A recruitment firm that works for many estate agents has had a complaint about its marketing upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The complainant, who is likely to be an estate agent, was unhappy with the tone and claims made within a mailshot sent out via an industry media platform.

Property Industry Eye (PIE) emailed the mailshot to its database on behalf of Grantham-based Outsourceful Ltd in August last year.

The complainant believed the advert within the mailshot perpetuated negative racial stereotypes and challenged whether they were harmful and likely to cause serious offence.

Philippines

The mailshot copy included a claim that Outsourceful could find overseas staff  “predominantly from the Philippines” who would work for a quarter of the cost of a UK employee, claiming one agency saved £66,000 a year on salaries, and that they were harder working and more reliable than their UK counterparts.

Upholding the complaint, the ASA says: “We understood that there was a stereotype that Asian people were hard workers and self-sufficient…[and] considered there was a risk that ads that reinforced or promoted stereotypes regarding Filipino people’s work ethic, including a propensity not to take sickness absence, could be harmful to both groups and leave them open to exploitation.

The ASA sought a view on the ads from the Kanlungan Filipino Consortium, a charity representing Filipino and other migrant communities in the UK.

Recruitment

“Their view was that the ads used language which supported racial and ethnic stereotypes about Filipino workers,” the ASA says.

“They considered that such stereotypes might influence UK companies to recruit Filipino and other East and Southeast Asian migrants on low wages, which could increase cases of labour exploitation and trafficking amongst Filipino workers, both in the Philippines and abroad.”

On that basis the ASA says it concluded that the ads had not been prepared in a socially responsible way because they promoted harmful racial stereotypes and that they were also likely to cause serious offence to some people.

Outsourceful says it has made extensive changes to its website to address the concerns raised, and that they would not use the email ad or similar emails again.

PIE told the ASA it had no editorial control over the content of the email and that it checked its content prior to sending for unsuitable or inappropriate content and found there to be none. They did not receive any complaints from their subscribers.

The post Watchdog upholds ‘racial stereotyping’ complaint against industry recruitment firm appeared first on The Negotiator.

A former director of a lettings company has received a suspended prison sentence for defrauding seven landlords.

Linda Murray, aged 40, who was a director of 12-year-old firm Let Me Lettings in Wigan, was given a 20-month sentence suspended for two years.

£6,000 lost

Wigan Trading Standards, which led the prosecution, received complaints from seven landlords, about nine different properties, with over £6,000 lost due to fraud.

Murray, of Ellerthwaite Road, Windermere, faced eight counts of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006. Her company charged landlords for a service that included managing their properties and taking tenant deposits, Bolton Crown Court heard.

The deposits were supposed to be held in the Deposit Protection Service (DPS).

Guilty plea

Murray pleaded guilty to not placing the money with the DPS, and misleading both landlords and tenants. During her trial it was highlighted by Wigan council lawyer David Birrell that “she even charged landlords a fee for placing their deposits with this tenancy deposit service” but then failed to do so.

Rather than a custodial sentence, she has been given 30 days’ rehabilitation, disqualification from being a company director for seven years, and ordered to pay £3,660 in compensation, The Mail reports.

Read more about deposits.

Photo credit: Google Streetview.

The post Lettings director sentenced following Trading Standards probe appeared first on The Negotiator.

Just three in 10 estate agents use open banking to verify their clients’ funds – despite it being one of the most secure ways to provide secure third-party access to financial data through an API (application programming interface).

The Proceeds of Crime Act requires regulated firms to submit a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) to the National Crime Agency (NCA) if they believe that someone is trying to clean dirty money earned from the proceeds of crime.

VERIFY SOURCE

But new data released from SmartSearch also reveals that in total seven out of 10 (73%) of regulated firms are failing to adopt open banking – or even verify source of funds manually.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of respondents said they use a combination of manual review and open banking services.

In the property industry, 72% of respondents don’t use open banking for automatic verification, while one in five (20%) fail to verify the source of funds at all.

Almost three quarters (70%) of accountants said they don’t use open banking for source of funds verification. 19% don’t verify the source of funds at all.

Figures for 200 compliance decision-makers in financial services are no better, with 74% of people not using open banking services to verify the source of funds when onboarding new individual clients and businesses. Only four out of five (80%) verify the source of funds, with 30% manually reviewing bank statements.

OPEN BANKING

Three quarters (75%) of compliance decision-makers in the legal sector said they do not verify sources of funds using open banking. And a quarter (26%) admitted to not checking the source of funds, even manually – which 28% of people said they did.

Collette Allen, SmartSearch

Fraser Mitchell (main picture), Technical Director of SmartSearch, says: “It’s surprising that regulated firms aren’t faster to adopt open banking, which would really speed up their compliance processes and help secure their business.”

And Collette Allen, Chief Operating Officer at SmartSearch, adds: “It’s concerning that so many firms aren’t checking bank accounts even manually.

