The landlord of a private rented sector property in Lewisham and their property manager have had fines handed down by Bromley Magistrates for failure to comply with a council notice requiring them to repair a leak from the bathroom ceiling at the property.

This will be the fourth round of funding from the Govt's Safer streets fund and is the first such round to also accept funding bids from eligible civil society organisations - such as Her Centre in London - awarded £140,000 to help provide support and counselling to victims of sexual harassment, assault, rape and stalking enabling them to "recover the confidence to live lives free of fear".

Buy to let mortgage provider Paragon Bank reports that 42% (figure provided by BVA-BDRC insights consultancy) of private rented sector landlords in a survey had no awareness of upcoming residential minimum energy efficiency standard requirements and a further 28% had some awareness but "don't understand the details".

Estate and letting agents Hamptons have published research showing the almost exponential growth in the level of rents paid nationally by tenants in Great Britain which in the first half of 2022 amounted to £31 billion and and is set to hit £63 billion by the end of the second half of the year.

The Home Office has, in collaboration with local fire and rescue services and the national Fire Kills safety campaign, produced a safety leaflet. The leaflet supplements Govt advice contained in their main Fire Safety in the Home leaflet.

The Building Safety Act came into force on 28th June but the secondary legislation giving effect to its provisions came into force on 21st July and the Govt has published accompanying guidance for leaseholders about the financial protections now available to them under the law.

Extra funding (£4 million this year instead of the £3 million in previous years) has been made available for front line organisations supporting vulnerable people with navigating the legal system and who don't have legal representation.

In our 24th June article, bad actors are bad for business - including in the private rented sector, we referenced a criminal case that was being heard before Canterbury Crown Court and which centred around the illegal eviction and harassment of tenants at properties in Margate.

The landlord of an unlicensed HMO in the Harrow area of London has been convicted at Willesden magistrates court of breaching a council prohibition order for the second time (he was originally prosecuted and found guilty of the same offence in 2019)

The Nottingham Central branch of letting and managing agents Belvoir (Nottingham Lettings Ltd trading as Belvoir Nottingham Central - BNC) has had their fine for breach of residential property management regulations reduced to £1,788.20 after appealing to the property tribunal.