New How to Rent guide to be released in October
A new ‘How to Rent’ guide is set to be released by Government on Monday 2nd October.
This comes just seven months after it was last updated in March, to reflect legal changes, including the requirement for carbon monoxide alarms to be fitted in every room with a fixed fuel-burning appliance.
This autumn, a new version of the guide will be released, updating pages 15 and 17, to make reference to the new Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.
Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.
The Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service replaces the Housing Possession Court Duty Schemes (HCPDS) and allows tenants to access legal advice if they are at risk of losing their home.
This advice can be provided once the tenant has evidence they are at risk of possession proceedings.
The legal advice can cover a range of including:
• repossession claims
• rent arrears
• issues with welfare benefits payments
• debt concerns
• disrepair and other problems with housing conditions
The previous scheme (HCPDS) was only available on the day of the hearing, so this should mean that tenants have better access to legal support in housing matters.
More on the HLPAS can be read here.
Legal requirement to serve How to Rent guide.
Landlords in England are reminded they MUST serve the latest version of the How to Rent guide at the start of any new tenancy or renewal (when a statutory periodic tenancy).
It forms part of the prescribed information landlords must issue, and if they do not, they lose the right to repossess using Section 21.
The Government says new versions of the How to Rent guide will be available on the gov.uk website on Monday 2nd October 2023.
The NRLA will also update its resource centre with links to the new guides.
• An archive of all previous editions of the How to Rent guides is available via the NRLA website.
• Understand more about the prescribed information you must issue at the start of a tenancy, in our Starting a Tenancy checklist, exclusive for NRLA members.