Tenants who trashed an apartment and then abandoned it owing three months of rent, have won their case against their landlord, even though the court accepted their actions were wrong.

The damage was so extensive that £1,500 of repairs had to be carried out before the flat could be let again.

The landlord, who has asked not to be named, took the tenants to court and won £4,413 – £4,100 to cover lost rent and damages, and £313 in extra compensation.

But the tenants counter-sued on the grounds that the landlord had not correctly lodged their tenancy deposit with an approved scheme.

The landlord’s relief at winning the money was short-lived when the judge told her that she owned them even more, and ordered her to pay the tenants a balance of £94.82.

The Residential Landlords Association is now to take the case to appeal on the landlord’s behalf.

After the hearing, the landlord said: “I was gutted. It just proved that honesty and fair treatment do not count for anything these days."

“I trod carefully when the rent arrears began last spring because it’s so easy for payment requests to be branded as harassment. But, after a series of letters and phone calls, I received no response so began repossession proceedings."

“Eventually, the keys turned up in the post, two months after the end of the tenancy, and it became clear the flat had been abandoned."

“If they had left it in reasonable condition, I would still have accepted the loss of rent, but walls were broken, things were burned and stained, there was rotting food, general human filth and even class A drugs left behind.”

She added that when she realised she had not lodged the deposit, she did so retrospectively. Her belief was that the law allows this: “But the judge did not understand this and so awarded them more money than they had to pay me … I ended up owing them £93.64."

“It never occurred to me that I would be the loser. I have been in this business for 25 years, am a member of the country’s leading association for professional landlords and belong to a recognised tenancy deposit scheme. "

“I am a responsible person and had done everything expected of me. The tenants had no complaint, until I began asking them for money that they had a contractual obligation to pay."

“The whole court ruling was shambolic and I’m now left with serious disappointment in the legal profession."

“It also sets a dangerous precedent that could be used against other landlords in future.”

Richard Jones, the RLA’s lawyer, said: “This landlord did everything she was required to do, yet the judge’s misreading of the Housing Act’s tenancy deposit protection measures, as well as the spirit of the Act, blatantly showed how such hearings things rarely go in favour of private sector landlords.”

“This landlord did nothing wrong and, at every point, tried to put things right. However, the law seems to reward dishonesty.”

Source: Estate Agent Today – 19^th August 2009

editor@lenwell.com

To be seen pottering along the highways and byways of Luton in her Mini Clubman, her trusted Scottie Malcolm at her side, our super sleuthing property rental expert Ms Lucinda Newell is on the case on your behalf!

Mine Does – Does Yours?

Having returned from my annual jaunt to the far flung shores of Dorset, I spotted a large amount of trade press, both local and national, on the protection of Tenants Deposits. I thought that maybe a small reminder was due on the current regulations for the Protection of Deposits.

The ‘Tenancy Deposit Scheme’ applies to all new Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs), as well as any tenancies that commenced prior to 1st April 2007 and extend past this date.

The provisions in the Housing Act now make it a requirement that any landlord who wishes to take a monetary deposit must safeguard that deposit with a tenancy deposit scheme (TDS).

The aim of the provisions are to remove the risk of misappropriation of tenants' deposits by landlords and letting agents.

What does this mean for landlords who continue to act for themselves (or use an agent that does not operate within a protection scheme)?

Landlords (and non bonded agents) are no longer allowed to hold deposits and must pay them to the administrators of a ‘Custodial Scheme’.
They must comply with the initial requirements of a scheme within 14 days.
They must give the tenant the appropriate information relating to the deposit within 14 days of receiving the deposit.
Until this is done, the landlord will be unable to regain possession of the property using the usual 'notice only’ grounds for possession. (Under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 a landlord can obtain an order for possession of an assured shorthold tenancy at any point after the first six months of the tenancy providing any fixed term has expired and they give the tenant at least two months written notice).

Preventing a landlord from being able to use this ground will provide the tenant with a much greater security of tenure and will act as an incentive for landlords to ensure deposits are safeguarded by a TDS.

Where a landlord has not arranged for a deposit to be dealt with in accordance with a scheme or provided the tenant with relevant information within 14 days of receiving the deposit, the tenant can apply directly for a court order for the landlord to repay the deposit to that person or pay it into a custodial scheme.

If the landlord has failed to comply with these provisions by the date of the court hearing, the court must make the order as requested and order the landlord to pay the applicant an amount equivalent to three times the deposit within 10 days.

Lenwell were founder members of the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) and have been members of The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) since 1993.

Lenwell Property Services are full 'Regulated' members of 'The Dispute Service'. The scheme guarantees protection of the deposit; and a fair, independent and expert assessment and settlement of any disputes over its return at the end of a tenancy. This is sometimes needed when landlords and tenants are totally unable to agree the amount due for damage, dilapidation or loss at the end of a tenancy.

Lettings agencies who are eligible for the scheme have to be members of approved professional bodies such as ARLA, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, or RICS, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Members of these bodies are fully bonded, carry professional indemnity insurance, operate ring-fenced client accounts and have qualified staff.

