Mick Roberts on BBC Radio Nottingham

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Our Own Property118 member Mick Roberts appears on BBC Radio Nottingham’s Mark Dennison Show. Mick tells it how it is in his own inimitable style and how Selective Licensing is going to directly affect his Benefits Tenants.

Click Here for BBC Iplayer

Mark Dennison starts talking about Licensing @ 1hr 12min and 30 seconds.

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Universal Credit deficit on rent?

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I have had a tenant move out of a property recently and because it was 2 weeks into the month I was told that I would not get the rental payment.

The Universal Credit team told me that if it had been 3.5 weeks into to the month I probably would of got the rent.

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Upad launches “Pay on Success” letting pricing model

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Online Lettings:

Upad.co.uk, the UK’s leading online letting agent, has revamped its payment options with the launch of ‘Pay on Success’ for its premium offering.  The move comes in direct response to client feedback.

“Pay on Success” is the most comprehensive of Upad’s pricing options and is intended to appeal to the less experienced or first-time landlord.  It includes a premium Rightmove listing with professional photography, as well as all the necessary paperwork to ensure the tenancy meets all compliancy requirements.  Importantly, the £399 fee is only payable once a tenant has been secured and the referencing process starts.

James Davis is founder and CEO of Upad and himself an experienced landlord with a large portfolio of rental properties.  He explains the rationale behind the shift:

“We continually review our service to landlords.  This ensures that the options we provide not only meet their current needs but exceed expectations and allow us to stand-out in comparison to traditional high street agents.  The launch of our ‘Pay on Success’ package is one such innovation.

“Landlords don’t come in one size and we’ve always offered a variety of options to reflect this”

Upad was founded ten years ago and from day one has been committed to providing landlords with a fresh approach to operating their property portfolios – one which stands in stark contrast to many of the more traditional high street operations.  It’s a model which appears to work with landlord registrations increasing all the time.  James continues:

“In the final quarter of 2017, the number of landlords registering to use Upad’s services grew by 20% compared to the same period a year before and that’s at a time when we’re being told landlords are withdrawing from the market!

“The introduction of ‘Pay on Success’ has already been very positively received.  Early performance data shows that this package is proving twice as popular as the ‘Upad Complete’ offer which it replaced – a fact which we believe demonstrates how we deliver what landlords really want.

“Legislative changes may have deterred some landlords, but those with a strategic, long-term view who wish to remain in control of how they operate their portfolios, are demonstrating their commitment to the sector by choosing innovative, cost-effective, services such as those offered by Upad.”

Full details of all the pricing options offered by Upad can be found at: https://www.upad.co.uk/products-and-pricing

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Upad launches “Pay on Success” letting pricing model | LandlordZONE.

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Mandatory Electrical Checks a Step Closer

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Electrical Safety Checks:

Views and comments are now being sought on the recommendations made by the Private Rented Sector Electrical Safety Working Group following its initial consultation.

The working group has recommended introducing 5 yearly mandatory electrical installation checks for private rented property and that other safety checks (landlords / agents checking appliances between tenancies) be encouraged as good practice and set out in guidelines.

This ongoing consultation is inviting views and comments from interested parties to gather additional evidence on the recommendations made by the working group. The newly titled Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) says that any legislation brought forward as a result of this consultation will be subject to the appropriate Parliamentary approval.

The final outcome of the consultation will be linked to the conclusion of Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety following the Grenfell fire incident, due in the spring this year.

The plan is that five-yearly electrical installation and safety checks for all private rented properties will become mandatory, and, similar to the gas checks, safety certificates will be issued to tenants to show that the checks and any necessary repair work have been completed.

The new Housing Minister Heather Wheeler has launched a follow on consultation on the proposals which will also seek to decide how best to enforce the strengthened safety regime, on the setting up of a private rented sector electrical testing competent person’s scheme to ensure properly trained experts undertake this testing, and it seems likely that penalties will be along the lines of other landlord failings of up to £30,000.

It is argued that the checks will make properties safer for tenants and will also safeguard landlords’ investments by helping prevent fires.

Available statistics show that tenants in private rented sector housing face a greater risk that home owners of being involved in an electrical incident, electrical shock or house fires due to electrical faults in the wiring and in appliances.

Powers provided for in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 will allow the department to introduce regulations which will provide for these additional measures.

These come on top of a slew of recent initiatives and potential new rules aimed at tackling rogue landlords and improving the quality of private rented properties:

• Automatic fines by local authorities of up to £30,000 and banning orders for rogue landlords for seriously breaching various regulations
• Rent recovery fines
• A Bill giving tenants the right to take legal action against landlords for unsafe properties.
• The government has said it has committed to changing the law to require all landlords to join a redress scheme making sure that every tenant has access to effective dispute resolution.

Heather Wheeler has said:

“Everyone deserves a safe place to live. While measures are already in place to crack down on the minority of landlords who rent out unsafe properties we need to do more to protect tenants,’ said Wheeler.

“That’s why we introduced powers to enable stronger electrical safety standards to be brought in along with tough penalties for those who don’t comply. We want to ensure we strike the right balance between protecting tenants while being fair for landlords. So I want to hear from as many people as possible whether these independent recommendations are the right approach.”

Electrical safety in the private rented sector – more information here

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Mandatory Electrical Checks a Step Closer | LandlordZONE.

