Rent guarantors liability beyond fixed term?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

I would welcome advice on the following. I issued a tenant with a 6 months short hold tenancy agreement and obtained a letter from a guarantor for any non payment of rent by the tenant. The tenancy has rolled over into a periodic tenancy.

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What happens when Section 21 is no longer there?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

No-fault
evictions:

With the
confirmation that the no-fault Section 21 process is to be abolished,
in the December Queen’s Speech, comes the realisation that
landlords and letting agents will need to prepare for a new regime.

Details are sketchy at the moment but a good deal of information, and the general direction of travel, can be gleaned from the government’s guide, “A new deal for renting: resetting the balance of rights and responsibilities between landlords and tenants”

PayProp, the company
that handles automated transactions and reconciliation for landlords
and agents on its web platform, is advising landlords and letting
agents to think now about updating their documentation and procedures
prior to the introduction of the new system.

Neil Cobbold, Chief
Operating Officer of PayProp

“…agents (and
landlords) need to think about the ways they can help to reduce the
frequency of evictions. Encouraging good relationships between
landlords and tenants is all-important, as is staying on top of
repairs and facilitating good communication between both parties.”

“Rent arrears
are one of the most common reasons for evictions, so agents can help
landlords to keep them to a minimum by sending automated emails and
text messages – which are proven to be more effective when it comes
to chasing rent payments. Using technology and automation will be
crucial for agents to stay on top of constantly changing industry
regulation and legislation,” thinks Mr. Cobbold.

Whilst its too early
to develop detailed paperwork, agreements and notices incorporating
the new regime, it’s not too early to start to put procedures in
place which are robust enough to deal with situations that as a last
resort may develop into a pressing need to evict.

In future, all
evictions, and most of these involve rent arrears, will revolve
around having good evidence to convince a court that the situation
may not be resolvable in any other way. Either serious rent arrears –
and these should never be allowed to become too serious – or
persistent delays in paying rent, will have to be adequately
evidenced if they are to succeed.

The other two major
reasons why an eviction may, unfortunately, have to be resorted to,
include damage to the premises, or anti-social behaviour.

In the case of the
former, a regular inspection regime is important, following on from a
good independent inventory taken at the commencement of the tenancy.
Where a damage claim is likely, a follow-up end-of-tenancy check-out
inventory is a must.

Where anti social
behaviour is concerned, and indeed with any form of dealing with
tenants, the landlord or agent should keep a detailed diary of
events, recoding everything that is said, and copies of all
communications. Verbal communications should always be followed up in
writing, and should be readily available in the tenancy file.

The courts are
interested in one thing and one thing only: facts. Hearsay and
opinions will get you nowhere, so all evidence presented must be in
some form of documentation, whether this be letters, emails,
contemporaneous diary entries, police reports, witness statements,
inspection reports, photographs and full inventories.

With the prospect of
having to prove given tenant behaviours against what is said will be
a revised set of grounds for possession, landlords and agents should
be getting ready now with their new and existing tenancies.

Forewarned is forearmed, so being prepared for the worst, in the unlikely event it may happen – by far most tenancies end normally with the tenant giving notice – means that you are protecting your investment even though the convenience of Section 21 has been taken away.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – What happens when Section 21 is no longer there? | LandlordZONE.

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Looking back: The RLA Year in review – 2019

admin    Uncategorized     agents

It’s been a busy year for the Residential Landlords Association and the PRS as a whole, with game-changing announcements, including plans to axe Section 21. Here we take a look back at some of the biggest news from 2019 month-by-month. January The RLA celebrated the start of the year with the announcement membership had hit 35,000, […]

The post Looking back: The RLA Year in review – 2019 appeared first on RLA Campaigns and News Centre.

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Will transferable tenancy deposits be introduced in 2020?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Lifetime deposits:

As the New Year and
new decade approaches, for good or ill, we can expect more changes in
the Private Rented Sector (PRS).

With the election over, there’s far more certainty around and if the effect the election’s had on the stock market is anything to go by, we can expect a boosted housing and rental market in 2020.

There’s light at the end of the tunnel regarding Brexit, at least the government is now able to act decisively, but the jury’s still out as to how long the new government’s honeymoon period will last.

Despite everything that’s happened in 2019 though, the property market has remained remarkably stable, with rent levels quite resilient.

Landlords have faced a slew of new regulations and are still grappling with an enormous amount of new information to keep on top of, if they are to comply with everything that’s been thrown at them recently, Changes range from the changes introduced by the Deregulation Act, the tenant fee ban, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act, and more recently introduced in Boris Johnson’s Queen’s Speech, the Renters’ Reform Bill which includes banning S21 and lifetime deposits.

Lifetime Deposits and Passporting

The concept of a
“Lifetime” or “Transferable Rental Deposit” was mentioned in
a press briefing by Prime Minister Boris Johnson before the election:
“The costs of deposits make it harder (for tenants) to move. We are
going to fix that.”

Unlike some of the
other proposals mooted by the Conservatives, these would be largely
welcomed by landlords and agents. The RLA has said: “…it would be
easier for all involved if a tenant’s deposit could follow them
from property to property, with the tenant making up any shortfall
caused by deductions.”

David Smith, RLA
Policy Director says:

“We have long
argued that deposits should be transferable. It will make renting
cheaper and easier for tenants. It is vital though, that the detail
of the plans ensure that both landlords and tenants can have complete
confidence in how the lifetime deposit will work.

Mentioned in a radical Queen’s Speech this December, the Government is to introduce a Renters’ Rights Bill in the New Year which aims to “improve the experience of those living in the private rental sector and the affordability for tenants when moving from one tenancy to the next by introducing a new lifetime deposit.”

