15th
Aug 2014
One of the first councils in the UK that introduced licensing for all landlords is now taking on the small numbers of letting agents that are ripping off tenants and landlords unlawfully.
The council are stating that their new project is to fight those letting agents that do not follow acceptable forms of conduct and that this has helped to better standards for tenants.
The councils initiative is called "The Fair Lettings Project" which was introduced to raise standards all round for the benefit of both tenants and landlords. Numbers of complaints regarding agents' practices had increased in recent years and is not just a local problem in Newham but nationally.
The Council started checking 197 letting agents last year in November to make sure that they followed all the correct procedures.
Following the visits, they issued 113 notices of actions to be undertaken and the majority have been adhered to. The council also managed to retrieve many thousands of pounds of tenants' deposits illegally held onto by agents.
Four agents upon the initial visit closed down and there are 32 more agents under investigation.
Ten penalty charge notices (PCN) of £1,000 have also been issued to letting agents who are also acting as estate agents but do not belong to an approved redress scheme.
The council has put together a code of practice that lettings agents must comply with to operate within the borough.
They must be members of a bona-fide professional association or trading body and must ensure that all fees are made crystal clear to landlords and tenants.
All deposits must be held by one of the three approved tenancy deposit schemes and that there must be lawful reason for holding back any of the deposit on vacating the property.
They must also ensure that they give tenants copies of the property licence and all information given to tenants and landlords must be truly accurate.
Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham, said: “The Fair Lettings Project has been a great success with the majority of letting agents now operating within the law. We have already seen the prosecution of one letting agent who continued to work illegally which is to the detriment of both tenants and landlords.
“Forty per cent of all Newham households rent privately and many depend on a largely unregulated industry. It is encouraging that so many of the letting agents are now complying with the law and we will support those who need help and assistance. The project complements our private sector licensing scheme which has already raised standards across the private sector. We will continue to work hard to ensure Newham residents who rent privately are not exploited and get a decent roof over their head.”
News Archive »