Penetrating Damp – how to deal with it

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Penetrating damp, just as its name implies, is where water leaks into a building from outside the structure, through the walls or roof. Less common is where an internal leak from a water or drain pipe leaks into the structure of the building.

Common causes of penetrating damp are:

• Porous Walls — aging and crumbling bricks lose the ability to keep out rain penetration.
• Spalled Bricks & Degraded Mortar
• Bridged cavity or defective cavity tray
• Damage to stone and brickwork such as wall cracks allowing water to penetrate.
• Defective guttering and downpipes, roof damage, dilapidated or poorly installed windows.

As with rising damp and condensation problems, a thorough investigation is needed to establish the cause and decide on a cure, which may need some expert guidance.

For example, a leaking internal water pipe can cause signs of damp some distance away from the actual leak – water can travel externally along a pipe.

Look for lose or missing tiles on the roof, ridge pointing coming away, overflowing gutters or damaged downpipes and joints – binoculars are useful for this.

Examine the gutters and downpipes and the brickwork or other masonry around them for signs of water leakage and damage – usually it will leave a greenish stain over time. Never allow these types of leaks to continue for long without treatment as they will inevitably cause expensive damage if left.

Look for cracks in external walls and especially inspect the walls that get the most severe weather, driving rain will penetrate if the mortar is defective, soft or has gaps. Consider re-pointing and silicon sealing or even complete rendering of a problem wall.

Check flashings on roof joins and valleys and the roof underfelt for any holes or deterioration. Particularly check flashing where a roof meets a chimney wall. If any of these are loose or missing, they’ll need patching, re-fixing or re-pointing.

Check all the window frames for any gaps or cracks or masonry distortion around them. These may need filling with a flexible frame sealant. Also check the window sills for a ‘drip groove’, which will stop water running down the walls.

Cracks in the external walls or missing mortar will cause ingress of water over time. In old buildings, lime and sand mixes are often used. These are more porous and so will allow the building to “breath” and take away water from the bricks or stone. You may need professional advice for this.

The cavity wall may need to be cleared of debris or a damp-proof cavity tray added. It is quite possible that penetrating damp is caused by problems with cavity walls, in which case again you may need professional help.

Later built properties (post 1920s) will usually have a cavity between the inner and outer walls, so there is air space for moisture penetrating through the exterior wall to evaporate before it gets to the inner wall. However, a debris build up at the bottom, or faulty cavity wall insulation can bridge the gap causing water penetration form outside.

Where the wall is ‘interrupted’ with a window or pipework for example, there needs to be a cavity tray. These come in various forms but effectively act as a way to drain any water away from the inner wall to the outside through ‘weep’ holes (holes in a part of the outer wall).

If a cavity tray is defective, or there isn’t one present, then it needs to be repaired or a new one installed. As with clearing out a cavity, this is a professional job.

Keep an eye on all outside walls of a property for signs of water running down the brickwork or stonework leaving a tell-tall trail, as although this may not result in water penetration immediately, it will deteriorate the structure over time.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Penetrating Damp – how to deal with it | LandlordZONE.

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Serviced apartments – the new opportunity in US property investment

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There are 826,759 serviced apartments around the world (GSAIR), and 61% of them are in the USA (Knight Frank). Over there, they’re often known as ‘extended stay apartments’ and were originally conceived with the business traveller in mind.

The concept of a serviced apartment works in favour of guest and hotelier alike. Consisting of at least one bedroom (often two or three), a bathroom, a living area and a fully-equipped kitchen, guests have a generous space to spread out in and call their own. Hotel owners are able to cut down on overheads and do away with large area, low margin facilities like public lounges, restaurants, kitchens and full-service lobbies.

The resulting cost savings and lower than hotel rates meant the idea took off quickly and the appreciation of a ‘home-from-home’ accommodation option gained momentum, particularly with families and groups.

It also extended the appeal of serviced apartments beyond business travel to the leisure and vacation market. City centres are no longer the sole focus of the serviced apartment sector; families want to go on vacation together to popular destinations, meaning that serviced apartments represent some of the best investment properties in Florida, for example.

The Airbnb phenomenon has transformed travellers’ expectations, and traditional hotel accommodation is less appealing to millennials. Serviced apartments, on the other hand, are finding huge favour; average occupancy has been higher than 74% since 2010, and higher than 75% since 2013.

Even allowing for the fact that supply has increased by 23% since 2013, occupancy rates in the USA have maintained their level at around a healthy 76%. In fact, according to sector analysts The Highland Group, demand has been up by between 5% and 7% per quarter for the last two years.

As a consequence, US serviced apartments have been able to raise their rates faster than hotels; revenue per room has increased for serviced apartments in 2017 but has dropped slightly in hotels.

Nor does the popularity of serviced apartments show any sign of abating; over 27,400 are scheduled to open in America by the end of 2017, and a further 35,000 during 2018 (Lodging Econometrics).

