Patrick Collinson has got it wrong yet again!

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Last year I described how Patrick Collinson had misunderstood two reports with big numbers in them:

Patrick Collinson “Guardian of Housing Ignorance�

Patrick Collinson has done it again!

This week he has blindly quoted the press release for a report –

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Open Letter to Landlords and Shelter

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Landlords, Our sector is under attack like never before.

Politicians and pressure groups who want to tax and regulate the PRS out of existence are causing unbelievable hardship for tenants. The new UK tax on turnover goes against all the basic norms of accountancy rules.

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Generation Rent tries to hoodwink policymakers

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On Tuesday Generation Rent published a paper by its Director, Dan Wilson Craw. He proves – to his own satisfaction at least – that the Law of Supply and Demand does not apply to the UK’s private rented sector. The paper is called “Do measures that discourage buy-to-let investment increase rents?â€� Click here

He claims they don’t.

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Buy-to-Let continues to offer positive returns

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Buy-to-Let Investment:

Despite the added pressure on landlords, from tax changes to many additional regulations, buy-to-Let (BTL) investment still offers returns well above average savings rates.

This is supported by the still strong demand for renting in the UK, and the fact that should there be another downturn, accompanied by rinsing inflation (interest rates are on a rising trend), then property offers a safe haven for money when compared to stocks, shares and bonds.

A recent survey carried out by Agents, Your Move, shows that the average percentage return on BTL investments throughout England and Wales was stable between July and August:

• Each of the 10 regions surveyed delivered the same yield to investors in the September survey as they did in August.
• Those BTLs in northern regions earned higher percentage returns than those located in southern areas.
• The average investor in the North East saw an annual yield of 5% in the year to August while in the North West this figure was 4.8%.
• London landlords saw the smallest percentage returns, recording 3.2% during August.
• Across all of England and Wales, landlords enjoyed an average yield of 4.4% in August, the same as in both June and July.

Despite the much touted “sell off�, the majority of landlords appear to be committed to BLT for the long-term, many having been in the sector for 15 years or more and over half see BTL as their pension pot.

Although rent levels have risen steadily over the last 7 years (see charts below) average yields have declined by around 1% in that time, while there has been no appreciable increase in rent arrears levels.

Your Move’s Landlord Survey also reveals that:

Around 29% of the small-scale landlords in BTL were originally ‘accidental’ landlords, who were in-the-main female under the age of 45. Another 20% saw themselves as professional landlords, that is portfolio landlords doing this as a full-time career and were mainly over 45. The rest would be part-time landlords investing in BTL property alongside an alternative career, seeing their investment as both a pension and a source of regular income.

The part-time landlords surveyed were more likely to live close to their rentals than were the accidental or professional landlords, with around 41% living within a striking distance of one to five miles of the property.

Martyn Alderton, national lettings director at Your Move, has said:

“Our research suggests that the private rental sector is still seen to offer significant opportunities, providing many landlords with a source of income and funding into retirement.

“It’s also clear that pension pot landlords are keen to build a personal rapport with tenants who will look after their investment. As an industry, it’s increasingly important that we continue to support these ties, providing long-term benefits to tenants looking for a property to call their home and also for landlords looking for ways to fund their retirement.�

The Your Move BTL Rental Index Charts below show Rent Yields and Rent Arrears:

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Buy-to-Let continues to offer positive returns | LandlordZONE.

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Shelter’s website says Section 21 does not cause homelessness

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Last Friday Melanie Onn MP had an article published in The House, Parliament’s Magazine. Melanie Onn is Labour MP for Great Grimsby and shadow minister for housing. Towards the end she wrote “We’d also tighten up tenancy rules to help prevent private evictions

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Second date added for Letting Agents academy course

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Hamilton Fraser’s first academy course for Letting Agents sold out and now a second date has been added.

Next month, Hamilton Fraser is launching the Hamilton Fraser Academy, a series of half and full day workshops to offer property professionals advice and education covering the full tenancy lifecycle.

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The first Hamilton Fraser Academy agents’ course Sold Out

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Legal Update:

The first Hamilton Fraser Academy Course for Letting Agents has been Sold Out and a Second Date has been added.

Next month, Hamilton Fraser is launching the “Hamilton Fraser Academy”, a series of half and full day workshops to offer property professionals advice and education covering the full tenancy lifecycle.

The first course, ‘Legal update and compliance’ is aimed at letting agents of all sizes and will be hosted by Susie Crolla of The Letting Training Centre on 22nd November.  Due to high demand, this course is now full and a second workshop has been added on 13th December.

Following a raft of legislative changes, letting agents are under increasing pressure to ensure they are legally compliant. The ‘Legal update and compliance’ course will cover some of the most pressing topics, including GDPR, HMO Regulation, Tenant Fee Ban, Deregulation Act 2015, Form 6A (formerly section 21) and Immigration Act 2016. Agents who attend the course will gain CDP points and a certificate of training.

