New Government powers to ban landlords and additional HMO regulations

admin    Uncategorized     agents

From April 2018 any landlord convicted for the criminal offences of blackmail, theft,  handling stolen goods, harassment and stalking will automatically be banned from letting out property and added to the new rogue landlords database.

In addition Housing Minister

The post New Government powers to ban landlords and additional HMO regulations appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: New Government powers to ban landlords and additional HMO regulations

Rural landlords worried about energy efficiency uncertainty

admin    Uncategorized     agents

MEES:

Uncertainty surrounds the requirements for landlords to meet the April 1^st 2018 deadline for all new private residential lettings to meet minimum energy standards with an EPC rating no lower than E.

A government consultation has been opened this week into the details of the MEES implementation and will close just two weeks before the new rules come into force.

www.farminguk.com is warning that this uncertainly could result in chaos for rural landlords in the residential lettings market, not knowing until the last minute how to comply with the new energy efficiency standards, known as MEES – Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards.

After April 1^st 2018 it will be illegal for a private landlord to let a property with an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating lower than E to a new tenant, but landlords are still in the dark as to exactly what is required and what they will be expected to do, until the consultation ends.

The Country Landowners Association (CLA) has said that although it supports the principles behind the MEES, time has run out for the Government to consult properly on changes and provide the right guidance to landlords.

Tim Breitmeyer, CLA President, has said that the residential lettings market will be in “chaos” as time has run out on Government, leaving itself insufficient time to consult on the necessary changes to the MEES legislation, and to ensure that landlords are given the correct guidance to meet the requirements on time.

Mr Breitmeyer has said:

“We have repeatedly called on the Government to revise the MEES regulations for the past two years but time is running out.

“Closing this consultation just two weeks before the rules take effect is really leaving landlords in the lurch.

“Properties could be taken off the rural rental market because some landlords will be unable to find the money needed to make energy improvements at such short notice.”

Speaking about the poor timing of the consultation Mr Breitmeyer said that despite this, the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have come up with some sensible ideas to help landlords make homes more energy efficient.

He went on:

“The proposed cost cap of £2,500 per property goes some way to help clarify and simplify the contribution a landlord must make.

“However, landlords who acted early to comply with MEES are penalised because only money spent after 1 October 2017 will count towards to the cap.

“We will be responding to the consultation to argue that any money spent improving a property since the regulations were first published in July 2015 should count towards it.”

Domestic Private Rented Sector minimum level of energy efficiency – consultation here

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Rural landlords worried about energy efficiency uncertainty | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Rural landlords worried about energy efficiency uncertainty

NO Taxation WITHOUT Representation!

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Recent introductions and extensions of charges on landlords by local authorities suggest to me that landlords (and indeed any business in an area) should have a right to vote in local authority elections in areas where they own property.

Time to start a campaign?

The post NO Taxation WITHOUT Representation! appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: NO Taxation WITHOUT Representation!

Councils collecting thousands from landlords in civil penalty fines.

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Rogue Landlords:

Since the introduction of civil penalties for landlords many councils are stepping up their campaigns to bring rogue landlords to book.

As part of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, the government introduced a range of new measures which are now available to councils in their dealings with rogue landlords. Civil penalties are an effective and far quicker alternative to court prosecutions, plus rent repayments orders, banning orders and the introduction of a database for rogue landlords and letting agents are all helping councils tackle the problem of rogue landlords and letting agents.

Oxford City Council has collected a total of £31,606 in penalties for housing offences from its first three cases since the introduction of new financial penalty powers to help crackdown on rogue landlords and improve safety for renters.

In the biggest of the three fines, a landlord who owns a rented property on Garsington Road received financial penalties totalling £25,298 for failing to licence it as a house in multiple occupation (HMO) and uphold HMO management standards. Environmental Health staff from the City Council visited the property in April 2017 and found it occupied by four tenants.

The landlord was issued a financial penalty of £7,149 for failing to licence the property as well as an additional £18,149 for four separate fire safety failures. He had previously been convicted in 2015 of a related housing offence.

In the case involving the second largest fine, Council staff inspected a property in Jericho in April 2017 and found it to be an unlicensed HMO. After investigations, the Council gave the landlord a financial penalty of £5,073.92 for failing to renew his HMO licence. This was despite multiple letters and emails from the Council advising him to do so dating back to 2015.

The third landlord was given a financial penalty of £1,234 for renting out an HMO on Iffley Road whose licence had expired in 2014. All three landlords cannot be named for legal reasons.

The new financial penalty powers, which came into force in April 2017 under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, allow local authorities to impose penalties of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution for a range of housing offences. Councils are able to retain all of the income and spend it on private sector housing enforcement.

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Board Member for Planning and Regulatory Services, said: “I’m pleased that the Council can now take swift action against landlords who break the rules, and do it without the costs of taking a case through the courts. We will continue to use these new powers to drive up standards in the private housing sector and protect tenants from unsafe homes and rogue landlords.”

The Council is able to set the civil penalties at a level to deter re-offending and remove any financial benefit from committing the offence.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Councils collecting thousands from landlords in civil penalty fines. | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Councils collecting thousands from landlords in civil penalty fines.

Pressure HMRC on CGT when reinvesting?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

For those of us who have held properties for a long period of time you are all probably aware that once upon a time there was a thing called ‘Taper Relief’ which year by year reduced your liability to CGT should you sell the property.

