TPO complaints rise 16% in 2018

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The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has released its 2018 annual report reflecting ever-increasing consumer demand for the service.

The report reveals TPO received a record number of enquiries in 2018 (29,023), up 22% on 2017.  Of these, 4,246 went on to be formal complaints

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Section 21 – serving EPCs for HMO tenants?

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Court Case:

With all the additional prescribed requirements introduced for assured shorthold tenancies of late, there is something of an inevitability that an abundance of cases will be coming to court in the future, testing potential “loopholes� in administration.

Tenants’ lawyers will without doubt attempt to stymie evictions for their clients (often publicly funded) because of landlords’ and agent’s failures to fulfil one or more of these numerous and rather complicated requirements.

Without good documentary evidence that all the many “boxes have been ticked� on setting up a new tenancy, landlords and agents will inevitably be stymied time and again.

A case in point was the one of Home Group Ltd v Henry (2018) which involved an HMO tenant who claimed that because he had not been issued with an EPC when he took up the tenancy, the landlord’s possession order under section 21 was invalid. Good try Henry!

Since the introduction of the energy performance regulations and the EPC, it’s always been a bit of a “grey� area within the legislation where HMOs are concerned, and whether an HMO tenant was required to be served an EPC as a prescribed requirement. After all it is very clear than tenants of single properties must be served an EPC at the time the tenancy is set-up.

Since October 2015 the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015, section 2a states the prescribed requirement: regulation 6(5) of the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012(2) (requirement to provide an energy performance certificate to a tenant or buyer free of charge).

The question as to whether an EPC service is necessary for an HMO tenant revolves around the distinction between a tenant occupying a building, or a section or room within a building (bedsit), re the wording in The Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, which states:

The relevant person must ensure that a valid energy performance certificate has been given free of charge to the person who ultimately becomes the buyer or tenant.

Mr Henry had an AST for a room in an HMO and argued that he should have been served an EPC when his tenancy started, and that therefore the landlord’s possession order was invalid. To support this argument Henry pointed to the fact the guidance in the new section 21 notice (form 6A) made no distinction between a single letting and an HMO, regarding the service of a valid section 21 notice.

The landlord, Home Group, on the other hand, argued that the requirement to provide an EPC under reg 6(5) of the 2012 Energy Regulations referred to the letting of a building or building unit and not a section within a building.

The relevant legislation refers to a “building� and a “building unit�, without mention of a section within a building, a room or bedsit, and on that basis the landlord argued the case.

The appeal was dismissed and the judge stated that while there was nothing expressly made in the 2005 AST regulations for HMOs tenancies, this would have required a new definition of EPCs to be relevant to a room, not a building or building unit.

He also stated that the explanatory note to the form 6A was guidance only and not in itself the law, and he thought these notes were misleading.

As this judgement was laid down by a county court appeal to a circuit judge, it is not binding and may not be the last word on the matter if further appeals transpire.

However, the reasoned argument seems pretty clear, so any future challenge, says Giles Peaker of Nearlylegal.co.uk, is “whether a room in an HMO falls under ‘building unit’ as designed or altered to be used separately, whether the MHCLG guidance on EPCs is right, and whether there is really any policy reason why a prospective HMO tenant should not be informed of the energy efficiency of the building.â€�

Acknowledgements to Giles Peaker of www.nearlylegal.co.uk

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Landlords! We are looking for one last story for our Channel 5 show!

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We are now filming our 5^th series for a Channel 5 show, due to be aired very soon. Our previous series’ includes ‘Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords and Bad Tenants, Rogue Landlords’, featuring Paul Shamplina of Landlord Action.

We would like to film one last eviction story with a landlord attending at the property to meet the bailiff by the end of May, if you are interested in telling your story, please email me at:beth.teverson@britesparkfilms.com.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlords! We are looking for one last story for our Channel 5 show! | LandlordZONE.

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The Government is to fund and speed up cladding replacement

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Cladding of Flats:

It will no doubt come as a great relief to those landlords and leaseholder who are affected by the cladding scandal. For a long time it looked as though the cost of replacing dangerous cladding would be the primary responsibility of freeholders, which would have been passed on to the leaseholders.

