From the Fitness for Human Habitation Act to Mortgage Tax relief, here’s 6 changes all Landlords need to ready themselves for in the next few months.
1. Extension of The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act:
We’ve blogged about it before, but the March 2019 Act of Parliament aims to keep all UK properties (as of March 19th 2020) safe and up to scratch. With exception to damage carried out at the hands of the tenants themselves, Landlords will be personally responsible for any and all maintenance issues in the property for things such as water, electricity, gas and damp.
Tenants will now be given the right to sue landlords if said repairs are not carried out in the specified ‘reasonable amount of time.’
2. Change to the EPC rules:
Two years ago the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards came in to being requiring the renting of new properties to score an ‘E’ or above on the EPC index. From April1st this year said rules will be extended to all residencies, new and old alike. No EPC rating, no let. It will be that simple.
At the beginning of any tenancy you will by law need to provide all tenants with a copy of the EPC rating along with the Gas Safety Certificate and How to Rent Guide. The good news is the EPC survey is fairly quick and painless. It usually takes around half an hour and any implementations required will be fully outlined. Find out more here.
4. Changes to Private Residence Relief:
Come this April Landlords are looking to face a larger Capital Gains Tax bill for any rental property they have lived in this year. At present private Landlords can claim up to £40,000 in Capital Gains Tax if at some point you’ve lived in the property you're selling. As of April 6th 2020 a private Landlord must be in shared occupancy with their tenant at the time of sale to qualify for Private Residence Relief.
5. Changes to mandatory electrical checks:
The upcoming act of Parliament, “The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020”, is pending approval from the current government. This act is the culmination of long planned regulations from the Electrical and Standards Working Group, making mandatory regulations for private Landlord to carry out electrical safety checks on their property every five years.
6. Changes to letting fees:
The recent introduction of the Tenant Fee Ban means tenants can not be charged letting fees and deposits on rent are now limited to five weeks worth (or six weeks if renting in properties with an annual rent over £50k).
The Tenant Fee Ban will extend from 1st June 2020 this year and will be applied to current tenancies in addition to new and renewed tenancies.
Touched a nerve? Not surprising! If you’re concerned regarding any of the above or you’d simply like to get some advice on the new changes this Spring, call us today on 0116 270 6699.
Additionally if you’d like to sign up with Arch Living and leave all of the fiddly bits to someone else, we have have a range of options available!
You can either call us, email us at sales@archliving.co.uk, or leave a message on our website here.
