Proud to be a Landlord

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Within the last ten minutes I have received proof that being a fair, kind and friendly landlord who provides good quality accommodation and communicates with their tenants, pays off and is appreciated.

During the last couple of weeks it has been necessary to get a couple of minor repairs done at two properties.

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Fed up with all the landlord bashing – What’s the alternative?

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I am a portfolio landlord and now fed up with all the legislation and landlord bashing from the government.

Can your reader advise us of any safe alternatives to BTL investments.

We want to retire and ideally like hands off investment if possible.

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Fergus Wilson’s response to “Hero or Villain”

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Please see the response from Fergus Wilson to the article “Kent Landlord – Hero or Villain“:

“Hi, I have noted the Property118 article this morning.

Property 118 talks about Zealots. We call them Petty Little Hitlers (PLH).

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Estate Agent expelled from RICS over price fixing cartel

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Estate Agency:

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last year imposed fines totalling £370,000 on five estate agency firms based in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset.

Six firms were found guilty of breaking competition law by fixing minimum commission rates at 1.5%, which meant none of the agents would lower their fees beyond that margin, ensuring they all made a higher profit.

Now, following a disciplinary hearing at RICS, agents Greenslade Taylor Hunt, were formally charged by RICS with being a party to fixing minimum fees, lacking integrity and acting dishonestly.

The RICS disciplinary panel found that Jeremy Bell, a partner at Greenslade Taylor Hunt, had taken part in the cartel, and had been dishonest but did not uphold the alternative charge of lack of integrity and the panel found the charge against Greenslade Taylor Hunt unproven.

However, the RICS disciplinary hearing found Greenslade Taylor Hunt was guilty of a charge of failing to have adequate controls, and proper training and monitoring procedures in place.

Bell had co-operated fully with the RICS during its investigation, also voluntarily sharing information with the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, which suspended him for a year, and Propertymark, which imposed on him a £1,000 fine.

It also emerged that Bell, who it was said has an unblemished 30-year track record in the industry, and had never discussed the price-fixing cartel with his other partners in the firm, had been made personally liable by his firm to pay the full £170,549 CMA fine, plus the fine of £1,000 imposed by Propertymark NAEA. Bell was also put on enforced leave of absence from Greenslade Taylor Hunt.

The firm had co-operated fully with the RICS investigation and said in mitigation that the cartel had been an “isolated incident involving one individual in one office�. It said it was “determined to learn from the matter� and had put a number of procedures in place to prevent it happening again.

The firm has now asked Bell to return to work after an absence of six weeks, and has changed his responsibilities in the firm, limited his role to agricultural work that did not require RICS accreditation.

The RICS disciplinary hearing follows on from a CMA investigation into the alleged cartel operation last year involving the six Burnham-on-sea agents:  Greenslade Taylor Hunt, Abbot and Frost Estate Agents, Annagram Estates, Gary Berryman Estate Agents, Saxons PS and West Coast Property Services.

The sixth firm, Annagram Estates Limited, trading as CJ Hole, had not been fined along with the others as it was the first to confess its involvement in the arrangement and cooperated fully with the investigation.

The six estate agents, who had a market share between them in Burnham of around 95 per cent, met up to agree their minimum commission rates at 1.5 per cent, effectively removing competition from the local estate agency market. They had used a sophisticated system to police price control within the group.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that it had taken action against estate agents before with a Fleet in Hampshire case resulting in penalties totalling more than £735,000. It said that these cases raised concerns that the sector “does not properly understand the seriousness of anti-competitive conduct and the consequences of breaking competition law�.

Codes of Practice for Agents – here

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Great Yarmouth licensing consultation proposals ‘unlawful’ – RLA

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Several of the proposals that have been included in Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s plans to introduce selective licensing in the Nelson area of the town are unlawful-the RLA is warning in its consultation response on the plans. Under Section 80 of the Housing Act 2004, Great Yarmouth Borough Council is proposing to bring parts of […]

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16% off list price and 12.7% return on deposit invested

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We are delighted to offer readers another fantastic opportunity, featuring 2 & 3 bed contemporary new build houses with lots of extras in St Helens, near Liverpool.

These houses have been discounted by 16% off list prices and are available for only £117,000 for a 2 bed

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Advice from the NAEA on how to select an Estate Agent

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Selecting an estate agent to market your home can be a daunting task, especially with so many to choose from. When trusting someone to sell your biggest asset, it’s essential you know what you’re signing up for in order to get it sold quickly

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Property sales down 8.8% from last year

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HMRC have released their monthly UK property transaction count for June 2018 and the number of non-adjusted residential transactions was 8.8% lower than in June 2017.

Whilst many landlords are paying more tax due to Section 24 mortgage interest relief restrictions

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Additional licensing in Nottingham ‘unnecessary financial burden’

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The RLA has responded to a consultation on introducing additional licensing in some areas Nottingham by arguing that it if it is introduced it would be a financial burden for landlords affected. “Unnecessary financial burden” In its response to the additional licensing consultation, which you can read here the RLA say that the proposed cost for landlords […]

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NAPIT welcomes Mandatory Electrical Checks

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Electrical Checks:

The National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers (NAPIT) has hailed the forthcoming introduction of new electrical inspection requirements in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) as a significant step forward.

This reaction follows the Housing Secretary James Brokenshire’s announcement that private landlords will be required to ensure electrical installations in their properties are inspected every five years.

Mr Brokenshire has also launched a consultation into the fire safety guidance contained in the Building Regulations, following recommendations made in the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety.

The NAPIT Trade Association Chairman, Frank Bertie, says:

“Introducing these checks has the potential to dramatically improve safety in the Private Rented Sector, and ultimately save lives. The NAPIT Trade Association has long been calling for inspections to be required at least every five years, and we set out this position in our response to the Government’s consultation into electrical safety in the Private Rented Sector earlier this year.

“We hope that the Government will recognise that these checks should be carried out by a qualified electrical inspector, and supported by an Electrical Installation Condition Report, to ensure that they are carried out to the required standard.�

Over 400 people are injured or killed in fires started by electrical distribution systems every year, and a survey of NAPIT Trade Association members found that tenants in privately rented properties were being put at significant risk.

Over 40% of NAPIT members said that they found more serious electrical hazards in private rented homes than in any other form of tenure, and over 90% supported the idea of mandatory electrical safety checks every five years.

The NAPIT Trade Association has pushed this proposal to Governments in both England and Wales this year, advocating that they come into line with the regulations in the Scottish Private Rented Sector.

NAPIT also regularly delivers electrical safety presentations to private landlords, and has spoken to over 1,000 landlords since the start of the year to raise awareness of the importance of ensuring electrical installations are properly maintained.

To find out more about NAPIT’s proposed improvements to electrical safety in the Private Rented Sector, see here

For more information on NAPIT’s promotion of electrical safety to landlords and Local Authorities, see here

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – NAPIT welcomes Mandatory Electrical Checks | LandlordZONE.

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