For latest show news visit www.landlordshow.info
industry news
Flood plans leave tenants high and dry
Private sector tenants could be left
homeless as a result of a decision
by the Government not to include
rented properties in its flood
insurance cap scheme.
The Flood Re Scheme will come into
force in 2015 and will cap the insurance
of homeowners in flood-prone areas
at up to £540 a year, varying by council
tax band. This will be paid for through a
levy of around £10.50 on all household
premiums across the country.
A Government response to a
consultation on the regulations to
implement the scheme has, however,
ruled out homes in the private rented
sector from being included.
This policy will, the RLA argues, lead to
tenants affected by flooding becoming
homeless as landlords will struggle to
afford the insurance needed to provide
for alternative accommodation.
It comes despite the Government’s
response making clear that the most
expensive properties in the country in
Council Tax Band H will be covered by
the scheme.
Commenting on the developments,
RLA Chairman, Alan Ward, said:
“Ministers are leaving tenants and
landlords in a difficult position. The
dangers of tenants having to leave
their homes because of flooding with
nowhere else to stay are very real.
“It simply cannot be fair that, at the
same time, those able to afford large
houses are being subsidised by the
taxpayer for their flood insurance.
“We are calling on the Government to
think again. A home is a home whatever
its tenure.”
Oxford landlord fined over
unlicensed and poor state HMO
An Oxford landlord has been handed
fines totalling £4,500 for renting
out a House in Multiple Occupation
(HMO) that was unlicensed and in a
state of disrepair.
Jeffeth Junior Latchman, aged 49,
of Lower Road, Garsington, appeared
before Oxford Magistrates' Court after
being prosecuted for running the HMO
in Nowell Road.
Concerns over conditions at the
property and its status were raised
when one of the tenants complained to
the City Council about the poor living
conditions in the property.
An Environmental Health Officer from
the City Council's HMO Enforcement
Team visited the property in August
last year to follow up and deal with the
tenant’s concerns. The officer determined
the property to be an unlicensed and
unsafe HMO in disrepair, which was also
infested with cockroaches.
Mr Latchman pleaded guilty to being
in control of an unlicensed HMO and
received a fine of £2,000 for failing to
obtain a licence.
He also pleaded guilty to five breaches
of the Management of Houses in Multiple
Occupation (England) Regulations 2006,
and was fined £500 per offence. Three of
the offences were failing to ensure that
adequate safety measures were taken
within the property, including a broken
fire alarm system, an obstructed means
of escape in case of fire and lack of fire
8 Landlord & Buy-to-Let Issue 55 • January 2015
resisting doors. Two further offences
were for disrepair.
In addition, the Magistrates' Court
ordered Mr Latchman to pay a B