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New Changes To Property Law Now In Effect Find Out More Today a number of changes related to property law have come into effect. These include: HMO licensing and regulations – properties will now require a HMO licence if there are five or more people in two or more separate households. This includes two storey households and one storey properties, removing the requirement that a licensable HMO must be three storeys. There are also new room size requirements. Section 21 notices – sections 33 to 38 and 40 of the Deregulation Act 2015 (related to retaliatory eviction, prescribed forms, and compliance with prescribed legal requirements) will now apply to all tenancies, as opposed to tenancies commencing on or after 1 October 2015 as previously was the case. This could cause difficulties for landlords with older tenancies in obtaining possession. Suspended possession order – there is now no requirement to make a separate part 83(2) application for permission for a warrant for breach of a suspended possession order where the breach is failure to pay rent and/or arrears instalments. Rogue landlord database – a local authority may place any person on the database who has been convicted of a banning order offence or has received a fine in respect of a banning order within the same 12 month period. The PLA’s boundary dispute protocol has recently also come into effect. We’ll be blogging about that shortly… 2018 40 01 Phil Copley https://www.legalstudio.co.uk/Team/Phil-Copley
Energy Efficiency Regulations 2015: Quick Facts Find Out More The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 require compliance from 1st April 2018. Do you know what they are? Have you complied with them? Do you risk facing financial penalties for non-compliance? The Regulations apply to: Domestic PR property which is legally required to have an EPC and which is let on an assured tenancy, regulated tenancy, or an agricultural tenancy; and, Non-domestic PR property that has not been granted for: A term certain not exceeding 6 months (unless a provision exists for renewing the term or extending it beyond 6 months, or, at the time it is granted, the tenant has been in occupation for a continuous period of more than 12 months); or, A term certain of 99 years or more. Unless subject to an exemption, the landlord of a property with EPS rating of less than E must not: Grant a new tenancy of the property on or after 1st April 2018 (including any lease renewals, extensions or new lettings); or, Continue to let the property on or after 1st April 2020 (domestic PR property) and on or after 1st April 2023 (non-domestic PR property). Exemptions that will last 5 years and should be registered on the PRS Exemptions Register include: Third party consent is refused or granted subject to conditions (e.g. from the local authority, current tenant, freeholder, planning or listed building consent); and, Property devaluation (where the landlord has obtained a report from an independent surveyor who is on the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the measures would reduce the market value of the property, or the building it forms part of, by more than 5%). There is also a temporary 6-month exemption when a landlord has only recently become a landlord. Enforcement authorities are: The local authority for a domestic PR property; and, A local weights and measures authority for non-domestic PR property. They may serve a notice on the landlord imposing financial penalties. The authority may also publish details of the breach on the national PRS Exemptions Register. Financial penalties (domestic): Breach less than 3 months, <£2,000 Breach more than 3 months £2,000< Registered false or misleading information on PRS Exemptions Register, <£1,000 Failed to comply with compliance notice <£2,000 Financial penalties (non-domestic): Breach less than 3 months, <£5,000 or <10% of the rateable value of the property (whichever is greater) subject to a maximum of £50,000 Breach more than 3 months, <£10,000 or <20% of the rateable value of the property (whichever is greater) subject to a maximum of £150,000 Registered false or misleading information on PRS Exemptions Register, <£5,000 Failed to comply with compliance notice <£5,000 2018 00 06 Ian Mccann https://www.legalstudio.co.uk/Team/Ian-Mccann
Anti-Money Laundering Regulations Find Out More Money laundering is a huge concern for UK law firms who are required to handle large sums of money. Ensuring compliance, the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 have transposed the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive into UK law. In an effort to further prevent money laundering, Law firms are now required to: • Conduct money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessments; • Implement systems, policies, controls and procedures to address money laundering and terrorist financing risks; • Apply policies procedures and controls across the firm’s group structure; • Adopt appropriate internal controls; • Provide training to staff; • Comply with new due diligence requirements; • Comply with requirements relating to politically exposed persons; and • Keep records of data protection systems, policies and procedures. The Legal Sector Affinity Group have released Anti-Money Laundering Guidance for the Legal Sector in order to explain the new requirements and help law firms understand and comply with the regulations. 2018 25 03 Kate Imeson https://www.legalstudio.co.uk/Team/Kate-Imerson