Growth in holiday lets symptom of a skewed housing policy

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Growth in the number of short-term lets across the country is a symptom of skewed policy that favours holiday homes over long-term properties to rent. A new report published today by ARLA Propertymark suggests that nearly half a million properties could be left unavailable for longer-term rent as more landlords exit the market and in […]

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Your shout: Why don’t tenants understand lightbulbs aren’t my problem!

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Brighton HMO and student specialist Amanda Smith recounts some of the more amusing ‘light bulb’ moments from her 20-year career as a professional landlady.

Does this sound familiar? It’s
winter time, dark and cold outside and your tenant calls somewhere between
5.30pm and 10pm to say it’s also dark inside their home.

If you’re lucky enough to
have a switched-on tenant (excuse the pun), they will have done the following
before calling in, asking for help.

• checked to ensure
  there isn’t a power cut by opening the front door and looking down the rest of
  the street;
• checked their fuse
  box to see if an appliance has triggered the RCD switches and made amends with
  the offending article;
• changed the lightbulb
  in the room which is presenting as dark!

However, your caller may not
have done any of the above in which case you may print off the above checklist
and go through it systematically with them to evaluate, educate and inspire.

My best stories are those
you couldn’t make up: 

• The HMO tenant who
  couldn’t wash up because she couldn’t see, i.e. “the light wouldn’t light up”
  (sic) – for three weeks.
• The student who
  didn’t notice the first bulb in the kitchen had stopped working and called us
  out as an emergency on a Saturday night when the remaining one gave up.
• The HMO tenants who
  had taken the bulbs from the communal hallway when their room bulbs failed then
  complained when they ran out of bulbs to take.

A lightbulb is a consumable
which effectively means that the tenant is responsible for taking the old one
to the shop when it fails, match it up and pop the new one back in. But this
seems to be a hard one for many tenants to grasp.

Taking into account the
above scenarios, do you (a) leave a box of spares in the kitchen cupboard
running the risk that, in changing the bulb, the tenant pulls out both the
light fitting and surrounding plaster and leaves the bare wires dangling or (b)
sigh, grab the keys and do it yourself?

Are you a landlord with a
pet hate or an issue you’d like to shout about? Then call the editorial team on
07971814233.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Your shout: Why don’t tenants understand lightbulbs aren’t my problem! | LandlordZONE.

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‘Highly unusual’ case of landlord prosecuted for running a gambling den

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While landlords can be fined for a variety of reasons, landlord and letting agent Hasan Younis is the first to face a huge fine for allowing a pub-cum-casino to operate at his property.

A London landlord who failed to close
an illegal gambling den at his property has been fined £16,000.

Hasan Younis, director of Cameron
Adams Ltd, trading as Century 21 Cameron Adams, Church Lane E11, knew about the
anti-social behaviour at his house in Belmont Road, Waltham Forest, but failed
to act.

After neighbours repeatedly
complained about noise and smells, council enforcement officers discovered that
large numbers of people were visiting the house daily to play cards, drink and
smoke late at night.

They were shocked to find more
than 75,000 cigarettes and 800 packs of playing cards stored there, alongside a
large amount of alcohol.

Waltham Forest Council secured a
Premises Closure Order last June that prohibited everyone except
the named occupiers, the landlord, and council officers from accessing the
property, and a short time later, the
tenants moved out.

Mr Younis lodged an appeal when
he received a fine for breaching the conditions of his property licence. This was initially successful, but the decision was reversed at the
Upper Tribunal and he agreed to pay the fine.

Councillor Louise Mitchell, Cabinet Member for Housing, says: “When
the behaviour of tenants causes disruption to the lives of their neighbours, a
responsible landlord should take effective action to remedy the situation.
Disappointingly, it did not happen in this case and it is in these situations
that we will step in to take action.”

The
unusual case follows news that Waltham Forest has been given the go-ahead to
extend its selective licensing scheme for five years until 2025. The scheme,
which covers 18 out of 20 wards in the borough, means that all landlords with property
to rent must apply for a licence.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – ‘Highly unusual’ case of landlord prosecuted for running a gambling den | LandlordZONE.

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Banning Section 21 will be a ‘car crash’ unless government listens to landlords’ concerns, leading agents tell LandlordZONE

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Half a dozen landlords gathered at our offices yesterday to discuss what’s keeping them up at night, and one thing rang loud and true from the meeting.

When
LandlordZone yesterday gathered 13 landlords together in one room with a
variety of portfolio sizes, just one key message rang out from the meeting.
Their clarion call was that banning Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions will be a car
crash of significant proportions.

