RLA responds to tenant fee ban consultation in Wales

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The RLA has submitted it’s response to the Welsh Government’s consultation on the Renting Homes (Wales) (Fees etc) Bill. The response, which you can read here outlines the issues that RLA has with the Bill and the potential solutions on issues such as enforcement and the treatment of holding deposits. Prohibition of charging agency fees As part of […]

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Forum Spotlight: Tenant has asked for permission to get a cat

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This week’s Forum Spotlight looks at the issue of pets in properties. A member posted in our Forum this week with a question about whether they should allow their tenant to have a cat in the rental property. They explained that the current tenancy agreement specifically states that there should be no animals in the […]

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RLA – It’s time to root out criminal landlords

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The RLA wants councils to commit to rooting out the criminal landlords giving the sector a bad name, following the publication of the University of York’s report on private rented housing today.

The association, which contributed to the report

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Citylets Embraces Blockchain for World PRS First

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Blockchain:

Citylets has teamed up with blockchain technology specialists Wallet.Services to offer what is thought to be the first Blockchain-enabled private rented sector (PRS) database worldwide.

Letting agents in Scotland can now contribute data to and receive analysis of mid tenancy rent changes on a modern, inherently trustworthy technology platform.

The move by Citylets is in response to new Scottish PRS legislation which provides for local councils to apply to the Scottish Government to designate all or any part of their local authority area Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs).

The criteria by which any applications are to be made handed down by Scottish Government are very detailed but a predominant feature is that applications must be data-led including market evidence that rent increases to tenants under the new Private Residential Tenancies introduced in December 2017 are excessive.

At present there is no data which has prompted concerns.

Citylets has been analysing open (advertised rents) market data for over ten years providing granular view on the Scottish PRS. However this new data, being more confidential to individual businesses than open market rents which are freely published online, prompted the move to operate to higher degrees of trust and security.

Citylets founder Thomas Ashdown said:

“The key here is trust. We are a private company looking to create a ledger of the rent changes experienced by the tenants of Scotland that can be utilised by all stakeholders within the private and public sectors.

“Ultimately, this will become a resource both for the lettings industry and local councils who have new powers to apply for rent pressure zones but lack the data to underpin applications to the Scottish Government. Blockchain tech was chosen to put the dataset beyond reproach. It is a highly secure, immutable technology.�

Citylets chose Wallet.Services as its technology partner to implement the solution. Based at tech incubator Codebase in Edinburgh, Wallet.Services has utilised its award-winning SICCAR product, developed in conjunction with Scottish Government. The data is stored cryptographically allowing a higher degree of security once entered from source by letting agents across Scotland.

Rab Campbell, Chairman of Wallet.Services said: “We are delighted to be working with such a progressive company as Citylets.  Thomas understands that a new paradigm of trust is emerging in our digital world.  This project addresses an issue thrown up by legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament.  It improves trust and data quality on an important matter that spans the public and private sectors.�

Mike Campbell, Director of the Council of Letting Agents said: “I welcome this exciting and important development which addresses the commonly identified problem around the lack of comprehensive and good data on rents in the PRS in Scotland.

With the prospect of RPZs on the horizon and the ongoing debate around affordability and role the PRS plays in the housing system as a whole, it’s more important than ever that this happens on an informed and agreed basis.’’

Daryl Mcintosh, Development Manager at ARLA in Scotland said:

“This service provides a great opportunity to become a source of clear and extensive data on mid tenancy rent changes in Scotland’s PRS, a source that has been required for many years.â€�

Established in 1999, Citylets is Scotland’s premier portal for property to rent with over 400 agent offices online and advertising over 50,000 properties per year. Its Quarterly Reports are widely regarded as the most reliable and authoritative barometer of the Scottish PRS market. Citylets is one of the world’s first Property portals and its Data Services division serves clients including the Scottish Government.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Citylets Embraces Blockchain for World PRS First | LandlordZONE.

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RLA and NLA now back academic PRS review

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The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) and now the National Landlords Association (NLA) are backing a review of the private rented sector by the University of York.

The review is written by Julie Rugg and David Rhodes (see property MOT article) titled –

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Considering a Secured loan on a buy to let property?

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If you are looking release equity within your buy to let rental property and don’t wish to remortgage from your existing mortgage deal then this article may help. Here we discuss how a BTL secured loan could provide an alternative and flexible solution to raising the funds you need quickly.

Dave Beard, Lending Expert from second charge mortgage specialists Feasible discuss some of the details of the loan products and how they can help UK landlords with their funding needs.

What is a secured loan?

A secured loan is otherwise known as a second charge mortgage, or commonly referred to as a homeowner loan. It is an additional second property loan paid off alongside your existing first charge mortgage. Like your mortgage it is secured against your property and the amount you can borrow will depend upon the available equity in the property. These types of loans can be paid off over a longer period of time with repayment terms of up to 30 years with some lenders. They are popular with borrowers who wish to take out larger loans that are not available via the unsecured personal loan route.