What’s also interesting is that serviced apartments are no longer the exclusive preserve of the big hotel chains like Hilton and Marriott. James Harrington, Business Development Manager at sector specialists Emerging Property explains “Many private investors are unaware that they can actually own an individual serviced apartment in the USA, but in fact they can. What’s vital, though, is to be completely satisfied that the developer has a really good track record in the sector, and that the property will be professionally managed 24/7 by a company with a solid background in resort hospitality. And because overseas property investment can be quite different from here in the UK, it’s important to get expert advice before committing to anything.”

Overseas investors accounted for $153 billion of residential property sales in the USA in the year to March 2017, attracted by the country’s economic opportunities, economic security and political stability. It’s also a great place to visit and stay in your own property.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Serviced apartments – the new opportunity in US property investment | LandlordZONE.

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Repossession of your property for non-mortgage debt?

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An article from Mortgage Strategy which explains that six of the top ten lenders say they use ‘all monies charges’ in residential mortgage documents, letting them repossess homes if borrowers struggle with non-mortgage debts.

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Agent Orgy

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Victoria Whitlock, writing in the London Evening Standard tells of her Landlord friend’s decorator catching the new (unnamed) letting agent holding a ‘party’ at an empty property.

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The landlord has several properties in South London

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Irish Republic calls for MOT style checks for slum landlords

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Overcrowding:

The Government in the Republic of Ireland has said it will examine proposals for an MOT-style test for rented accommodation. This move follows claims of slum landlords allowing extreme overcrowding and providing very dangerous accommodation.

In one case in Dublin overcrowding in a rental had 16 people to a room, 64 tenants in a single property.

Politicians and charities in the Republic are calling on the government to introduce the checks to help clamp down on “slum landlords” who rent out properties well below minimum residential standards.

One charity has said that the current system where, as in the UK, local councils are responsible for checking rented accommodation “is not fit for purpose”.

Dr Aideen Hayden, the chairwoman of the Threshold charity said:

“Local authorities do not have the capacity to inspect and effectively enforce minimum standards,”

“The penalty should be severe so that there is no excuse for being outside the system. Inspections would then focus solely on whether the landlord held a certificate of compliance.”

The current regime, as in the UK, relies on landlords “being caught” but the prospect of this, according to Dr Haden, is slim. Adding that the most dangerous housing in the country was often occupied by the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in society, “There is no fear of the consequences in the absence of regulations and proper inspections”

Responsible landlords in the UK have long campaigned for improved systems of inspection to drive out rogue landlords. These rogues represent a small proportion of the UK landlord market as a whole, but contribute to misery for low income tenants and bad publicity for all landlords out of all proportion to their number.

Interestingly, the situation in Ireland appears to mirror exactly the UK experience: according to landlord bodies, cash strapped local authorities just don’t seem to have the capacity to adequately enforce existing laws on rogue landlords.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Irish Republic calls for MOT style checks for slum landlords | LandlordZONE.

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Council advises tenants to break into landlord’s property

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Surrender Notice:

It has been widely reported that in a bid to cope with Britain’s housing shortage, councils often advise tenants facing eviction, and in need of social housing, to stay put in buy-to-let properties when landlords ask them to leave.  This is because, with resources already stretched, councils are reluctant to rehouse tenants until they are legally evicted and ‘technically’ homeless.

Now for the first time, specialist tenant eviction company, Landlord Action, has been instructed by a landlord whose tenant vacated his property only to subsequently break back in, allegedly on the advice of Havering Borough Council.

Mr Lewis Selt, a landlord from Hertfordshire, has owned his two bedroom first-floor flat in the town centre of Romford, Essex, for many years. A little over a year ago, he let his property to a single mother in receipt of housing benefit.

A local letting agent, which manages the property for Mr Selt, confirmed that the tenant and the rent guarantor, in place to ensure the tenant’s ability to fulfil her tenancy obligations, passed all referencing checks. However, after 4-5 months payments became irregular and eventually stopped altogether.

By this point, the twelve month tenancy agreement had come to an end and with £2000 rent arrears accrued, the landlord had no choice but to serve the tenant notice. The tenant surrendered the property and left with her belongings on the agreed date. The agent retrieved the keys from the property on the same day whilst carrying out his check-out report.

However, the next day the tenant along with her guarantor returned to the letting agent to ask if she could have the keys back and return to the property.  She informed them that Havering Council had said they would not rehouse her because she had voluntarily made herself homeless and that she should have remained in the property until she was evicted. When the agent refused, she explained that Havering Council had advised her that if the agent would not give the keys back, she should get a locksmith and break back into the property.

Robert Gordon, Property Manager for Mr Selt said:

“I went to the property the next morning to ensure everything was ok but my keys no longer worked. I could see that furniture had been moved back into the property. In an attempt to resolve the matter, I drove straight to the local council but no-one would speak to me or identify who had issued such ludicrous advice to a tenant who felt she had no choice but to break the law.”

