New MEES rules set to come into force for existing tenancies

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Since April 2018, landlords have been unable to let their property to new tenants unless it has a minimum energy efficiency rating of an E (unless exempted) on its Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). On 1st April 2020, this will be extended to cover all existing tenancies. This means that anyone whose rentals have F or G EPC […]

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What does the lettings industry look like for an agent in 2020?

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Hamilton Fraser recently held their first Legal Update and
Compliance course of 2020 in Borehamwood, where letting agents where welcomed
to undergo a training session in legal matters and legislation compliance in
lettings.

The session was hosted by Susie Crolla, Managing Director of
The Guild of Lettings and Management (GLM), and Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action
and Brand Ambassador at Hamilton Fraser.

After the training course, we sat down with one of the
agents, Chris Christodoulou of Ashmore Residential, to ask how he felt about
some of the recent changes that have impacted the lettings industry.

Q: What are your thoughts on the tenant fees ban?

To circumvent the losses, agents have to do more work than
ever to be sure that they are complying with legislation changes.

Although it is more work, it is also an opportunity for
agents to demonstrate their expertise by educating and supporting landlords. This
is important because agents generally don’t demonstrate their value to clients.

I added 1 per cent in additional fees to my services to
absorb the losses of the tenant fees ban, and I recommend other agents to do
the same.

Another thing that I cannot stress enough, is how beneficial
it is for agents to digitise their business processes. You can cut down on
printing costs by using digital documents as opposed to paper. You can allow
landlords and tenants to access and sign documents digitally/electronically
through DocuSign and DropBox.

This saves money on printing and distribution costs, secures the documents, allows shared access to the files and verifies when each party signs.

Q: What strategies do you recommend for other agents to
endure the tenant fees ban?

1. Increase your fees to make up for losses from
   the tenant fees ban
2. Digitise your business approach and make use of
   technology – this is both cost effective and efficient
3. Grow your market share and work on developing
   brand awareness
4. For this, you may need to employ people who can
   work on the digital promotion and marketing of your business
5. Focus on producing quality content and aim to
   gain a subscriber base
6. Be consistent and produce regular blogs and
   newsletters to provide added value
7. Provide educational content to build perception of
   your business as an industry leader. Producing reliable content will help to gain
   your customers’ trust.

Q: What are your thoughts on ROPA?

I think that it will help to professionalise the industry and raise standards. Currently the standards are too low and there isn’t enough enforcement to punish those who fail to carry out their work legitimately. With the ROPA regulations, everyone will need a license, which will benefit the sector by weeding out the rogues and allowing the legitimate business to thrive. Chris is one of many letting agents who continues to educate himself and adapt his business as the industry changes. Many training courses exist to support landlords and agents with their work in a constantly developing sector and it is important to make the most of them. To learn more about these types of courses, and gain greater industry insight, visit The Hamilton Fraser Academy.

Click here for Paul Shamplina’s Interview with Chris Christodolou

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – What does the lettings industry look like for an agent in 2020? | LandlordZONE.

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EXCLUSIVE: we talk to landlord whose tweet of hope during crisis has been read 700,000 times around the world

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Paul Bradshaw has given his tenants a five-month rent holiday and told his friends on Twitter about it but now it’s gone viral, he tells LandlordZONE.

Landlord Paul Bradshaw – husband of Olympic
pole-vaulter Holly Bradshaw – has inspired landlords around the world by giving
his tenant a five-month rent holiday.

The Loughborough-based landlord, a national
trainer at UK Anti-Doping, told his Twitter followers and friends: “Yesterday I
knocked on my tenant’s door and told him he could stay in the property rent
free for five months.

He is self-employed with four kids. I don’t need Boris to tell me what is morally correct. Landlords, if you can do more, do something. Hashtag COVID19. Hashtag BeNice.”

128,000 retweets

Bradshaw said he’d made the decision jointly
with wife Holly and tweeted the news on Sunday. The tweet has now received more
than 700,000 likes and been retweeted more than 128,000 times. His move has
inspired hundreds of positive messages as well as some from other landlords
saying they planned to do the same.

He tells LandlordZONE: “I’ve had people from
all over the world messaging, saying they have done a variety of things. From
just making the effort to make contact with their tenants, to also offering
payment holidays.”

Bradshaw adds that landlords should do what
they can and forget about profits. “Right now, it’s about as many individuals,
businesses and families making it through this as close to break-even as
possible!”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – EXCLUSIVE: we talk to landlord whose tweet of hope during crisis has been read 700,000 times around the world | LandlordZONE.

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Protected: Coronavirus: Frequently asked questions

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There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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Join me! Star footballer (and landlord) urges industry to offer empty properties to NHS staff

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Premiership player Wilfried Zaha is offering 50 of his apartments for free to healthcare staff and wants other landlords to follow suit. Could you help?

Premier League footballer Wilfried Zaha has called on landlords to join him by and open up their empty properties to NHS staff fighting the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Crystal Palace winger is offering 50 apartments owned by his company ZoProperties rent-free to frontline staff needing short-term accommodation near hospitals, after being moved by the plight of those scared to go home after shifts and infect their loved ones and the public. 

Zaha
and his business partner, Obi Williams, say they have been inundated with
requests and asked NHS management to oversee the allocation process.

