Landlord Voice Magazine October 2015 - Brighton and Hove | Page 4

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B

ritish stage and screen actor Laurence Oliver once said he
had only smelt success twice and he described the aroma as
that of Brighton.

The rich and successful have always been drawn to the
city and this is evidenced by the sheer numbers of celebrities who
have lived there and wealthy London commuters who continue to
do so today.

The city remains the destination of choice for more than
8.5 million tourists and thousands of foreign students every year
but for the last decade its economy has been headed in a different

direction.

Last year the Brighton Argus reported that its growth was
outstripping the rest of the country – growing by five per cent in 2013
compared to three per cent nationally. Information technology grew by 15.5
per cent, contributing £55m to the economy.

Brighton is presently home to around 1,500 digital technology
companies and is the subject of a funding agreement with the Government
which allows local tech companies to pool their resources and access faster
broadband at lower prices, putting it on equal footing with other big tech
clusters around the world.

And with so many drawn to London-by-the-sea it is little wonder that
the average property price is above average. So, in this month’s City Snapshots
Landlord Voice surveys the residential areas of Hanover, Kemptown and
Moulsecoomb to give you an idea of what your money will get you. We also
drill down into the average Brighton property and rental prices in our In
Numbers section.

Along the same theme of popular destinations and clever use
of digital technology this month we chat with Property Detective – an
innovative online property research tool which combines multiple data
sources surrounding a postcode to give you a full picture of your next
property purchase.

We also talk with online student rental property portal StuRents
about ways of marketing a property and its clever use of market data which
helps landlords identify buy-to-let locations.

Ben McVay
Landlord Voice Editor

4 | LandlordVoice | October 2015

Rogue landlords could face jail

L

ocal Government Association
(LGA) chairman Gerald
Vernon-Jackson has raised
a few eyebrows by telling the BBC
the worst offending rogue landlords
in the private-rented sector should
face prison sentences.

His comments came after
the LGA called for magistrates to
have more powerful sentencing
guidelines to deal with those
renting out sub-standard
properties.

During a BBC 5 Live
interview Mr Vernon-Jackson said:
“Magistrates’ courts don’t really
have the powers to crack down
properly on these businessmen,
who are making a fortune.”

The LGA said councils
across England and Wales were
calling for more hefty judgements
over what constitutes a ‘fit and

current system for prosecuting
rogue landlords is not fit for the
21st century.

“Rogue landlords are
exploiting this and endangering
tenants’ lives. The system allows
landlords to treat fines as operating
costs and they can offset these
against the profits they are raking
in. We need a system which
proper person’ to hold a landlord
protects the good landlords, whose
licence and broadly supported the
reputation is being dragged down
idea of a rogue landlords blacklist.
by the bad ones.”

LGA research has found

As a landlord you must
that in almost three-quarters of
ensure your property is compliant
rogue landlord prosecutions the
with the following organisations
average fine was £5,000 or less.
and regulations:

A spokesman sited an
• Electrical Safety Council
example where one landlord was
• Energy Efficiency Regulations
fined for letting a property to six
• Gas Safety (Installation and
tenants for a year without fire
Use) Regulations
alarms or proper escape routes.

Councillor Peter Box, LGA • Smoke and Carbon Monoxide
Alarm Regulations
environment spokesman, said: “The

one landlord was fined
£100 for letting a property
to six tenants for a year
without fire alarms or
proper escape routes.

October 2015 | LandlordVoice | 5