5 new laws for landlords in 2020

Recent years has seen an ever increasing amount of legislation for landlords to comply with, and 2020 is no different. Here are the 5 to watch out for this spring:

1. Extension of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act, in March
The original Act - which means landlords or agents acting on their behalf can be forced to carry out improvement works to properties or risk being sued - is being extended from March 20 this year to include existing statutory periodic tenancies.

Until that date it applies only to tenants who signed contracts on or after 20 March 2019. 

This legislation applies in England only – with responsibility for these standards in Wales falling under the scope of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act.

2. Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, in April
From April 1, ALL existing tenancies will fall in line with the existing law introduced in 2018, whereby landlords or their agents cannot let to new tenants unless it has an EPC rating of E or better.

This means that anyone whose rentals have F or G ratings will no longer be able to legally let them out. Landlords will be expected to pay up to £3,500 towards energy efficiency improvement works. However, if work will cost more than that landlords can apply for an exemption.

3. Capital Gains Tax changes, in April 
Until now, CGT has been paid on profits made through the sale of any property that isn’t the owner’s principal home; owners can also seek lettings relief (a tax break) if they once lived in the non-principal home themselves.

From April 2020 this is scrapped and landlords will only be able to claim lettings relief if they share the property with their tenant. Also from April, landlords will need to pay the full amount of CGT owed on a sale within 30 days. At the moment they have until the next tax year.

4. Mandatory CMP for agents, from April
New rules on money laundering have been extended to cover letting agents, with an April 2020 deadline for agents to join an official Client Money Protection scheme - this marks the end of a 12 month grace period agreed following technical problems over the original 2019 deadline.

5. Extension of the Tenant Fees Act, in June: Letting agents have, since last June, been banned from charging fees other than rents, deposits, holding deposits and charges for defaulting on contracts - but this has, until now, applied only for new tenants.

From June this year, 2020, it applies to all existing tenancies.

“Deposits are already limited to a maximum of five weeks’ rent where the annual rent is below £50,000 for any new or replacement tenancy. If the annual rent is above this, the maximum is six weeks, with holding deposits limited to a week” Claire Tier, Joint Lettings Director at Davis Tate explains.

“Where a banned fee has been taken, tenants will be able to get money back via the county court. Landlords could be fined up to £5,000 for a first offence, and £30,0000 for subsequent breaches.” 

For advice on managing your rental property, contact your local Davis Tate branch.