However, the Government has now stepped in, number one to speed-up the replacement of the dangerous cladding, but two, to relieve leaseholders of a potentially horrendous liability and the stress that that threat was causing.

Around £200 million will be made available to remove and
replace unsafe cladding from around 170 privately owned high-rise buildings.

The government will fully fund the replacement of unsafe
aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding on high-rise private residential
properties where building owners have failed to do so

Communities Secretary the Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP says
he is calling time on “reckless� building owners who have refused to take
action. New funding estimated at £200 million to ensure this work takes place
urgently

This step has been taken, says Mr Brokenshire, after private
building owners failed to take action and tried to offload costs onto
leaseholders.

Prime Minister, Theresa May said:

“It is of paramount importance that everybody is able to feel
and be safe in their homes.

“That’s why we asked building owners in the private sector
to take action and make sure appropriate safety measures were in place.

“And we’ve seen a number of private building owners doing
the right thing and taking responsibility, but unfortunately too many are
continuing to pass on the costs of removal and replacement to leaseholders.

“Today I can confirm we will now be fully funding the replacement of cladding on high-rise private residential buildings so residents can feel confident they are secure in their homes.”

Communities Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, said:

“Although temporary measures are in place to ensure people
living in these buildings are safe, too many owners are treating this as a
permanent fix. Others are trying to pass on the costs to residents by
threatening them with bills running to thousands of pounds.

“While some building owners have been swift to act, and I
thank them for doing the right thing, I am now calling time on the delay
tactics of others. If these reckless building owners won’t act, the government
will.

“The government appreciates the work of Grenfell United and
the UK Cladding Action Group who have campaigned prominently, outlining the
challenges in getting private building owners to fund the replacement of
cladding on their homes.

“The government has already fully funded this work in social
housing developments. However, private developers and freeholders have been too
slow to act and leaseholders have been threatened with significant, often
unaffordable, costs resulting in delays.

“The latest figures show that 166 private buildings are yet
to start works on removing and replacing ACM cladding, compared to 23 in the
social sector.

“Building owners will have 3 months to access the new fund.
We will look carefully at those who fail to remediate and consider what further
action can be taken.

“Building owners and developers who have already fully funded the remediation of buildings are Pemberstone, Aberdeen Asset Management, Barratt Developments, Fraser Properties, Legal & General, Mace and Peabody.”

As a condition of funding, the Government will require the
building owner to take reasonable steps to recover the costs from those
responsible for the presence of the unsafe cladding.

The fund will be available for private high-rise residential
buildings (those containing homes). The government is already fully-funding the
replacement of unsafe ACM cladding on social sector properties.

Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the government
established a comprehensive building safety programme that included an
independent review of fire safety and building regulations. Plans outlined on
18 December 2018 explain how the government will implement the recommendations
made by Dame Judith Hackitt in her review of building regulations and fire
safety.

Building owners will be able to register for the fund by
early July.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – The Government is to fund and speed up cladding replacement | LandlordZONE.

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Paul Shamplina and Kate Faulkner release latest edition ‘The Landlord’s Friend’

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Today, with more than 170 pieces of landlord legislation in place, two well-known names in the world of property, Paul Shamplina and Kate Faulkner, have once again joined forces to co-write a new version of their book ‘The Landlord’s Friend’. 

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Paul Shamplina and Kate Faulkner release latest edition of their book, The Landlord’s Friend

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Today,
with more than 170 pieces of landlord legislation in place, two well-known
names in the world of property, Paul Shamplina and Kate Faulkner, have once
again joined forces to co-write a new version of their book ‘The Landlord’s
Friend’.  Its aim is to help both novice
and seasoned landlords navigate their way through the ever-changing Private Rented
Sector (PRS) with an A-Z of legal advice and practical tips.

Paul
Shamplina is a landlord and eviction specialist and is featured on Channel 5’s
‘Bad Tenants, Rogue Landlords’, he’s been helping landlords for over 25 years
and is the Founder of Landlord Action. Kate Faulkner has written a number of property
books for Which?, is considered one of the UK’s leading Buy to Let experts and
appears regularly in the media talking about the property market and key issues
affecting investors.

