Government departments have identified enough publicly owned land to build more than 102,000 homes. This puts them well ahead of the Prime Minister’s target of releasing suitable land for 100,000 homes by 2015. The surplus public land includes empty offices and unused storage space at sites across the country. The Homes and Communities Agency must
Landlords risk losing hundreds of thousands of pounds if they fail to consult tenants properly over service charges. In a recent case, Daejan Investments Ltd had to forfeit £270,000. Now Stenau Properties Ltd have fallen into the same trap. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires that landlords go through a thorough consultation process before
Since 2007, landlords of houses and flats have been legally obliged to “protect” their tenants’ rent/security deposits. Deposits must either be paid into an authorised scheme or be registered and insured with such a scheme. Landlords are also obliged to give tenants full written details, including the scheme reference number. The requirements initially had to
Landlords need to ensure they comply with tougher new tenancy deposit rules which came into effect on 6th April. If they fail to do so, they could face fines and find it harder to evict tenants. The new rules are part of the Localism Act, which redefines the way landlords should protect the deposits given
A letting agency has been fined for illegally obtaining information about tenants while chasing up rent arrears. The offence took place in 2009 when the agency became concerned about overdue rent payments. One of its directors approached a local authority customer service adviser and asked him to obtain information about certain tenants from housing benefit
The national minimum wage for workers over the age of 21 is to increase by 11p to £6.19 an hour. That is a rise of 1.8%, which is lower than the rate of inflation but higher than the average increase in earnings, which rose by 1.4% in the year to January. The rate for 18
A developer of a block of flats has been ordered to return deposits to purchasers because the building was not completed on time. However, it was not the delay itself that caused the problem, but the lack of due diligence in failing to get the work done as quickly as possible after problems arose. In
Five bus drivers have won a claim of unfair dismissal after a change of employer meant they would have to spend up to two hours a day extra getting to their new depot. The case arose when the bus operator Centrewest transferred one of its routes in London to another operator, Abellio. The drivers were
What protection is offered to Consumers at Home? The Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer’s Home or Place of Work etc Regulations 2008 came into force in October 2008. The Regulations allow a mandatory cooling off period of 7 days within which the consumer may choose to cancel the sale. The contract itself must
An insurance company has been awarded damages and granted an injunction against a group of employees who left to set up a rival business. The court found that the group had committed numerous breaches of their employment contracts and fiduciary duty. They enticed others to resign and also used confidential company information while still employees.