Will you be hit by the Budget?

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Hi, I write for The Guardian (I’m their money editor) and we’re keen to profile a landlord ahead of next week’s Budget – looking at the sorts of things that have affected you financially over the past year, what you want from the Budget

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Dilapidated Properties spell trouble for landlords…

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Property Hotspots:

So called property hotspots offer high yields (high returns) because the house prices are low, but if the area where you invest in your buy-to-let determinates, then not only does your low priced investment lose more value, your income declines or disappears altogether, and you have your work cut out dealing with all the issues that ensue.

On landlord in Burnley, Lancashire, once one of the hottest property hotspots in the land, says that if his long term tenant should leave he would find it difficult to re-let any anything like the £4,000 per year he takes now, if he can do it at all.

Reported by the Burnley Express, the landlord whose name was withheld, says the condition of the private residences in the row is “disgusting”, most of them in his terrace having been boarded up.

The report says that seven of the 11 houses on the terrace are abandoned, with their windows and doors boarded up. These attract homeless people, rats, and damp and druggies, causing other residents to move out leaving their properties in a state of neglect. All this has happened in the last five years says the landlord.

The landlord says:

“Kids go in, rats go in, the windows are smashed, its wide open: a homeless guy was asleep under the window in the front room…We’ve had problems with rats along the whole block. It’s absolutely disgusting.

“They should be compulsory purchased,” he added. “If not, then it should be the council’s responsibility to contact the owners.”

The property on Florence Street off Accrington Road, Burnley, has been owned by this landlord for the last 35 years, and has been rented by the same tenant since for around 17 years, but the long-term tenant is now making noises that he wants to leave.

The council has told this landlord that as these residences are all privately owned, unfortunately it cannot do anything about the state of the other properties due to limited funding: Compulsory Purchase Orders cannot be universally issued, and the responsibility lies with the owners, says a Burnley Council. A spokesperson from the council said:

“We have the empty properties programme, but the responsibility for the upkeep of a property is ultimately down to the owner,”

This particular landlord’s insurance has gone up £500 a year after having a claim to repair damage to his property caused by damp coming through from a leaking toilet after lead flashing was stolen in the abandoned house next door. This was a £7,000 claim.

“My tenant is debating whether to move, which if that is the case, I’d lose about £4,000 a year in rent,” he told the Burnley Express.

“I’ll just have to board it up and leave it too. People can’t sell, and people won’t buy because of the state they’re in. “It’s wearing me down,” he said.

In some parts of the town Council housing officials have joined with a housing association to paint pictures of curtains, vases and neat front doors on scruffy boards covering a row of empty two up two down terraced houses, to look as though the homes have caring owners.

These look far better than bare boards, but take a closer look and the neat red and blue doors, bouquets of roses and newly drawn drapes are already attracting graffiti artists from this boarded up suburb nicknamed ‘junkie’s alley’, in Burnley, Lancashire.

In reality this street in the run-down Burnley Wood district of Burnley, Lancashire, is perhaps the “hottest” property hotspot in Britain, with one house selling for just £10,000.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Dilapidated Properties spell trouble for landlords… | LandlordZONE.

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The Police and Council have moved my tenant without telling me?

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Hi, Can anybody help me? About 4 months ago my tenant rang me to ask if I had any other properties available that she, and her family, could move into asap.

Apparently “some bad lads” had threatened her partner and they needed to get away immediately.

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Elfin Kitchens specified for exclusive student accommodation

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Elfin Kitchens has supplied over 355 ‘Premium Bespoke’ kitchens to Crown House, Sheffield – a purpose-built development of studio apartments for the private student accommodation sector.

The property boasts a number of first class facilities, which have all been designed to provide a standout university experience. This is reflected in the studio apartments which contain high quality, durable finishes, offering a blend of practicality and contemporary interior design. For these reasons, Elfin’s kitchens were specified for all studios, providing food preparation, storage and cooking facilities contained within compact units that complemented the modern décor.

The specification was further enhanced by including the popular Studioline system with each kitchen unit, linking the wall cupboards, splashbacks and side panels together to form one impressive product. The Studioline’s double-sided frame is manufactured from brushed stainless steel, which not only provides a sleek finish, but also provides high levels of durability.

An additional feature of the kitchens supplied to Crown House was the integration of a consumer unit in every model. This provides each apartment with complete electronic isolation for the kitchen, offering additional safety and a true ‘plug and play’ installation.

