A Newham landlord who illegally evicted his tenant has had a rent repayment order imposed to the tune of £2,825. The property the tenant had been living in was an unlicensed HMO and was the only property that the landlord owned.

According to property press reports, the number of "bills included" private rented tenancies currently being offered by landlords has dropped off a cliff due to the energy price rise chaos the country is experiencing right now.

After the occupant of a flat above a commercial premises in Haringey, London, complained that she had been issued with a £400 penalty notice for putting her rubbish out 35 minutes early the Local Govt and Social Care Ombudsman has issued a report critical of Haringey council for imposing such a fine when it should have written a warning letter instead.

Homelessness charity Crisis in partnership with rental property platform Zoopla have released new research suggesting that the Government needs to up-rate housing benefits payments to cope with a large shortfall for low income households between the housing benefit received and the rents that they actually pay.

A new selective licensing scheme in the London borough of Haringey is set to go live across 14 wards in the borough on 17th November 2022 after approval was granted by minister for housing and rough sleeping, Eddie Hughes MP, on behalf of the secretary of state at DLUHC. The scheme will run for 5 years.

A Bristol landlord with a portfolio of 34 properties in the city has pleaded guilty to and been convicted of 8 banning order offences and will be placed on the Government's rogue landlord database. A fine of £22,000 was also imposed.

A landlord from Ilford in London with HMO properties in Clacton has been fined £23,000 by Tendring DC (reduced by the first tier tribunal panel from the £90,000 of fines initially sought by the council) and has had her HMO licences revoked due to not being a "fit & proper person" to hold such licences.

After an investigation by officers from Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue service a landlord from Dawlish has pleaded guilty to 3 offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The fire safety offences related to a property which comprised commercial premises on the ground floor and a privately rented flat on the upper floor.

Tenant campaigning group ACORN is to hold a public meeting to which Leeds City councillors have been invited so that extension of selective licensing across more areas of the city can be put to the councillors by residents.

As Blackburn and Darwen council approves a proposal for and starts to consult on selective licensing in the areas of Ewood and Mill Hill in the borough (a larger licensing scheme covering 5 areas expired in May 2022) a Conservative councillor, Cllr. John Slater, has welcomed the new proposal saying "We welcome this .... I would like to see this done elsewhere." and "I would like to get as many areas as possible."

A survey of 2000 private rented sector tenants appears to show that a significant number of tenants are not happy with the quality level of communication from the letting agent managing their home.

Research from Paragon bank reportedly says there is increased demand for HMO rentals and that prospective tenants are demanding better, faster broadband, better furniture and en suite bathrooms. The bank suggests this could be the result of more people working from home and having spent more time online during the pandemic.

The owner of a Newmarket lettings agent - Smart Residential Letting Agents - has pleaded guilty to 2 offences relating to unlawfully retaining rent and deposits under the Fraud Act 2006.

Property management company Maybach Lettings has been fined £5,100 by Telford & Wrekin council for failure to carry out essential repairs to a home in the borough despite previous requests from the council for the repairs to be carried out.

Landlords in 3 areas of north Bristol will be now required to seek planning permission to convert family homes in that areas of Filton, Stoke Park and Cheswick after 93% of the public supported council proposals to restrict the growing numbers of HMOs following a public consultation.

Just published statistics from the Ministry of Justice reveal that landlord possession claims, court orders, bailiff warrants and successful repossessions by landlord have all increased this year well in excess of the same period in 2021. Possession claims increased by 160% whilst successful repossessions increased by 210%.

A landlord in London who was prosecuted by Islington council for 15 property licence conditions breaches and 2 breaches of property management regulations and who was convicted at Highbury Magistrates court in January lost his appeal at Snaresbrook Crown court.

In a sign of increasing enforcement action in the private rented sector by London local authorities the amount of fines imposed on landlords and managing agents has increased, over the last 12 months from £6,502,932 in August 2021 to £8,010,344 at the start of August 2022.

The Local Government Association has designed a best practice hub for local authorities to utilise so that they can better support their residents who are struggling with the cost of living crisis.

The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has strongly rebutted "claims from Shelter that landlords are not passing on the £400 energy bills rebate to tenants" saying "it is irresponsible scaremongering on the part of some to be making baseless suggestions that landlords will not do the right thing by their tenants."

The Local Government Association has calculated that during the period to 31st March 2022 there were 119,840 dependent children - equivalent to 4,500 primary school classes (based on an average class size of 26.6 pupils) living in temporary housing in England. This included children in 1,700 households "living" in B&Bs.

One landlord in Great Yarmouth was issued with a £15,000 fine and 7 other received fines of £7,500 each for selective licensing scheme breaches. Great Yarmouth council says that it is also investigating a further 36 landlords whilst 24 landlords have had their selective licences revoked.

In what Coventry council calls a "landmark case" it has obtained its first banning order against a "rogue landlord".

When we first asked this not so rhetorical question* we touched on the partnership work that many councils are now successfully doing within communities and across organisations to get better outcomes for residents. But we also thought that councils needed to do more to bring private rented sector landlords on board - persuading them to get with the programme so to speak.

The housing charity Shelter has responded to the latest Govt data on homelessness in England which shows that between January and March 2022 74,230 households became homeless or were threatened with homelessness including over 25,000 families with children. This represents a 5% increase on the same period in 2021.

DLUHC has announced that Birmingham, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool and Hull councils will get £6 million from the Govt's £20 million supported housing improvement programme to carry out enforcement of better standards in supported housing provided by the private sector for vulnerable tenants.

The headline in The Guardian is stark - "Renters 'at mercy of landlords' over £400 energy rebate" but the possibility of a cohort of private rented sector landlords being happy to make a profit out of a rebate meant to help struggling households is clearly enough for charities to raise their concerns.

The chartered institute of environmental health has expressed disappointment that "the UK government have missed yet another opportunity to prioritise energy efficiency measures as a means of supporting households with their energy bills.".

The Dept for Levelling up, Housing & Communities has published guidance for private rented sector landlords and their tenants on the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm (amendment) regulations 2022 which come into force on October 1st this year.

The court of appeal has ruled in the case of Kowalek & Anor v Hassanein Ltd that rent paid (rather than rent accrued) whilst a licensing offence wasn't being committed can't be taken into account when calculating the maximum amount of a rent repayment order (RRO) and that rent arrears can be taken into account when making that calculation.

In an illegal eviction case before Liverpool Crown Court a judge has said its "a feature of anyone's moral compass that they could not simply throw a tenant out onto the street simply because they had a need to use the property.".