Private landlord tax vs that of a private hotelier

admin    Uncategorized     agents

This case study illustrates just how unfair the UK tax legislation will become for private landlords as of April 2020.

Perhaps more importantly, it provides insight into what can be done to “level the playing field”.

The post Private landlord tax vs that of a private hotelier appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Private landlord tax vs that of a private hotelier

Breaking Section 21 News – The plot thickens!

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The plot has thickened with regard to what will happen to Section 21. Yesterday, Esther McVey made the following statement with regard to its proposed scrapping:

‘In April this year the government announced that it proposes to consult on the future of Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.’

Private Rented Housing: 28 Oct 2019: Hansard Written Answers –

The post Breaking Section 21 News – The plot thickens! appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Breaking Section 21 News – The plot thickens!

Call of the Week: “Ghost tenants”

admin    Uncategorized     agents

This week our advice team were able to assist one of our members with an issue where their tenant had been subletting the property. This is unfortunately quite a common issue that landlords face, and can be quite a serious issue depending on that individual person’s situation. The landlord may have a licence, a mortgage […]

The post Call of the Week: “Ghost tenants” appeared first on RLA Campaigns and News Centre.

View Full Article: Call of the Week: “Ghost tenants”

Beware of Bats

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Beware of bats this Halloween as over the winter months bats hibernate to stay out of the cold weather and residential buildings, in particular, present an ideal warm roosting site for female bats to rear their young.

Scotland is home to nine species of bats and all have European protection.

The post Beware of Bats appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Beware of Bats

New Building Safety Regulator

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Dame Judith Hackitt has been named as the government adviser on the new Building Safety Regulator, which will have the power to apply criminal sanctions to those breaking the new rules.

A respected expert in building safety, Dame Judith Hackitt will provide independent advice to the government on how best to establish the powerful new Regulator.

The post New Building Safety Regulator appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: New Building Safety Regulator

Access to electrical cupboard withheld?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

I have a few apartments. The electrical meters etc. are communal and outside in a cupboard. The management agent refuses to let me have keys. I have asked many times.

So, the inevitable happens. Out of hours, my pregnant tenant loses power.

The post Access to electrical cupboard withheld? appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Access to electrical cupboard withheld?

Tackling problem tenants – act quickly to secure the right outcome

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Evictions:

2019 has been a
testing year for landlords, with consultation on the abolition of
Section 21 legislation, the “rogue landlords” database and
extensive media attention on assured tenancy. The focus has very much
remained on tenant rights, while, conversely, landlord rights appear
to be taking a back seat. Add to the mix Labour’s unhelpful and
inflammatory proposals around the sale of rental properties to
tenants at sub-market rents and the result is an unpleasant
environment for landlords.

When it comes to
dealing with problem tenants, we regularly handle cases whereby
landlords have failed to act quickly enough. In recent months, this
has worsened – thanks to media demonisation of landlords, some are
wary of evicting tenants that cause damage, fail to pay rent or break
their tenancy agreement for fear of being criticised.

Instead, they
attempt to salvage the situation, at best kicking the can down the
road and at worst exacerbating tensions.

Rent arrears are
usually the first visible warning sign, yet we are finding that
landlords continue to delay before taking action. We recently helped
a landlord whose tenant racked up arrears of circa £29,000 – along
with very significant damage.

The faster action is
taken, the sooner you will regain control of your property.

Issuing a Section 8
notice is the most effective route to secure the eviction of a
problem tenant, although it’s important to be clear on the
situations that do and don’t warrant eviction. The most common
issues are rent arrears, damage and nuisance behaviour, however
circumstances do vary. On occasion, we see cases where several issues
coexist, creating a major headache for the landlord and making speedy
action even more vital to avoid repair costs racking up.

This month alone,
we’ve seen a variety of Section 8 cases, with tenants arrested for
anti-social behaviour, GBH and domestic violence, through to rent
arrears and more unusual cases, such as large sports equipment being
erected on public right of way outside the property.

There are many
scenarios that warrant the lawful eviction of a tenant, including
repeated failure to pay rent on time, neglect or damage of the
property, nuisance behaviour, use of the property for illegal or
immoral purposes, receipt of a criminal conviction, or unauthorised
pets living within the property.

Once landlords make
the decision to seek the legal eviction of a tenant, it’s vital to
avoid mistakes – some of which could have significant repercussions
and could derail the case. Communicating with a tenant is a good
example – while for some, particularly younger landlords, it will
seem natural to use social media to contact a tenant, Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter should always be off limits. A letter should be
the first port of call, followed by an email if that should fail. It
isn’t unheard of for a landlord to be accused of harassment where
care hasn’t been taken to limit communication to acceptable
channels.

A thorough record of
events, along with photographs, is important – it will prove
invaluable should court intervention be required. Paperwork and
records should also be stored carefully to avoid cases encountering
issues due to missing documents. In the past, we have helped
landlords and agents when cases have gone awry due to paperwork not
being in order – the last thing a landlord needs is to end up back at
square one.

Once a Section 8
notice has been issued, notice period for tenants can range from as
little as 24 hours, to as much as 2 months – the notice period will
depend largely on the reason for the eviction and those living at the
property.

It’s important to
seek legal advice to ensure that eviction of problem tenants is
achieved as swiftly as possible, which will help to prevent
additional damage to the property and limit stress as much as
possible.

Despite the media
depiction of landlords, the law does have the teeth to protect
landlords where tenancy agreements are broken – the key to achieving
the right outcome is acting quickly. Don’t delay and wait for the
problem to worsen.

By Sim Sekhon, MD of LegalforLandlords

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Tackling problem tenants – act quickly to secure the right outcome | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Tackling problem tenants – act quickly to secure the right outcome

Rent controls dry up supply and hurt tenants

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Rent controls hurt tenants by drying up the supply of homes to rent and in some cases increasing rents according to new research published today. With the Mayor of London calling for the power to introduce rent controls across the capital

The post Rent controls dry up supply and hurt tenants appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Rent controls dry up supply and hurt tenants

Rent controls hurt tenants says new research

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Rent controls hurt tenants by drying up the supply of homes to rent and in some cases increasing rents according to new research published today. With the Mayor of London calling for the power to introduce rent controls across the capital, an analysis of existing research by the Residential Landlords Association on the impact of […]

The post Rent controls hurt tenants says new research appeared first on RLA Campaigns and News Centre.

View Full Article: Rent controls hurt tenants says new research