Buying Freehold of shared garden

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Hi, we own the ground floor flat in a two flat Victorian house. We have a 900+ year lease.

The upstairs flat is let out and the property freehold belongs to the landlord.

We would like to buy the freehold of the garden or exclusive use by licence or contract if this possibility exists.

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The signs are there, or they were – should for-sale & to-let boards be banned?

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To-Let:

The banning of two
many unsightly boards on houses has long been a bone of contention
between local authorities and agents and landlords. All other signs
on building are subject to planning permission in one form or
another, so that the local authority has some control over the
appearance of the neighbourhood.

However, letting and sale boards are of a temporary nature, or should be, and have been tolerated by most councils. But with the proliferation of lettings over recent years means that boards contribute to a more permanent and unsightly scene in may neighbourhoods, triggering complaints from residents.

Camden Council’s
latest announcement that it is planning to ban all “To-Let”
boards from rented houses in the borough has brought the issue to the
fore once again.

Several other
authorities have been making noises along the same lines including
north east towns like Durham, Newcastle. Lincoln has now joined
Brighton and Hove which has an actual ban in place, and has had for
many years now.

Another problem is
that some boards are being left up virtually permanently, even after
the property is let, and some councils are resorting to set fines if
they are not removed after the property is no longer on the market.

Boards are perhaps
the least expensive way to market a property, whether for sale or to
let, attracting interest from people in the immediate locality; there
are other local methods including the local newspapers, but these
days it is more common to rely on the Internet.

Most people today start property searches online, so the need for a board is diminishing, councils are arguing. Lincoln’s planning boss is reported as saying that “a ban on ‘to-let’ signs in five areas of Lincoln should not have a negative effect on landlords.”

The council’s
planning manager, Kieron Manning has said:

“In recent years,
the council has witnessed a significant increase in the number of
complaints about the proliferation of ‘to-let’ boards in certain
parts of the city.

“Any letting sign
should be a temporary feature but, when signs are left up too long in
areas containing high numbers of rental properties, they can begin to
dominate the street scene.

“We became aware
that some signs were staying almost all-year-round and this was
beginning to have a negative effect on the look and feel of our
streets, so we decided to take pro-active action to solve the
problem.

“We are very
pleased that government has listened and agreed to allow us to
implement the ban.

“We don’t
expect this to have a negative impact on the city’s rental market
as searches are now mostly done online, and people who are interested
in moving to these particular areas will be able to find homes to
rent very easily on the internet.

The Residential
Landlords Association (RLA) has reported that the bans or proposed
bans are having a mixed reception among landlords.

Some have said that
“to let” boards are outdated anyway and they don’t use them;
they are “harking back to the days when putting a sign in a window
was the only method of attracting tenants” and with the Internet
they are rendered them obsolete.

Other landlords,
according to the RLA, have said this is “just another example of
‘landlord-bashing’ and that to-let signs are still an important
tool when it comes to marketing a property.”

Labour-controlled
Camden council claims it has received over 1,000 complaints about
for-sale and to-let boards over the past five years.

It has now applied
to the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government for
permission to ban the boards unless planning permission is sought and
granted.

The council’s
planning committee chair, Danny Beales, has said:

“It’s clear that
from our consultation that an overwhelming majority of residents
support the change. The boards are cluttering our streets, often left
for months on end, effectively free advertising.”

A statement issued by Camden says:

“Estate agent
boards continue to be one of the most common complaints made to
Camden’s Planning Enforcement Team. Across the borough there are
examples of estate agents disregarding the regulations, displaying
numerous boards per building and keeping them up for long periods
despite properties being sold or let.

“Estate Agent
boards are seen by many as outdated eyesores, which merely add
unnecessary clutter to our streets and take up valuable council
resources as we seek to secure their removal.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – The signs are there, or they were – should for-sale & to-let boards be banned? | LandlordZONE.

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Latest: Has the tenant fees ban been the disaster for landlords it was predicted to be?

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Rental market data covering before and after the fees ban shows small reductions in yields which, it is claimed, have been kept to a minimum by landlords putting rents up.

Many
landlords and industry associations predicted last year that the tenant fees
ban might be the ‘final nail in the coffin’ for the private rental market
because it would push up costs and reduce yields.

Landlords
must now pay for referencing and many other moving in, property management and
check-out costs that used to be charged to tenants but that, in England since
June 1^st and in Wales since September 1^st, must now be
paid for by the landlord.

Despite
this, data published today by lettings platform Howsy reveals that these extra expenses
for landlords have only marginally dented yields in England while in some areas
they have increased.

The
average yield for a buy-to-let property prior to the tenant fees ban was 4.08%,
down from 4.21%, with only the North East seeing a significant reduction of
0.25%.

“The resilient nature and
diverse landscape of the UK rental sector means there are plenty of pockets
that have actually seen yields improve and while this growth may only be
marginal at present, it is a very positive sign given the short time scale,”
says Howsy founder Calum Brennan.

