Leasing and Letting Flashcards
What things do not constitute AST?
Don’t live with landlord
Rent between £250 (£1,000 in London) and £100,000 pa
Landlord is local council
Holiday let
When were ASTs introduced?
AST is a form of AT. ATs were introduced by the Housing Act 1988 (effective 15 Jan 1989).
ASTs were extended by the Housing Act 1996 (effective 27 Feb 1997)
Therefore, typically anything after 1997 is an AST
What did the Housing Act 1996 do?
Made AST the default tenancy (used to be AT)
Effective 27 Feb 1997
What did the Housing Act 1988 do?
Introduced the AT and AST
Effective 15 Jan 1989
What is the process of letting a property after you receive an offer?
1) put offer and all info to LL
2) Reference check the tenant/guarantor/company
3) Right to rent checks
4) Draft and sign AST
5) Register deposit with TDP
6) Provide tenant with all info
What tenant reference checks do you undertake?
1) Home Let Enhanced check -> double check report info
- Employment history, CCJ, credit checks, background search (addresses, names)
2) Smart Search check
- AML
- Identifies PEP
3) Student – confirmation from university
4) Company tenant – letter from firm
How do you do a Right to Rent check? What happens if you don’t do it?
If time-limited visa - must be done 28 days before start of tenancy
Passport, visa, proof of address (utility bill last 3 months)
- If BRP has not yet come -> check with UK Visas and Immigration
- Info can be certified by third party professional
- Make colour copy and retain for tenancy + 12 months
This can now be done online due to Covid-19
Immigration Act 2016 - 5 years in jail or unlimited fine
What are the rules around tenancy deposits?
Covered by the Housing Act 2004
Register with a TDP within 30 days of receipt
Holding deposits don’t need to be protected
Return to tenant after 10 days of agreeing amount
Must provide specific info on TDP at term start (amount of deposit, details of TDP, ADR details, contact of LL/prop manager for repairs, why you can lose deposit)
Can’t serve a section 21 notice otherwise
What do you need to provide at the start of a tenancy? what happens if you dont?
1) Gas safety certificate
2) TDP information
3) Right to Rent document
4) EPC
5) Tenancy agreement
6) Provide a copy of the electrical safety certificate from 1st July 2020
Can’t serve a section 21 notice
Can you charge a tenant as an agent?
No. Tenant Fee Ban 2019
How much is a deposit?
Tenant Fees Act 2019:
- Rent under £50k pa = 5 weeks
- Rent over £50k pa = 6 weeks
What cannot be an AST?
1) Live with your landlord
2) Rent under £250 (£1,000 in London) or over £100,000 pa
3) Holiday let / term under 6 months
4) Landlord is local council
What if the AST is for multiple years?
If 3 year term it must be executed as a deed
What happens at the end of the AST?
Becomes a periodic tenancy unless
1) Landlord serves a section 21 notice
2) Landlord and tenant agree a surrender
How can a landlord end an AST?
1) Section 21
- Cannot be used during term (i.e. notice expire at end of fixed term)
- Can’t be served at all in first 4 moths
- 2 months’ notice -> 3 months under Covid 2020
- Must follow correct procedure
- Tenant can legally stay until bailiffs come
2) Section 8
- At any time
- For breaking terms of the lease
How do you know if you have an AST?
1) Says it in contract
2) Signed after 1997
3) Notice given by landlord stating you have an AST
How do you know you have an AT?
1) Let between 1989 and 1997
2) Pay rent to a private landlord
3) Don’t live with landlord
4) States it in your agreement
What can not be an AT?
1) Live with landlord
2) Rent from the council
3) Pay rent over £100,000
4) Holiday or corporate let
What are the characteristics of an AT?
- Has a fixed term after which it becomes periodic
- Landlord
How can you regain possession under an AT?
1) Tenant serves notice to quit after fixed term
2) LL and T agree a surrender
3) LL serves a section 8 notice giving specific grounds for lawful eviction
What grounds are there for a section 8 notice? How much notice do you need to give?
1) Mandatory grounds e.g 8 weeks rent in arrears. 2 weeks notice.
2) Discretionary grounds e.g. breach of contract terms, continually late rent, nuisance to neighbours. 2 months notice for these
What is as regulated tenancy/rent act tenanct?
Let under the Rent Act 1977 (i.e. before Housing Act 1988)
What are the characteristics of a rent act tenancy?
Fair Rent is charged (determined by VOA)
Have very specific grounds for eviction (mandatory and discretionary)
Can be passed on in death or if tenant never leaves (i.e. can still exist today)
How do you know you have a tenancy?
If its exclusive possession of a defined area for more than 6 months, its likely a lease
What are the characteristics of a license?
Makes something legal (e.g. entry to private property) that wouldn’t normal be legal
- Right to enter a property
- Personal arrangement between licencor and licensee
- Acquires no interest in the property
- Merely a personal right that can be terminated by either party
What is the legal case for licenses?
Street v Mountford
What is the punishment for failing to do r2r?
Unlimited fine and 5 years in jail
What do you do if a tenant has a time limited visa?
Check at the start of the tenancy and then again after 12 months or before it expires to ensure they have renewed it
What must you do to deposits?
Housing Act 2004 - protect them
Register within 30 days, return within 10 days of agreement
Protect under TDS
Capped under Tenant Fees Act 2019
What documents do you provide at the start of a tenancy?
1) Deposit paperwork
2) How to rent guide
3) EPC
4) Gas safety certificate
5) AST
6) 1st July 2020 - Electrical safety certificate
How much deposit can you take?
Holding - 1 week (not protected)
Rent under £50k pa - 5 weeks rent
Rent over £50k pa - 6 weeks rent
How are company lets arranged?
Common law tenancy
What is a HMO
Housing Act 2004
License lasts 5 years
House in multiple occupation - need a special license
3+ residents forming more than 1 household
5+ is a large HMO
Sharing common facilities
Is the tenants main address
When do you not do R2R checks?
1) Student in halls
2) Care homes
3) Social housing
Penalties for no HMO licesnse?
£20,000 for over-renting
What did the Deregulation Act 2015 enact?
Can’t serve a s21 if there is no valid EPC
Can’t serve a s21 within first 4 months of the tenancy
Introduced the 6 month lifespan for s21 notices
Made retaliatory evictions illegal
What are some of the recent changes proposed to lettings law?
RoPA
Rented Homes Bill: S. 21 removal - have to use s.8.
Speedy process if intent to sell is proven (still more timely/costly than it is now)
Will be harder to get lender’s consent for a letting.
When do you need to do AML checks?
BEFORE taking any money
What did the immigration act 2016 introduce?
Harsher punishments -> criminal offence for not doing R2R
Unlimited fines and 5 years in jail
What did the consumer rights act 2015 introduce?
All lettings agents must show their fees in shop/on website
What is fair ware and tear?
Defined in s11 of L&T act 1985
Fines for failing to secure a deposit?
1-3 x the deposit sum
What is the lettings process post offer?
1) put offer and all info to LL
2) Reference check the tenant/guarantor/company
3) Right to rent checks within 28 days of tenancy starting
4) Draft and sign AST
5) Register deposit with TDP within 30 days of receipt
6) Provide tenant with all info