The main developers for the Crown House project were London and Scottish. Commenting on the specification of the Elfin Kitchens, Darren Simmons said: “On our Crown House Student Living development we worked closely with Elfin to develop a high quality product in a finish that complemented our interior design, whilst providing the durable solution that they are known for. We are really pleased with the end result and they look great in the apartments.”

Bob Andrew, Managing Director at Elfin Kitchens, said: “Crown House has been a great project for us and helped demonstrate the scale of products our range has to offer. It’s clear that the student accommodation market is developing rapidly, so we’re continuing to introduce new options that are adaptable to any size and style of apartment, while still providing all the essential cooking and storage facilities needed for independent living.”

The ‘Premium Bespoke’ range of kitchens incorporates high quality appliances, including a refrigerator, sink and tap, plus a choice of solo or combination microwave, oven and grill. In addition, ‘Premium bespoke’ models are supplied with soft close drawers and doors plus a choice of induction or ceramic hotplates with built in safety cut-out timers.

All ‘Premium’ models from our standard range are also available in a range of colours, from gloss powder coated White and Claret, to matt powder coated Sand and Bronze. Starting at 900mm wide, up to 1500mm, compact kitchens from Elfin save space and offer great flexibility, with right or left-hand versions available, as well as hotplates, dishwashers, combi-ovens and additional storage units.

For information on the entire range of kitchens and accessories, visit: www.elfinkitchens.co.uk

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Elfin Kitchens specified for exclusive student accommodation | LandlordZONE.

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£2,173.86 recovered from DWP

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Two months ago I published a case study: Live Universal Credit horror case study

In short we were approached by a PRS Landlord, he had granted a Tenancy in March, the tenant was on Universal Credit.

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NAEA former President chases down answers to SDLT and CGT proposals

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The former President of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), Simon Gerrard, has sent another open letter to Housing Minister, Alok Sharma, chasing for a response to his housing market proposals.

The first letter was ignored by the Housing Ministry and just passed on to the Treasury receiving a cursory reply.

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Issue with Management company random charges?

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Have a couple of flats in one block. The typical lease fee was £195 every quarter.

The solicitors acting on their behalf are now threatening to take us to court for breach of contract and are threatening to apply to the courts for a Possession Order if we do not pay the outstanding balance of the in 14 days.

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5-yearly mandatory electrical testing to be introduced

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Mandatory Electrical Checks:

A report into Electrical Safety in Rented Property has just been published which will make it a mandatory requirement to have five-yearly electrical checks. There is also a recommendation that a Residual Current Devices (RCDs) should be a part of the system.

A Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) working group has published its findings and 8 recommendations for electrics in rented property in England.

During the passage of the Housing and Planning Act in 2016, concerns were raised about electrical safety in rented properties in England. This followed some sweeping changes to the legislation in Scotland which brought in mandatory checks.

The Scottish Government recently introduced (1 December 2016) mandatory five yearly electrical checks, to be carried out by a registered electrician for all electrical installations and electrical appliances supplied in tenanted properties. The Welsh devolved Government is currently considering options to introduce duties on electrical safety standards in Wales.

In response to the concerns in England, the Government introduced an enabling power in the Housing and Planning Act 2016. This allowed for changes to electrical safety standards in the PRS to be set through secondary legislation at a later date, if this was deemed necessary.

The working group has made 8 recommendations for England:

1. 5 yearly mandatory electrical installation checks should be set out in secondary legislation.
2. Visual checks of the safety of the electrical installation by landlords at a change of tenancy should be encouraged as good practice and set out in guidance.
3. A report should be issued to the landlord which confirms that an EICR* has been completed along with confirmation that any remedial work necessary has been undertaken satisfactorily. A copy should be issued to the tenant at the beginning of the tenancy and should be made available to local authorities on request.
4. Landlord supplied electrical appliance testing and visual checks of electrical appliances by landlords at a change of tenancy should be encouraged as good practice and set out in guidance.
5. The installation of Residual Current Devices (RCDs) by landlords should be encouraged as good practice and set out in guidance.
6. A PRS electrical testing competent person scheme should be set up which would be separate from the existing Building Regulations competent person scheme.
7. DCLG should commission the Electro-technical Assessment Specification (EAS) management committee to consider the most effective method of assessing ‘competent PRS testers’ to carry out electrical inspections and tests.
8. Legislative requirements should be phased in, beginning with new tenancies, followed by all existing tenancies.

Landlords, as part of good lettings practice, are to be encouraged to work towards meeting these standards ahead of the enacting legislation.

