Housing market performance – Labour v Conservative

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House Price Growth Higher under Labour:

From 1974-2019, house price growth (taking inflation into account) from all four Labour prime ministers’ terms in office, added together (119%), significantly outstripped that of Conservative prime ministers (5%). Only one region of the UK/Northern Ireland saw higher house price growth under Conservative governments.

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Rental industry giant, Hamilton Fraser, to launch deposit alternative product

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UK lettings and
landlord insurance industry giant, Hamilton Fraser, has announced the launch of
its own in-house deposit alternative brand, Ome.

Having previously
highlighted the problems surrounding the increasing trend for such schemes,
Hamilton Fraser has decided to tackle these issues head-on itself, providing a
transparent product aimed at delivering complete market choice for UK tenants
and landlords, without compromising their rental wellbeing in the process.

Ome
is the latest brand to launch in the Hamilton Fraser Group and will be the
vehicle for its Deposit Replacement Membership. Ome will operate independently,
enabling agility within an adapting market, but with the support and entire
resources of the Hamilton Fraser Group behind it, including its extensive
knowledge of deposit protection having operated the government authorised
scheme mydeposits since 2007. Ome will also benefit from Hamilton Fraser’s own
adjudication service HF Resolution, which already provides services to many of
the existing deposit alternatives.

This is already the case with many of the
offerings in Hamilton Fraser’s extensive portfolio and will ensure that,
regardless of which deposit path tenants and landlords opt to go down, they
receive a customer focused service. Not only this, but Ome’s digital first
approach will provide Hamilton Fraser with a pioneering brand as they continue
to make improvements to customer service and operations.

Why Ome?

Ome aims to
address a number of market changes, particularly with many tenants now renting
as a lifestyle choice, coupled with the introduction of the tenant fee ban and
the industry milestone of mandatory client money protection.

In addition to
these external changes in the private rented sector, Hamilton Fraser already
has the relevant internal expertise. In fact, Hamilton Fraser is already
providing the adjudication services to many of the leading deposit alternatives
through HF Resolution and has been offering traditional deposit protection
since 2007 through mydeposits.  So, with
Hamilton Fraser experiencing increasing demand from even the largest property
industry brands for these products, and with the expertise and tools already at
its disposal, the company is extremely well placed to deliver such a product
via Ome. 

Ome will look to
tackle existing industry issues through an open approach, ensuring every tenant
and landlord is aware of the pros and cons of deposit protection options, and
how both an alternative or traditional deposit scheme might best suit their
individual situation. Ome doesn’t want to dissuade anyone from using the
traditional format, but they do want to offer the flexibility that more than
one choice can provide.

Deposit
alternatives are not an affordability product. Ome has been designed as a cash
flow solution to provide an option that doesn’t require a hefty upfront sum for
those tenants that would rather financial flexibility. 

Ome is as much about protecting landlords as it
is about helping tenants. Ome will provide landlords with the exact same
financial protections that they would receive with a traditional deposit
scheme.

The only question Ome encourages landlords to ask
themselves is whether or not they want to deal with the administrative and
legislative burden a traditional cash deposit requires.

With increasing reports of some landlords not protecting
deposits correctly and rogue agents running off with tenancy deposits, Ome’s
alternative product protects against these risks.

Co-founder of Ome,
Matthew Hooker, commented:

“Ome is about
offering choice and transparency within the market rather than completely
rewriting the tenancy deposit rulebook and I think Ome’s Deposit Replacement
Membership will be the “go-to” option for many renters and will
complement the traditional deposit schemes in today’s rental market.

Hamilton Fraser
provides such a wealth of resources at our fingertips and has a rich history of
expanding and improving its consumer offering. As a result, we are in a strong
position to offer the best deposit replacement product available today in Ome,
whilst also driving positive change in the UK rental sector and, like Hamilton
Fraser, we will continue to raise industry standards.”

Group CEO of Hamilton Fraser, Eddie Hooker,
commented:

“Hamilton Fraser is one of the country’s leading
specialists in landlord and tenants’ services and products and is well known as
an expert in the sector. Therefore the launch of Ome is complemented by the
huge resource and credibility that the family group provides. When you think
about it, a deposit alternative product is a very natural expansion for us
because we know the space so very well and we’ve been asked by our many
landlord and agent clients to provide one. So we have.

Hamilton Fraser’s
business ethos is to offer products that protect businesses and consumers, to
provide market-leading customer service and to educate the market where we can.
With this mission to raise standards in the private rental sector, the next
natural step was to challenge the new crop of deposit products and demonstrate
ourselves the standards that should be expected within the sector.”

