Deregulation Act 2015 - What you need to know for October 2018

Landlords will be aware of the provisions of the Deregulation Act 2015 which changed the operation of section 21 notices in Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs). Currently, the provisions only apply to ASTs granted or renewed from 1 October 2015, when the Act came into force.

However, section 41(3) of the Act provides that from 1 October 2018, the provisions will apply to all ASTs. This includes tenancies granted prior to 1 October 2015. So what does this mean for Registered Providers with tenancies pre-dating the Act?

We will consider each of the changes brought in by the Act relevant to Registered Providers and whether they will apply to all ASTs from October.

New prescribed form
Prior to the Act, there was no prescribed form section 21 notice. The only requirement was that it was to be in writing. The Act introduced Form 6A which is required to be served on tenants whose tenancy started post 1 October 2015.

Breach of SPOs and asking permission for a warrant

On 1 October 2018, The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2018 came into effect. These amendments include a one-line addition to Part 83 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 confirming that there is no longer any need to make an 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. Form N325 can once again be completed in these cases. It is unclear what Form N325A (which constitutes both an application for permission and a request for a warrant in one) could still be used for and the CPRC sub-committee is keeping this under review.

ICO Issues Fines for Failure to Pay the Data Protection Fee

Organisations who handle personal data in the course of their business have been handed a wake-up call by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) this month, with a number of fines being handed out for failures to pay the data protection fee.

On 26 September 2018, the ICO reported that it had begun formal enforcement action against 34 organisations that have failed to pay the new data protection fee. These organisations span across many sectors, including the NHS, recruitment, finance, government and accounting.

Employment Tribunal Claims Continue to Rise Following Abolition of Tribunal Fees

The Employment Tribunal (ET) is an independent judicial body established to resolve disputes between employers and employees in relation to employment rights. The ET will hear claims about employment matters; such as unfair dismissal, discrimination, wages and redundancy payments for example.

There have been two fundamental changes to the workings of the ET over the past 12 months, which both employees and employers should be aware of:

• The abolition of ET fees on the 26 July 2017; and
• The introduction of the ET refund scheme in October 2017.

The Toxic Rentcharges Review

Before the case of Roberts v Lawton [2016] UKUT 395, rentcharges were less of a concern as the amounts were often small and were to be paid to rentcharge owners that were missing or unknown, however attitudes have now changed.
 

What is a rentcharge?
A rentcharge is a historic property device and dates back to the 1800s and is an annual payment secured on land.

Keeping Housing Affordable

A survey carried by YouGov (survey conducted with 2,111 adults between 3 and 4 May) on behalf of home landlord Aster, revealed that only 60% of people are familiar with the homeownership product. This is despite the fact that 95% of the people who took part in the survey would qualify for the product.

The survey revealed that more than half (51%) of the people were unaware that building societies and banks offer mortgages for this tenure type. 81% of the people who took part in the survey also thought Britain's housing market is unaffordable for first-time buyers.

Meet Emily Jordan - A Solicitor in our Housing & Regeneration (Litigation) Team

Emily Jordan
Solicitor, Housing & Regeneration
01257 240850  |  emily.jordan@forbessolicitors.co.uk

Emily Jordan is a solicitor in the Housing and Regeneration Department. Emily represents Local Authorities and social landlords in relation to a wide range of housing management and leasehold property work.

Emily prides herself in client care; providing cost effective, efficient advice in a succinct and easy to understand format.

Emily graduated from Lancaster University in 2013 with an LLB Law Degree and joined Forbes in 2018 soon after qualifying as a solicitor.