The post Pressure HMRC on CGT when reinvesting? appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Pressure HMRC on CGT when reinvesting?

Is your Landlords Insurance renewing in the New Year?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Operated on behalf of Property118 by The Property Insurer in conjunction with Discount Insurance, our brokers GUARANTEE to beat the premium you are quoted elsewhere on a ‘like-for-like’ basis.

What’s more, by using our recommended Landlords Insurance providers you will also be helping to fund the running costs of Property118.com so you save money and our community benefits too.

The post Is your Landlords Insurance renewing in the New Year? appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Is your Landlords Insurance renewing in the New Year?

HMRC “Tackling the Hidden Economy”

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The HMRC consultation titled “Tackling the Hidden Economy” has identified HMOs and selective licensing in the private rental sector as an option for developing tax-registration checks.

The consultation proposes to tackle different areas of the hidden (non tax paying) economy by making access to licences needed to trade conditional on tax compliance

The post HMRC “Tackling the Hidden Economy” appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: HMRC “Tackling the Hidden Economy”

Government Rethink on MEES

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Energy Ratings of Lettings:

Landlords have welcomed the Government’s decision to moderate the amount it expects landlords to pay for energy efficiency improvements to comply with the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard. This is where homes have to meet a minimum of Energy Performance Certificate rating E.

This new requirement for landlords comes into force for new lets and tenancy renewals from April 2018 and for all residential lets from April 2020.

The original Government proposals were that landlords would be required to pay up to £5,000 per property upfront to meet new energy efficiency standards. In a new consultation, Ministers have followed the recommendations of the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) and have cut the limit to £2,500.

The RLA argued that this would help avert a new ‘Green Tax’ on tenants as costs inevitably get passed on to them in higher rents.

Whilst the cap has been lowered, the RLA is calling for changes to the flagship scheme for tackling fuel poverty.

Under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), large gas and electricity suppliers are obliged to help households with energy efficiency measures.

An analysis by the RLA has found that up to June 2017, just 14 per cent of all funding under the ECO scheme was spent in the private rented sector despite the sector representing 20 per cent of all households and also having proportionately more older properties than other sectors.

With 43 per cent of private rented homes having solid walls, more than any other housing type, fuel poverty is worse in the private rented sector than in any other tenure.

The RLA is calling for a portion of funding under ECO to be ring-fenced to recognise the unique challenges in the private rented sector. It also wants measures recommended on an Energy Performance Certificate to be tax deductible when carried out.

RLA Policy Consultant, Richard Jones, said:

“The Government has clearly listened to the RLA and cut in half the original cap on how much landlords would be expected to pay for energy efficiency improvements. This is welcome news for tenants as it will mean costs being kept down.

“However, the RLA still has concerns that the government is proposing to abandon the principle that the landlord should not have to pay the cost of the work upfront.

“We recognise the importance of tenants living in warm homes. That is why it is vital that the funding is available under ECO to make improvements to their properties.”

The RLA represents over 50,000 private sector residential landlords in England and Wales.

The Government’s consultation can be accessed here

The RLA’s call’s for the cap to be £2,500 rather than £5,000 can be read here

The Government’s most recent household energy efficiency statistics can be accessed here

It finds that as of June 2017, 1,702,003 households were in receipt of ECO funding, of which 242,348 were in the private rented sector. That means that 14.2% of all ECO funding has been spent on the private rented sector.

The Government’s most recent fuel poverty statistics can be accessed here

It reports that 21.3% of private rented households are classed as being in fuel poverty, a higher proportion than any other sector.

The 2015/16 English Housing Survey is available here

It reports that:

20% of households are in the private rented sector;

34% of private rented homes were built before 1919, compared to 20% of owner occupied homes and 6% of social sector homes.

According to the annex tables alongside the survey, of 4,743,000 private rented properties, 2,041,000 had solid walls (43%), a higher proportion than all other housing tenures.

The Government’s guidance for landlords on the minimum energy efficiency regulations can be accessed here

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Government Rethink on MEES | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Government Rethink on MEES

LandlordZONE® Prize Draw Winners

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The winners so far…. Two lucky winners of £50 Amazon gift cards, both regular LandlordZONE® visitors, have received their prizes today courtesy of LandlordZONE® and the sponsors featured in this newsletter:

Maintenance fitter and part-time landlord Phill Bookham
Phill says, Wow that’s great! – I’m a maintenance fitter by trade, I got married a few years ago and became an accidental landlord renting out my wife’s house. We both enjoyed the experience and we now have five rental properties.

Landlords’ Gas Safety Inspector John Fallon
John says, That’s a welcome surprise!!! – My company www.landlordgasinspections.co.uk carries out Landlords’ Gas Safety Inspections & Boiler servicing for London’s Landlord’s. Further winners will be announced soon, watch this space…

The team at LandlordZONE® would like to thank all our website visitors and advertisers for all their support during 2017, and we wish everyone a peaceful, happy and prosperous Christmas and New Year.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LandlordZONE® Prize Draw Winners | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: LandlordZONE® Prize Draw Winners

Five Warnings for 2018 – #5 The Tenant Fee Ban

admin    Uncategorized     agents

A short series from landlord & tenant lawyer Tessa Shepperson on things you need to watch out for.

I include this not because the rules are likely to come into force in 2018 (although this is not impossible)

The post Five Warnings for 2018 – #5 The Tenant Fee Ban appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Five Warnings for 2018 – #5 The Tenant Fee Ban