Tech launch: new app helps tenants offset their rental payments when they shop online

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The My Rent Award app gives online shopping tenants cash-back payments each month which are then paid to their landlord direct.

A smartphone app has launched that rewards tenants for spending money with leading online retailers and service providers and then gives them money toward paying their rent.

My Rent Awards, which is available to download on both the Apple and Android app platforms, sends tenants vouchers and discount codes to spend at 200 websites.

When users buy goods and services, they are given cash-back credits that are added to a ring-fenced account that is allocated to their rent payments.

Participating companies on the platform include easyJet, Tesco, M&S, Superdrug, Iceland and EE.

It also has agreements with seven major UK Housing Associations; three of which are members of the G15 group – which is campaigning to make renting cheaper in the affordable homes sector.

The free app, developed by Priscilla Mazava and Nichola Fahey, is being offered both to 250,000 housing association tenants but also those in the private rented market.

LandlordZONE contacted the company to ask how the system would work. Its spokesperson replied that: “The money is paid directly to the Landlord. When a user signs up they have to provide their landlord details.”

Many proptech companies have attempted to provide ‘added benefit’ services by placing themselves between tenant and landlord in the payment system, but to date only a few have succeeded.

My Rent Awards, although it is coy about exactly how the system works, says it offers tenants ‘an easy-to-use and manageable process of paying their rent with discounted everyday spending, alongside providing landlords with guaranteed ringfenced payments’.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Tech launch: new app helps tenants offset their rental payments when they shop online | LandlordZONE.

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Jersey Landlords Association battles island’s government over ‘heavy handed’ licensing proposals

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Landlords and a panel convened to scrutinise proposals to introduce rented property licensing both say it will have the opposite effect intended.

Jersey
landlords are calling on their government to rethink plans for a new licensing
system in the private rented sector.

Ministers hope to set minimum
housing standards and root out rogue landlords flouting the rules by making it
mandatory for all rental properties to sign up and pay for a licence.

This should reveal the location
of every private rented home on the island for the first time.

The Jersey Landlords Association opposes
the plan and believes Rent Safe – a voluntary scheme currently used to
encourage landlords to meet minimum standards – should be developed instead.

It also fears that more red tape
could lead to a possible homes shortage as investors quit the buy-to-let
market.

Chairman Peter Lucas tells LandlordZONE: “We want them to think again – we want to promote landlords’ good behaviour too, but they’re going about it the wrong way.

“There’s no evidence that tenants
are dissuaded from complaining for fear of revenge evictions and there’s
already considerable legislation for people to use to complain.” 

The Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny
Panel has called for more detail on the financial implications ahead of next
week’s debate in the States, and has questioned how the register would work
alongside the existing Rent Safe scheme.

Chairman, constable Mike Jackson, says: “The panel believes that on balance there are as many bad tenants as there are landlords and that the proposals as lodged are somewhat heavy handed and bureaucratic in an age when most areas of government are trying to reduce ‘red tape’.”

A Jersey Government consultation revealed that some landlords, particularly social landlords, supported the proposals. Tenants were almost unanimously in favour and although some voiced concern over the effect on rental levels, others suggested it would be worth it to ensure good property management and decent property standards.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Jersey Landlords Association battles island’s government over ‘heavy handed’ licensing proposals | LandlordZONE.

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Landlord’s snap of tenancy welcome pack cleans up on social media

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Australian landlord’s collection of gifts to new tenant goes global on Facebook after it divides opinion what ‘passive aggressive’ means in the private rented sector.

Do you thoughtfully provide soap and loo roll for weary new
tenants moving into your property? Maybe you leave out wine or a box of
chocolates to welcome them after a busy day moving house?

But a basket of cleaning products? A dirty trick,
according to social media users who slammed one landlord for providing a washing
basket, bleach, cleaning products, sponges and toilet paper – as well as a
packet of chocolate biscuits – with the note: ‘A housewarming gift for a new
tenant, to help keep our renovated unit in good order’. 

While some posted about the Australian landlord’s generous
gesture, others labelled it a passive-aggressive ploy. Wrote one outraged
social media user: “Yeah, now every time they clean they are going to feel your
presumptuous judgment of their cleanliness. I’d chuck it all out so it didn’t
p*** me off.”

Perhaps these
bolshie Aussies are more judgemental than their British counterparts. A survey
by insurance firm Endsleigh found landlords who gave tenants presents usually
chose a bottle of wine, although a quarter gave flowers and plants as
housewarming gifts.

Although it didn’t mention cleaning gifts, about 70% of
the tenants who received presents stayed in their rental property for over two
years, whereas 54% of those who didn’t receive a gift stayed for more than two
years. 

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlord’s snap of tenancy welcome pack cleans up on social media | LandlordZONE.

