Changes to Private Rental Sector

Don't miss your opportunity to attend the 19th WLA Annual Dinner 2024, on the 14th of June. For more details see the Events page Download the dinner menu and send us your selections as soon as possible and secure your place for this fantastic event.

We are delighted to share our most recent donation to Dawley Christian Centre Food Bank! Money is raised by the landlords and distributed between several worthwhile causes. This is an initiative proposed by the Chairperson Jackie Goodman. This year the recipients are The Dawley Christian Centre Food bank. Christians Against Poverty and TACT (Telford After Care Team ). It appears to have been a complete success and appreciated by all the recipients, it will certainly be put forward as a possibility to repeat it next year! Pictured: Ian Lawson and Sharon from Dawley Christian Centre

You may already have seen the news released this morning with further details of the proposed changes to be made to the private rental sector. We will be doing a more detailed update in both the newsletter over the next few weeks and at the next WLA meeting on 12th July 2022 7pm at our NEW VENUE, The Anstice, Park Ave, Telford TF7 5BB. There is an 82 page ‘A Fairer Private Rented Sector’ white paper being published later today. Please come along on 12th where there will be a more detailed discussion around these proposals. For now, here’s a quick summary (from the NRLA this morning) of the proposed changes: 1. Convert Assured and Assured Shorthold tenancies into periodic tenancies, that can be ended by the tenant with two months’ notice and by landlords with a legitimate reason 2. Abolish Section 21 and introduce new possession grounds for landlords 3. Extend the Decent Homes Standard to the sector 4. Create a new Private Renters’ Ombudsman to settle disputes informally 5. Introduce a new Property Portal to support landlords – and to provide information on rogues 6. Abolish rent review clauses (while retaining the ability to increase rents annually) 7. Outlaw blanket bans on renting to families with children or tenants on benefits 8. Incentivise landlords to accept tenants with pets 9. Reform and speed up the court process. Please note this is not yet legislation, only a white paper, but it’s good to be aware in advance of what is being proposed. I look forward to seeing you all on 12th July at our new venue. Jackie Chair WLA

The government is set to change the way that tenants' identities are checked by landlords or letting agents, to make sure that they are legally eligible to rent a home. Anyone who wants to let a property is expected to carry out a 'right to rent' check every time they want to take on a new tenant, Before the start of a new tenancy, landlords must check the identity of all occupants aged 18 and over to ensure they are eligible to rent a home. It is a similar checking process to presenting your passport or visa to a border control officer at an immigration checkpoint. The government recently announced that these temporary checks can be carried out up to and including September 30, 2022. To make sure you are prepared for these changes click the link below and have a read up on the new laws. We will also be covering it at our meeting on April 12th. Read more here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-rent-document-checks-a-user-guide

Back in December 2020 the council received funding from the Home Office to bring Brookside Safer Streets (and soon other areas) project to life. While you may of seen some changes in the Brookside area, like new gates and some extra CCTV, many of our members are suffering from unannounced visits by Council inspectors looking to find faults at private rented properties. Refusal of access has resulted in numerous threatening letters citing Magistrates Court appearances and so on. We as an organisation have sent a letter to Shaun Davies (Leader of the Council) requesting a meeting to discuss the underhand way that these ‘so called’ inspections are being carried out. Check out a copy of the letter by clicking here

This year has seen a huge increase in waste disposal problems. Local recycling centres were closed while many people were home during the lockdown with little else to do but sort or renovate their homes. As recycling centres slowly began to open a lot of people were put off by the long queues and waiting times that sadly many people took to fly tipping. Some may of innocently asked for a local man with a van to dispose of the rubbish without knowing it was being dumped around the local area. Fly-tipping is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £50,000 or 12 months imprisonment if convicted in a magistrates court. As responsible landlords we are always aware of such problems and we try to encourage our tenants to recycle where possible. We have found a fantastic company that is here to help with waste management. Clearwaste was created to help reduce fly tipping and to help locals find a trusted trader to help dispose of waste. Using the website or downloading their app you can get quotes and report any rogue traders or fly tipping. For more information go to https://clearwaste.com/