“This is a high-risk approach, which could potentially put some of them in contravention of UK anti-money laundering laws.”

The post Just three in 10 estate agents are switched on to open banking for AML reasons appeared first on The Negotiator.

Estate agents have been accused of failing to inform potential buyers whether flats are leasehold or freehold.

Paula Higgins of the HomeOwners Alliance told MPs many agents do not give buyers essential upfront information.

Higgins, who was giving evidence on the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill to a public bill committee, also said that agents don’t know what their obligations are.

Not happening

“Even though estate agents are supposed to provide basic up-front information, when we did our report on leasehold, half of the estate agents on things we were looking at were not even providing the information that the property was leasehold or freehold,” said Higgins, who is founder and CEO of the HomeOwners Alliance.

They are not regulated; they don’t know what their obligations are.”

“We know that work is going on, and that estate agents are supposed to provide up-front information—we understand that there is the BASPI form—but the reality is that it is not happening.”

She added: “They are not regulated; they don’t know what their obligations are.”

Ban the sale

Under the bill, it will become the norm to statutorily extend leases to 990 years, and only charge a peppercorn ground rent. It also proposes to ban the sale of leasehold houses, but not flats.

It was announced in the King’s Speech in November along with the Renters (Reform) Bill.

Fundamental

Labour has called the bill “unambitious”, and promised to carry out a fundamental overhaul of the leasehold and freehold system.

Read a report of the full debate here

Picture credit: BBC

The post Estate agents ‘failing to give flat buyers basic material information’ appeared first on The Negotiator.

Landlords are backing new amendments to the looming Renters (Reform) Bill made by a Conservative MP which, it is claimed, will ensure the controversial legislation “works for the private rented sector as a whole”.

Tabled by Anthony Mangnall MP, the changes are being backed by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) as the legislation approaches its report stage in Parliament.

The ‘pragmatic’ amendments being suggested by Mangnall include preventing tenants from giving notice until they have lived in a property for four months, a measure that would offer a balance that needs to be struck between security of tenure for tenants and a degree of certainty for landlords.

Mangnall’s other amendments include:

Anti-social behaviour

• Enabling evidence such as texts or emails from neighbours to be considered by the courts when deciding if a tenant has engaged in anti-social behaviour.

Evictions

• Addressing concerns that the courts are not prepared for the impact of the end of section 21 repossessions by requiring the Government to publish a review of the operation of possession proceedings in the courts before it is abolished.

This follows recently warnings from The Law Society that the courts are ‘vastly overstretched’ and that Ministers should outline how they intend to manage increased demand on the courts and what additional resourcing it will put in place to deal with existing backlogs.”

Licensing

• Preventing a costly duplication of efforts by ending the use of landlord selective licensing schemes by councils when the national Property Portal covering the private rented sector is established.

Students

• Protecting the annual cycle of all types of student housing by extending the Government’s proposed ground for possession to achieve this to one- and two-bedroom student properties, not just Houses in Multiple Occupation.

Supply crisis

Ben Beadle, NRLA

Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the NRLA, says: “We accept that section 21 is going and agree that tenants need to feel empowered to challenge the actions of rogue and criminal landlords.

“However, amidst a supply crisis in the rental market, it is vital that the Bill has the confidence of responsible landlords.

“These pragmatic changes would go a long way towards striking the balance between the needs of renters and the majority of landlords who do right by their tenants.”

Read more about the Renters (Reform) Bill

The post Tory MP urges Ministers to make renting reforms more workable appeared first on The Negotiator.

Owners of long-term empty homes in London’s Haringey will be charged 200% Council Tax on properties that have been empty for 12 months rather than 24 to encourage owners to bring them back into use.

The charge, which will take effect on 1 April 2024, comes alongside plans for a new double Council Tax bill on fully furnished second homes and holiday lets for the periods they are empty from 1 April 2025.

EMPTY DWELLINGS

It is estimated that in London alone there are 34,000 long-term empty dwellings, including more than 1,000 in Haringey.

Councillor Dana Carlin, Haringey Council

Councillor Dana Carlin, Cabinet Member for Finance and Local Investment, says: “We are determined to turn Haringey’s empty dwellings into new homes.

“Londoners are in the grip of a housing crisis, and bringing unoccupied homes into use is part of the solution.

“Across the capital there are more than 34,000 long-term empty homes – that is over half the number of London households that are currently homeless and living in temporary accommodation.”

She adds: “When affordable and good quality homes are in such short supply, empty properties – whether it is a short-term holiday let, a second home, or a home left empty – drives up the cost of renting locally.

PREVENTING HOMELESSNESS

“We believe it’s fair that those who can afford to keep their properties unoccupied for long periods of time should either contribute more to preventing homelessness or explore more socially responsible ways for their properties to provide them income.”