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Coal and wet wood ban announced

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Coal and wet wood, used in wood burners, stoves and opened fires will be banned from next year in a bid to tackle air pollution. An estimated 2.5million homes in the UK have hearths with open fires or woodburning stoves – including many rental homes. Landlords should let tenants know about the ban – first […]

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Tenants hurt by growth in short term lets

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Tenants, including many with children, are finding it harder to access long term homes to rent as Government policy is driving landlords to move into the holiday lettings market, says the leading landlords’ organisation. The warning comes as figures published today show that Airbnb accommodation now accounts for one listing for every four properties in […]

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Meeting the challenge of a declining retail sector…

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The changing High Street:

Threats facing
Britain’s high streets present something of a challenge to those
landlords owning retail premises where businesses are failing, with
tenants leaving in droves, leaving huge holes where properties lie
vacant.

A street with lots
of run down and vacant premises means that property values and rent
levels drop through the floor, leaving many landlords wishing they
had never invested.

But what to do? One
option is to think about changing the use of buildings. The
out-of-town and edge of town retail park boom of 20 years ago, and
the latest growing trends in online shopping are leaving many town
centres desolate and ripe for re-development.

Many commercial
landlords big and small are considering alternative uses for their
buildings to attract more tenants and bring new life into the town
centres, many hollowed-out doughnut style by retail and industrial
sites on their peripheries.

In the recent past
most high street moved to a retail only model which was very
successful when everyone had to visit the town centre to buy what
they needed, especially the occasional items like clothing,
electrical good, toys and furniture: not any more. All those items
can be purchased elsewhere and usually cheaper and more conveniently.

It has left the high
street populated with coffee shops, estate agents and charity shops,
more often than not servicing the needs of low income shoppers, while
the affluent high earners go out of town and online.

So what should
investor landlords be thinking of when faced with such a daunting
problem. Reducing the number of retail units while bringing people
into the town to live has the potential to revitalise many towns.
Sensitive and controlled re-development and change-of-use means
landlords should look to the future, see the bigger picture and work
with town planners to achieve a common goal.

From small landlords
of shops to those owning large department stores, House of Fraser,
British Home Stores and Debenhams, being prime examples, are
struggling to fill their vacant space. Sitting on this vacant space
is very expensive for landlords, with business rates, high insurance
costs, utilities standing charges and extra security to pay.

But all is not lost.
Redevelopment to residential accommodation, student accommodation,
hotels and leisure activity space is taking place in many location
currently. Gradually the character of a town can be transformed,
bringing people in to the sentry to live and work, just as it was in
years gone by. Some locations ideally suit encouraging more tourism
and leisure activities.

What retail activity
is left will be more bespoke, coupled with more of an experience than
a chore, added services to create an environment where the families
can spend a day enjoying pleasure activities as well as browsing the
shops. Changes like this will require planning and investment, not
just from landlords but from retail tenants and local authorities.

Key anchor tenants
need to be attracted to and kept in centres to draw in the crowds,
tenants that can enhance their offer by supplying additional
services. Landlords need to be flexible with leases, which inevitably
will be much shorter than the traditional long-term insuring and
repairing lease – it’s a tenant’s market so making the offer
attractive to them is key.

Pop-up shops are a
good starting point with little commitment from either party, but
longer term, attracting other activity based tenants such as art
galleries, community centres, cinemas, games venues, casinos, ten-pin
bowling, ice skating and skateboarding is vital, the list of
possibilities is endless.

Many buildings do
not easily lend themselves to conversion and will represent a
challenge to any developer. But with imagination, sympathy to the
existing character of the town, and co-operation from the local
authority, means that meeting the planning requirements, change of
use regulations, building regulations and in some cases conservation
and environmental issues, can all be overcome.

The is always a
certain amount of satisfaction in taking an existing building, coming
up with a design that meets all of the above, and achieving a result
through re-purposing that meets the needs of new tenants, and tuns
around what is otherwise a lost cause.

Large buildings may
be dividend into several smaller units, and providing the demand for
the new space is there, the building may even achieve a higher
overall rental return than before. Creating mixed use space with
retail, residential, office and leisure occupation, not only is more
attractive to new tenants, it reduces the landlord’s risk

Its help that
temporary flexible uses and permitted development rights for
developments sympathetic to the overall character of the town have
given landlords the flexibility to make these changes.

Change of use for struggling retail space has the potential to revitalise town centres. It will change the character of the town but this can be done sympathetically in conjunctions with the authorities who should welcome it.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Meeting the challenge of a declining retail sector… | LandlordZONE.

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Today in politics: renters paying more, DWP update and deposits

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We look at Halifax figures showing how much more renters are paying out per month v homeowners, we link to the DWPs new Universal Credit guide and data on deposit levels in the UK. Renters paying more than homeowners  Renters are paying up to 18% more each month than those who own their own homes […]

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LandlordZONE investigates: the unregulated world of rent-free ‘in exchange for’ tenancies

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Thousands of people in the UK live rent free in return for providing services and sometimes, just companionship. But the sector is unregulated and such tenancies are a huge risk for both tenant and landlord alike.