With
this book, the pair have pooled their extensive experience to help property
investors successfully navigate the business of Buy to Let, from those just
considering making an investment through to experienced landlords. The book has
50 chapters divided into three sections: 1. Preparing for successful letting:
2. Letting your property: 3. Running your portfolio the right way.

“It’s hard to believe that it was
nearly five years ago that Kate and I first published ‘The Landlord’s Friend’,
and today, landlords have never needed a friend more. The Buy-to-Let landscape
has changed vastly during this time, particularly with the constant changes to
tax and now Section 21, meaning small landlords are seriously having to think
whether they want to stay in the sector.

However, I think it’s important to
remind people that demand is still extremely strong, with the PRS making up 21%
of our total housing sector and predicted to rise to 24% by 2021. All of these
people need somewhere to live, and the government is under pressure to support
a more professional sector which provides a safe environment for tenants. There
is still very much a place for landlords who take their legal and moral
responsibilities seriously, so we want to help landlords stay profitable while
ensuring they do it the right way� says
Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action.

Kate
Faulkner, Managing Director of Propertychecklists.co.uk,
adds:

“Landlords are going through a
tough time just now. Not only are they being hit by increased taxes, the
changes in legislation to the Private Rented Sector are coming in thick and
fast, with Local Authorities able to find landlords who make mistakes up to
£30,000 for each breach. Meanwhile, tenants’ expectations of being delivered a
beautiful home to live in rather than a temporary place to stay are increasing.
The latest version of ‘The Landlord’s Friend’ helps to equip both new and
existing landlords with the information they need to invest and run a buy to
let property successfully.�

The
2019 Edition of ‘The Landlord’s Friend’ is available to buy on Amazon now. https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=9781784566388&ref=nb_sb_noss
E

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Paul Shamplina and Kate Faulkner release latest edition of their book, The Landlord’s Friend | LandlordZONE.

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Landlord fined £1.1m for illegal flats conversion

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Confiscation Orders:

Southwark Council successfully prosecuted a London landlord
who divided a London Bridge property into 20 cramped studios and bedsits, “putting
profits before the quality of life of his tenants.�

Mr Trepel, aged 74 from Trinec in the Czech Republic, is the
subject of London’s largest Proceeds of Crime (confiscation order) claim to-date
for his illegal conversion of three flats within 2-4 London Bridge Street in
2010.

The council originally successfully prosecuted Trepel for this
breach of the planning laws back in 2010, when he was fined and ordered to
return the property back to its original condition.

But Trepel failed to comply despite further warnings and at
the Inner London Crown Court on 17 April, 2019, he was fined £10,000 and
ordered to pay £35,000 costs for breaching a planning enforcement notice, plus an
additional £1,000 fine from his company – No.1 (London) Ltd.

Of more consequence to Trepel however, Southwark Council, using
a Proceeds of Crime confiscation order, achieved a record settlement figure of
£1,118,601 which will have to be paid within the next three months, otherwise
Trepel faces a seven year prison sentence.

The figure was based on a calculation that Trepel would have
received £1.2.m gross in rent on his London Bridge Street properties since
2011.

Councillor Victoria Mills, Cabinet Member for Finance,
Performance and Brexit, said:

“I hope this serves as a warning to any disreputable
landlord operating in Southwark. This council will not stand by and let our
residents live in cramped properties that are harmful to their health and
happiness, and we will use every legal measure at our disposal to ensure homes
are of a decent standard and landlords do not profit from the misery of their
tenants.�

Under Proceeds of Crime Act rules most of the money will go
to the government but the council will receive around £445,000 of the criminal
benefit to re-invest in further enforcement and crime reduction initiatives.

The council has restrained assets belonging to both Trepel
and his company to ensure that the confiscation orders will be satisfied.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlord fined £1.1m for illegal flats conversion | LandlordZONE.

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Buy-to-Let mortgage rates could rise faster than expected

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Mortgages:

Mortgage Rates stability about to end, that’s according to
Property Master, the online broker’s latest research.

Research out today (Wednesday, May 8) from online mortgage
broker, Property Master, reveals the cost of fixed rate buy-to-let mortgages
varied by as little as £1 or £2 per month in either direction in May compared
to the previous month (May 1 to April 1, 2019.) 
The company went on to warn that this stability may be about to change
given last week’s Bank of England Inflation Report which signalled interest
rates would rise quicker than expected on the back of growth in wages, falling unemployment
and stronger GDP.

