Tag Archives: legal
Investigation claims property redress scheme not working in London
Local authorities in London are failing to do their job stamping out rogue letting agents, according to a new investigation. Since the beginning of October letting agents and property managers have had to sign up to one of three government approved ombudsman or redress schemes. But an investigation by television channel London Live says it has found failings in the legislation which shows in its current state it just isn’t working. It also suggests that Londoners are unaware they now have more powers to hold rogue agents to account if they are ripped off. If a tenant is unhappy with the way they’re treated by an agent they can go to one of these schemes to complain. If an agent refuses to comply with decisions made by these schemes, they face fines and could be banned from trading, giving the ombudsman the legal teeth they previously lacked. It's now illegal for any agent to operate without registering with a government approved ombudsman to avoid tenants paying excess fees, having their deposits withheld, or being in fear of revenge evictions. London Live asked every local authority in London if they are enforcing this, and their response ranged from Havering admitting they're not keeping track and waiting for tenants to report rogue agents, to Merton and Richmond saying it's only when they are made aware that they seek compliance. It found that Kensington and Chelsea think the law is still going through the courts so it's not clear to them which department has to deal with this. Newham is the only local authority actively taking action. They’ve issued £5,000 fines to nine letting agents who have refused to register. London renter Alex Parsons says is long overdue. ‘Just as I was about to move into a property in Waltham Forest my flat mates and I were told to pay £300 on top of the £200 I already had to pay in admin fees,’ he explained. According to Rosie Walker from Renters Rights London the scheme isn’t working at the moment as tenants are worried that if they complain they could end up without a home. ‘The redress scheme is the final tier of the complaint process, what should be happening is that the agent should be dealing with the complaints directly with the tenant and the landlord to resolve it (the problem),’ said Sean Hooker, head of Ombudsman the Property Redress Scheme. All three redress scheme operators revealed that they haven’t received a single complaint from a London tenant or landlord because not enough is being done to let people know about their new legal powers. Continue reading
UK govt already agreed to buy over 350 properties affected by high speed rail link
The UK government has now agreed to buy over 350 properties along the route of the new High Speed rail link from London to Birmingham. They are affected property owners who have served Statutory Blight notices or applied via the Express Purchase Scheme. This makes clear the government’s commitment to acquire a significant amount of the property required for the construction of HS2 before the necessary legislation enabling the railway has even passed through parliament. However, even when the government has accepted a Statutory Blight notice, care should be taken when negotiating a final settlement, according to experts at independent property consultants Knight Frank. James Del Mar, head of Knight Frank’s HS2 Team, pointed out that compulsory purchase and compensation legislation is complex. ‘Those facing Compulsory Acquisition or making a Statutory Blight or other compensation claim are entitled to be represented by properly qualified professionals. HS2 will meet those professionals’ reasonable fees incurred in assisting claimants,’ he said. He explained that the ‘disturbance’ aspect of a claim, for example, has a multitude of facets. ‘As well as the value of the property, which needs to be evidenced by reference to actual market transactions, there is the Home Loss Payment of a further 10% capped at £47,000 or a business loss payment for those that aren’t home owners,’ he said. ‘There is the Stamp Duty Land Tax, itself a significant sum, the removal costs and all other associated expenses which can be considerable. In many cases HS2 are hoping to settle on a full and final basis and are leaving little ability for claimants to come back if they’ve forgotten something,’ he added. Knight Frank has a dedicated team of Compulsory Purchase and compensation specialists with over 100 years’ experience between them. The team has a 100% success rate in its dealings with HS2 with all fees being directly paid by HS2. ‘It’s an enormously stressful event and taking the comfort in the form of professional advice is one way of diffusing some of that emotion and receiving the reassurance that HS2’s proposal is correct and appropriate,’ said Del Mar. Continue reading
Lawyers warning over complexity of right to buy land proposals in Scotland
Plans to empower Scottish communities who want to register an interest in land in towns and cities could backfire due to the complexity of proposed changes to the law, it is claimed. According to the Law Society of Scotland, proposals to extend communities’ right to buy land to include people living in urban areas, could be thwarted by the complexity of the proposals and potentially limit rather than empower local groups and stall development plans for neglected land in urban areas. The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill introduced into the Scottish parliament amends the Land Reform (Scotland ) Act 2003 by allowing community bodies to register an interest in respect of not only rural land, but now also urban land in Scotland ‘While the committee welcomes the policy intention behind the bill, our concern is that there may be unintended consequences from the current proposals,’ said Alan McCreadie, secretary to the Society’s planning committee. ‘For example, what would happen if a community registered its interest in urban land which is already subject to a redevelopment proposal? While Scottish Ministers could, in those circumstances, decide that registration is not in the public interest, the uncertainty could have an adverse impact on investment decisions for developers,’ he explained. ‘The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 has benefited people in Scotland’s rural communities and we would want to ensure the same kind of success in our towns and cities. The committee, however, highlights a marked difference between rural land and urban land which may well have a higher price and consequent development costs,’ he added. The Society also highlights that the procedure for registering community interest in abandoned or neglected land, which is undefined in the bill, is similar to Compulsory Purchase and there should therefore be a requirement for a viable business plan and robust development proposals in respect of any community right to buy abandoned or neglected land. ‘The very complexity of the proposals may also be an issue. Introducing an overly complex, bureaucratic process could discourage communities from working to improve their local area and it may be advisable to set up a central body to steer community bodies through the provisions of this bill,’ added McCreadie. Continue reading
