Our last Newsround for September let’s see what housing news has been in the news this week.

New ‘How to Rent’ guide due out Monday 2 October

If you are a landlord on the point of renting out a property – make sure you use the correct version.  You can download it from here.

Note also that when renewing a tenancy you will need to serve the new version on tenants at that stage.

New rogue landlord reporting tool

Renters in London now have a new way to report rogue Landlords. Sadiq Khan has joined forces with London Trading Services and launched a new online system where renters can report if they are being charged illegal fees by either landlord or letting agent.

They hope this new reporting tool will both make it easier for tenants to recoup illegal fees and also catching the unscrupulous landlords and letting agents in the act.

Nishi Patel, chair of the London Trading Standards says

The cost-of-living crisis, coupled with the dramatic increase in new rents across London, is fuelling a threat to the welfare of so many people who are seeing their incomes squeezed. But the launch of our project with the London mayor’s team should provide private renters with support in their time of need.

Lets hope this will spread to other towns and cities.

EPC changes still need to happen

It seems that one of the reasons Rishi Sunak might have scrapped the minimum EPC energy standards was down to lack of public funding  and supporting infrastructure available for the Private Rented Sector, whereas the social housing rented sector has had the minimum EPC standards for a few years and this sector does not lack funds.

Anna Clare Harper of GreenResi says

Mr Sunak probably realised that having the proposed legislation come into law without an equivalent public funding mechanism would be party suicide because the people who own the properties couldn’t afford to put these changes in place.

We need investment, otherwise none of this will happen. Net zero 2050 is long-range objection which means we need long-term strategies.

She further added that individual or accidental landlords are less likely to save or have funds put aside for large energy saving work whereas professional investors plan more for this.

It looks like the EPC debacle isn’t going away any time fast and will rumble on as Welsh Housing Minister, Julie James warns.

Tenants are the real losers in the EPC U-turn

Julie James the Welsh Housing Minister, has claimed that it is tenants that will loose out due to the scrapping of the EPC bands. They will continue to have to rent cold draughty homes and pay higher energy bills for years to come. She also sees the delay for Wales missing an opportunity to provide more green jobs into local economies.

She is hoping the government will promote the Warm Homes Programme to the PRS and says that Wales is already promoting their private rented sector leasing scheme which is encouraging private landlords to sign up to to help them upgrade their rental properties.

Some landlords annoyed about EPC backtracking

Although many landlords are relieved that they do not have to spend thousands of pounds on energy efficiency upgrades yet, many landlords who have already done this work are furious about it.

For example, a study by Shawbrook Bank shows that 80% of landlords were already prepared for the 2025 deadline.

Emma Cox, Managing Director of Real Estate at Shawbrook Bank says:

Scrapping the impending EPC regulations might free up capital in the short term for landlords who haven’t yet invested in improving the energy rating of their properties.

But while policies shift, climate change is going nowhere, and energy efficient buildings will remain central to net zero plans.

Rules might not be changing as soon as 2025, but professional landlords with modern, energy efficient stock will be in the best position to attract tenants, as well as reduce potential voids, and importantly, be prepared for future legislative change.

Should Airbnb guest’s be taxed?

Discussions continue in many counties and councils about the way short-term holiday lets and Airbnbs need to be taxed more. This week, North Norfolk council has announced that they are considering putting a small levy on Airbnb bookings and holiday lets.  Tim Adams a local Liberal Democrat, says

What we were looking at was a consideration of this matter and we certainly have not yet carried out that work. There is no primary legislation that enables us to do that as there is in other such locations – Paris being notable.But what we would consider is a small levy on bookings at Airbnbs and holiday lets. At this stage, we are certainly not considering levies on taxis, restaurants and other such businesses.

He also noted that these types of accommodation are ‘not paying towards local council services’.Westminster Council are considering similar proposals. 

Snippets

UK University students facing ‘unprecedented rent rises’
Who knows how a heatpump works?
Man says mould forces him to rig up outdoor shower
Boiler Ban Delay – huge public support according to survey
Landlord illegally evicted tenant and lands up in court
Letting agents claim to be undervalued and underpaid
Eco-problems mount – too few qualified heat pump installers
Landlord fined £5,000 after locking out tenant during illegal eviction

Newsround will be back next week.

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