Other less popular
measures contained in the Bill include the abolishion of ‘no-fault’
evictions by removing Section 21 from the 1988 Housing Act, along
with reforming the grounds for possession.

This future Bill’s provisions will apply only to England as housing policy is now devolved to the regional nations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A Government’s Tenancy Deposit Reform Working Group, of which ARLA Propertymark was a member in September 2019, proposals were put forward as to how the concept of a tenants’ passporting system, with lifetime transferable deposits, could be made to work for the benefit of both tenants and landlords.

ARLA Propertymark
has said in its consultation
response that:

“If the
introduction of a passporting system is to be viable the Government
must ensure that both the outgoing landlord’s deposit can be used
if needed, whilst the incoming landlord has certainty, they will get
the full deposit they have agreed with the tenant.

“Would this lead
to the change in landlord and tenant behaviour? Most likely, however,
the Government must introduce a measure that reduces the risks
landlords and agents face with three things that can help tackle or
prevent negative behavioural changes in a passporting system.
Firstly, a tenant guarantee. Secondly, a requirement to have an
inventory. Thirdly, the requirement for a written tenancy agreement.”

We shall have to await the full publication of the Renters’ Reform Bill 2019-20 to find out the full details of the proposals, but these will doubtless be subject to industry scrutiny as they move forward.

Other developments in the rental deposits sphere, where some private companies are working on the concept of passporting, a digital record which allows tenants to build a digital rental profile over time, and gives assurances to landlords as to their payment records. One such system is tied-in to Experian’s credit checks, where the rental payment record affects the credit score attained.

Experian
says that early
analysis has proved
that by adding rental data to credit reports, the proportion of
tenants who can prove their identity online increases from 39% to
84%.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Will transferable tenancy deposits be introduced in 2020? | LandlordZONE.

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How do I get the CCJ registered with the Registry Trust?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

We managed to evict a tenant after getting a CCJ, but the Court did not register it with the Registry Trust. We have discovered she is a serial offender with multiple CCJs, but none are registered so she can keep conning new landlords who will be unaware of her evictions or CCJs.

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All change: Five new pieces of legislation to hit landlords in 2020

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Next year will be a year of change for many landlords, with new legislation covering everything from tenant fees to energy efficiency coming in during 2020. Here’s our quick guide to the changes you can expect to see and how they will affect you. MARCH: Extension of Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act Under the Fitness […]

The post All change: Five new pieces of legislation to hit landlords in 2020 appeared first on RLA Campaigns and News Centre.

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2020 – The Year of NO Excuses!

admin    Uncategorized     agents

As we rapidly approach the end of the year, and the end of this Decade, I would like to help you to get a flying start to 2020, because I believe it is going to be a great year to invest in property

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Jenrick spends Christmas evening at Birmingham Shelter

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick spent the evening volunteering on Christmas Day at Birmingham Christmas Shelter, which was open throughout the day and night during Christmas week and welcomes up to 150 guests daily.

The team at the shelter provide hot food and drinks as well as entertainment

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No second reading date yet for Renters’ Reform Bill 2019-20

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Considering how long it took for the Tenant Fees Act to come into force, it is probably best not to hold your breath for the Renters’ Reform Bill 2019-20 announced before Christmas in the Queen’s Speech. It has been confirmed that no date is yet available for the second reading.

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Buy-to-let mortgage rates set to fall…

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Buy-to-Let Mortgages:

Online mortgage
broker Property Master is predicting a fall in the cost of fixed rate
buy-to-let mortgages now that the Conservatives have been elected,
and a settled Brexit course is set.

The cost of fixed
rate buy-to-let mortgages is already down on the rates prevailing at
this time last year, in some cases by up to £38 per month for the
average mortgage.

Before the
Conservative victory the downward trend was beginning to stall, but
is now likely to resume again thinks Property Master.

Angus Stewart, chief
executive of Property Master, has said:

“Now that the
uncertainty created by last week’s General Election has ended and
as we appear to be moving more swiftly toward Brexit at the end of
January, we believe there is every chance rates will fall still
further.

“Firstly, the
Conservative victory, even before it happened, strengthened the pound
so removing one factor that could have encouraged the Bank of England
to increase rates.

“Secondly, two
members of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted for lower
rates last time around which makes us think downward is more likely
to be the next movement in the base rate. The stars are aligned for
lower mortgage rates for hard-pressed landlords in the New Year.”

The latest
comprehensive survey of the market for fixed rate buy-to-let
mortgages has shown the downward pressure on cost is continuing with
just a couple of exceptions. Landlords struggling to maintain profit
against a rising tide of new regulations and the end of many tax
benefits will find some very good deals are on offer. As ever the
question is for how much longer says Property Master?

Commenting on the findings of recent research and written before the election Angus Stewart said:

“There have been a
slew of rate cuts amongst lenders along with new offers being
launched that are looking very attractive to landlords wanting to
expand their portfolios or needing to remortgage. Good news on rates
may well entice some landlords back into the market by helping them
offset the many recent regulatory and tax costs they have been
struggling to absorb.”

“In terms of
predicting the outlook on interest rates it clearly has never been
more difficult. Brexit uncertainty is continuing, and it would appear
the financial markets are taking the latest comments from the Bank of
England to signal a cut in rates in the light of a disorderly exit
from the European Union. If Brexit goes smoothly and some kind of
deal is reached then we are more likely to see rates rise in line
with the plans to normalise interest rates that the Governor of the
Bank of England outlined some time ago.”

The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) last met on the 19^th of December and decided to maintain the base rate set on August 1st at 0.75%.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Buy-to-let mortgage rates set to fall… | LandlordZONE.

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