Angus Stewart, Property Master’s Chief Executive, said: “We
have been tracking the cost of buy-to-let fixed rate mortgages for almost 18
months now so have a large database. 
There have only been two movements in base rate over that period the
last one of which was in August 2018, so we have seen a lengthy period of
stability.  But the Governor of the Bank
of England signalled clearly last week that we should prepare for this
stability to end much quicker than was expected on the back of positive news
around wages, unemployment and stronger GDP.�

Mr Stewart continued: “Stable base rates and increased competition
in the lending market has helped to keep rates down in the buy-to-let market
but last week’s news means it really is time for landlords to start re-thinking
their finances.�

Property Master’s May 2019 Mortgage Tracker shows the cost
of five-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage offers for 50% of the value of a
property were unchanged between April and May of this year.  The cost of a five-year fixed rate buy-to-let
mortgage offers for 65% of the value of a property increased month on month by
just £2 per month.  Five-year fixed rates
buy-to-let mortgage offers for 75% of the value of a property fell by £2 per
month.  A similar picture emerged for
two-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage offers with the cost remaining the same
or going down by £1 or £2 per month.

Since the start of the year the cost of most categories of
fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage offers have varied by no more than £7 per month
either up or down.  The exceptions being
two and five-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage offers for 50% of the value of
the property which recorded year-on-year increases in monthly cost of £18 and
£25 respectively.

The Property Master Mortgage Tracker follows a range of
buy-to-let mortgages for an interest only loan of £150,000.  Deals from 18 of some of the biggest lenders
in the buy-to-let market including Barclays, BM Solutions, RBS, The Mortgage
Works, Godiva and Precise (full list below) were tracked.   Figures for this month’s Mortgage Tracker
were calculated on deals available on April 1, 2019.

Property Master was launched almost two years ago and aims
to shake up the buy-to-let mortgage market currently served by around 12,000
mortgage brokers.  It has already
attracted financial backing from a broad range of private investors including a
minority stake being taken by LSL Property Services, whose estate and letting
agency brands include Your Move and Reeds Rains.

Property Master has automated what was a manual, complex
process to provide landlords with a free easy to use mortgage search tool which
provides a mortgage quote that is pre-screened against each lender’s specific
and changing criteria.

www.property-master.com

Property Master
launched almost two years ago and is the UK’s first and only digital mortgage
brokerage service for UK buy-to-let landlords. Its innovative approach enables
private landlords to take control of their financing online for the first time
by matching their requirements on Property Master’s unique and complete
database of mortgage information and lending criteria. Founded by a group of
highly experienced financial services professionals, the company is directly
authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Buy-to-Let mortgage rates could rise faster than expected | LandlordZONE.

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PurpleBricks founder quits after dreadful year

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Online Agency:

Michael Bruce, founder and CEO of the international online
estate agency, headquartered in Solihull, has announced that he is stepping
down from the troubled London stock exchange listed company.

Since late 2017, the PurpleBricks share price has tanked
from over £5 to just £1.26 yesterday, a 65% year on year decline, as the
company continued to buy growth with high advertising spend.

After undergoing rapid expansion into overseas markets, including
the USA, Canada and Australia, the company has confirmed that its operations in
Australia will close due to “increasingly challenging” market
conditions.

The online agency, which has no high street offices, charges
a flat fee payable up-front to market a property. Their fees vary across the
country, with greater London in the £1,399 bracket, and outside of London £899.

Property expert Henry Pryor says that online companies like Purplebricks
and others have definitely made impact and increased price competition, now with
an estimated market share of around 7%.

However, others have cast doubts on the model for the long-term, suggesting that eventually a merger with a traditional high street agency chain may be what’s needed.

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Mark Smith (Barrister-At-Law) Landlord tax planning strategies – NEC Birmingham

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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 pin Birmingham Meeting property networking event Thursday 16th May 2019.

The event will start at 6:00pm until 9:00pm and will be free for guests of Mark Smith that have not previously attended a pin meeting.

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