News New rules to beat rogue landlords New rules came into force in April to help crack down on rogue landlords that flout the rules, and improve safety and affordability forrenters. Councils are now able to impose fines of up to 30,000 as an alternative to prosecution for a range of housing offences. They willbe able to retain all of the income to use for private-sector housing enforcement. Rent repayment orders which can be issued to penalise landlords managing or letting unlicensed properties have also been extended to cover a wider range of situations. These include the illegal evictions or harassment of the occupiers of a property, using violence to secure entry, and the breach of a banning order. These measures will give local authorities the tools to crack down on the small minority of rogue landlords who shirk their responsibilities. They are part of the governments plan, set out in its housing white paper, to give those who rent a fairer deal. Housing and planning minister Gavin Barwell said: These measures give councils additional powers to tackle poor-quality rental homes. By driving out of business those rogue landlords that continue to flout the rules, we can raise standards, improve affordability and give tenants the protections they need. Letting fees consultation gets under way iSToCk.Com / Aijohn784 The governments consultation on banning letting fees paid by tenants has been launched. It applies to England only and runs for eight weeks. The government is hosting a number of workshops, in various venues throughout the country, to discuss the consultation and the implementation of the fee ban. The consultation closes at 11.45pm on Friday 2 June 2017. You can respond to the consultation online, or by completing a response form and emailing it, or sending it to Housing Standards Team, Better Rented and Leasehold Sector Division, DCLG, 3rd Floor, Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF. vulnerable to get call-blocking devices at risk from nuisance callers. A trial scheme, run by the NTS Scams Team last year, resulted in 93 per cent of participants reporting that they felt safer in their homes. Lord Harris, chair of NTS, said: These call blockers give those in vulnerable situations such as those with dementia and their families a greater sense of protection and security. The government will shortly implement plans to impose fines of up to 1m on company bosses and firms if they are found to be in breach of Privacy and Electronics Communications Regulations. Broadband customers charged loyalty penalty People on the cheapest, most basic broadband deals are hit with an average price rise of 113 a year once their deal ends, according to Citizens Advice. A new report from the charity reveals that more than a third (35per cent) of broadband customers dont realise they could face price hikes by staying on the same contract with their provider after their initial deal ends. With broadband customers staying on the same contract for four years on average, Citizens Advice warns that they are being charged aloyalty penalty for remaining on the same deal. It wants broadband providers to help customers avoid such penalties by being much clearer in their advertising and initial contracts about how much services will cost after the initial fixed deal ends and to alert people when the fixed price comes to an end. The charity also believes extra protections are needed for older and poorer customers, who are more likely to face a loyalty penalty because they stay with the same supplier for longer. Its report recommends that Ofcom should define the vulnerable consumers who would be worst affected by broadband contract price rises, and explore ways to minimise the impact on them. One option could be to look at how a price cap similar to the pre-payment meter cap in the energy market might work for broadband customers. Action by Ofcom to support vulnerable broadband consumers would build on the regulators recent proposals to reduce the bills of BT customers who only have a telephone landline often elderly or vulnerable people by at least 5 per month Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: The government has rightly put energy firms on warning for how they treat loyal customers the actions of broadband firms warrant similar scrutiny. Extra protections for vulnerable consumers are a must. one-fifth of uk businesses hit by cyber attacks One in five businesses has fallen victim to cyber attacks in the past year, according to a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). More than 1,200 businesses across the UK were surveyed and it was found that 20 per cent had been hit by a cyber attack in the past 12 months. Big businesses are far more likely than their smaller counterparts to be victims of attacks. The BCCs findings indicate that 21 per cent of businesses believe the threat of cyber crime is preventing their company from growing. Dr Adam Marshall, director general of the BCC, said: More guidance from government and the police about where and how to report attacks would give businesses a clear path to follow in the event of a cyber-security breach. Businesses should also be mindful of the extension to data protection regulation coming into force next year. Firms that dont adopt the appropriate protections leave themselves open to tough penalties. iSToCk.Com / dEEPbLuE4you The government has announced plans to give elderly and vulnerable people hi-tech devices to block nuisance calls. Under the 0.5m project which is being coordinated by the National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team and supported by local trading standards departments call-blocking devices will be installed in the homes of people who have been identified by doctors, trading standards officials and local councils as being