Stamp duty for multiple purchase from same seller?

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Hi I’am currently in the process of purchasing 2 properties from the same seller.

I believe this is termed a “linked” purchase and extra SDLT is payable to HMRC.

Please can anyone advise me of what the position of SDLT might be in this situation.

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Help RLA fight Welsh Section 8 repossession challenge

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The RLA is fighting a ruling which could stop landlords taking back properties from tenants who are refusing to pay rent.

It could be very important to challenge these absurd legal decisions for when/if Section 21 is scrapped and the traps attached to Section 21 are potentially carried over to Section 8.

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Esther McVey wants digital revolution

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Housing Minister, Esther McVey, has announced plans to release data held by local bodies to enable the UK PropTech sector to thrive and for them to “bring about a digital revolution in the property sector.”

The Housing Minister will announce measures to:

• Open up Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) data for the first time in a transparency drive and enable PropTechs to obtain things like energy performance certificates and the square footage information of properties.

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Landlord’s claim against popstar – success due to inventory work…

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Inventories:

Is there something
about celebrities that makes them a petty bad tenancy risk? One
landlord recently fond that out the hard way when he rented a
property to popstar and former X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos.

The landlord claimed
that the three-bedroom property, located in Enfield and costing
£3,466 per month to rent, was let in ‘tip-top condition’ but
returned to him in an ‘appalling’ and ‘unlettable’ state.

The reported damage,
created between September 2014 and July 2016, included a smashed
sink, cigarette burns, stains and doors ripped from hinges.

Something very
similar happened a few years ago with international model, Kate Moss:
“Party-loving Kate is not a model tenant”, said the headline in
the Daily Mail, “For a girl who epitomises the urban chic of
metropolitan life, moving to the country was always likely to be a
difficult transition for the supermodel Kate Moss, said the report.

Moss’s stay at
honeysuckle-bedecked Walnut Tree Cottage eventually cost here
thousands of pounds in compensation after the 300-year-old property
was wrecked by flood water and trashed after wild partying, while she
was renting it, and after a long battle for the landlord.

Tulisa Contostavlos,
the former N-Dubz star was recently ordered to pay over £70,000 to
the landlord of her property, Andrew Charalambous, after it was heard
the luxury home had been ‘trashed’ during her tenancy.

What saved the day
for the landlord was the independent inventory check-in and check-out
report carried out by nation-wide inventory franchise firm, No
Letting Go. This was the key in providing evidence of serious
damage caused to a North London flat said the landlord.

When the case went
to court, Contostavlos’ lawyer argued that the damage was not caused
by her and that it was not above ‘normal wear and tear’. However,
judge David Saunders ruled against her and she was ordered to pay
compensation, interest and legal costs in excess of £70,000 to Mr
Charalambous.

The inventory work
on the property was carried out by Mitchell Walters, the owner of No
Letting Go’s Barnet and Enfield franchise, who deals with many
high-end properties in the capital.

The landlord has
described the inventory work carried out at the property as
‘excellent’.

“We were
pleased to be able to contribute towards helping the landlord win
compensation in his case against the former tenant as the property
was treated very poorly and would have cost him thousands to renovate
and repair. Our inventory reporting helped to demonstrate its
pristine condition at the start of the tenancy,” says Mitchell
Walters.

“Hopefully the
high-profile nature of this case will help to remind landlords and
letting agents about the potential financial implications of property
damage if they don’t have professional and comprehensive measures in
place.”

Nick Lyons, CEO and
Founder of No Letting Go, the UK’s largest provider of
inventory services, said:

“We can see
from this case the importance of an independently and professionally
compiled inventory.”

“It’s clear
that the type of damage being reported was certainly not wear and
tear, but when serious disputes between landlords and tenants like
this occur, being able to prove it through evidence becomes crucial
if landlords want to recover costs for repairs and replacements.”

“This case also
shows that it doesn’t matter whether a rental property is at the very
top or bottom end of the market, landlords and letting agents need to
follow the same procedures when it comes to documenting its condition
before, during and after a tenancy if they want ensure they are
protected against damage,” he says.

