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02 May 2019
Issue: 7838 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Civil way: 3 May 2019

LETS not bother; pilot flies wide; blow for estate agents

 

LANDLORDS’ LAMENT

The taxing Tenants Fees Act 2019 (see ‘Civil way’, NLJ 5 April 2019, p16) is brought fully into force on 1 June 2019 by commencement order SI 2019/857. Aimed at rogue landlords and their letting agents, it will hit even those of them who give to charity. It will also hit s 21 Housing Act 1988 notices (currently on death row, see p9 of this issue). No s 21 notice can be given so long as any unlawfully charged fee has not been repaid or unlawfully retained holding deposit has been returned. Some unpleasant surprises in store there for landlords, as the duty legal adviser raises a fatal breach at the possession hearing which had been expected to be a doddle. Practitioners who draft tenancy agreements from now on will need to be on top of the legislation. Initially, only lettings on or after 1 June 2019 will be caught, but after

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers to be joined by leading family law set, 4 Brick Court, this summer

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Real estate and construction energy offering boosted by partner hire

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Firm bolsters real estate team with partner hire in Birmingham

NEWS
A wave of housing and procedural reforms is set to test the limits of tribunal capacity. In his latest Civil Way column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold charts sweeping change as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 begins biting
Plans to reduce jury trials risk missing the real problem in the criminal justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, David Wolchover of Ridgeway Chambers argues the crown court backlog is fuelled not by juries but weak cases slipping through a flawed ‘50%’ prosecution test
Emerging technologies may soon transform how courts determine truth in deeply personal disputes. In this week's NLJ, Madhavi Kabra of 1 Hare Court and Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers explore how neurotechnology could reshape family law
A controversial protest case has reignited debate over the limits of free expression. In NLJ this week, Nicholas Dobson examines a Quran-burning incident testing public order law
The courts have drawn a firm line under attempts to extend arbitration appeals. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed of the University of Leicester highlights that if the High Court refuses permission under s 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, that is the end
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