An investigation by LandlordZONE into the grey area of ‘in exchange for’ renting has revealed an unreported and unregulated sector of the private rental market.

Our research among websites such as SpareRoom and Gumtree has revealed hundreds of adverts from landlords offering a variety of non-standard tenancies in return for a range of services in lieu of rent.

While these may be a convenient arrangement for the property owners and tenants involved, many of them are outside the current tenancy laws and expose both sides to considerable risks.

The types of services requested by home owners and landlords in return for free accommodation include property management, au pair work, companionship, carer services, house cleaning, dog sitting and, in a few recent cases, sex or ‘modelling work’.

Citizens’ Advice warns anyone considering renting a room ‘in exchange for services’ from a landlord that they could be left without protection from eviction.

It also urges both landlord and ‘tenant’ to agree a clear statement of terms in writing in the event of a dispute, because sharing living accommodation with, or living in the same building as their landlord or not paying rent can leave these people unprotected

Amy Hughes, from the Expert Advice Team at Citizens Advice, told LandlordZONE: “These ‘excluded occupiers’ are only required to get ‘reasonable’ notice in the absence of a contract and that landlords don’t need a court order to evict them.”

But someone who lives in the same building as their landlord but doesn’t share living accommodation is likely to have a bit more security; these ‘occupiers with basic protection’ are entitled to at least 28 days written notice and a court order, but not the two months’ notice under the Housing Act 1988.

Statutory protection

Someone who doesn’t share any accommodation with, or live in the same building as their landlord, could still lose statutory protection if they don’t pay rent, unless they can demonstrate the tenancy was granted for the performance of services.

Says Hughes: “This may be a grey
area, for example a person providing cleaning or childcare for 15 hours a week
in return for a room is on more certain ground than a person who agrees to
provide more general ‘companionship’ without any particular identified tasks or
hours.

“It’s important to be clear about
exactly what services are required, and the extent, frequency and manner in
which it is expected these will be performed.”

Hughes points out that there is far more potential for dispute over whether sufficient ‘companionship’ has been provided than there is over whether an agreed amount of rent has been paid.”

One issues that Shelter has been campaigning on is the ‘sex for rent’ scandal in Scotland. It believes there is a vast amount of under-reporting of cases where tenants are asked by landlords for sex in exchange for rent.

And in another case of property listings being illegitimately used to abuse people looking to rent, a young woman in Whitstable this week tweeted her messages exchanged with a ‘landlord’ who offered to lower her rent in exchange for nude photos. The man told Georgia Linehan she could get £200 off her £695 monthly rent – but it transpired he had used photos of a two-bedroom house which was up for sale on Zoopla to trick her.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LandlordZONE investigates: the unregulated world of rent-free ‘in exchange for’ tenancies | LandlordZONE.

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Daily politics update-rents, Universal Credit guidance, deposits

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In our politics update today we take a look at new guidance for landlords on Universal Credit, research on rents and research on deposits. Renters Pay Up 18% More Each Month Than Those Who Own Their Homes Says New Research  Renters are paying up to 18% more each month than those who own their own […]

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Rental deposits held on behalf of tenants hit record high of £5.2 billion

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Research published today reveals the huge sums of cash tied up away from the UK economy by rental deposits held for the UK’s 4.6 million tenancies.

Landlords hold a record total of £5.2 billion in tenant deposits via the three government-approved schemes, or an average rental deposit of £1,139 for the UK’s 4.6 million tenancies.

These figures are for 2019 and have been published by alternative rental deposit service Ome.

They reveal both how quickly the private rented sector is expanding as generation rent delays or gives up on their dreams of home ownership, and rents rise.

Over the last ten years the slice of the private rental market taken by the private rental sector has increased by 16% to 20%, or approximately 3.5 million more people.

During the same period average rents have risen from £663 to £886 a month.

But this will decrease next year when the full 2019/2020 English Housing Survey figures are published, which will take into account the new cap on rental deposits of five weeks’ rent, brought in by tenant fees ban last year in England and Wales.

Ome says the huge size of the rental deposits pot dwarfs the amount of money invested in many key UK industries, underlining the amount of cash tied up in the rental sector.

For example, £5.2 billion is larger than the money invested last year individually in hotels and restaurants, clothing manufacturing and food and drink factories.

Matt Hooker, co-founder of Ome, says these comparisons “demonstrate the huge sums being held by landlords and agents and the sheer size of financial security the nation’s tenants must collectively put down when looking to rent”.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Rental deposits held on behalf of tenants hit record high of £5.2 billion | LandlordZONE.

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