Refreshed 2020 BTL mortgage range – Paragon

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Paragon, the specialist bank and buy-to-let lender, has kicked-off 2020 with a refreshed range of mortgage products for portfolio and non-portfolio landlords.

The changes include lower rates on 14 different products across our range of mortgages up to 80% loan-to-value.

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North East landlords invited to Newcastle landlord forum this month

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Landlords with properties in the North East are being invited to hear an update on the sector at a landlord forum event being held in Newcastle on 23rd January. The forum will take place at Northern Football Club on Great North Road, and registration starts at 5:30pm. The agenda on the night will be: Ian […]

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R2R challenges?

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Rent-to-Rent (R2R) is taught in many property training courses, but what they don’t tell you is that the paperwork is not so straightforward, especially if they are used as HMOs. And yet I get letters every week from companies wanting to “ease this burden”

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Local Housing Allowance and the date of the next Budget

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The charity Crisis is calling for the government to increase Local Housing Allowance levels, ending a four-year freeze introduced in 2016. In data published in Inside Housing today, the charity says that the housing benefit shortfall equates to families having to give up at least a quarter of the national average weekly food shop for […]

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Make your views heard in the RLA’s latest quarterly survey

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The RLA’s latest quarterly survey is still open, and landlords are being urged to make their views heard on issues including adaptability and safet standards. Thousands of landlords have already made their views heard, and this helps us to build a clear picture of landlord sentiment on a range of issues-and to build up a […]

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Funding boost for councils to tackle rogue landlords

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Rogue Landlords:

The government has
confirmed that additional funding is being made available to councils
to tackle the menace of rogue landlords. The Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) says that over £4 million
is the amount to be shared out among 100 councils nationwide, which
equates to just £40,000 per council if the money were to be shared
equally.

However, the
allocation is to be via a bidding process. Councils were invited to
submit bids for the government’s Innovation and Enforcement Grant
Fund” by 1 December 2019. The money is earmarked to be spent by
the end of the current financial year, 31 March 2020.

However, the
Residetial Landlords Association (RLA) argues that the additional
funding is nowhere near enough to root out the problem of criminal
landlords, and although welcome is “not enough to tackle the scale
of the problem.”

RLA policy director
David Smith, says:

“We welcome the
government’s focus on rooting out criminal landlords. For too long
the debate has been driven by ideological calls for more regulation
of the sector. What is needed is better enforcement of the powers
already available to root out the minority who bring the sector into
disrepute. Today’s funding is nowhere near enough.

“Instead of
offering inadequate and sporadic pots of money, it is critical that
the government provides proper, multi-year funding to enable councils
to plan and prepare workable strategies to find the criminal
landlords.

“This should to be
supported by councils having the political will to prioritise
enforcement against the crooks rather than tying good landlords up in
licensing schemes which do nothing to protect tenants.”

According to the
National Landlords Association (NLA), some of the successful project
bids already confirmed include:

• In Northampton
  the council will target the ‘very worst landlords’ through the
  formation of a ‘Special Operations Unit’
• In Greenwich
  new technology will be trialled that will be aimed at identifying
  renters in cold homes and helping ensure they can remain warm over
  winter

• 21 councils
  across Yorkshire and Humberside are to train over 100 enforcement
  officers
• Thurrock –
  ist to work closely with the care services to ensure that that most
  vulnerable tenants can secure decent accommodation.

Director of Policy
and Practice at the National Landlords Association (NLA) Chris
Norris, says:

“We welcome the
news that more funding will be made available for councils in England
to crack down on landlords who break the law and provide inadequate
services to tenants. While an overwhelming majority of landlords
provide an excellent service to their tenants, it is important that
the government makes a stand against criminals operating in the
private rented sector.

“However, this
one-time handout is wholly insufficient in contrast to the long-term
issues facing authorities burdened by ever more legislation of
increasing complexity. The offer of just over £4 million to be
spread across around 100 of the 343 local authorities – an average
of less than £40,000 per council – is simply not enough.

