New Consultations

PainSmith Solicitors Legal Update - 24 August 2007

There are two key consultations which Landlords and the Agents may wish to respond to at the moment.

The first of these is by the Law Commission which is considering how to reduce problems relating to poor housing quality and harassment of tenants. Their current view is that all landlords should either be licensed or forced to use an approved Letting Agent.

All Agents are strongly advised to make their views known on this controversial topic. More information can be found at the Law Commission website on www.lawcom.gov.uk/housing_renting.htm

The DCLG has also published a consultation that will be of interest to Agents who deal with block management issues. This relates to planned changes to the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act and specifically to the rules on provision of statements of account to leaseholders and on the keeping of payments in designated client accounts.

From a managing agent point of view the proposals regarding client accounts which largely clarify the current position should be of significant interest and worth providing positive feedback to.

Further details including a downloadable version of the consultation can be found at
www.communities.gov.uk/pub/26/RegularStatementsofAccountandDesignatedClien
tAccounts_id1512026.pdf.

Dr David Smith is a trainee solicitor with PainSmith Solicitors, a niche practice
specialising in residential landlord and tenant law. He can be contacted on 01420 565310 or by email at david@painsmith.co.uk. If you wish to subscribe to the free legal updates service then you should email update@painsmith.co.uk with the phrase �subscribe updates� in the subject of the email.

PainSmith Solicitors Legal Updates are provided for information only and are not legal advice. If you do have a legal problem, you should talk to a lawyer or adviser before making a decision about what to do.

You may wish to use the CLS/CDS Directory (www.justask.org.uk/public/en/directory) to locate an adviser. The information provided here is written for people resident in, or affected by, the laws of England and Wales only. You should note that date given in the update and be aware that the information given may become inaccurate due to changes in the law or its implementation.