No Letting Go
is the UK’s largest provider of inventory services with over 65
offices across the country. It was crowned Lettings Supplier of the
Year in 2016 and is a member of the Association of Independent
Inventory Clerks, ARLA Propertymark, safe contractor and the British
Franchise Association.

www.nolettinggo.co.uk

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlord’s claim against popstar – success due to inventory work… | LandlordZONE.

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Forum spotlight: Responsibility for dealing with mice

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Our forum is an easy way for our members to interact with one another, and learn from the experiences of others. This week, a member had a question about who is responsible for dealing with a suspected mouse problem at the rental property. The member had never dealt with an issue like this before, and […]

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Tenant asks for so called ‘No Fault Eviction Notice’?

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One of my valued tenants has today asked me to serve a section 21 notice as he is not getting anywhere with the council in terms of providing a council house. He believes they will take him more seriously once his landlord has served him notice.

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Big corporate L&G invest £750m into affordable housing

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This is the kind of big corporate investment George Osborne and his political and corporate allies wanted to encourage back in 2015 with the introduction of Section 24 mortgage interest relief restrictions on private landlords.

Legal and General Press Release:

Legal &

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Hackney expand enforcement team and begin crack down

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Labour dominated Hackney Borough council have issued a warning to unlicensed and criminal landlords that they expanded their enforcement team and given the “go-ahead to begin a crackdown on dangerous conditions and mistreatment of private renters.”

The Council claim that one in five tenants suffer from cold homes

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Winter Proof Your Rental Properties

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The colder weather is here again, it’s that time of year coming; you feel that cold chill in the air, the snow and ice will soon arrive, and you know its time to get out that winter coat, scarf and gloves.

You also know that cold wet weather on the way will test your rental properties and tenants to the limit. The last thing you want is a phone call from your tenants telling you there’s a dire emergency.

It’s not a bad idea to write* to your tenants just to remind them that freezing temperatures can lead to water leaks and floods in the property, if they don’t maintain a minimum amount of heat in the building.

• Make sure that your tenants know how the boiler works, the location of the water stop tap and how to adjust the thermostat in their properties. They should have a full set of instructions for this.
• Make sure your tenants have emergency contact numbers, in case there are problems.
• Remind your tenants that if they intend to go away for any length of time in winter, heating precautions must be taken, and that your insurance may be invalid if the stay away is longer than a certain period of time – check with your insurance for this.

A few other pre-winter precautions can help avoid this situation, or at the very least reduce the possibility of such a scenario playing out, to the absolute minimum.

First off, make sure your landlord’s insurance policy is up to date and that it covers you for the most common winter risks: storm damage, flood damage, water leaks and of course the biggest risk of all: third parity liability for injuries to your tenants, visitors and the general public.

If a slate or tile blows off your roof in a gale, and it injures a passer-by, your liabilities can be horrendous. You will find a selection of tried and trusted landlord insurance providers here: https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/suppliers-directory/insurance

Next is the all important heating system. For tenants, the efficiency of the heating system has the most significant impact on their overall perception, enjoyment and cost of the house in winter.

Whatever type of heating is provided it should be efficient, safely designed with a frost thermostat, and economical to run. As a landlord it is in your interests in the long term, and it is now a legal requirement, that energy efficiency in rental properties meets a minimum standard.

Individual gas or electric fires, storage heaters and even coal fires are still widely used in rental properties, particularly older houses. These are usually far from best methods of heating in terms of cost and efficiency and are also in need of constant maintenance to ensure safety. Open fires need a regular chimney sweep.

Whole-house central heating systems provided by gas or oil boilers are by far the most efficient, effective and the best safeguard against frozen pipes. For example, a modern condensing boiler is at least 90% efficient, meaning that they turn 90% of the fuel they use into heat. In comparison, older gas boilers can be as low as 30 to 40% efficient.

It is a legal requirement in the UK to have gas systems, including boilers and flues, cookers, fires and any other gas and solid fuel appliances that are supplied by the landlord serviced and checked for safety annually by a qualified person, in the case of gas, a Gas Safe Registered Engineer.

Having the gas check done does not necessarily mean the boiler has been served, so it’s a good idea to arrange for the boiler to be serviced at the same time as the gas checks to avoid disruption for your tenants, and coming up to winter is a good time to do it. Also, although it’s not a legal requirement just yet, it soon will be, so checking over the electrical system, if the same engineer can do the job, is very worthwhile as well.

