Merry Christmas to all our readers!

Andrew, Jonathan and Sophie at Clan Gordon Letting Agents wish a Merry Christmas to all our tenants, landlords, contractors and any other readers of our blog.

National Landlord Day - Part 5 of 5

Local Housing Allowance Changes

Amendments to the Housing Benefit (HB) legislation were laid on the 30 November 2010 bringing into effect measures that will: 

·         remove the five bedroom Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate 

·         introduce absolute caps so that LHA weekly rates cannot exceed £250 for a one bedroom property; £290 for a two bedroom property; £340 for a three bedroom property; £400 for a four bedroom property 

·         remove the up to £15 weekly excess 

·         include an additional bedroom within the size criteria used to assess HB claims in the private rented sector when a disabled person, or someone with a long term health condition, has a proven need for overnight care and this is provided by a non-resident carer 

·         set LHA rates at the 30th percentile of rents rather than the median

In response to the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) and key stakeholders, the DWP have adjusted the timescales for implementing these measures so that:

·         all changes will come into effect for new claims from April 2011 (this includes setting rates at the 30th percentile)

·         a period of up to nine months transitional protection will be available for existing customers from the date the claim is reviewed (usually the anniversary date). This means many existing customers will not be affected until 2012.

The main thing to remember is that this is primarily aimed at LHA in the South East of England and will not affect Scotland much. It will probably affect claimants in Scotland much more than it will any landlords.

Jonathan Gordon MRICS

Director

National Landlord Day - Part 4

Tenancy Deposit Scheme in Scotland

There has been some confusion over the Tenancy Deposit Scheme being planned for Scotland, mainly relating to whether it is part of the new Housing (Scotland) Act relating to the Private Rented Sector. Actually, Part 4 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 gave Ministers powers to bring forward regulations for the approval of tenancy deposit schemes in Scotland without the need for further primary legislation.

Unlike the national authorities in England and Wales, Scottish Ministers have no statutory responsibility to secure a tenancy deposit scheme. However, Alex Neil, Minister for Housing and Communities, announced in 2009 that a national mandatory scheme to safeguard tenancy deposits would be introduced in Scotland.

Tenancy deposit regulations will provide a framework for the approval and subsequent operation of tenancy deposit schemes in Scotland to tackle what is seen as the problem of unfairly withheld deposits. This is despite the fact that research on this was included in the Scottish Governments own Review of the Private Rented Sector carried out over the last few years.

It is intended to ensure that deposits are safeguarded throughout the duration of the tenancy and that deposits are returned quickly and fairly, particularly where there is a dispute over the return of the deposit, or a proportion of it.

Draft regulations were laid before parliament and regulations are expected to come into force in March 2011. Potential schemes are invited to submit proposals.