Are private landlords going soft in their old age?

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Public perception of private landlords is often that they are a tight fisted bunch looking for any opportunity to hike up rents or make tenants homeless. However, a recent Just Giving campaign goes at least some way to dispelling this myth.

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The Lords is examining the Creditworthiness Assessment Bill

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Tenant Creditworthiness:

The Creditworthiness Assessment Bill, which is progressing through the House of Lords, and is looking increasingly like it will reach the statute book, has had its committee stage, a chance for the Lords to scrutinise it line by line, on Friday 11 May.

This is a private member’s bill brought by Lord Bird, founder of the homelessness publication, the Big Issue, to address the fact that at the moment rental payments by over 10m tenants in the UK do not count towards any sort of assessment of creditworthiness in the same way that other financial payments do.

A private member’s bill is a type of public bill (that affects the public). Private members’ bills must go through the same set of procedures as other public bills in Parliament.

For some time now there have been calls for the way tenants pay rent to be taken into account when creditworthiness assessments (credit checks to you and me) are carried out.

This bill if passed will require rent payment histories to be taken into account when assessing a borrower’s creditworthiness.

The Creditworthiness Assessment Bill, which has received widespread all-party support in the House of Lords, had its first reading June 2017 and its second reading, the key debate on the draft law’s purpose and principles, last November 2017. It has now got through its Committee Stage on Friday last.

There were fears that the bill would be stymied by amendments, but these fears proved unfounded as the amendments were withdrawn.

Lord Bird said:

“If there are any unintended consequences then it is our duty to look at legislation and not simply write-off 80 per cent of people in order to protect 20 when the best thing you can do to protect them is to find out who they are, get very close to them and embrace them. Those are the people I know, the people I work with and the people I come from and there is absolutely no way I would ever come close to grassing them up� he told peers on Friday.

Industry experts say that the practical difficulties of recording payment histories accurately when thousands of private landlords are involved, as opposed to major financial institutions, and big retailers, will be a severe test of this idea.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – The Lords is examining the Creditworthiness Assessment Bill | LandlordZONE.

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£1.36 million in TPO awards

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The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has today released its 2017 annual report.

Property Ombudsman Katrine Sporle confirms the number of complaints received rose by 3% to 3,658.  TPO made financial awards to consumers in 2,408 instances which totaled £1.36 million

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Are Brokers the New Bankers?

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Long gone are the days when you could approach your bank manager and they would use their discretion regarding granting a loan.

Bank lending to small and medium-sized businesses has shrunk substantially since the financial crises. New regulations make it more difficult for banks to lend to companies

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Longer tenancy call during housing debate

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Calls for tax incentives for longer tenancies were made during the Government’s debate on housing and homes. MPs speaking in the re-arranged debate yesterday raised concerns about security for families with Sir Robert Syms, Conservative MP for Poole and Former Chair of the APPG for the PRS reiterating the RLA’s call for tax incentives for […]

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Section 24 Campaign Arrives in Poole

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Poole is the latest City to see the erection of a Section 24 campaign billboard.

It is located just off Old Wareham Road, Poole BH12 4QS and traffic data shows that 928,000 motorists will pass it every month.

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Quick-fire FAQ’s on GDPR

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With GDPR deadline fast approaching, here we speak to Landlord Advice Team Manager Rupinder Aujla about the common questions that landlords are calling to ask. What does GDPR stand for? GDPR stands for General Data Protection Legislation. Replacing the Data Protection Act, it is likely that all landlords will be affected by the new rules […]

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Mental Health Awareness Week: How do you feel?

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When was the last time you felt stressed? As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, the RLA is encouraging landlords to pause and take the time to consider their mental wellbeing. Mental Health Awareness Week is an annual national campaign organised by the Mental Health Foundation.This year, the campaign is focusing in particular on stress, […]

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The importance of a Tenancy Application Form

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The Application Form

You should always use a comprehensive Tenancy Application Form when taking on a new tenant. You need a completed application for each adult tenant in the property.

The Tenancy application form is a very important starting point for any residential or commercial property letting. The application collects the background (biographical) information about a prospective tenant and provides sufficient information to do detailed screening checks, including a brief interview, credit checks and referencing.

It also informs the tenant in a formal way about the tenancy, about your data protection obligations (GDPR), and includes a statement of truth for the tenant to sign. The form gives you permission to carry out your checks and where necessary pass on the applicant’s personal details to third parties.

You should tell your prospective tenant that to save time it is very important that all sections of the form are completed and that one form is needed for each adult occupant.

A Tenant’s Application Form is the most important document after the tenancy agreement.

The application form records permanently the tenant’s declaration as to his or her identity, previous residences and employment histories, income status, referees, and personal details  – smoker? pets? other occupants, next of kin, children, vehicles etc.

It also confirms the tenant’s understanding of the property to be let, the type and length of tenancy and basic terms, the costs and expenses to be paid and the rent and deposit required.

The completed form represents an important legal document which forms the basis of the tenant screening or verifying process and the contract. It will provide sufficient information to enable the landlord to contact the tenant, or his or her relatives, even if the tenant absconds.

The information contained on the form will become invaluable should you subsequently need to take your tenant to court for an eviction or a money claim.

Inform your prospects that the form should be returned as soon as possible so that references can be taken up quickly and a credit search carried out.

You will find more information and a selection of tenancy application forms here:

www.tenantverify.co.uk

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Up to 380,000 landlords looking to let go of property!

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A significant number of homes suitable for first time buyers could flood the market in the coming year as new figures show approximately 380,000 landlords 19% intend to offload property.

The figures indicate that 45% of landlords who intend to sell property in the coming year plan to sell individual flats and apartments

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