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Many Adults Unaware of Laws Governing the Private Rental Sector, Survey Shows
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
New research claims that many adults, including landlords and tenants, do not understand or are unaware of the laws governing the private rental sector.
A survey among over 2,000 UK adults by online letting agent LetBritain claims that many landlords and tenants across the country are unaware of the laws governing the lettings sector.
The study found that 16% of landlords do not realise that a tenant must be given at least two months’ notice under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 if they wish to evict them. 37% of tenants were also unaware of this.
Similarly, 12% of landlords do not know that they must provide 24 hours’ notice before entering their rental property; 28% of tenants were also unaware.
Another 14% of landlords weren’t aware that they must put a tenants’ deposit in a tenancy deposit protection scheme, which was also unknown by 34% of those living in private rental accommodation.
27% of landlords also have no idea that tenants have the right to challenge the rent being charged, if it is not comparable to similar properties in the area. A huge 50% of tenants were also unaware of their rights in this instance.
More worryingly, tenants were unaware of other rights they have under the laws governing the private rental sector, such as their right to challenge any excessive charges made by a landlord via an ombudsman. 34% also didn’t know that a landlord must provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for the property when they move in.
The CEO of LetBritain, Fareed Nabir, comments on the findings: “It is clear that a huge proportion of UK renters – a population growing in size – do not truly understand the legislation and regulation in place to protect them. Likewise, a concerning number of landlords are also in the dark about exactly what rights and responsibilities they have.
“Such a lack of awareness increases the risk of renters and landlords being exploited – it must be addressed, and letting agents certainly have a duty to better inform all their customers about the vital legislative framework governing the rental sector.”
We encourage all landlords and tenants to stay on top of the law. For this, we offer FREE helpful guides on all the laws governing the private rental sector. Sign up to read them here: https://landlordnews.co.uk/register/