They are committed to driving industry best practice and the introduction of the tenants deposit protection scheme in April 2007 was a big step in the right direction for the entire residential letting market. Their membership of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) ensures that they comply with the requirements of the new law. At Lenwell they have been dealing with the deposits in accordance with the proposed legislation for over ten years and have a ‘Customer Service Guarantee’ ensuring tenants receive their deposits within ten working days (where no dilapidations are found).’

As full members of ARLA, Lenwell hold tenant’s deposits in a bonded client account and provide tenants and landlords with the peace of mind that the deposit is being dealt with correctly.

More information concerning the Tenants Deposit Scheme can be obtained from www.communities.gov.uk.

editor@lenwell.com

Last month the Bank of England's interest rate setters kept the cost of borrowing unchanged at 0.5% for the fourth month in a row.

It added it was not planning to extend its quantitative easing scheme under which it creates money to buy bonds in order to stimulate the economy with the pause allowing then to assess economic data and monitor the effectiveness of the scheme.

Despite the unchanged low level of interest rates, rents continue to hold fast at their current rate.  Rob Wellstead of Lenwell Property Services commented,” This unchanged interest rate was widely predicted and despite the delicate balance that usually exists between interest rates and rent , we can report that May, June and July 2009 have continued to be  excellent months, with offices still achieving considerably increased year on year figures.  Rents are holding strong and supply for quality rented property remains very high.”

We have produced a rent survey to assist Landlords with setting ‘Market Appropriate’ rent levels.    If you choose to increase or decrease your rent make sure you pick the optimum time to do so. Ask yourself – do you think interest rates will remain stable over the next 6 – 12 months or are we likely to see a further fall or a dramatic rise?  Are you offering a quality product?  Is the product you are offering in a sparse or saturated market?  Finally, make sure you speak to your Letting Agent.  They have a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience and will be able to provide you with comparable properties to ensure you set your rent at the correct level for the market at that time. 

Bedford

		LOWEST	AVERAGE	HIGHEST
APARTMENTS	STUDIOS	300	375	425
	1 BEDROOM	400	450	575
	2 BEDROOM	400	575	650
HOUSES	2 BEDROOM	500	600	650
	3 BEDROOM	550	675	900
	4+ BEDROOM	700	875	1800

Luton

		LOWEST	AVERAGE	HIGHEST
APARTMENTS	STUDIOS	300	375	425
	1 BEDROOM	400	500	625
	2 BEDROOM	400	575	700
HOUSES	2 BEDROOM	500	600	700
	3 BEDROOM	645	775	850
	4+ BEDROOM	700	875	1800

Northampton

		LOWEST	AVERAGE	HIGHEST
APARTMENTS	STUDIOS	350	375	425
	1 BEDROOM	395	450	475
	2 BEDROOM	450	525	595
HOUSES	2 BEDROOM	525	550	575
	3 BEDROOM	525	595	695
	4+ BEDROOM	695	850	1250+

Dunstable

		LOWEST	AVERAGE	HIGHEST
APARTMENTS	STUDIOS	350	425	425
	1 BEDROOM	450	495	525
	2 BEDROOM	550	625	675
HOUSES	2 BEDROOM	595	650	675
	3 BEDROOM	625	725	900
	4+ BEDROOM	900	1000	1300

These figures are based on monthly rental incomes before fees on part/fully furnished properties and were collected July 2009.

editor@lenwell.com 

 

Well, it looked like staff at Lenwell were set for stardom when they were contacted by ITV News and asked to appear on ITN commenting on Landlords who have fallen into arrears with their mortgage payments and despite the Tenants continuing to pay the rent had been repossessed by their Lender!

Unfortunately for the budding TV stars at Lenwell the story was scrapped when news came from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) that buy-to-let activity in the second quarter of 2009 had increased. 

Ian Potter, operations manager of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), commented:

“This news from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, whilst not unexpected, is nonetheless confirmation that things are starting to pick up for buy-to-let investors."

“We are encouraged by the fact that mortgage arrears seem to be declining, which is not only of benefit to landlords facing financial difficulty but also to their tenants who have been threatened with the repossession of their home and who have very little protection against this."

“What the CML data also shows, as with its statistics on repossessions also out today, is that the buy-to-let market is experiencing a lag effect, driven by an almost complete drying up of lending early in the year, when the recession was being most acutely felt."

“In our own research, ARLA members have been reporting a rise in buy-to-let activity in the first two quarters of this year with around double the number of landlords buying more properties for the two consecutive quarters than in the previous three months."

“Clearly low interest rates and falling house prices, coupled with a strong demand for private rented accommodation, are helping to boost what is a crucial component of the UK economy, the property market."

“What is still needed for buy-to-let to be fully stimulated once again is an increase in responsible mortgage lending from banking institutions. An illiquid market can never be a positive one for landlords, tenants or the wider economy and I would urge the Government to continue to apply pressure on lenders to make this a reality.”

Never mind Lenwell – there is always this years’ new series of the X Factor!

sincerely,