Nottingham City
Landlord Newsletter
Spring 2016
Welcome to the new edition of the Safer Housing Newsletter
This is dedicated to landlords operating in the private rented sector with properties in Nottingham.
Last year, new and important legislative changes were introduced and it is important that you are aware of them and how
they affect you. This newsletter allows you, as a landlord, to keep up-to-date with these changes. Later this year there will
be further additions to the legislation that is contained in the housing bill, providing further regulative powers to the Local
Housing Authority. Here in the City of Nottingham, we are committed to working closely with landlords to improve the private
rented sector and to ensure that all tenants have a safe home.
Councillor Jane Urquhart, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing
What’s new?
We’ve been busy!
Revenge eviction outlawed from October 2015
Restructure
The team has recently been undergoing exciting changes to
reshape the structure of the HMO Response and Enforcement
Team and District Environmental Health creating the Safer
Housing Team. This will provide citizens with a one stop shop for
all privately rented properties within Nottingham. These changes
will result in an improved and more efficient service where the team
is able to support and advise landlords in improving their private
rented properties but target enforcement on the Rogue Landlords
where this is appropriate.
Our achievements this year (April 2015 – April 2016)
Houses improved:
734
Improvement notices:
114
x
Emergency closures:
+
Emergency action:
55
27
Properties Prohibited:
Under the Deregulation Act 2015 landlords will no longer be able
to evict a tenant who has made a legitimate complaint about the
condition of their rented property. This sort of eviction is called a
‘revenge eviction’ or a ‘retaliatory eviction’.
The enactment of the Deregulation Bill to protect tenants from
retaliatory eviction is the latest in a series of legislative changes set to
impact the private rental sector over the coming months.
The new protection came into force on 1 October 2015 and will apply
in instances where the council has confirmed that a repair needs to be
carried out to protect health and safety and served the landlord with
the relevant notice. The landlord will be unable to evict the tenant for six
months. This applies to all tenancies commenced after 1 October 2015.
Landlords will also not be allowed to evict tenants from their
properties where they have failed to provide gas safety certificates,
Energy Performance Certificates and the ‘How to Rent’ Guide. They
will be unable to serve the Section 21 eviction notice within the first
four months of the tenancy and there is now a prescribed form that
must be used.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget about a property you own that has
not caused you any issues, but now is a good time to reassess our
practices in terms of property visits and tenant communication.
For more information on the new Deregulation Bill, click here.
40
5
3 simple cautions for 2 properties
15 raids with the police and/or HMRC 4 Prosecutions pending
Prosecutions:
Nottingham City Landlord Newsletter