Many
of the landlords had at least one horror story of a rent-defaulting or
anti-social tenant who had taken them months to evict from a property,
something banning Section 21 evictions will make worse, they claimed.
And yet the government is ploughing ahead with plans to redirect all AST
evictions through the courts system and rely on a modified Section 8 notice
procedure.
But although the meeting was told by Landlord Action Brand Ambassador Paul
Shamplina that his discussions with Ministry of Housing officials were making
headway and that modifications to the Section 8 notice plans had been agreed,
the landlords felt civil servants were not listening on the key issue.
One landlord, who didn’t want to be named, said that unless the government
pumped substantial funds into either the existing court system or the proposed
replacement Housing Court, then abolishing the Section 21 evictions process
would extremely problematic for him.
“Many tenants will either play the game in court to lengthen the period they
can stay for free in a property, as some do already, or overworked courts will
take months to hear cases, resulting in the same outcome,” he said.
Another landlord agreed, pointing out that one effect of the government’s
evictions plans would be that landlords may have to begin bribing tenants to get
them out.
Other issues occupying the minds of the landlords included the possibility of
rent controls, the rise of Airbnb as an alternative to traditional rentals, the
rapid spread of HMO and Selective Licensing controls, the issue of young
offenders being housed by local authorities in private rented accommodation, the
rise illegal sub-letters and the unfair demonising of landlords in the media.

“Being a landlord can be quite a solitary
business so I thought it would be a good idea to start these engagement groups to
enable landlords to meet and talk with each other, discuss what’s worrying
them, where the market’s going and update them on the latest regulatory
developments,” says Shamplina.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Banning Section 21 will be a ‘car crash’ unless government listens to landlords’ concerns, leading agents tell LandlordZONE | LandlordZONE.

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Discretionary Housing payments – left high and dry by Dartford?

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I have just been left high and dry by Dartford Borough Council Housing department. In a nutshell I served a section 6a because a tenant was in two months rent arrears. I have done it before and the rent was paid no problem.

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Politics update: LHA, Section 21 and energy efficiency

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In today’s politics update we look at a new debate on the impact of LHA and Section 21 on homelessness, a new Peers’ debate on energy efficiency and new EPC figures. Opposition homelessness debate The Labour Party yesterday initiated a half day debate in the House of Commons on homelessness. Of note: In opening the debate, the […]

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Coventry selective licensing scheme rejected as additional licensing approved

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Plans to introduce a selective licensing scheme in Coventry have been put on hold, after councillors voted it down based on awaiting an upcoming selective licensing review. This is something the RLA warned the council about in its consultation response on the licensing plans last year. However, an additional HMO licensing scheme in Coventry has […]

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Despite rumours Bank Base Rate stays at 0.75%

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Despite rumours with recent low inflation levels that the rate may reduce by 0.25% the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted 7-2 to not change the Base rate and remain at 0.75%.

The Committee also voted unanimously to maintain the stock of UK government bond purchases

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Should landlords warn off tenants who brandish paint brushes? Shelter says no, and here’s why.

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Research by the charity among nearly 4,000 tenants reveals just how much more likely they are to stick around if allowed to make their house or flat a ‘home’.

Nearly
three-quarters of private tenants (6.6 million people) want to embark on small DIY projects to make their rental property feel more homely, according to new research from housing charity Shelter.

It says getting creative
with wallpaper and paint can boost renter wellbeing and challenges the idea that they’re not
interested in putting down roots.

Shelter’s
research (a YouGov survey of 3,995 private renters in England), found 72% of
private renters would feel happier in their homes if they could decorate,
highlighting the positive impact small home improvements can have on mental
health.

Meanwhile, 29%
said they would be more likely to invite family and friends over if they could
add personal touches to their home.  

The top four
home improvements that private renters are most keen to roll their sleeves up
for are: painting (51%), hanging pictures and photographs (50%), changing or putting up curtains or
blinds (37%) and tidying the
garden (25%).

Many landlords are
happy for tenants to make small changes, in fact 41% of renters say they
already know their landlord allows small improvements.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, says: “It might not seem like a big deal, but
something as small as a fresh lick of paint really does go a long way towards
helping families who’ve experienced bad housing or homelessness to feel settled
in a new place.”

Shelter is promoting
its DIY Skills Adviser service –
funded by B&Q – which sends teams of trained specialists to provide
practical DIY training and advice to support people settling into a new home
after a period of homelessness.

Covering
London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Merseyside, Dorset and Bristol, it
has helped more than 2,500 people with tasks ranging from decorating to
gardening, since the partnership launched in 2017.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Should landlords warn off tenants who brandish paint brushes? Shelter says no, and here’s why. | LandlordZONE.

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Rumble with the Agents to raise funds for Inclusion Barnet

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This year ‘Rumble with the Agents’, the annual white-collar charity boxing event hosted by Landlord Action and sponsored by Hamilton Fraser, will be fundraising for Inclusion Barnet, a charity which provides vital support for people with disability, including mental health issues and/or long-term health conditions.

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