Mr Gaskin operated a HMO.  The authority granted him a HMO license in 2009.  When he tried to renew his license, the authority tried to charge him £1,799.  Mr Gaskin refused saying that the fee was excessive and unlawful.  Mr Gaskin paid just £850.00 being what he felt was a reasonable amount to pay.  The Authority refused to accept it and refused to process his license.  Not having a valid license will mean he can be prosecuted.  Mr Gaskin was therefore prosecuted by the Authority.  Mr Gaskin applied for a Judicial Review, and he was successful.  The Authority had no way of identifying what element of the £1,799 related to 'permissible costs' and the whole fee had to be quashed.  If you have any queries about obtaining a HMO license, then please speak to our housing team.

From 1 April 2018 any building that is rented on a new tenancy must have an energy rating of at least an E.  From 2020, all buildings must have an energy rating of at least an E.  There are some exemptions to this, so please speak to Kirsty for further advice and assistance.  This new legislation does put a burden on Landlords to ensure that their properties meet the energy standards.  How this effects the availability of rental properties we will have to wait to see.

Electronic payments are prohibited from 13 January 2018.  This means that if a Landlord takes a deposit from a tenant via an electronic payment (e.g. a credit or debit card), they can no longer add a surcharge onto the payment.  This may effect Lettings Agents from agreeing to take bonds on credit cards.  If you have been asked to pay a surcharge, then you may be entitled to have it returned to you.  If you have any questions then please speak to Kirsty John.