There will be no mandatory requirement to PAT test appliances, though inspection and PAT testing is recommended and to be encouraged between tenancies.

Exactly who will be competent to carry out these tests has yet to be decided, but a qualified electrician can do these checks now.

*An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is an official document that is produced following an assessment an electrical installation, either domestic, commercial or industrial premises require inspection with varying degrees of frequency depending on the premises.

Read the full report here

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – 5-yearly mandatory electrical testing to be introduced | LandlordZONE.

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Iain Duncan Smith MP joined 450+ landlords and investors for the return of the Expert Property Panel

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Iain Duncan Smith MP joined 450+ landlords and investors for the return of the Expert Property Panel, held at the flagship National Landlord Investment Show Tuesday 7th November 2017, to give his take on the coverage surrounding Universal Credit.

The show has hugely grown in popularity and is now a must attend event for UK Landlords. It is hugely popular  and gets bigger every year. One of the key features is the quality of guest speakers.

The debate panel included:

Chair Marie Parris – CEO of George Ellis Property Services

Iain Duncan Smith – Conservative MP

Fionnuala Earley – Chief Economist for Countrywide

David Whittaker –  Chief Operating Officer, Mortgages for Business

Vanessa Warwick – Co Founder of Property Tribes

Simon Zutchi – CEO of Property Investor Network

The lively debate included, Universal Credit, The Autumn budget, Market trends & Interest rates

IDS stated that he has spoken to the Chancellor both privately and publically about the need for change for UK Landlords, he points out that we won’t know if this has been taken on board until the Autumn Budget is released and he encouraged the audience, largely Landlords, to write to the Chancellor with their thoughts and fears before November 22.

Iain also spoke further about Universal Credit, tax changes and which conditions can work in the favour of the landlord now and in the future.

Marie Parris, industry speaker and MD of George Ellis Property Services, presented the debate and spoke to Iain Duncan Smith about whether he thinks Universal Credit is actually working. With landlords having to wait 6 weeks or more for payments, claimants beyond despair, having no money to feed their families, or even a bus fare to travel to an interview, what does he say about it? The press coverage certainly doesn’t communicate a successful rollout. We’ve even had reports of Nick Forbes, leader of Newcastle City Council who said he believes the country is on the verge of a housing crisis as a result of UC.

Iain’s reply was that we have currently got the lowest number of workless households in living history in UK and the rollout is careful and slow deliberately, in order to make changes along the way. He stated the fact that only 5% in welfare are on UC currently as testament to this.

The idea, he says, is that UC allows the merger of a number of benefits together on a more efficient digital platform – and the problems have been caused by the fact that 60% of people on UC at the moment are already in debt, so this has caused the issues that landlords face, not necessarily the system itself.

He mentioned the advisors, via Universal Support, that stay with the tenants to combat this via debt reduction programmes etc. for a smoother future.

A key issue stated by landlords at the panel is that they don’t have visibility as to who is on benefits or not – and don’t know whether they want to rent to those on UC because of the risks involved.

Iain’s solution is that the next phase will be able to help them see this information via a new portal in the next rollout phase. The idea is that if there are issues, they can be placed on direct payment immediately. Arrears clearance in theory should clear quicker that on housing allowances.

There was a feeling in the audience that landlords were unable to get the money from the tenants on UC, as they were told in some cases by local councils that they would be given a council house as soon as they were evicted from their private accommodation, so there was no incentive for them to pay their rent.

Will this have changed by the next rollout of UC? – Iain Duncan Smith certainly thinks it will and UK landlords sincerely hope so.

The event also saw over 100 Property related services exhibit, in addition 37 seminars on a broad range of subjects in PRS were delivered throughout the day including a packed auditorium with David Smith, award winning Economist Editor of The Sunday Times, who delivered an outlook for Landlords including, interest rates, Brexit and the budget. Landlords were delighted with the services and advice that they received.

Since the shows launch in May 2013 they team at National Landlord Investment Show have ran 54 events throughout the UK’s buy to let hot spots. 2018 dates have been announced via their website www.landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Iain Duncan Smith MP joined 450+ landlords and investors for the return of the Expert Property Panel | LandlordZONE.

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All-Party Parliamentary group call for all landlords to fit CO alarms

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The All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG) campaign titled Carbon monoxide alarms: Tenants safe and secure in their homes is looking to improving current regulations for rented properties and make it compulsory to fit carbon monoxide alarms.

Alok Sharma MP

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