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When everyone has a home

028 9024 5640: Housing & Debt Helpline for Northern Ireland

Landlord

HOLD THE DATE! Thursday 12th December 2013

3 October 2013

Achieving Excellence through Tenant Involvement

Effective tenant involvement is the most important action a landlord can take. By involving tenants and listening to what they have to say, landlords can make better business decisions, create excellent services, save money, find lasting solutions to problems and encourage customer loyalty and satisfaction.

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Social Tenancies, Private Tenancies, Landlord

Preventing possession in social rented housing

25 September 2013

Nicola McCrudden is the Policy & Communications Manager at Housing Rights Service. Below she describes her recent experiences of possession hearings at Laganside county court.

Sitting in Laganside county court, Belfast, on a Thursday morning listening to a stream of possession hearings made me confident of the need for a pre-action protocol for non payment of rent in social housing. 

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Repossession, Social Tenancies, Landlord, Legal

Gas Safety Week 16-22 September

17 September 2013

Gas Safety Week runs from 16-22 September 2013. It aims to highlight the importance of gas safety and of keeping gas appliances in a safe working condition.

The week long campaign is co-ordinated by the Gas Safe Register and is supported by the gas industry including retailers, manufacturers, consumer bodies and the public.

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Social Tenancies, Private Tenancies, Landlord

The Superstrike judgment and its impact in Northern Ireland

12 September 2013

Chris McGrath, Solicitor at Housing Rights Service provides a comprehensive analysis of the Superstrike judgment and its impact in Northern Ireland

A recent UK court of appeal judgment concerning the protection of tenants' deposits when a tenancy becomes periodic has been the subject of much discussion.  This decision may impact on tenancy management practices in Northern Ireland.

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Private Tenancies, Landlord, Legal

Letting fees must be disclosed when advertising rental properties

12 September 2013

The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) has announced that, from 1 November 2013, letting fees must be disclosed when advertising rental properties. The announcement followed a ruling made by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in March 2013.

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Private Tenancies, Landlord, Legal

Response to the Home Office Consultation on Tackling Illegal Immigration in Privately Rented Accommodation

Consultation Response
August 2013

Housing Rights Service and Law Centre (NI) have recently responded to this Home Office consultation. Under the proposals all private landlords will have to carry out checks on the immigration status of every tenant before renting out a room or house. This response highlights our concerns and criticisms over these measures.Both agencies are opposed to the proposed checking scheme outlined in the consultation.

We fear the proposal will result in migrants being treated in a discriminatory manner and more individuals (whether migrants or not) threatened with homelessness. We believe the Home Office need to reconsider these plans in the light of the many criticisms raised in this response and by other landlord and tenant groups.

PDF icon Tackling illegal immigration in privately rented accommodation August 2013.pdf

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Private Tenancies, Policy, Equality, Landlord

Concerns Over Landlords Checking Immigration Status

28 August 2013

Housing Rights Service and Law Centre (NI) have recently responded to the Home Office consultation ‘Tackling illegal immigration in privately rented accommodation’. Under the proposals all private landlords will have to carry out checks on the immigration status of every tenant before renting out a room or house.

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Private Tenancies, Policy, Equality, Landlord

Adviser: Tips for successful tenancies

26 August 2013

Our housing advice line gets stacks of queries about renting privately.  A lot of the PRS cases that come through to me and my colleagues could have been prevented at the start of the tenancy if the tenant or the landlord was better prepared.

We get a lot of calls in September and October each year from people who've signed up to a tenancy that hasn't worked out.  The reasons that people have for wanting to get out of agreements are understandable, some common issues are:

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Private Tenancies, Practical tips, Landlord, Adviser

Landlords face £3,000 fines for renting to illegal immigrants

8 August 2013

Landlords who rent accommodation to illegal immigrants risk being fined up to £3,000 under plans recently proposed by the UK Government. Ministers want to make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to rent private accommodation in the UK.

The Home Office has issued a consultation paper on tackling illegal immigration in privately rented accommodation and is seeking views on its proposals that landlords carry out immigration checks on tenants. 

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Private Tenancies, Policy, Equality, Landlord

Ask the adjudicator: Avoiding deposit disputes

2 July 2013

Ben Beadle, Director of TDS Northern Ireland gives his take on how best to avoid disputes over deposits.  Ben has previously worked on the adjudication team in TDS and has first hand experience in mediating disputes between tenants and landlords. 

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Landlord, Private Tenancies

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