Coal fires or wood burning stoves need attention, so make sure the chimnies are swept annually, and test your carbon monoxide alarm. The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 make it a legal requirement that landlords provide a carbon monoxide alarm in any room containing a solid fuel appliance.

For peace of mind many landlords like to arrange a contract with a maintenance company where regular maintenance and emergency call outs are all covered with a form of insurance. British Gas and Homeserve are two leading companies in this field, but there are others who operate locally and may charge a lower premium or fee.

What if the worst happens and pipes freeze?

If pipes freeze-up, copper pipes are more likely to split than the more modern plastic pipes, and they both need to be thawed out very carefully. The water stop tap should be turned off, the boiler switched off, and a slow thaw-out with warmth applied to the pipes. Don’t apply a direct flame. Open all the taps to allow the system to fully drain out.

When fully thawed out and drained, check for any pipe splitting and repair as necessary before carefully turning the water pressure back on and thoroughly checking for leaks. Any water damage in the property will need to be fully dried out to prevent mould formation.

Insulation

Having an efficient heating system without good insulation is like pouring money down the drain: your tenant’s are not going to appreciate a rental property where drafts and poor insulation lose all the heat they are paying for.

If you own older rental properties, especially those with solid walls, where it’s not possible to put in cavity wall insulation, you should think about ways of insulating which will bring up the energy rating to meet the current minimum EPC energy rating for new tenancies of “E”. From April 2020, all existing residential tenancies will also be affected – The Private Rented Property minimum standard – landlord guidance documents

The Energy Savings Trust is also a good source of information for energy savings in rental homes.

The Winter Checks

There are lots of common sense straightforward things you can do to a property to improve its energy saving qualities and make sure your property is fit for winter. You need not tackle all these points at once but you can build them into a longer term maintenance programme.

Internal

• Insulate lofts and roof spaces – this is really inexpensive to do and one of the most effective ways of improving heat retention in a home.
• If the property has old and draughty ill fitting windows and doors you need to consider replacing them. This will increase the security of the property at the same time.
• Draught proof all existing external doors and windows, but remember open-flue gas appliances need an air flow, which should by preference be under floor.
• Make sure that water pipes likely to be exposed to frost, particularly those outside the insulated envelope, such as outside stand pipes, roof space and crawlspace piping are properly insulated so as to prevent busts in really could weather.
• If there is a water tank in the loft, make sure that it is inside the insulated envelope by removing an insulation material underneath it and preferably by building an insulated box around it. This allows heat from below to rise reaching the tank, which will stop the water freezing in cold weather.
• If there is a hot water cylinder in the property make sure is has a good insulating jacket fitted.
• Bleed all radiators from time to time to ensure they can work efficiently when any air has been removed from them. It’s also a good idea to have all radiators fitted with thermostatic values (not too expensive these days) so that individual room’s temperatures can be independently controlled.
• Make sure any gas flues and outlets cannot block with snow and freeze over which could cause a health hazard with carbon monoxide. Think about fitting a carbon monoxide sensor in the property for your tenant’s safety.
• Boiler overflow pipes have a habit of freezing-up on some models which will prevent the boiler functioning just when it’s needed in really cold weather.
• Be sure to tell your tenants the location of water and gas stop taps, plus the electrical system isolation switches. If there are any busts and leaks a lot of damage can be prevented if the flow is stopped quickly. This information and much more should be included in a tenant’s information pack which you provide to all your tenants.
• Think about cavity wall insulation, or where there are solid stone or brick walls, consider internal or external insulated cladding. Treating external masonry with silicon waterproofing not only prevents water penetration and damp, it reduces energy loss in solid wall by preventing heat loss through latent heat water evaporation.

