In pictures: RLA 20th anniversary reception

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The RLA welcomed Peers, MPs, senior civil servants and property experts from across the industry to an event in Parliament to mark 20 years of the RLA. Housing Secretary, James Brokenshire MP and Shadow Housing Secretary, John Healey MP spoke at the celebration, with a collection of essays looking at the future of the private rented […]

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Are DBS checks reasonable for landlord licensing?

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Bath and NE Somerset Council have introduced a basic DBS check as part of its new licensing requirements. It also has a Fit and Proper Person form that must be completed by the proposed licence holder.

If you lie when signing the declaration the Council says it can prosecute you –

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Please send this to your MP

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[add your address here]

Dear [insert your MP’s name]

There is a major discrepancy in the treatment of SME’s in regards to relief at the point of incorporation if a business (ie moving to Limited company status).

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BoE base rate has trebled within a year but …

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Property118 founder Mark Alexander shares his predictions on the future of BTL for established BTL landlords and his thoughts on mortgage lending generally.

Since November 2017 the Bank of England base rate has increased 300%, from 0.25% to 0.75%.

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Declarations of Trust – Is Lender Consent Required?

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This question has come up in every live webinar I’ve ever participated in. Also, I often see the question in Facebook groups, so I’ve decided it’s about time I write an article on the subject which I can refer people to whenever the topic is raised.

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Agent fined £32,000 for HMO letting

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Agent Fine:

Willesden Magistrates Court imposed the fine on letting agent Viviane Almieda of Falcondale Court, Lakeside Drive in Park Royal who ran My London Services Ltd.

She rented out an unsafe, tiny room behind a kitchen and has been ordered to pay a £30,000 fine plus £2,090 in court costs and a £170 victim surcharge by the court on 11 September 2018.

The agent knowingly kept the tenant in a “cooped up in a tiny roomâ€�.  Ms Almeida pleaded guilty to breaching HMO licensing conditions, including failing to comply with the council’s amenity and space standards as well as obstructing the council’s investigation, the court heard.

She had ignored warnings from enforcement officers that a tiny room behind the kitchen was not safe to rent out because it was a fire hazard. The room also measured less than 6.5 square metres – the minimum legal requirement for a single bedroom.

Cllr Eleanor Southwood, Cabinet Member for Housing and Welfare Reform, said:

“Housing tenants in rooms that are too small and hazardous to fire risks is illegal. There’s no excuse for it. Landlords, agencies or subletters who exploit tenants will pay heavily in court. Every resident in Brent has the right to a decent standard of living.”

There are three separate entries on the Mayor of London’s Rogue landlord and agent checker: enforcement action details and criminal convictions for Viviane Cristina Da Silva Almeida, sole director of My London Services, for more regulation breaches in the London Borough of Southwark – here , here and here

After the 1^st of October any property that is rented out, regardless of the number of storeys, to five or more people who are not all related will require a mandatory HMO licence, and new minimum room sizes will apply.

Landlords with properties of this type, who don’t have an HMO licence should apply without delay – there is no grace period.

Most local authorities have an online application process similar to that provided by Brent Council here: www.brent.gov.uk/prslicensing

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Landlords around Salisbury invited to be a VIP guest of Mark Smith (Cotswold Barristers) on Wednesday 19th September 2018

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Our Hon. Legal Counsel, Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers will be presenting an overview of several landlords tax strategies at the Salisbury PIN meeting on Wednesday 19th September 2018.

The event will start at 6pm and officially close at 9am

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Network Rail sells rail arches portfolio

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Commercial Property Deal:

In what is one of the biggest UK property deals of the century, Network Rail has finalised the sale of more than 5,000 railway arches for £1.5bn

After years in the planning this controversial offloading of Network Rail’s arches estate, the government owned property is being sold to raise funds for substantial railway improvements.

The vast bundle of let properties has been sold by Network Rail to a joint venture involving an international private equity fund and a UK based property asset manager.

Blackstone Property Partners, one of the world’s biggest private equity funds, specialising in property, and UK asset manager Telereal Trillium, closed the deal to buy the leaseholds from state-owned Network Rail, operator of the country’s rail infrastructure.

The deal is controversial in as much as these are state owned assets being sold off, and some of the thousands of commercial tenants occupying and running, in the main, small businesses from them, claim they have been forced out following large rent increases prior to the sale.

However, in an open letter to the Network Rail tenants, the investors say they are committed to a “tenants-first charter�.

Adam Dakin, Telereal Trillium managing director, told The Daily Telegraph, that it would be “absolutely crazy� to make tenants’ lives difficult. “Our rationale for buying this isn’t to come and squeeze a load of money out of it,� he said.

Of the 5,200 arches in the sale, around 900 of them are currently unoccupied, so as a consequence Mr Dakin says, this means that “in the early years we are going invest more money in it rather than less�.

“We are particularly sensitive for small businesses that have been in the arches for a long time. Some of those are facing pressures because of increasing rents. So one of things Telereal and Blackstone have agreed as part of our joint business plan is to commit money to financial support�

Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy commented:

“This deal is great news – for tenants it will mean significant commitment and, investment, and for passengers and taxpayers it will mean massive, essential improvements without an extra burden on the public purse.â€�

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End of the Road

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Landlords are reeling, Punch Drunk from the sustained assaults by Central and local Government, not to mention hostile media articles suggesting huge swathes of landlords are preying on tenants offering accommodation for sex.

About time we had a little straight talking

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Live Blog: Future Renting conference

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Welcome to the live blog of the RLA’s conference, Future Renting which took place on 13th September at Imperial College, Kensington. Here you’ll find the live stream of the day as it happened. You can still tweet about the conference using the hashtag #FutureRenting18 It’s a sunny morning in Kensington and we’re @imperialcollege getting ready […]

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