“Good landlords want to see fair enforcement and local authorities need far more substantial and consistent support and funding to be able to enforce properly in the PRS and rid the sector of the criminals operating within it.”

Private Rented Sector Innovation and Enforcement Grant Fund 2019/20

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January 2020 licensing update for landlords

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In our licensing update this month, we take a look at some of the local licensing schemes set to coming into force very soon, and then we look ahead to ongoing licensing consultations and how landlords can make their views heard. Licensing News HMO landlords: Article 4 Direction to be introduced in Birmingham next summer Earlier this year, we reported on an […]

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Government to revise model tenancy agreement -removing restrictions on tenants with ‘well behaved’ pets

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The Housing Secretary has announced plans to revise the Government’s model tenancy agreement to allow for “well behaved pets” in properties. The Government says that the plan, announced at the weekend, will ensure that more landlords are catering for responsible pet owners wherever possible. Commenting on the plan, Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick MP said: “Pets […]

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Government expects landlords to take more pets…

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Pets in rentals:

The new government
is to bring forward a bill to revolutionise the relationship between
tenants and landlords. The Section 21 no-fault eviction system is to
be abolished, a Lifetime Deposit scheme will be introduced, and
landlords will be expected to allow pets, when they are well behaved.

Full details are still sketchy about the new regime envisaged by government, 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”

Further clues are in the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick’s press announcement of 4th of January calling on landlords to make it easier for responsible tenants to have well behaved pets in their rental homes, the new rules to be included in his forthcoming overhaul of the government supplied model residential tenancy agreement.

“More young people
and families than ever before are renting and should be able to enjoy
the happiness that a pet can bring to their lives. However, currently
only around 7% of landlords advertise homes as suitable for pets,
meaning many people struggle to find a home suitable for themselves
and their pets.

The national model
tenancy agreement provided by government is the recommended contract
for residential landlords to use when signing on new tenants for
their properties in England. This comprehensive circa 50 page
agreement (with guidance text) sets out the minimum requirements for
a new residential letting. The template has provision for alteration
by landlords to suit specific circumstances, tenants or properties.
The revised model tenancy agreement will be published by the
government sometime this year.

Currently it is
difficult for would-be tenants to find a landlord who allows tenants
to keep a dog or cat, with just 7% of landlords said to advertise
their homes as suitable for pets. Landlords argue that there are good
reasons for this: badly behaved pets can potentially cause hundreds
of pounds worth of damage, a fact which many landlords have learned
to their cost. The introduction of pets, sometimes without permission
or agreement between the parties, is often cause of friction between
landlords and tenants.

The government is
accused of making the situation more difficult for landlords taking
in pets, by removing their ability to protect themselves financially
by banning their taking of additional damage deposits and fees – by
capping deposits at 5 week’s rent.

Despite this, the
government is now calling on landlords to make it easier for people
to have pets in rented homes: “Landlords should no longer stop
renters from having pets if they are well behaved, according to the
government,” says Robert Jenrick MP:

“Pets bring a huge
amount of joy and comfort to people’s lives, helping their owner’s
through difficult times and improving their mental and physical
wellbeing. So, it’s a shame that thousands of animal-loving tenants
and their children can’t experience this because they rent their
homes instead of owning property.

“So, I’m
overhauling our model tenancy contract to encourage more landlords to
consider opening their doors to responsible pet owners. And we will
be listening to tenants and landlords to see what more we can do to
tackle this issue in a way that is fair to both.

“This is part of
this new government’s mission to improve life for tenants,
recognising that more are renting and for longer in life. We’ve
already taken action, banning unfair letting fees and capping tenancy
deposits, saving tenants across England at least £240 million a
year, and I will continue to take more steps to secure a better deal
for renters up and down the country.”

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The best property investing strategy for 2020

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Not only is it the start of a new year, but a new Decade, and in a few years time, we will look back at 2020 and realise that it was probably one of the best investing opportunities of this Decade.

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