Landlord & Buy-to-Let Magazine | Page 3

20 End of tenancy compensation is ‘holy grail’ of lettings 08 Flood plans leave tenants high and dry Being blasé? Enfield Council have recently had their plan to roll out a selective licensing scheme blocked by a judicial review called for by landlord Constantinos Regas, who believed that the local authority were simply accusing tenants of being anti-social and criminalising landlords for tenants’ behavior. The scheme - which was due to be introduced in April – was blocked for failing to carry out proper consultation; the judge also refused permission to appeal. The news has received widespread welcome – and rightly so. Enfield’s scheme required landlords to hold a £500 licence for every property they owned in the borough and carried extremely weighty fines, along with a criminal record, for those that did not comply. This - along with their blasé attitude to a proper consultation with landlords, tenants and the community – simply fuels the belief that this sledgehammer approach to selective licensing is nothing more than a local authority abuse of power and an attempt to introduce costs. There are, undoubtedly, far less costly and bureaucratic solutions out there to address problems of poor housing standards, antisocial behavior and low housing demand. I am in full agreement with the National Landlords Association’s belief that the legislation simply serves to licence lawabiders and push criminal landlords even further underground. Unfortunately, the councils don’t seem to be listening to the voices of reason: last Autumn, the Residential Landlords Association opposed the selective licensing scheme that Hartlepool Council were Published by: media Issue 55 January 2015 AEP Media Limited 117 Chestergate Macclesfield SK11 6DP ISSN 1753-2744 t: 01625 511151 Free Subscription www.landlordnet.co.uk in this issue ... 2–22 Industry news including: •  rban markets fuel 7.9% U growth in Scottish rents • L andlords concerned over  immigration check roll out • Phil Spencer: hat can help  homeless people get ahead still seeking to implement, despite local residents telling the local authority that a previous such scheme had been highly ineffective in dealing with nuisance and anti-social behavior. We can only hope that the costs and staff hours required to enforce compliance will lead councils to look at better solutions to help weed out rogue operators, rather than imposing expensive licensing that is simply likely to have a negative impact on the compliant majority. As for the areas where licensing has already been implemented, please take heed of the news about Mr Pink (page 12) who has received the largest fine to-date for failing to apply for a licence: no landlord should be feckless enough to believe they will be vindicated, even if their properties are not sub-standard. On a lighter note, I would like to wish you all a (somewhat belated) happy and prosperous New Year; I hope 2015 has got off to the kind of promising start that looks set to continue throughout the year ahead. • N ew buy-to-let lender  open for business 16  The year ahead from AEP Media 24  Opinion Counts – By Paul McFadyen  What’s ahead for the private rented sector in 2015? 26  Ask Tom –  Behaviour Anti Social social media ... Get up-to-date news and join in with debates surrounding all of the industry's hottest topics ... Join the 'AEP Media Ltd' Group Follow @aepgang Like 'AEP Media Ltd' Jo Ensby, Guest Editor Director Emma Silcock [email protected] Administration Pauline Clewley [email protected] Advertising Roy Parrish [email protected] Sales Director Mark Hutchinson [email protected] Administration Jenni Hutchinson [email protected] Credit Control Chris Gibbons [email protected] Guest Editor Jo Ensby [email protected] Advertising Anthony Pardue [email protected] Print The Finishing Company, Essex www.thefinishingcompany.com Registered as a magazine © AEP Media Limited. All rights reserved. Neither this publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise - without prior permission of AEP Media Limited. Published monthly. Landlord & Buy-to-Let magazine are registered trademarks of AEP Media Ltd. First published in 2007. Landlord & Buy-to-Let Issue 55 • January 2015 1