Where can you get them?

Second charge loans are mostly only available from lenders via brokers with only a few lenders in the market allowing customers to apply direct. There are currently around 25 mainstream second charge lenders in the market with well-known names such as Masthaven Bank, Together Money and Shawbrook Bank who provide these types of loans via intermediaries, specialist brokers and mortgage networks.

How much can you borrow?

Secured loans are available to homeowners from £5,000 – £2.5 million and can generally be arranged quickly against individual rental properties and also larger portfolios including HMO, student accommodation and holiday lets. The exact much you can borrow will depend on your home equity and affordability of the loan.

What are the features and benefits?

While each lender has its own product specifications and lending requirements here is a quick list of product features and benefits from across a range of lenders with the market place.

• Loans at 75% loan to value for BTL
• Long repayments terms over 3 – 30 years
• No ERC’s – early repayment charges
• None standard construction homes accepted including semi commercial property, flats above shops and high rise apartments
• Applicant landlords without proof of income accepted
• Self-employed, contract workers and professional landlords accepted
• Loans for pensioners and retired with benefit and pension income accepted
• Buy to let first charge solutions for applicants who do not fit mainstream lender requirements.
• Solutions for landlords with bad credit issues including defaults, CCJ’s, bankruptcy, debt management
• Suitable for ex-pats
• Limited company applications welcome
• No minimum property valuation required
• Ability to maintain current mortgage arrangements
• Flexible solutions for landlords who have been refused a mortgage or loan elsewhere via a mainstream lender
• First time landlords accepted
• Professional and portfolio landlords with multiple buy to lets
• Access to exclusive deals and rates
• Options for variable or tracker rates, with Fixed Rate and Interest Only products also available from our panel

What can loans be used for?

Secured loans can generally be used for any legal purpose with the popular options being to fund further property improvements, fund other BTL properties and to consolidate existing debt and credit commitments.

Want to learn more?

Feasible.co.uk are credit brokers who specialise in Second Charge Mortgages and Homeowner Loans for buy to let property. To find out how much you can borrow secured against your buy-to-let property, or if you need some friendly advice then please click here for a loan quote today.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Considering a Secured loan on a buy to let property? | LandlordZONE.

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What do ‘Generation Rent’ want?

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GoCompare have researched what the renting population of the UK are looking for in a rental property and what landlords actually offer in their advertisements. The interactive tool compares survey results which have been broken down nationally and by age group –

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Time to Root out Criminal Landlords

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Commenting on the publication of the University of York’s report on private rented housing, David Smith, Policy Director for the Residential Landlords Association said:

“We welcome today’s report which the RLA contributed to.

“Whilst the Government’s own data shows that 84 per cent of private tenants are satisfied with their accommodation, no one should have to face living in sub-standard accommodation.

“With RLA research showing that there are well over 140 Acts of Parliament regulating the sector, the problem is with the enforcement of these laws. Research by the RLA’s research exchange, PEARL, has found that less than half of councils have a policy on the use of civil penalties against private landlords.

“We are calling on councils to provide the political leadership needed to use the extensive powers they have to find and root out the minority of landlords who are criminals and have no place in the market.�

David Smith continued:

“We agree with concerns about the complexity of the legislation surrounding the market. Tenants, landlords and local authorities all need to clearly understand their roles, responsibilities and the powers available to tackle poor housing. For many this has become difficult to achieve.

“A root and branch review of all regulations affecting the sector needs to be carried out to understand if they are achieving what was originally intended. There is no point passing new laws and regulations if the existing ones are not being enforced properly.�

• The private rented sector report for the 2016/17 English Housing Survey can be accessed here

Pages 11 and 12 note: “The majority (84%) of private renters were satisfied with their current accommodation. Private renters were more satisfied with their accommodation than social renters (81%).� It continues: “Almost three quarters (72%) of private renters were satisfied with the way that their landlord carried out repairs or maintenance…Private renters were more likely to be satisfied with repairs and maintenance than social renters (66% satisfied).�

• In July 2018 the RLA’s research exchange, PEARL, sent Freedom of Information requests to all councils in England. Of the 281 that have so far responded, 132 said they had a policy on the use of civil penalties against private landlords.

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ATED how hard to make a return?

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I am about to buy a property via a limited company. One I think would be likely to eventually sell for £520,000 to £540,000 which I think would be good value.

The other ones I own were values recently at between £350k and £425k when I extended the lease last June 2017.

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Freehold Company Set Up?

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I would like to set up a company for the freehold on the building of a block of four flats.

We are buying the freehold and want to register this in a company name.

Does anybody have advice on the best way to proceed or where to start please.

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