Monday this week not only saw the 1st of June, but also new regulation affecting the private rented sector.

Tenant Fees Act 2019

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 (“the Act”) came into force in February 2019 and restricted certain payments being taken from tenants in relation to certain residential tenancies in the private sector granted on or after 01 June 2019. Our Legal Update from February 2019 set out the broad scope of the Act and the sanctions for non-compliance. From Monday 01 June 2020, the Act applies to all such tenancies, irrespective of when they were granted. This therefore means :-

1. For all tenancies granted on or after 01 June 2019 - no prohibited payments may be taken;

2. For fixed term tenancies which came to an end and became statutory periodic before, on or after 01 June 2019 - the Act will now apply and no prohibited payments may be taken from 01 June 2020. However, any prohibited payments taken prior (e.g. up to 31 May 2020) will be lawful;

3. For fixed term tenancies granted before 01 June 2019 and still within their fixed term, or contractual periodic tenancies (e.g. periodic from the outset) - the Act will now apply and no prohibited payments may be taken. This ban operates retrospectively for these type of tenancies.

Mandatory Electrical Testing

Also on Monday 01 June 2020, the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (“the Regulations”) came into force, introducing mandatory electrical checks for private rented properties. The Regulations apply to all specified tenancies granted on or after 01 July 2020, and to all existing specified tenancies from 01 April 2021. Our Legal Update from January 2020 (see here) set out the extent of these new obligations and sanctions for non-compliance. The Regulations as passed can be accessed via this link.

Disclaimer

This legal update is provided free of charge for information purposes only; it does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such. No responsibility for the accuracy and/or correctness of the information and commentary set out in the article, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed or accepted by any member of KDL Law or by KDL Law as a whole.

If you have received this update in error or wish to unsubscribe from future updates then please email us at info@kdllaw.com.