According to Council Tax base calculations, there are currently 1,028 properties in Haringey which have been empty for between 12 months and five years.  Applying the premium is expected to raise an additional £900,000 a year.

Even more properties, 1,067, are registered as fully furnished second homes – 479 with no resident for more than a year and 588 for less than 12 months.

The post Owners of empty homes to pay double Council Tax appeared first on The Negotiator.

Newham Council has won a landmark case against convicted rogue landlord Mr Jahangir Hussain that bans him from taking part in any letting agency in England after a court dismissed his appeal against a Banning Order.

The ban means that Hussain is banned from renting any properties in Newham and the rest of England for three years.

SEVEN OFFENCES

Hussain had been convicted of seven offences under the Housing Act 2004 after he originally failed to license his property in Forest Gate in October 2021, which he used as a house in multiple occupancy (HMO). As well as breaching six other HMO Management Regulations, he received a fine of £10,000 plus the Council legal costs.

Councillor Shaban Mohammed

In February 2023, the Council successfully applied for a Banning Order against the landlord. Despite an appeal the Council won the case on 6 December 2023 and the Banning Order preventing Mr Hussain from renting any properties in England will now be in place for three years starting from 16 August 2023.

Councillor Shaban Mohammed, Cabinet Member for Housing Services, says: “This Banning Order is a first for Newham and a landmark case in our campaign against rogue landlord and to protect the rights of Newham residents living in the private rented sector.

ROGUE LANDLORDS

“We mean what we say, when tackling the scourge of rogue landlords who think they are above the law.”

Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, Mayor of Newham

Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, Mayor of Newham, adds: “Mr Hussain has shown flagrant disregard of both housing and planning legislation, to the detriment of both his tenants and residents of the borough.

“This major milestone sends a message loud and clear that rogue landlords have no place in Newham. It’s all part of our campaign to protect renters rights, including calling for an end to no-fault evictions and introducing rent caps.”

Hussain, who rents out several properties in Newham, Tower Hamlets and Haringey will be unable to do so for three years.

LETTING AGENCY

The Banning Order also prevents him from letting houses in England, engaging in English letting agency and property management work and being involved in any way in any corporate body that carries out those activities.

As well as obtaining the Banning Order, Newham’s Planning Enforcement Team secured two convictions in the Magistrates Court against Hussain for breaching planning enforcement notices at both his properties within Newham.

The notices related to the construction of extensions at those properties without the required planning permission. The cases have now been committed to the Crown Court under section 70 of the Proceeds of Crime Act, for consideration of confiscation and appropriate sentencing for the offences.

The post London council secures banning order against rogue landlord appeared first on The Negotiator.

The Digital Property Market Steering Group (DPMSG) has published a roadmap setting out its five key objectives that it wants to see implemented to speed up the home buying process.

The DPMSG was formed last year and represents areas of the sector with the greatest potential for accelerated digital adoption and key aspects of the roadmap include developing an action list to remove paper-based processes and see rapid adoption of digital ID and secure e-signatures.

NO SURPRISES

Its key objectives are ‘No surprises and no delays’; ‘Transparency and innovation’; ‘Convenient and secure’; ‘Always improving’ and being ‘Open and collaborative’.

It aims to see that upfront information means there are no surprises after the buying decision and no waiting for searches; sharing information using an open protocol allows everyone to see what is happening in a transaction and support innovative new consumer-friendly digital services; using digital ID checks (just once) and e-signatures makes the process easier and more secure; collaborative research across users and the PropTech sector will accelerate the use of emerging technology such as Artificial Intelligence and that it will work in the open, publishing research alongside a programme of activities.

Mike Harlow, HM Land Registry

Mike Harlow, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Customer and Strategy at HM Land Registry, says: “Change is hard but by working together, and being clear about the action that is needed.

“We believe that we will achieve a vision where everyone involved in buying, leasing and selling land and property experiences a secure and modern market that is transparent, customer- friendly and business-friendly at all stages.”

FUTURE HOME BUYING

DPMSG is also working closely with the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to understand how it can support future home buying and selling policy and collaborate with DLUHC’s new Proptech Steering Board.

Since launching in August 2023, the DPMSG has already welcomed new members Maria Harris, Chair of Open Property Data Association and Home Buying and Selling Group representative, and Sammy Pahal, Managing Director of the UK PropTech Association.

Kate Faulkner, OBE

Kate Faulkner OBE, Chair of the Home Buying & Selling Group, adds: “Without the support of government, working together with industry to lay key foundations to digitise the buying and selling process, we just couldn’t make the enormous changes required.

“There is a lot to do, but if we continue to focus on improving the process for consumers, this will undoubtedly improve the day to day lives of those who work so hard, in often difficult situations, to put new roofs over people’s heads.”

The post National e-property sales initiative reveals plan for ‘no more delays’ appeared first on The Negotiator.