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

admin    Uncategorized     agents

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 Bournemouth Meeting property networking event Tuesday 12th November 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.

The post Mark Smith (Barrister-At-Law) Landlord tax planning strategies – Bournemouth appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Mark Smith (Barrister-At-Law) Landlord tax planning strategies – Bournemouth

Call of the week – seasonal repairs

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The weather is getting noticeably cooler and streets are covered in blankets of leaves. Autumn is now in full swing, but exactly who is responsible for clearing those dead leaves that are blocking the gutter? At this time of year, there are many seasonal problems that landlords and tenants may face, and our advice team […]

The post Call of the week – seasonal repairs appeared first on RLA Campaigns and News Centre.

View Full Article: Call of the week – seasonal repairs

Landlords beware – cannabis farming on the increase

admin    Uncategorized     agents

New analysis by Direct Line for Business reveals a surge in the number of police investigations into the theft of electricity, where people have tampered with a gas or electricity meter, so it doesn’t properly record the energy used in England &

The post Landlords beware – cannabis farming on the increase appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Landlords beware – cannabis farming on the increase

Caridon Landlord Solutions shortlisted ‘Best Property Education Provider’

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Caridon Landlord Solutions is delighted to have been shortlisted in the category of ‘Best Property Education Provider’ at this year’s National  Landlord Investment Show Awards.

The awards celebrate companies working at the top of their game in the private rented sector (PRS)

The post Caridon Landlord Solutions shortlisted ‘Best Property Education Provider’ appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Caridon Landlord Solutions shortlisted ‘Best Property Education Provider’

safeagent claims thousands of HMO properties are going unlicensed

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Licensing:

Research carried out
for safeagent (formerly NALS) by London Property Licensing finds that
over 130,000 properties in London remain unlicensed. Landlords whose
properties should be licensed under selective, additional or
mandatory HMO licensing schemes are breaking the law in large
numbers, it says.

safeagent reckons
there could be a non-compliance rate of as much as 75% in unlicensed
HMOs in London and is calling for a rethink by Government of
licensing in the private rented sector (PRS).

The research, which
was carried out using Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, found
that there are over 310,000 private rented properties in London that
require licensing under one or other other of the mandatory HMO,
additional and selective licensing schemes implemented under the
Housing Act 2004.

Mandatory HMO
licensing applies to all HMOs right across England, whereas
additional and selective licensing schemes apply selectively when
introduced by local authorities on a Borough by Borough basis. The
aim is improve standards in the Private Rented Sector (PRS), where
greater control is deemed necessary.

Non-compliance in
the capital is rife claims safeagent. Its says that licence
applications have been submitted for only 25% of the 138,500 private
rented properties that require licensing under mandatory HMO or
additional licensing schemes. That, if correct would imply a
non-compliance rate of 75%. Without a mandatory licence approval in
place, these lettings are being operated illegally, potentially
putting lives at risk.

Landlords and or agents caught operating unlicensed properties face heavy penalties with a criminal prosecution, hefty fines, or a civil penalty of up to £30,000 and rent reclaims of up to ordered to repay up to 12 months rent. safeagent thinks that some landlords many be falling foul of the law through ignorance of the complex regulatory framework.

Since October last
the mandatory HMO licensing scheme applied to most HMOs shared by
five or more people, whereas it was previously restricted to
properties three or more storeys in height.

In some boroughs,
additional licensing schemes have extended licensing to properties
rented to just three or four unrelated people. This complicated
picture also makes it hard for council enforcement teams to assess
which properties should have a licence says safeagent.

The picture for
selective licensing is markedly different says safeagent. These
schemes extend licensing to all private rented properties including
single family lets within a certain geographical area. Licence
applications have been submitted for 85% of the 173,000 private
rented properties that require licensing under selective licensing
schemes in London- a non-compliance rate of just 15%.

Added to the
confusion over licensable properties, many London Boroughs are
struggling to process over 24,000 licence applications – a huge
administrative burden that can lead to long delays in issuing licence
approvals. Currently, about 40% of boroughs still rely on paper
applications.

