Weekly News Roundup – 26/04/24
A roundup of the week’s top property and proptech news stories in partnership with Proptech-X
Renters Reform Act – but what about Section 21?
Michael Gove the great leveller and of course Housing secretary presided over what has turned out to be a dogs breakfast of a Renters reform bill soon to be an Act of parliament. In essence Section 21 the so called no fault eviction process is to be repealed but at a time that the Court structure can deal with its impact. So very much jam tomorrow. Also with a huge amount of amendments to the bill prior to it passing to the upper house it will take days to read through the detail and see the true shape of the future of renting in the UK.
This LINK goes to the final amendments version of the agreed and voted for Bill, and its very complexity helps to underline that tinkering with the rental sector, though perhaps a great populist matter that can win or lose votes in the upcoming elections, local and general, the real impact will be if landlords exit in droves, or start to evict problematic tenants now, fearing their hands will be tied further down the line.
In my opinion all that will happen is that rents will continue to rise and the those most in need of housing will find it increasingly hard to get accommodation in the PRS. Politicians and even the media when reporting seem to have only the slightest insight into the symbiotic relationship between landlords the providers of accommodation and the needs and wants of tenants. If there is ever to be a ‘better’ system this punch and judy parody of money grabbing landlord and oppressed tenant needs to be addressed, but with a possible change in government I feel that this is unlikely.
Agents urged to review AML policies following recent HMRC fines
Recent substantial fines issued by HMRC are a harsh reminder to agents to ensure that their Anti-Money Laundering (AML) policies are up to date, and they have control testing in place. This is according to Paul Offley, Compliance Officer at The Guild of Property Professionals, who adds that agents should do a compliance control check from time to time to ensure that everything is in order, and they are following the correct guidance and procedures to comply with HMRC regulations.
Offley says that the first thing that agents should do is login to their Government Gateway account, go to the AML section and check that their supervision status is showing as ‘supervised’ or ‘pending and able to trade’, this is crucial. “It is possible to miss a renewal and the supervision status lapses, so it is important to check this to ensure the correct status is reflected,” he adds.
Smart Spaces & HID Signo reader tie up
London, April 23, 2024 – Smart Spaces announces today that it has partnered with trusted identity provider, HID, to make access to Workspace’s The Light Bulb building in South West London fast, simple and secure by making door access credentials available in Google Wallet for all SME customers who lease offices and studios at the centre.
Today, any registered Android smartphone user can gain quick and seamless access to The Light Bulb by holding their device near any NFC-enabled HID Signo reader, with doors then opening automatically. Smart Spaces is the first HID Technology Partner to carry out such a Google Wallet integration project, with Workspace the first customer in the world to benefit from this innovative technical collaboration.
Andrew Stanton Executive Editor – moving property and proptech forward. PropTech-X
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