Eddie Hooker, CEO of Hamilton Fraser, comments

“With the Private Rented Sector having undergone a significant amount of change over the last year, and with more to come in the year ahead, letting agents and landlords are looking more closely at how they can improve and adapt their businesses to meet the requirements of the market and ensure they are compliant. 

With so much conflicting information, we know that the industry can be very confusing, so we have designed a series of workshops hosted by property professionals with years of experience to help agents get it right.�

Hamilton Fraser Academy will also be running a series of workshops on other subjects throughout 2019. The first two will be on ‘Future Proofing Your Letting Business’ and ‘Day to Day Letting & Management’.

If you wish to book a place on ‘Legal Update & Compliance’ on 13^th December 2018,
please visit here

Based in Borehamwood, Hamilton Fraser, (parent company to Total Landlord Insurance, mydeposits, Property Redress Scheme, CMP and Landlord Action) provides specialist insurance and ancillary services for the private rented sector.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – The first Hamilton Fraser Academy agents’ course Sold Out | LandlordZONE.

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Rent Arrears increase with Universal Credit

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Rent Arrears:

Just under two-thirds of private landlords housing tenants receiving Universal Credit (UC) have experienced rent arrears, that’s according to new research carried out for the Residential Landlords Association (RLA).

Based on responses from over 2,200 landlords, the Residential Landlord Association’s research exchange, PEARL, has finds that 61 per cent of those landlords samples, with tenants on Universal Credit, have experienced them going into rent arrears. This figure is up from 27 per cent in 2016.

The research found that on average UC tenants in rent arrears owed almost £2,400, a 49 per cent increase compared to last year.

Over half (53 per cent) of landlords with tenants on Universal Credit applied for direct payment to be made to them instead of to the tenant, known as an Alternative Payment Arrangement (APA).

Where successful it took, on average, over 2 months for this to be organised, on top of the 2 months arrears already accrued. This has caused arrears to build up substantially.

Those landlords that have to wait for 2 months arrears before they can apply for direct payment are reporting that on average the APA process takes 9.3 weeks. This, when added to the initial 2 months arrears accrued, means that landlords are on average owed 4 months’ rent before they are successfully awarded direct payment.

The RLA is calling for the APA process to be improved as a matter of urgency, particularly before managed migration begins next year and more families and complex cases are moved onto UC.

One fifth of landlords also reported that their mortgage lender prevented them from renting homes to tenants in receipt of benefits.

The RLA is calling for tenants to be able to choose, where it is best for them, to have the housing element of UC paid directly to the landlord.

It is calling also for private landlords to be given more information about a tenant’s claim, such as when they receive payments, where this is in the best interest of the tenant to sustain the tenancy so that suitable rent payment schedules can be arranged. At present, this is provided to social sector landlords, but not to those in the private sector.

Formal mechanisms should also be put in place to enable landlords to reclaim rent arrears where UC tenants leave a property owing rent.

RLA Policy Director, David Smith, commented:

“Our research shows clearly that further changes are urgently needed to Universal Credit.

“We welcome the constructive engagement we have had with the Government over these issues but more work is needed to give landlords the confidence they need to rent to those on Universal Credit.

“The impact of the announcements from the autumn budget last year remain to be seen. However, we feel a major start would be to give tenants the right to choose to have payments paid directly to their landlord. This would empower tenants to decide what is best for them rather than being told by the Government.�

The Residential Landlords Association: The home for landlords –  represents the interests of landlords in the private rented sector across England and Wales.

The research findings are based on the RLA PEARL’s latest quarterly survey to which 2,234 landlords responded. The full report can be accessed here  It found that:

• Of those landlords with tenants on Universal Credit, 61% experienced them going into rent arrears in the past 12 months. This is up from 38% last year and 27% in 2016.
• The average amount owed by Universal Credit tenants in rent arrears has increased by 49% in comparison to the previous 12 months. It has increased from £1,600.88 in 2017 to £2,390.19.
• 53% of landlords with Universal Credit tenants reported that they had requested an Alternative Payment Arrangement (APA) and of these, 57% reported that it had been successful. Furthermore, 53% of landlords reported that they had included a claim for the repayment of rent arrears in the APA. Respondents were then asked how easy they had found the APA application process, 51% of landlords reported they had found it difficult or very difficult. Respondents were asked how long on average it took them to have the APA arranged. On average, landlords reported that it took 9.3 weeks for direct payment under the APA to be arranged, with the maximum reported to be a full year.
• 22% of landlords reported that their mortgage lender prevented them from renting homes to tenants in receipt of benefits.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Rent Arrears increase with Universal Credit | LandlordZONE.

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Croydon Council Support S21 Ban

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I have just read that Croydon Council ( who I believe are Labour) have become the first council to support the scrapping of the Section 21 no fault eviction.

A council member stated “With Croydon having lost around 70% of its budget since 2010

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Second IVA?

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Hi all, I had a tenant leave on the 1st of March 2017 with £1,050 arrears and dilapidation’s. To my surprise they were already in the process of arranging an IVA and I was added as one of a number of creditors expecting 25p in the pound spread over five years!

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