Khalil: Landlords in danger of falling foul with the law

A large proportion of the laws concerning letting that have come into effect since 2006 address the suitability of the property for rent. Landlords now have a high degree of responsibility for the health and safety of their tenants – and there’s a high price to pay if they get things wrong.

The legislation covers removing potential hazards, installing fire safety measures and ensuring that the fabric of the property itself is well maintained. But, what’s really different is the clout that accompanies the legislation.

These new laws have teeth!
It’s not that legislation left these areas previously unaddressed. It’s just that it was far from easy to enforce.

But, these new laws have teeth.

In April this year, new legislation came into force that allows local councils to apply fines of up to £30,000 if they find a property isn’t being let safely and legally to tenants.

It also allows them to ban landlords from letting for twelve months, and to blacklist them on a database that is shared with other councils across the country.

And, here’s where those teeth get even sharper. The income raised from these penalties can be used to fund better and more effective enforcement activity.

And landlords are being bitten!
Some councils have introduced a licence fee on all landlords to fund tighter enforcement. One such is Newham, which has prosecuted 1,000 landlords and banned 28 from letting property in the past four years.

Over in Oxford, three landlords were fined a total of £11,000 last year for failing to licence HMOs, fire safety failings and poor property maintenance.

It’s not just fines that are being dished out, either. Earlier this year, in Bolton, a landlord was jailed for 45 months for fabricating tenancy agreements and holding deposits unfairly. He was also ordered to pay back £100,000, pay court costs of £125,000 and he was disqualified from being a company director for 10 years.

How landlords can fall foul of the law
Here are just a few things that will, at best, result in being issued a warning. At worst they will result in a hefty fine of up to £30,000, or in a jail sentence of up to five years.

• Failure to comply with an improvement notice.
• Not licensing an HMO.
• Lack of adequate action after an overcrowding notice has been issued.
• Letting to someone that does not have the legal right to be in the UK.
• Failure to protect a tenant’s deposit.
• Health and safety violations that result in injury.

How landlords can protect themselves and their investment
There are more and more laws that landlords must comply with – and the consequences of not doing so are becoming more and more severe.

Khalil Properties offers landlords a Rent Guarantee Scheme that is designed to remove the risk from being a landlord.

We lease your property and guarantee you rent every single month. It doesn’t matter if your property is occupied or not: we guarantee your rent. We also take responsibility for its maintenance and upkeep – and for the health and safety of its tenants.

• The risk of void periods is gone.
• The risk of responsibility for meeting legal requirements is gone.
• The day to day hassle of letting is gone.

All that is left is that rent cheque every month. And a big, relieved smile on your face.

Phone: 01273 573960
Mobile: 07984 015669
Email: ahmed@khalilproperties.co.uk
Address: 124 Lewes Road, Brighton, BN2 3LG
www.khalilproperties.co.uk