court of Appeal ruled against this, but the case is due to be heard by the Supreme Court either later this year or next year.

You may want to reconsider losing control of your property to a rent to rent tenant until this case is decided.

• Are you considering investing in a Victorian property?

Are you aware that you will need to bring this property up to the energy efficiency rating C standard by 2025 for new tenancies and 2028 for existing tenancies?

These dates may change, but the obligation to do this work at some stage will not.

Maybe that Victorian property you were considering buying is not such a good investment after all.

An easy way to get up to date with the law

To help landlords, letting agents and their advisers, we are running a one day ‘Legal Update’ workshop, to be taken by Housing Barrister Sam Madge-Wyld.

Sam is co-author of the legal textbooks the Housing Law Casebook, Defending Possession Proceedings and ‘Queit Enjoyment’ and co-authors the regular ‘Housing Law Updates’ features in Legal Action Magazine so is a good person to run this course!

The workshop will take you through all the legal changes of the past year and also bring you up to date with recent case law.

About the General Legal Update Workshop

This is a dual ‘in person’ and ‘live stream’ event meaning that you can choose either to come along and attend in person or watch the event (and ask questions) remotely through your computer.

Date: 22 June 2022

Venue: Barnham Broom hotel in Norfolk or cyberspace!

Price: In-person £240 or via live stream £180 (inclusive of VAT). Discounts are available for Landlord Law members.

If you attend in person, the price includes a buffet lunch and refreshments, plus the venue has free parking.

Course content

This is subject to change, but Sam is expecting to cover the following:

• The after-effects of COVID
• The energy efficiency rules
• Gas and Electricity Regulations
• Tenant Fees
• Right to rent
• Rent to Rent situations, and
• Rent Repayment Orders and Enforcement

The post Your property Investment Business Depends on keeping up to date with the law appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.