Consequently,
safeagent is calling for a simple, streamlined licensing process
which would make it more cost effective for the public purse, easier
for councils to enforce, and clearer for landlords and agents to
understand whether a property should be licensed.

Isobel Thomson,
safeagent CEO, says:

“The results of
the survey are concerning. Consumers are not being well served and
indeed many are being placed at risk through this mish mash of
licensing schemes. Right now, the system isn’t fit for purpose and
Councils are drowning in paperwork. Landlords needing property
licences are either deliberately evading the schemes or are in the
dark concerning their legal responsibilities and tenants are being
placed at risk.

“If the compliance
rate for HMO licensing schemes is only 25%, how can these schemes be
effective? Ultimately this is about proper use of public money and
consumer protection. Where are the assessment procedures for Councils
who have schemes in place? Isn’t it time we went back to the
drawing board to come up with a simple, streamlined system that works
for all?“

Types of
licensing

HMO Licensing Mandatory HMO licensing applies throughout England under Part II of the Housing Act 2004. The licensing scheme applies to most Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) occupied by five or more people – an estimated 220,000+ properties across England. http://www.londonpropertylicensing.co.uk/mandatory-hmo-licensing

Additional
Licensing Each council has the power to introduce additional
licensing under Part II of the Housing Act 2004. Additional licensing
schemes apply to certain Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) that
fall outside the scope of the mandatory HMO licensing scheme. For
example, HMOs with only three or four occupants. Each scheme has
different terms and conditions.

http://www.londonpropertylicensing.co.uk/additional-licensing

Selective
Licensing Councils have the power to implement a selective licensing
scheme under Part III of the Housing Act 2004. These schemes apply to
all private rented properties within a defined geographical area.
Larger schemes required approval from the Secretary of State.

http://www.londonpropertylicensing.co.uk/selective-licensing

Research
methodology – safeagent commissioned London Property Licensing to
carry out research on mandatory HMO, additional and selective
licensing schemes implemented by the 32 London Boroughs plus the City
of London.

Freedom of
Information requests were submitted to all 33 London local
authorities seeking information about their property licensing
activity as of 1 May 2019. Responses have been received from every
council.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – safeagent claims thousands of HMO properties are going unlicensed | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: safeagent claims thousands of HMO properties are going unlicensed

Forced sale of family trust property under Labour plans?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

I am trustee of a family discretionary Trust, providing rental income to various beneficiaries.

Under Labour’s proposed plan to allow tenants to buy the property they are renting, will the trustees of this Trust have to agree to the rental property being sold to the tenant.

The post Forced sale of family trust property under Labour plans? appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Forced sale of family trust property under Labour plans?

Kind-hearted letting agents fly to Malawi to volunteer in schools

admin    Uncategorized     agents

A Yorkshire letting agent has traveled more than 7000 miles to Malawi to help volunteer in several schools. Chris Holmes, a manager at Bricknells Properties in Rotherham, and Patrick Sullivan, Managing Director of Whitebrick Property Management in Coventry arrived in Malawi on Sunday 13th October. The pair will spend the next two weeks volunteering in […]

The post Kind-hearted letting agents fly to Malawi to volunteer in schools appeared first on RLA Campaigns and News Centre.

View Full Article: Kind-hearted letting agents fly to Malawi to volunteer in schools

Deposits and Disputes training for Glasgow landlords

admin    Uncategorized     agents

In the last year, 543 disputes have arisen between landlords and tenants in the Glasgow postcode area according to the latest research from SafeDeposits Scotland.

The deposit protection provider found that the average amount that tenants and landlords in Glasgow disagreed over deductions to the deposit at the end of a tenancy was £370.23 and that disputes in the city accounted for more than a quarter (26%) of all tenancy disputes in Scotland.

The post Deposits and Disputes training for Glasgow landlords appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Deposits and Disputes training for Glasgow landlords

Goodbye letter from Mortgage Express?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Mortgage Express didn’t provide me with a Notice of Assignment of my portfolio mortgage to Jasper Mortgages pursuant to s136 (1) of the Law of Property Act 1925 in February 2018.

When I asked them for a copy of the Goodbye letter

The post Goodbye letter from Mortgage Express? appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Goodbye letter from Mortgage Express?