External

• Check the roof, walls and chimney stacks for any signs of missing or loose slates, tiles or pointing and any damp patches. A loose stretch of pointing on the ridge for example, can result in a whole section of your roof disappearing in high winds, resulting in expensive internal damage and severe disruption for your tenants. A damp patch on an external wall will result in decaying masonry and will eventually penetrate to inside, so investigate and get the cause put right.
• Check all outside guttering, downspouts and surface drains for leaks, blockages and debris – clear out any leaves or other debris before the heavy rain comes. This will reduce the risks of leaks and blockages and ice forming on walkways during freezing weather.
• Check external walkways for obstructions, leaves and debris where people could fall over them and clear them away. If necessary provide automatic external lighting to make walkways safe.
• Make sure outbuildings and external doors and gates are secure and safe from blowing open in high winds.
• Provide gritting where surfaces may be slippy and people could fall.

Condensation and Mould

Condensation is a big problem in many homes, even new ones, particularly in the winter months. It’s inevitable though that older properties will suffer most, especially those with solid masonry walls.

Over time any condensation present will result in black mould patches on walls, particularly in the colder and highest rooms in the house like bedrooms and bathrooms where mould will start to form.

Mouldy smelling clothes in the bedroom wardrobes are often a first sign.

Condensation is a complex systemic problem which many people confuse with dampness. More often than not condensation is caused by the lifestyle of the occupants rather than anything that’s fundamentally wrong with the property, though poor insulation, inadequate heating systems and poor ventilation at the source of steam, kitchens and bathrooms, will contribute to it.

There are three main causes of condensation in rented properties:

1 – Inadequate heating – particularly common in rented properties where occupants often try to save money by having little or no heating on during most of the day time, especially if they are out all day working. Not only is this false economy, as it costs more to get the place up to temperature from scratch than it does to leave the heating on low, it results in very cold surfaces where water condenses on contact.

2 – Lack of ventilation – production of lots of steam from cooking, bathing and washing / drying clothes without ventilating it at source results in hot steam laden air rising and condensing on any could surface. Bathrooms and kitchens should have good extractors to remove steam at source.

What can you do to reduce Condensation?

Providing you have taken the necessary precautions with your property and brought it up to a reasonable standard of energy efficiency this should take care of most eventualities. However, you may need to educate your tenants – see our Condensation Letter – https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/documents

Educate your tenants to provide enough heating

• Keep the heating on low during the day time to maintain a minimum temperature. Overall it costs far less to leave the heating at a low temperature rather than having to bring the temperature up from cold when you need it on.
• When tenants leave a property unoccupied over the winter period a minimum level of heating should be provided to prevent freezing of pipes etc. Most insurance policies will specify that the insurer must be informed if the property is left vacant for more than 14 to 30 days.
• If the heating cannot be left on in cold winter spells the main heating and water systems should be turned off and drained down. Remember to install new inhibitor in the heating system when it is refilled – this protects the internals of boilers and radiators from rusting and scaling.
• Maintaining a minimum temperature throughout the property will ensure that walls, clothes and fabrics will always be warm and will not absorb moisture from the air causing condensation and mould.

Ventilate a source to remove moisture

• When a room is in use, keep a trickle vent open – moisture enters the air from people breathing.
• If necessary provide ventilation in bathrooms and kitchens to vent steam at source. Automatic extractor fans are best which will prevent cold through excessive ventilation and will only operate when the air moisture content reached a pre-determined level.
• Keep the doors to bathrooms and kitchens doors closed even when they have extractor fans.
• Provide ventilation in cupboards and wardrobes. Don’t overfill wardrobes so that air can circulate around clothes. It’s a good idea to cut holes in the back panel of wardrobes and keep them a few centimetres from the wall.  When possible locate wardrobes against internal walls – outside walls are always the coldest.

It is well worth visiting or contacting your tenants before a cold spell and also sending them a letter to remind them of the importance of maintaining heat in cold weather.

Many young tenants have no experience or awareness of the importance of this or the cost and disruption a bust can cause.

* Cold Weather Letter 

If you have any questions about any of the issues here, post your question to the LandlordZONE® Forums – these are the busiest Rental Property Forums in the UK – you will have an answer in no time at all.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Winter Proof Your Rental Properties | LandlordZONE.

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Top award for RLA chief executive

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RLA chief executive Andrew Dixon has been named one of the UK’s top business leaders in the CEO UK Awards 2019. Dedicated to recognising ‘strong and innovative leadership’ amongst business leaders, the CEO Today UK Awards recognises Chief Executives who are leading in their respective sectors and beyond.  In the 14 months since Andrew took […]

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