Landlord and lettings agency join forces in unusual #NHSHomes enteprise

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Take a recently-completed 20-unit studio apartment development, a letting agency and its landlord and the result is… free accommodation for NHS staff in London. LandlordZONE found out more about the scheme.

A landlord and a lettings agency
have got together to house frontline NHS staff rent-free in the capital for
three months.

Hemmingfords in North
London and the landlord, who wants to remain anonymous, are offering 20 newly
converted studio, one and two-bed fully furnished flats in Finsbury Park to
workers at nearby hospitals needing to isolate from their families.

Director Rose Parsons says when
it knew a lock-down was imminent a few weeks ago, the company decided it would
be difficult to rent out certain properties using only video viewings so
approached a few landlords with the charitable suggestion.

“This landlord was keen to
do it,” she tells LandlordZONE. “The flats were serviced apartments which had
only recently been refitted as long-term lets. Although it’s hard to swallow a
loss like that when you’re left with vacant properties, he wanted to do
something to help the crisis.”

The landlord is taking a big hit as the studio
flats would normally rent for £1,150 a month. He has
also promised that once the tenants move in, he will contact utility companies
and ask them to waive their bills – and if they don’t, he’ll pay them himself.

Hemmingfords, which is not
charging a fee for co-ordinating the offer, or for getting references, has had
a good response so far, with seven NHS workers either already moved in or
signed up, and another five in the pipeline.

Says Parsons: “They’re signing a three-month contract with the potential to extend if needed. We’ll look at it on a case-by-case basis for each person, as when the Government relaxes rules we’ll probably get more interest from paying tenants.”

Why do these studios matter?

One of the key reasons why free accommodation is needed for frontline NHS staff is that many desperately need to self-isolate away from their families during the crisis while they are working.

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Can’t rent out your property? We’ll pay you if you help the homeless, says council

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A large local authority in Cumbria is calling on landlords who own empty properties they can’t rent out during the Coronavirus crisis to open them up to the council’s guaranteed rent scheme, and help homeless people.

Private landlords in Cumbria
with empty properties are being urged to help out during the national
emergency.

Copeland Council, which covers a huge coastal swathe of Cumbria including the port of Whitehaven, has appealed for them to come forward with the incentive of paying their rent in advance as well as paying a rent deposit if they’re willing to support local residents facing homelessness.

Mayor Mike Starkie says it wants to ensure it
has every possible resource at its disposal.

“We know this is a time of immense pressure
for everyone and may lead to more accommodation being required to house
residents who have nowhere else to go,” he says.

“It is absolutely vital that everyone has a
safe place to call home, particularly whilst the social distancing measures are
in place, and we understand that relationships may break down during the added
stresses of the current pandemic, so we’re exploring every possible avenue to
keep residents healthy, safe and indoors at this time.”

A council spokeswoman tells LandlordZONE: “The appeal is to gather information on available properties should we require them. We’re looking for properties that are already currently available to let, so there should be no cost to the landlord.”

Barbara Baker, director at sales and lettings agency Homes Cumbria, who runs the local landlord Facebook group, says with the right structure in place to cover landlords it’s a good idea.

“It can benefit the landlord by providing regular income – often guaranteed – and no long voids with council tax to pay. However, on the flip side it sometimes causes issues for us and landlords as the tenants don’t always make the most of the opportunity they’ve been given and are anti-social or damage the house.”

She adds: “It’s never black and white but the hard bit is talking landlords around to the idea.”

Landlords with available properties should
contact the council’s housing team at housing.options@copeland.gov.uk or on 01946 598300.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Can’t rent out your property? We’ll pay you if you help the homeless, says council | LandlordZONE.

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After success at halls, student ‘rent strike’ campaign turns to private landlords

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A dozen universities have told halls residents they will not have to pay rent for the rest of this term as Coronavirus closes down campuses, and activists are now turning their attention to private landlords.

Students are winning significant rent concessions from universities including reductions and rent holidays, helped by a flurry of rent strikes targeted at both public and private landlords.

The campaign is broad and seeks to persuade student landlords to cancel tenants’ rents until they return to study and the crisis is over.

The campaign is being supported by a ‘Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay’ handbook (pictured) produced by www.rent-strike.org/universities which is a national collective of student housing campaigners and activists.

Some universities (see below) have agreed to cancel the third term’s rent assuming the pandemic continues, and the activists are now targeting private landlords.

The campaign says 150 students at a halls of residence run by private landlord in London have already gone on strike, while over 400 students have joined a Facebook page in Plymouth calling for a rent strike across the city’s four universities for those in private accommodation.

Rent reductions

Rent reductions or suspensions, assuming students go home, have already been won at halls of residence in Cambridge, East Anglia, Huddersfield, Keele, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Reading, Warwick and York.