He
told The Standard: “If people
can help it would me much appreciated, because I get messages myself from people
talking about how they need a place and how it would be appreciated, if I could
I would.”

Zaha’s
business partner Williams, added: “If there are any landlords or property
companies out there, if the association for serviced apartment providers want
to help, please help. We need properties right now.”

The footballer has also launched a Just Giving Campaign which aims to raise £50,000 by asking people without properties to fund more short-term accommodation for frontline staff.

Chelsea owner
Roman Abramovich joined the effort by offering free accommodation at the
Millennium Hotel next to Stamford Bridge to NHS staff, while Gary Neville has offered
up his two hotels in Manchester.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Join me! Star footballer (and landlord) urges industry to offer empty properties to NHS staff | LandlordZONE.

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Landlord bodies call for more government help to support PRS

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Help for Landlords:

The
Residential Landlords Association (RLA) and the National Landlords
Association (NLA) soon to be combined into an 80,000 plus landlord
association are jointly calling on the government to provide more
support for the private rented sector (PRS).

Although
they recognise the value of the measures taken so far on mortgage
holidays* for struggling landlords, they want a bunch of further
measures introduced which would provide help for those landlords
without mortgages who find themselves in difficulties.

The
organisations are suggesting that “all but emergency repairs and
maintenance, where there is a threat to the safety of tenants or the
habitability of the property,” should be postponed until normal
business operations can be safely resumed.

In
addition, these landlords bodies are arguing for any new licensing
scheme payments due to local authorities to be deferred, and the
costs charged by superior landlords for blocks of flats, such as
service charges and ground rents, in relation to leasehold properties
be, suspended.

Another
suggestion is that the government speed up benefit payments,
scrapping the automatic five-week wait for the first payment of
Universal Credit, and paying the housing element of new UC claims
directly to landlords, ensuring that the housing element “properly
reflects rent levels.”

In
a joint statement, the two organisations have said:

“We
welcome the government’s constructive engagement to date and will
continue to work with them in the same spirit.

“Whilst
measures to allow buy-to-let mortgage holidays are welcome, further
action is needed.

“Everything
possible needs to be done to support the incomes of tenants affected
by the crisis. That means a suite of measures to ensure benefits can
be paid swiftly, and that they properly cover the costs of rents.

“This
needs to be matched with further measures to reduce the costs faced
especially by landlords without a mortgage.

“This
would provide them with greater flexibility to work with tenants
struggling as a consequence of the virus.

“We
recognise the concerns that many landlords and tenants will still
have and are working closely with the Government to ensure they are
addressed.

“In
the meantime we thank landlords who are supporting their tenants at
this difficult time.”

*Barclays
have said that not all buy-to-let borrowers have been
given the option of a 3-month repayment holiday
because the support is aimed primarily at
residential mortgage borrowers. A spokesperson for Barclays
said: “This is an unprecedented and ever-changing situation, we are
constantly reviewing how we best support all of our customers and are
working on an appropriate solution and will provide an update later
this week.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlord bodies call for more government help to support PRS | LandlordZONE.

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BREAKING: Government confirms it may extend evictions ban if landlords chase tenants after crisis

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A government spokesman in the Lords has quietly conceded that ministers will use powers being given to them within the Coronavirus Bill to protect tenants from payment chasing after the pandemic dies down.

The government has confirmed that it will consider extending the evictions ban if landlords begin chasing tenants for back-dated rent after the Coronavirus crisis is over.

Government spokesman Lord Bethell told peers that the Coronavirus Bill going through parliament at the moment gave the government room to manoeuvre on this point.

“We have the power to extend both the three-month notice period and the date these powers will end, and we are clear that we will use these powers if necessary,” he said.

His comments followed calls from Labour peer Lord Adonis earlier on in the debate.

“My understanding is that while Schedule 29 [of the bill] meets the concerns of people who may potentially be evicted by preventing actual evictions during the period of the coronavirus crisis, it does not prevent evictions or action being taken against tenants afterwards in respect of the non-payment of rent while the crisis is proceeding,” he said.

“That simply does not seem reasonable to me if our aim is to offer security and decent support for people because of the crisis.

“We need to see to it that not only are they not evicted, but that they are not waiting until the day after the crisis ends to be evicted because they have not been able to pay the rent in the interim.”

Another Labour peer, Baroness Thornton, said she was extremely concerned that landlords would chase tenants for back-dated rent after the crisis, helping increase their financial problems.

Read more about evictions.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: Government confirms it may extend evictions ban if landlords chase tenants after crisis | LandlordZONE.

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Can a Declaration of Trust get round the loss of letting relief?

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My parents own a rental property which was their previous residence and has been renting the property for a number of years.

They are in the process of selling the property mainly to make use the letting relief which goes after 5th April.

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DPS to return landlord’s money to agent in financial trouble?

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I’ve run out of patience with the agents who manage my properties and will shortly give notice or terminate their contract. I appreciate the present situation is difficult, but this is after a series of errors at my expense.

Now I’ve had increased charges and some staff suddenly never in the office (not due to illness or the lockdown).

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Coronavirus – What Landlords need to know

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Tessa Shepperson of Landlord Law talks to John Stewart of the Residential Landlords Association bringing people up to date with developments for landlords in the UK resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic.

This is the recording of Tessa’s webinar yesterday (24 March.

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