Mr Selt is now faced with a sitting tenant and having to start eviction proceedings. Although he could take legal action against the tenant under a trespassing law, he has decided to serve a Section 21 notice and a Section 8 notice in a bid to get his property back and recover money owed as quickly as possible. It will now take approximately six to eight weeks for a judge to grant a possession order and if the tenant still refuses to leave, which she is likely to do based on advice by Havering Council, bailiffs will be called.

Landlord, Mr Lewis Selt, said:

“Not only am I not receiving rent on my property, I’m now faced with eviction costs and yet I’m powerless to do anything about it. The agent has done everything possible to protect my interests but landlords and agents are facing a losing battle if local authorities are going to issue such ridiculous advice.”

According to National Landlords Association (NLA), nearly half (49%) of tenants who have been served with a section 21 notice by their private landlord say they have been told to ignore it by their local council or an advice agency such as Shelter or the Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB).

In March 2016, the former Housing Minister Brandon Lewis wrote to all chief executives of local councils telling them to stop routinely advising tenants to stay put until the bailiff arrives, when they had been issued with a valid possession notice.

Paul Shamplina, Founder of Landlord Action, the company instructed by Mr Selt to evict his tenant, says:

“Local authorities are forcing landlords to go to court to gain possession, running up considerable costs. Landlords are losing confidence in the system and turning away from communities which rely on their private housing to bridge the gap in the chronic shortage of social housing. This advice is exasperating the problem and something needs to be done.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Council advises tenants to break into landlord’s property | LandlordZONE.

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HMO Legislation, Mandatory Certificates and Proposed Changes

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Landlords of student and professional house share accommodation all over the UK have a number of legal obligations to fulfill, and depending on the type of property you let or exactly where it is, there may be some additional considerations to take into account.

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Letter to my MP on recent Government meddling in the PRS

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Subject: DCLG Secretary of State misguided Perceptions

Dear Mr Johnson,

Mr Javid was recently quoted at a Conservative party conference about proposals for new laws on the Private rented sector ( as though we haven’t had enough over the past couple of years )

Could I draw the following to The Secretary of State’s attention.

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Council advises tenant to break back into landlord’s property

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It has been widely reported that in a bid to cope with Britain’s housing shortage, councils often advise tenants facing eviction, and in need of social housing, to stay put in buy-to-let properties when landlords ask them to leave.  This is because

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Prop-tech heavyweights launch lettings site HomeRenter

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HomeRenter, an online lettings platform, launches today in London. The platform offers landlords and tenants a one-stop-shop for managing the entire rental process.

HomeRenter aims to create an Airbnb-style marketplace for the UK’s private rental sector, without the traditional estate agent fees. Landlords and tenants are able to collaborate via the platform, which also offers landlords the ability to manage their entire portfolio remotely.

A more fair, equitable marketplace

According to CBRE, the largest commercial real estate services and investment firm in the world (2017), over 25% of homes in London are rented in the private rental sector. That’s 850,000 homes. The demand for housing is at an all-time high and over the next decade, an additional 416,000 London households will be in rental accommodation.

HomeRenter was created in 2016 with the intention to create a fairer, more equitable online marketplace for the UK’s private landlords and renters. It has so far received £780,000 in external investment.

The lettings-only marketplace was founded by property entrepreneurs, Sean Quinn and Jim Thomas. Both currently run Q Developments, a property company with a twenty-year history of delivering development schemes across London. They are joined by Will Handley, a private landlord with a career previously in marketing. Through their own rental portfolios, the three founders have acquired extensive experience of the lettings industry as professional and private landlords.

Cutting out the middle man

The platform itself caters to four connected audiences – private landlords, tenants, key-holders and service providers.

For landlords, the site operates as a place to advertise, let and manage their rental properties on a subscription model across tenancies. Everything is managed through the site, including e-signature of leases.

To assist with finding tenants, landlords get access to a fledgling community of fully-vetted key-holders, known as HomeViewers, to help conduct viewings. HomeViewers conduct the tenant viewings on behalf of the landlords.

HomeRenter has partnerships with Rightmove, Zoopla and PrimeLocation, meaning landlords can promote their properties on all leading portals with HomeRenter.

Zero tenant fees

For tenants, the site allows them to create a permanent profile where they can manage their tenant history, conduct a rental search and view landlord ratings. The site allows tenants to search for future rentals and put a holding deposit on properties for up to 72 hours. HomeRenter charges no admin fee to tenants.

To deliver property maintenance, HomeRenter has partnered with Central Index, the largest services directory in UK.

Co-founder and CEO Will Handley commented, “As landlords, we believe the rental market works best when you remove the middleman and allow property owners and renters to connect in person. This is why we created HomeRenter and why we’ve set ourselves the aim of creating a fairer, more equitable online marketplace for UK’s private landlords and renters.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Prop-tech heavyweights launch lettings site HomeRenter | LandlordZONE.

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