A rent strike is under way at University of London halls of residence, and students in Bristol are in dispute with a major student accommodation lettings agency over rent payments.

The ‘Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay’ campaign is backed by the National Union of Students and also the Labour Party, whose shadow housing minister John Healey (replaced yesterday by Thangam Debbonaire) last week wrote to the Housing secretary Gavin Williamson asking for both public and private landlords to stop charging tenants rent who have returned home.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – After success at halls, student ‘rent strike’ campaign turns to private landlords | LandlordZONE.

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#Coronavirus: ‘We need help with empty property costs’ says frustrated landlord

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Owner of eight properties in Cornwall says critics of ‘rich landlords’ underestimate the increased costs faced by many as Coronavirus impacts the sector.

Thousands of landlords need more help to get them
through the next few months as they struggle to support tenants and pay the
bills, a concerned landlord has told LandlordZONE.

Shaun Carter, who has eight properties in
Launceston, Cornwall, believes that despite being offered a mortgage holiday, it’s
council tax, utility bills and overdraft payments that are adding up to a big
headache for the sector.

“After a
month of a property being empty, landlords have to pay council tax which can be
a financial burden,” he says.

“And while empty properties might not be using gas or
electricity, landlords are still liable for daily charges. Utility companies
and councils should give them a break.”

Carter adds
that large numbers of landlords will be accumulating additional fees on their
overdrafts as they go over their limit.

“The public bailed the banks out [during the 2008 crisis] – it’s time that the banks did something for the sector and froze these extra charges,” he says.

Trouble stored up

Although only two of his properties are currently
empty, and so far none of his tenants have asked for a rent holiday, Carter reckons others in the sector could be
storing up trouble as they’re effectively altering tenancy contracts by
offering rent freezes or reductions.

He says: “A
lot of these agreements are verbal, but you really need it on paper too so
there’s no misunderstanding.”

Adds Carter: “I bought my houses in the 1990s
or at auction so don’t have big mortgages, but I know many who do, especially
those who might just have one property that they rent out for their retirement.
I believe if we share our stories and ideas, we can help each other out.”

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Stay safe and stay fit – Mind, Muscles and Money

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Keep your mind and body fit. We’re all very conscious of that, and so many of us now go out of our way to include a (socially distancing) walk, run, bike ride, even yoga and a daily dose of Joe Wicks PE too.

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Labour reveals new shadow housing minister, but will party change direction on landlords?

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New minister is Thangam Debbonaire who has a short track record on housing and has yet to reveal whether she backs her party’s line on ‘rogue landlords’ and rent controls.

The Labour Party’s new line-up including leader Keir Starmer and his more moderate front bench team have been revealed, including a new shadow Housing Secretary.

She is 53-year-old Bristol MP Thangham Debbonaire and is one of half a dozen shadow ministers announced by Starmer during what commentators have described as a ‘purge’ of Jeremy Corbyn’s former front bench team.

But landlords hoping for a more balanced approach to the private rental market from Labour’s new housing team are likely to be disappointed.

Debbonaire has said her focus will be – among other things – focused on tenants. In a message to fellow Labour activists, she said: “I look forward to working closely with you to end the housing crisis.

“Good quality social housing and good treatment of tenants in private rented sector are priorities – as well as housing for domestic violence victims, refugees and others at risk of homelessness.”

Uncompromising

Labour had been uncompromising in its approach to the private rental market under Corbyn, backing the government on Section 21 eviction reform, proposing greater rights for tenants with pets, campaigning for rent controls and frequently being pro-tenant and anti-landlord.

Also, Starmer is a member of the Labour Housing Group. Its most recent manifesto says: “Too many people are living in dangerous accommodation at the mercy of rogue landlords.

“When housing has become a site of speculation for a wealthy few, leaving the many unable to access a decent, secure home, something has gone seriously wrong. We need to restore the principle that a decent home is a right owed to all, not a privilege for the few.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Labour reveals new shadow housing minister, but will party change direction on landlords? | LandlordZONE.

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Coronavirus – Government intervention for Landlords and Tenants

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I have written a detailed article on the Governments intervention for Landlords and Tenants and provided  links to various references and articles including the recent discussion. Click here

Most landlords will know by now that the government has suspended all current possession claims in the legal system (thought to be around 20,000) and imposed a THREE Month Notice period on Section 21

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Coronavirus: Template letters for landlords

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The NRLA has six template letters exclusive for members to download and send to tenants during the coronavirus pandemic. The template letters for landlords can be accessed online here and within the Property Management and Financial Support guidance section of our website. They include: General Coronavirus template letter for tenants This letter outlines what tenants can […]

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