OTS Solicitors in the Financial Times: London Tenant Rights and Landlord Obligations in the UK
Renting in London and talking about tenant rights seems to be a complete contradiction. With rental properties like gold dust, most London tenants try not to make a complaint against their landlord or seek to exercise their tenant rights.
Talk to landlords and you get the opposite tale of woe; increased landlord obligations, rogue tenants who won't pay their rent, and who threaten to make mould complaints if the landlord serves a Section 21 notice. Don’t get landlords started on the planned changes to the law with the end of the Section 21 notice and increased rights for tenants.
Into these landlord and tenant disputes comes Nollienne Alparaque, head of the Landlord and Tenant department at OTS Solicitors in the city of London. Nollienne acts for tenants and landlords so she gets to see both sides of the case and uses her legal expertise combined with her commercialism to resolve rental property disputes.
Online and London Landlord and Tenant Solicitors
For legal advice on landlord repair obligations and disrepair and deposit claims call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or complete our online enquiry form.
Rotting rats in the U-bend
Recently Nollienne got to talk about rotting rats in the lavatory. It was a surreal experience as she was being interviewed by the Financial Times for an article on tenant rights. Here is the link if you want to read about FT journalist Leah Quinn’s experience of renting in London and the frustrations of tenancy deposit deductions.
Nollienne says ‘Whilst it is great to feature in the Financial Times, the point of agreeing to the interview was to get the message out that even now, before the new landlord and tenant legislation comes in, tenants have rights and that there are Landlord and Tenant Solicitors available to support tenants in securing fair treatment and navigating landlord disputes. That’s not to say that tenants are always in the right. There are occasions where landlords have gone above and beyond for their tenants only to find that the tenant stops paying the rent and won't depart voluntarily even after the service of Section 21 or 8 notice. Landlords are people too; often with a mortgage to pay and a family to feed. Many landlords simply can't afford to wait months for our broken court system to give them a date for a possession hearing.’’
‘’Bizarrely I enjoy representing landlords and tenants as landlord and tenant law is an area of law where there are so many confusing and sometimes conflicting rules and regulations and where you need to be on the ball to meet deadlines imposed by the regulations or by the court. For example, at the end of a tenancy, a tenant only has three months within which to challenge any tenancy deposit deductions’’.
Tenancy deposit schemes
Many tenants assume that tenancy deposit schemes will protect their deposit but the landlord and tenant team at OTS Solicitors find that tenancy deposit deductions are a major source of landlord and tenant disputes.
OTS Solicitors has vast experience in acting for landlords and tenants in end-of-tenancy deposit disputes. Some landlords are cheeky; they expect to use the tenant’s deposit to recarpet the property and are not prepared to allow for normal wear and tear in a seven-year-plus old carpet and where the tenants have been resident for five-plus years, having moved into the property with a distinctly dirty carpet. That’s the sort of tenancy deposit dispute that OTS Solicitors can normally sort out quickly by standing up for the tenant on the tenancy deposit deduction by writing a robust letter before action. A well-written letter before action can stop a spurious tenancy deposit deduction or a disrepair claim before it gets to the expense of a court hearing.
The Tenant Fees Act 2019
London tenants already have rights but few are aware of the protection afforded by The Tenant Fees Act 2019.
The Act says a landlord or their letting agent cannot require a tenant or their guarantor to make certain tenancy payments. Banned payments include requiring you to enter a contract with a third party for the provision of a service or insurance.
The only permitted payments in connection with a tenancy that a tenant can be asked to make are:
- The rent as stated in the tenancy agreement or the mechanism in the agreement for a raise in rent
- A refundable tenancy deposit that is capped at no more than five weeks’ rent where the tenant’s total annual rent is less than £50,000, or six weeks’ rent where the total annual rent is £50,000 or above
- A refundable holding deposit to reserve a rental property but the reserve is capped at no more than one week’s rent
- Payments to change the tenancy when requested by the tenant, limited to £50, or reasonable costs incurred if higher
- Payments linked to the early ending of the tenancy agreement at the request of the tenant
- Payment of utility bills, TV licence and media services, and council tax
- Default fee for late payment of rent
- Fee for replacement of a lost key or security device to gain access to the property
Anything else that isn’t on the above list is not lawful. Importantly, as extra protection for tenants, a landlord cannot serve a valid Section 21 notice if they are in breach of the 2019 Act although they can do so after they have remedied the breach.
Deposit and disrepair lawyers London
Our Deposit Dispute Lawyers, led by Nollienne Alparaque, firmly believe in both landlord and tenant rights. Landlords can be vilified without good reason; other than the fact that they are in a fortunate position to be able to let out a property. Tenants are often seen as uninterested in keeping a property tidy and undeserving of anyone’s respect. With these sorts of preconceptions, it isn’t surprising that landlord and tenant disputes are on the rise. What’s the answer? Nollienne says it is to keep communicating and talking so neither landlord nor tenant falls into the trap of thinking that they can do what they want as neither the tenancy agreement nor the law applies to them. It does and Nollienne is there to negotiate on and protect your landlord and tenant rights.
Online and London Landlord and Tenant Solicitors
For legal advice on landlord repair obligations and disrepair and deposit claims call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or complete our online enquiry form.
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