Additional
Information

Tenant responsibilities Tenants will be held to the exact same obligations as a traditional deposit scheme. They must understand that they are still responsible for leaving the property in the same condition they found it, and most importantly that they must pay all the rent and bills they are contracted to pay within the tenancy agreement.

If a tenant does not look after the property then
Hamilton Fraser’s experienced adjudicators will assess the settlement figures
owed to the landlord and the tenant will be obliged to pay them. If they don’t,
the landlord will be financially protected and the tenant will be held liable
under contract.

Ome’s deposit alternative will build on the good
work done by the traditional deposit schemes in raising standards and improving
communication between all parties to the tenancy agreement. 

Tenant references will be required but, in line
with the theme of offering choice, Ome will not dictate what referencing
supplier can be used. 

Landlord and
agent obligations

Landlords and agents can continue to rely on
their existing referencing relationship with the only requirement being that
the landlord must comply with Ome’s minimum referencing standards. 

Ome will require
landlords and agents to perform property inventories and check-in and check-out
reports.  This is not only because
disputes at the end of the tenancy will be evidence based, but also because it
creates better transparency and communication between the landlord and tenant,
reducing conflict at the end of the tenancy should a dispute arise.

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SNP Manifesto – PRS Lite

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The SNP have released their 2019 general election manifesto. This has been very briefly summarised with the key points of interest for Landlords and the PRS industry. Download the full manifesto here

After wading through 50 pages the below was all that could be found on first read that affected the housing market.

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Landlord’s Key Dates for 2020

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Rental Rules:

Here is a handy
guide to some key legal dates all landlords should have in their
diaries for 2020.

As the big build up
to Christmas begins, many landlords will be hoping for some
much-needed downtime over the festive period.

But, according to
Paul Barnes, Head of Dispute Resolution at Kirwans law firm, those
who can spare some time to look at the forthcoming regulatory changes
before the end of the year could safeguard themselves against
potential problems in 2020.

Paul says:

“From minimum
energy efficiency standards to tax relief, a number of legal changes
will take effect in 2020.

“For some
landlords, little work will be required to ensure they comply with
the new regulations, while for others, wholescale changes will be
required.

“Those who
familiarise themselves with the new rules now should have ample time
to put measures in place that will keep them on the right side of the
law.”

Here, Paul looks at
the top four legal changes to affect landlords next year:

1) Minimum energy
efficiency standards (MEES)

Most of us are by
now familiar with the minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) that
came into effect in April 2018, which stated that new tenancy
agreements and renewals (other than some HMOs such as bedsits) must
have an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of E or above.

By April 1, 2020,
however (or April 1, 2023 for commercial property) the regulations
will be extended to also cover existing tenancies. This means that,
under the new legislation, properties with an energy performance
certificate (EPC) rating of F or G will be classed as unrentable from
that date on.

But landlords can’t
rest on their laurels at that point; there are already whispers that
these standards could rise again in another couple of years, at which
point ‘D’ will be the minimum EPC rating, so it’s worth getting
your properties up to scratch now to prevent even more work later.

2) Electrical
installation checks

Last January, the
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)
announced that mandatory five-year electrical installation checks on
private rented housing in England would be introduced over a
transitional period of two years. The first year would see all new
private tenancies subject to the checks, while the second year would
encompass all existing tenancies too.

However, the
implementation date has not yet been clarified so, while it is still
unconfirmed as to exactly when this will begin, there is a good
chance that the legislation could be introduced at some point in
2020.

3) New tax relief
rules

There was a time
when private and individual landlords could claim tax relief on
mortgage interest payments and fees, as well as fees and interest
incurred on loans to buy furnishings.

Then, in 2015, the
government made property rentals a much less viable option for many
when they announced that this was to be phased out.

In 2017-18 the
process began, with claimable tax relief reduced to 75 per cent, and
so the reduction continued through 2019-20. In 2020-21, landlords
won’t be able to claim any tax relief on mortgage interest payments
at all.

Instead, from April
2020, landlords will receive a 20% tax credit on their interest
payments; not great news for those in the higher tax bracket –
which could now include landlords who will have to declare the rental
income that they previously used for interest payments.

Many landlords are
now setting up limited companies when buying new rental properties in
order to avoid the higher individual rates, but there’s no
guarantee that the rules won’t change to affected limited companies
in the future.

