Landlord Law Blog looks back on 2015

Its been a bit of a year what with one thing and another. A big year of change for landlords as can be seen in the years posts.

However, Ben and I need a break and so I have decided to give us three weeks off this year rather than the normal two.

In the meantime, you can read through all the posts mentioned below (and they are not the only ones, remember!) and re-live the year.

The blog will be back on or about Monday 4 January.

January

In the closing days of 2014 I came up with the idea of having a blog theme of the month.  It lasted until October.  The theme for January was Preparation and Permission

Are you cut out to be a landlord was the first theme post, others included  learning to be a landlord, legal obligations on preparing a property for rent and Richard Price of the NLA gave an interview.

Do tenants own the property they rent was a post based on one of my ‘Urban Myths’ posts years ago and prove pretty contraversion getting some 43 comments.

Ben Reeve Lewis took a look at deposit claims and what would happen if the PRS shrank by 50%, and David Smith discussed new rules on water charges in Wales.

Blog clinic posts looked at tenants insisting on repair visits timed to suit them, landlords wanting to evict under a ‘contractual agreement‘, and what tenants can do if landlords fail to do renovation works.

February

The theme for February was letting agents and theme posts included reasons why you need a reliable one, pitfalls in agency agreements and agency law basics for landlords.  Ben did a TRO’s guide to agents.

Dsvid Smith looked at a new Court of Appeal Decision, Ben finally gets his dog under control and noticed an increasing sexual element in the PRS.

Blog clinic posts included a neighbour’s complaint about water seepage, tenants rights when the landlord wants to sell, and whether a landlord can add extra penalty clauses at renewal.

March

The March blog theme was on checking and referencing and posts included keeping crooks out of your property, tips for setting up a procedure for checking tenants and why tenants need to check their landlords. Ben did a post on Nightmare tenants.

I look at Private Eye on housing, whether tenants should have the right to sublet to lodgers

Ben looks at a guide for local authorities on dealing with rogue tenants, considers why landlords and agents interests are diametrically opposed and chickens in housing.

Blog clinic posts included questions on whether landlords or agents decide if a tenant gets a new fixed term, landlords rights if a tenant refuses to go after having given notice, and a landlords access rights to get a property valued.

April

The April theme was tenancy deposits – which was providential as there was a lot to write about with the new rules!  Posts included several with the title The Deregulation Act Explained and a post on why the rules apply to all landlords (even though many would prefer that they didn’t).

I also did posts on  the new s8 notices, the right to buy and why government might want it, give 3 warnings to politicians about housing and publish some photos from our Cambridge Conference.

Ben wonders where all the pubs have gone, talks about selling off our housing stock and gives a roundup of what the different political parties are offering on housing issues.

Blog clinic posts included whether sharers should sort out bug problems themselves, tenants complaining about landlords agents taking too many photos, and whether agents are entitled to commission if they provide a poor service.

May

The May theme was licensing and accreditation and posts included a general article on the topic, landlords accreditation and an interview with Sean Hooker of the Property Redress Scheme.

Ben considers life without planners, secret figures on homelessness, and his love of laver bread.

I publish a video of our Cambridge Conference, and some photographs of our Cardiff conference plus videos of David Cox and Martin Partington’s talks at Cardiff.

Posts include tips to sitting tenants on their rights,

Blog clinic posts included a landlord whose property had been used as a cannabis farm, a disabled tenant who asks about her landlord evicting her after she does improvements, and a landlord  removing valuable musical instruments as security.

June

The June theme was tenancy agreements and we had posts on the three functions of tenancy agreements and what happens if you don’t have one.

We have a video of Douglas Haig at the Wales Conference.

Ben talks about immigration and Foxtons, public sector housing and possession claims and appears on Telly.

I look at why fees must include VAT charges, how Foxtons are to have their come uppance over fees and am videod.

Blog clinic posts include questions about when a landlord can change the locks after getting a possession order, whether landlords must refund rent paid in advance if tenants leave early and whether renewals can contain a break clause.

July

The theme for July was shared properties and HMOs and posts included the sharing economy and lodgers, and joint tenancies.

Ben gives tips on suceeding as a litigant in person and decides he is fed up with London.

I discuss recent changes re letting agent fees, a new case on tenancy deposits and look at the new laws on smoke alarms.

Congratulations to David Smith on becoming the RLA Policy Director and the Property Redress Scheme on their first year of trading.

Blog clinic posts include a tenant wanting to cancel the tenancy becuase of scaffolding, how tenants can verify their landlord, what landlords can do if tenants won’t move out when they want to sell

August

The theme for August was rent and benefit and I did a post on five things you didn’t know about rent and guidance for worried landlords whose tenants are not paying.  Ben took a look at discretionary payments and housing benefit.

After about three years on the blog we finally got around this month to introducing Ben Reeve Lewis with a video interview.

I try to get my head around the tax changes and Ben writes about the imprending Housing Bill.

Blog clinic posts include ending a tenancy with no fixed term, landlords options when tenants refuse to sign a renewal agreement and what you can do if your HMO tenants turn out to be nightmare tenants.

September

The planned theme for September was changed to articles about the October changes and in fact we just carried on with that for the rest of the year and forgot about the themes!  You can see an index here to the main articles about the changes written in this month.

In September our experimental Landlord Law TV series starts with an episode on deposits and a second episode on repair issues.

Ben takes a look at some innovtive ideas, and talks about the logistics of the Syrian migrant crisis

Blog clinic posts include the rights of a tenant from 1975 on a verbal agreement, and whether a landlord can rely on his original prescribed information of the deposit becomes unprotected

October

The month when all the changes went live.  Still more posts on them, for example this one on retaliatory eviction rules and how the new rules affect renewals and memoranda.

Landlord Law TV features a great interview with David Cox of ARLA, and a great interview with Giles Peaker of Nearly Legal.

We announce our 2016 Landlord Law Conference which will be at Manchester on 12 May.

Ben remembers sharing a platform with Jeremy Corbyn, does a post on letting agents boards and has a tough week with the dog.

I write about the scandal of low fines for landlords who illegally evict tenants and interview Chris Haan of Leigh Day on the Foxtons case.

Blog clinic posts include questions about a deposit being protected with another separate tenants deposit, and whether a s21 notice is null and void becuase of rent arrears.

November

I take a look at why catastrophe is looming for people wanting a home, consider whether there are special cases where landlords can evict tenants extra quickly and take a look at the new HMO proposals.

Ben realises he is officially old now, considers the effect of proposed new HMO rules on LA enforcement and announces some free help for Homelessness Officers.

I discover that there are big problems with using the High Court Sheriffs, ask what is different about the tenancy deposit schemes and take a look at some conspiracy theories on why government is down on small landlords

Blog clinic posts include whether managing agents can charge a fee if their gas engineers are not used, the consequences of being prosecuted for an unlicensed HMO and whether a possession order can be enforced 7 years after it was made.

December

A short month for blog posts of course as we are closing down for Christmas early.

We publish a new retaliatory eviction infographic from Fixflo and ARLA and I give some tips on Data Protection.  I also interview all three deposit scheme bosses and publish their answers.

Ben wonders whether certain occupiers are tenants, licensees or squatters,

Blog clinic posts include whether a deposit can be withheld due to a disagreement with another tenant, and whether a landlord can deduct fees from a departing tenant relating to the next tenant.

So that’s it!  I hope you enjoyed our 2015 offerings.

If you want more, you can take a look at the Christmas roundups from the past!  Or visit Nearly Legal (for law) , Property Tribes (for discussion) or Property Industry Eye (for news).

Ben and I wish you all the best for Christmas and we will see you again in the New Year!