“As with all investments, the
buy-to-let sector is all about knowing the market and picking the right options
and if you do, bricks and mortar remain a very sound one.”

The fees ban has also failed to cut the costs of
renting for tenants; while the legislation was said to save tenants on average
£70 a year in fees across the life of a tenancy and £300 each time they moved,
letting agents’ association ARLA Propertymark recently revealed that 64% of
tenants experienced rent hikes during the traditional busy month of August,
when tenants are most likely to move home.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Latest: Has the tenant fees ban been the disaster for landlords it was predicted to be? | LandlordZONE.

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Notorious landlord faces final financial reckoning under Proceeds of Crime Act

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Ferrari-driving Mark Fortune appears in court after he admitted both making threats against a tenant and various rental frauds.

A notorious rogue landlord is waiting to discover whether he
faces prosecution under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Prosecutors are pursuing Mark Fortune, 51, in a bid to seize
assets which could total millions of pounds.

The confiscation case was launched shortly after Fortune was
sentenced over a host of charges at Edinburgh Sherriff Court in September 2016.
However, his complex financial affairs have caused years of legal wrangling.

At the time, Fortune admitted offences including making threats
of violence against Alvaro Espinosa in 2013 in the city’s Bruntsfield while
demanding he pay rent.

He also pleaded guilty to a number of frauds where prospective
tenants responded to his Gumtree adverts for properties to rent, paying him
deposits for accommodation which never materialised. In 2017, Ferrari-driving
Fortune admitted owning 70 flats.

Solicitor Gillian Law,
representing Fortune, who appeared in the dock, said the defence was engaging a
specialist accountant to study evidence. The next hearing has been set for March.

It’s not known exactly how much
prosecutors hope to seize from Fortune. A Crown Office spokeswoman told
LandlordZone that the figure could not be disclosed as it was a live
investigation and subject to change.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Notorious landlord faces final financial reckoning under Proceeds of Crime Act | LandlordZONE.

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Landlords speak: Brexit is still a big worry for over half of you, our poll reveals

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Results are in from the latest LandlordZone poll of our readers and forum users to find gauge your attitudes to the year ahead.

Despite estate agents heralding a ‘Boris
bounce’ in the housing market, landlords believe our EU exit will make their
lives harder.

A poll of
Landlord Zone subscribers revealed that they fear Brexit could hurt supply and
demand.

We posed the
question: ‘Now that the dust has settled, do you think Brexit will have a
positive or negative impact on landlords in the UK?’

A majority –
57.9% – said it would have a negative impact, while only 42.1% believed it
would have a positive effect.

With
depressed house prices and more landlords quitting (according to the latest
ARLA Propertymark survey), the sector is coming to terms with tax relief cuts
and the Tenant Fees ban.

Many
landlords are also reluctant to expand their portfolio. However, in an uncertain
property market, fewer sellers could direct many people into the private rental
sector, while the ‘Boris bounce’ has put a spring in the step of estate agents
nationwide.

That’s the view of Paul Shamplina, founder of
Landlord Action, who believes the Conservatives’ win will spark strong demand
for rental properties and growing rents.

“During the run-up to the election, landlords
were hugely worried about Labour or the Lib Dems getting in,” he says. “All I
was hearing was doom and gloom and that they were planning to exit the market,
so landlords breathed a sigh of relief at the election result.”

But he adds: “The
only problem Brexit might bring is if there are fewer EU tenants to generate
demand. We also await the result of the Court of Appeal case on Right to Rent
to find out whether the government pulls the scheme.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlords speak: Brexit is still a big worry for over half of you, our poll reveals | LandlordZONE.

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The Big Question: Should ‘to let’ boards be banned?

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Camden Council is one of the latest in a long line of local authorities planning to ban all ‘to let’ boards from rented homes. The council is following in the footsteps of those in Newcastle, Lincoln and Durham to impose the bans, which have been in place in some towns and cities, including historic areas […]

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Landlords contribute £3.61bn annually into local economies

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Aldermore’s new buy to let research2, surveying 1,000 UK-based landlords, highlights the important contribution landlords make to their local economy with eight in ten (81%) turning to a local tradesperson when their property requires work or renovation. Landlords spent on average £1,443 in the last 12 months on services such as plumbers

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Pockets where rental yields have lifted post tenant fees ban

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The latest research by lettings management platform, Howsy, has looked at which pockets of the buy-to-let market have seen the biggest uplifts in rental yields since the tenant fee ban came into force as part of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 back in June of last year.

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Today in politics: CMP, RLA research, Universal Credit and housing benefit

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We look at plans to extend the CMP deadline for letting agents yet again, debates on Universal Credit and Housing Benefit and research from the RLA and LGA. CMP regulations published  The draft Client Money Protection Schemes for Property Agents (Approval and Designation of Schemes) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 and explanatory note have now been published. Rules were […]

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Newbie renting to Universal Credit claimants?

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I have been browsing this site and found it to be very useful with lots of handy information and a great bunch of valued members – so I decided to join as well! I am having a few issues (with the agent &

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