4) Changes to
Private Residence Relief

From April 2020,
changes to Private Residence Relief mean that landlords will lose
nine months’ worth of Capital Gains tax relief when they come to
sell.

While at the moment
landlords can claim Private Residence Relief for all the time they
lived in their property before letting it to tenants, plus an extra
18 months after moving out, this final exemption period will be
reduced next April to the time they lived in their property plus just
nine months post-moving out.

In addition,
landlords who rent out a property that was once their main home will
see the £40,000 worth of lettings relief they currently enjoy
scrapped as, from April, only landlords who share an occupancy with
their tenants will be able to claim. The deadline for payment of the
Capital Gains Tax bill will also change from April 2020, from January
31st in the year after the tax year they made the sale, as it is now,
to within 30 days of the completion of the sale.

So, if you’re a
landlord thinking of selling up, it might be worth seeking legal
advice about doing so sooner rather than later.

Kirwans Solicitors

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlord’s Key Dates for 2020 | LandlordZONE.

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Leasehold risk for over 55s

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More than half of older homeowners who own one of the 2.3 million leasehold properties in England and Wales would consider buying the freehold or extending the lease suggests new research* from independent equity release adviser Key.

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Call of the week – Bailiff wait times

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Serving notice and the correct processes and procedures are among the most common topics dealt with by the RLA advice team. It may surprise some that even when you obtain the possession order, there is still another step to complete before you can regain possession of your property. This final step is to apply for […]

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Nationwide, Crisis, and Generation Rent support scrapping Section 21

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The Nationwide Building Society has reported on an event held by players in the rental and housing sector, with the main outcome being that organisations must work more closely together in order to effect meaningful change.

The industry roundtable was attended by representatives from across the private rented sector including Nationwide Building Society

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Landlord Law Training Bundles – Black Friday Deals

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Landlord Law are offering special online training discounts before Midnight on 29 November 2019 with savings up to 50% off the full price.

Click Here to see the offers available and download the courses

I have been taking Tessa Shepperson’s thoroughly well put together Landlord Law courses myself this month and I can confirm they are excellent.

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Cut through the noise to landlord issues

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On 12th December the British people will once again vote for who should lead our country and break the Brexit deadlock, which has dominated the headlines for the best part of three years. However, as one of the most unpredictable elections in recent history

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Deposits to be made transferable between landlords

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Tenancy Deposits:

In a move that would
help tenants who struggle finding deposits when moving to new
rentals, The Conservatives have announced they will bring in
legislation to enable deposits to be transferred, termed Deposit
Passporting.

It is estimated
there are around 4.7million tenants who have to find on average
around £1,000 to put down as a deposit each time they move and enter
a new tenancy. This money is required up-front, and often, because
of delays and getting an existing deposit paid back, they have to
find new money.

For those who
struggle to raise these large sums, and to pay for the first month’s
rent as well as the security deposit, sometimes running into
thousands in the capital, this news will provide them with a boost
and a relief.

The Tories are
anxious to do all they can and help renters, knowing they now
represent a growing cohort of young voters, so moves like this, they
think, will prove very popular.

The idea is that
tenants would be able to transfer their deposit from an existing
landlord direct to a new landlord, without having to find a new lump
sum themselves, apart from topping up any increase.

The Tories think the
main beneficiaries will be those on low incomes, students and
retirees who traditionally would find it hard to find these large
sums of money at the start of a new tenancy.

Landlord groups and
representatives have welcomed the move, but are concerned about the
mechanics of the scheme and how this would work out in practice. For
example, what if there’s a dispute over damage claims?

But landlords
acknowledge that anything that makes it easier for tenants to obtain
a new tenancy with sufficient and readily accessible funds, can only
be a good thing.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) opened a consultation on the necessary reforms to tenancy deposits that will help tenants move more easily which closed on 5 September 2019. The consultation exercise will be evaluating the feasibility of passporting deposits when tenants are changing tenancies.

The National
Landlords Association (NLA) has emphasised that deposit passporting
needs to be carefully designed to ensure that landlords are not
disadvantaged from making valid claims against their tenants’
security deposits.

Chris Norris,
director of policy and practice at the NLA, said:

“We must make sure
that adequate thought is given to the needs of both tenants and
landlords. Everyone agrees that moving between tenancies should be
made easier and cheaper, but we also need to recognise why landlords
take deposits. A deposit protects against damage or default, so
landlords must be confident their costs are covered before releasing
the tenants’ money.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Deposits to be made transferable between landlords | LandlordZONE.

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