Shock announcement and abrupt closure of the Upad business

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Online Lettings:

The pioneering
online letting agency Upad has announce an immediate closure of its
business operations, citing a serious illness of its founder James
Davis as the reason.

The business was registered as a private limited company by James Davis in April 2008, and it has occupied a leading spot in the UK’s online-only lettings service ever since.

The ten-year-old
business had pioneered the online-only lettings business model, but
it has now thrown in the towel and its website says it is not
accepting any new business from landlords.

CEO and a portfolio landlord himself, James Davis, headed the company with an energetic and capable marketing presence in the industry, building up a strong brand name and represented a real disrupting force in the industry. In addition, its online information resources and regular webinars provided landlords with legal updates which proved of value to his user clients.

However, the more
recent arrival of well-funded competitors such as Howsey and OpenRent
has probably contributed to the rising losses of the company.
Companies house records show that losses had been building for at
least the last three years, whilst the business was being kept afloat
with mounting additional funding from its directors.

The situation calls into question the viability of a purely on-line letting agency, and it mirrors that of on-line estate agents. Emoov – which had previously merged with TV property personality Sarah Beeny’s start-up online estate agency Tepilo earlier this year – collapsed into administration. Hatched has been shut down and even the quoted company, the market leading PurpleBricks, has had its business operations severely curtailed, its charges slashed and has seen its share price collapse.

Upad’s homepage simply offers a message of thanks to its former clients for their support and gives guidance on how those landlords affected by the closure should proceed. Basically the company is stating that those landlords affected (estimated by Upad to be around 450) should contact their tenants direct and make their own arrangements for the duration of their existing tenancies.

This
is Upad’s announcement:

FAQs for
tenants

Q: I’m a Upad
tenant. What will happen to my deposit?

A: Your deposit
is protected by a government approved tenancy deposit scheme – TDS
www.tenancydepositscheme.com/tenants-FAQs.html. We have transferred
tenants’ deposits held by us to TDS. If your tenancy has ended,
please contact your landlord to agree the deductions from the
deposit.

Q: I pay my rent
to Upad. What will happen to that process in future?

A: Any rent
already collected by us will be promptly paid over to the landlord on
receipt. We hold all client money in a strictly segregated account,
separate from our own funds. We will stop collecting rent by direct
debit after 10 October 2019 so you should contact your landlord
directly to make alternative arrangements for future rents to be
paid.

Q: I am in the
process of agreeing a tenancy for a new property. What should I do?

A: Please contact
the landlord directly, if you have their contact details, or wait for
them to get in touch with you.

FAQs for
landlords

Q: I have an
ongoing tenancy administered by Upad. What will happen to my tenant’s
deposit?

A: The deposit is
protected by a government approved tenancy deposit scheme (TDS). We
have transferred all deposits held by us into their custodial scheme.

If you need
further information about the deposit, you can access this via the
TDS website by entering the tenancy details here

https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/is-my-deposit-protected.html

At the end of the
tenancy, you will negotiate any deductions directly with your tenant
and then give authority to the deposit scheme administrators for the
deposit to be released, subject to the rules of the scheme.

Q: Upad are
collecting rent from my tenant. What will happen to that process in
future?

A: Any rent
already collected by us will be promptly paid over to you on receipt.
We hold all client money in a strictly segregated account, separate
from our own funds. We will stop collecting rent by direct debit
after 10 October 2019 so you should contact your tenant directly to
make alternative arrangements for future rents to be paid.

Q: I have paid
for a Upad advertising package and haven’t yet found a tenant.

A: We are sorry
that we have not been able to find you a tenant. If you have
purchased a Upad package since 1 October 2019 then we will be
refunding you in due course. If you purchased a Upad package prior to
that date, we regret that we cannot offer a refund.

Q: I am in the
process of agreeing a tenancy for a new property. What should I do?

A: Please contact
the tenant directly to conclude negotiations.

We will add more
information to this website when it becomes available. If you have a
different query then please email query@upad.co.uk and we will deal
with your email as soon as possible.

www.upad.co.uk

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Shock announcement and abrupt closure of the Upad business | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Shock announcement and abrupt closure of the Upad business