Creative Quarter: Are the Creative Folkestone Tenants Revolting?
Down in the Creative Quarter of Folkestone, all is not well.
Tenants in properties leased to Creative Folkestone (CF) by the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust, have received rent increase notifications. The tenants have organized themselves to the point they have created a Tenants association, as they are not over the moon about the proposed rent increases.
In early February, the Creative Folkestone Residential Tenants’ Association was formed. It came about due to their landlord, Creative Folkestone (CF) sending a rent increase notification in Jan 2024, which was not a rent increase notification, as rent increase notifications must be given to tenants on a “prescribed form” (s13(2) HA 1988)” – known as Form 4.
The legal background is this. Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 creates a system by which a landlord may increase the rent of certain tenancies. Section 13 only applies to periodic tenancies and then only if the tenancy is (to paraphrase slightly):
-
a statutory periodic tenancy other than Crown or local authority tenancies as defined by paragraphs 11 and 12 of Schedule 1 to the 1988 Act
- any other periodic tenancy which is an assured tenancy and for which there is no provision for the time being binding on the tenant which provides for a change in the rent.
Thus if you let a property as an assured shorthold tenancy which is periodic and the tenancy agreement contains a valid clause which provides a mechanism for rent increases then section 13 will not apply. The mechanism you have agreed will take effect instead.
From the Creative Folkestone tenancy agreements we’ve seen, there are no mechanisms for a rent increase within the tenancy agreement. As such, the landlord, CF, must use the legal prescribed form – Form 4.
As CF did not use Form 4, then the rent increase would not have been valid or lawful. The information on the form includes a note to the tenant advising them of their right to refer the proposed rent increase to a First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
Here is an example of a redacted Creative Folkestone Rent Increase Notification sent to a number of tenants in January 2024. As you can see, CF did NOT use the “prescribed form” – Form 4. Nor does the Notification from Creative Folkestone mention their rights to challenge the rent increase through the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
In the rent increase notification, the response deadline for some tenants to accept the rent increase is by the 21 February. However, as we understand around a week ago, CFRTA informed tenants “for those who have not signed the agreement forms, Creative Folkestone will be sending section 13 form 4s.“. This now means the new deadline to agree to the proposed rent increases (along with their rights to use the FTT (Property Chamber to challenge the rent) will be in March.
As we understand, it was tenants who informed their landlord, Creative Folkestone, for the need to use the”prescribed form” – Form 4 for a legitimate rent increase.
On the FTT (Property Chamber) website, one can see that tenants from Folkestone, Hythe & Sandgate have challenged their landlords regarding rent increase proposed by private landlords. Some tenants have not had to pay the increase demanded, some tenants rents have remained roughly the same, and some had to pay the rent increase sought.
We understand individuals prior to the forming of the Creative Folkestone Residential Tenants’ Association (CFRTA) asked for a delay in the rent increase. Unfortunately CF did not oblige. CF say in their Jan 2024 letter:
While we remain committed to providing good value accommodation for creatives in Folkestone, our overheads continue to increase, and without these annual reviews, it is proving challenging for us to be able to operate sustainably.
As the cost-of-living crisis continues, we appreciate that this has been a tough year financially for us all. As you can imagine, these cost increases are also felt by organisations like ours.
The first public meeting of the CFRTA is today: 15th February, 2024. At this meeting CFRTA will develop specific points of discussion for communications with their landlord, Creative Folkestone, such as rent increases and the context in which they sit, as well as further clarity on how this impacts them as tenants, and their future. The landlord, Creative Folkestone, will not be present and the CRFTA will send the landlord the minutes of the 15th, by the 19th February 2024.
We would suggest any CF tenant who has received an incorrect rent increase notification, contact: Shepway Citizens Advice Bureau, Shelter or local Housing Solicitor TNA to get advice and assistance. We would also suggest to any CF tenant to use their rights and challenge any potential rent increase notification, at the FTT Property Chamber, as it is your right.
Unfortunately though, incorrect rent increase notifications may not be the only issue for Creative Folkestone.
For those of you who might not be aware, when you take an assured shorthold tenancy, the landlord, or agent is required to give you the following at the time of rental, or within 28 days.
Tenancy Agreement
How to Rent Guide
Deposit paperwork
Valid Gas Safety Certificate (if property has Gas)
Valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC – exemptions are possible)
Valid Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
Property Inventory
At the time some Creative Folkestone tenants were given new, or renewed assured shorthold tenancies, it would NOT have been possible to have given them a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
According to the EPC Register for the postcode CT20 1RN. – The Old High Street, Folkestone, there are expired EPCs, going back as far as 2018, yet tenants received renewed tenancies with no valid EPC.
Failure to acquire a valid EPC when you rent out a property can result in financial penalties. There are also financial penalties for not having a valid Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) to give to tenants.
Local authorities such as FHDC are responsible for enforcing fines for breaches of the EICR and EPC regulations. But the Council can only act if tenants inform them they do not have, nor have received valid EPCs or EICRs. One can report a report your private rented home issue to the Council ⇒ here
The requirement for the provisions of an EPC or EICR makes the let “unlawful”, but on a regulatory basis i.e the law provides a penalty for a landlord that breaches this rule.
We understand how confusing it may seem, however the law is frequently confusing and to understand it you have to look at the mischief that it seeks to cure.
In this case the mischief is that properties are required to have an EPC and EICR for letting and the system of penalty relates to that non-provision.
The law is not aimed at terminating the tenancies of those that occupy the properties that are the subject of the breach.
An analogous situation is where a property is let in poor repair. The existence of disrepair gives a tenant a right of enforcement of repair under S11 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, but it does not give the tenant a right to terminate a tenancy due to the breach.
Another matter for the CFRTA to note is the EPC is Energy Rating there property was given, when and if they received one upon moving in.
The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) are a set of rules relating to rental homes. They were introduced in England and Wales in 2015.
In 2018, MEES made it illegal for private landlords to rent a property that has an EPC rating below E. That means that any homes rated F or G can’t be offered for rent until their rating is improved (exceptions exist).
According to the EPC register for CT20 1RN (the Old High Street), there are three Creative Folkestone properties which have an EPC rating of F. We do not know when these properties were let. If though they have been let after 2018, then it may have been illegal to do so.
The Cllr responsible for the Private Rented Sector and enforcement of EPC and EICRs is Rebecca Shoob (pictured). We would encourage any resident who did not and never has received a valid EPC, or EICR, at their start of their tenancy, to contact her, rebecca.shoob@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk, or contact the private rented sector team at Folkestone & Hythe District Council.
The Creative Folkestone Residential Tenants’ Association can also speak to the Ward Cllrs. For CT20 1RN, they are all Labour Cllrs, who in their May 2023 Manifesto pledged they’ll:
•Hold private landlords accountable through a new licencing system and Private Sector Housing Charter
•Promote and facilitate resident forums and associations to collaborate and resolve problems
It is for CFRTA to approach their Labour Cllrs to promote and facilitate the CRFTA members concerns over a rent increase, do something about the EPCs and EICRs and assist them in resolving their issues with their landlord – Creative Folkestone.
I wouldn’t trust a single one of those faces up there as far as I could spit.
Ah the great Roger DeHann charitable trust starting to get all his charity money back .
How blinkered were those that lauded DeHann when he supposedly “gave” £50 million to the people of Folkestone and now you can see it was all a smoke screen with his hideous flats on the seafront and now raising rents again