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Selective Licensing Scheme ‘Additional Powers’ Ruled Illegal By Court of Appeal

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News 24 has reported that the Court of Appeal has ruled that councils cannot use selective licensing conditions to impose new standards on private rented homes.

Paul Brown, a landlord in Accrington, is challenging Hyndburn Council which sought to use its selective licensing scheme in certain areas of the borough to force the installation of carbon monoxide detectors and also to carry out electrical safety checks and implement their findings.

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Do you have student accommodation or developments to sell?

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Lettingsupermarket.com are assisting in the representation of a large Investment Group based in the U.S. who specialise in the acquisition of Student Accommodation.

They currently have over £300m invested in Student Accommodation developments in the U.S., with over 3,000 units across Maryland

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BBC Panorama attacks Section 21 ‘no-fault evictions’

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Once more, last night, landlords watched with trepidation as the BBC presented a so-called investigation into the use of Section 21 notices in the private rented sector.

The inauspicious title: ‘Evicted for no reason,’ warned us that we should expect the usual bias and inaccuracy as Section 21s are not served for no reason.

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Speedy writs of possession

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Here at the Sheriffs Office we have been pleasantly surprised at the speedy turnaround of writs of possession over the past few months. This can be a huge advantage to landlords for whom receiving rental income is important, and to whom rogue tenants have caused undue stress and financial hardship.

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Landlords, Let Your Property for Free!

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HomeRenter, the online lettings marketplace which launched a beta version in Autumn 2017 and seeks to cut out the estate agency middleman, has launched a new trial proposition for landlords starting this month.

The site is offering landlords a no-strings-attached, six-month free trial of the service that includes 30 days worth of advertising across leading property search portals such as Rightmove, Zoopla and PrimeLocation, a bookable viewing service, tenant referencing tools, access to digital lease contracts with e-signature and a HomeRenter To Let board for free. Full details can be found here: https://www.homerenter.co.uk/landlords

The aim behind HomeRenter is to create an online platform where landlords feel comfortable managing their rental property or, indeed portfolio, across the duration of their ownership.

As such, landlords are encouraged to list properties on a rolling annual membership package, and the 6-month free trial is a taster of the full membership offer which bundles in 90 days of portal advertisements, plus complimentary tenant referencing and professional photography.

Who’s eligible?

The offer applies per property loaded by an individual landlord – so, theoretically, if you’re lucky enough to be a portfolio landlord you could upload each of your properties to a trial package.

HomeRenter only works with the residential lettings market so, whilst the offer doesn’t apply to commercial premises, it is open to the full spectrum of rental homes from buy-to-let investments, second homes, through to rooms to let in house-shares by live-in landlords and HMOs.

What’s the catch?

The 6-month trial has no hidden fees and users are free to cancel at any point in time with no commitment to upgrade to an annual membership fee. The portal advertising can be used when most needed, so landlords whose properties aren’t yet in ‘tenant find’ mode can ‘bank’ their adverts and use as required across the six month trial. Likewise, if a landlord is using a property for short term lets, they can use every aspect of the trial across multiple tenancies.

Will Handley, CEO and Co-founder of HomeRenter commented,

“Thanks to Section 24 and a raft of tax measures penalising the buy-to-let sector, private landlords are having an incredibly tough time of it in 2018 and, as things stand, matters will only get worse as tighter measures begin to bite – so our free trial couldn’t come at a better time for UK landlords!

We believe our free trial represents out-of-this-world value for today’s stressed-out landlords, and, whilst there’s no requirement to upgrade to the annual paid-for membership, we obviously hope we’ll see landlords stay the course with us once they’ve sampled the HomeRenter experience!”.

More details of HomeRenter’s landlord packages can be found here: https://www.homerenter.co.uk/landlords

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlords, Let Your Property for Free! | LandlordZONE.

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Some Licensing Scheme rules are illegal

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Selective Licensing:

The Court of Appeal has today ruled that councils cannot use selective licensing conditions to impose new standards on private rented homes.

The case saw Paul Brown, a landlord in Accrington, challenging Hyndburn Council which sought to use its selective licensing scheme in certain areas of the Borough to force the installation of carbon monoxide detectors and also to carry out electrical safety checks and implement their findings.  The case was supported by the Residential Landlords Association.

Whilst Mr Brown had already carried out both of these requirements, he argued that imposing such standards through licensing schemes went beyond the powers available to local authorities. The Court of Appeal has today agreed.

Instead, the Court, Mr Brown and the RLA argued that rather than relying on licensing schemes which only cover certain properties, electrical and gas safety issues are best addressed by councils using the extensive powers they already have under the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). This is the risk-based evaluation tool to help local authorities identify and protect against potential risks and hazards to health and safety from any deficiencies identified in dwellings. Crucially, this applies to all private rented homes, whether they require a licence or not.

The RLA is calling for the guidance associated with the HHSRS, which was last published in 2006, to be updated urgently to reflect considerable changes in the sector since then. This would better support councils to use and enforce their powers under this system.

The RLA Policy Adviser, Richard Jones, said:

“This case was not about trying to stop Councils from imposing requirements.  It was about how they go about this ensuring that they use the proper processes which already exist.

“Today’s judgement is a reminder that councils already have extensive powers to deal with properties found to be unsafe and they must act in a legal manner.”

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

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Some Licensing Scheme rules are illegal | LandlordZONE.

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