Time to open up vacant homes to NHS staff say campaigners

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But National Residential Landlords Association says local councils taking possession of unused properties is much trickier to achieve than it sounds and warns many may not be habitable.

Action on Empty Homes is calling on local
councils to take possession of vacant properties and offer them to deserving
health workers.

While many NHS staff
are desperate for accommodation near work, the national campaigning charity points to Government data
which shows there are 226,000 long-term empty homes in England, two-thirds of them near hospitals.

Nearly one in 20 homes in the City of London
are vacant, while just down the road, Barts Hospital has one of the highest
numbers of deaths from Coronavirus.

The charity says councils should ask homeowners and landlords
to volunteer their second or empty properties so essential workers can use them.

Action
on Empty Homes director, Will McMahon, says: “Long-term empty homes which are immediately suitable for use should be
brought into use. This can easily be achieved
because local authorities know where these houses are and who owns them as this
information is collected for council tax purposes.”

While councils can reclaim long-term empty properties as a last resort, it suggests the Government should give them powers to take possession more urgently, as well as provide funding to cover cleaning and insurance costs and utility safety checks. It could also consider paying a fair rent to owners.

Vulnerable people

The charity points to
recent action in Lowestoft where East Suffolk Council transformed an empty sheltered housing
property into eight
flats in just seven days to help vulnerable people during the crisis.

However, Gavin Dick, local authority policy officer at the National Residential Landlords Association, says trying to access these properties can sometimes be legally or practically difficult.

“Houses can be empty
because people are working away from home for long periods, or they’re going
through a tricky divorce or probate.

Someone might not
have the money to bring it up to standard, and the boiler might not work, which
is no good for housing NHS staff,” he tells LandlordZONE.

The letting-agency backed NHS Homes website, which provides NHS workers or healthcare professionals with free temporary homes, lists 2,500 properties and is now receiving requests from more than 280 hospitals across the country.

Visit Action on Empty Homes

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Breaking: which areas of the UK will see most rental contract renewals during crisis

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Consultancy firm Dataloft analysed 250,000 historic rental transactions to pinpoint which urban areas will see the most tenancies come up for renewal, and therefore see likely price and terms renegotiation.

A leading property market information firm has identified the areas of England where the most tenancy renewals are due to take place during the next three months as the Coronavirus pandemic rages on.

Tenants who are about to renew their tenancies are likely to either ask for rent reductions or other arrangements required to help them weather reduced income or unemployment.

The research has been completed by DataLoft showing how vulnerable cities are around the UK to the crisis based on the number of tenants due to renew their tenancies during the second quarter of the year.

The pandemic has arrived at a crucial period during the annual rental market cycle. Just under a third (32%) of tenancies are renewed during the second quarter of each year on average because lease renewals are not distributed evenly across the year.

Tenancy renewal volumes also vary significantly from region to region during April, May and June.

London is the least exposed (24% of leases renew) while Wales is the most exposed (44%) followed by Yorkshire and the Humber and the SW (both 42%) and the East Midlands (41%).

Landlords

“It looks as though landlords are more protected in London than other parts of the UK because the peak in lease expiries occurs in Q3 rather than Q2 and there is a reasonable chance of some normality having returned by then,” says Dataloft.

“The London activity peak in the rental market is driven by the calendar for graduate employment starts and academic term dates.

“There is a real possibility that graduate recruitment will be deferred or reduced this year. It is also possible that the new student intake will be affected too, especially if overseas student numbers fall.”

Dataloft analysed some 250,000 rental transactions to produce the research.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Breaking: which areas of the UK will see most rental contract renewals during crisis | LandlordZONE.

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Interview: Student landlord raises fears as July move-in deadline looms

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Andrew Green, founder of Birmingham specialist landlord Unipads, tells LandlordZONE about the problems he and other landlords in the sector are facing as Coronavirus disrupts student life.

One of
Birmingham’s largest student landlords fears hundreds of students might decide
not to sign tenancy agreements next term, leaving it thousands of pounds out of
pocket.

Unipads, which owns a mixture of HMOs in converted properties and apartments in a purpose-built block in the city, says that if the Coronavirus crisis doesn’t improve dramatically, many of the 350 students who are set to pick up keys in July might not turn up – despite paying a £450-£650 deposit.

Co-founder Andrew Green tells LandlordZONE that he’s particularly worried about the 40 international students, mainly from China, due to start a university course next term.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they are willing to forfeit their £500
deposit, but if lots of them don’t come we’re stuffed as we’ll be losing the
£10,000 a year rent,” he says.

Although no students have actually contacted him about the issue
yet, Green believes it’s only because they’re waiting to see what happens.

“It’s easier for companies and universities who run halls of residence as they can cope with refunds, but we’re a private landlord with one block and terraced houses,” says Green. “If things haven’t improved dramatically, it’s unlikely that people will want to collect their keys and move in.”

Green, who’s run the company for 18 years, says he knows of many
other landlords in the same position.

“We could start the tenancies from August or even September if
things start to improve, but we’ve still got mortgage maintenance,” he adds. “There’s
really nothing we can do as their contracts aren’t enforceable until they pick
up the keys.”

The National
Union of Students is urging landlords to offer students a no-penalty early
release from tenancy contracts for the current and next academic year. It says if
a delay prevents them from moving into accommodation that they’ve already
signed a tenancy agreement for, landlords should offer a release from contract.

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Covid-19 rental advice given by University – Help?

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This is my first ever discussion starter – we are really desperate, don’t know what to do and hope the community here might be able to help.
We specialise in student rental. Fixed term for one year, 4 students on one AST.

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Advice for Accidental Landlords – by Landlords Defence

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Landlords…

If your property is being managed by your brother’s sister’s cousin’s sister-in-law, or your best-est friends’ brother-in-law then you face a 90% probability of massive problems in the form of:

• Unpaid rent
• Repairs not done
• Council inspections
• Council enforcement action
• Prosecution
• Massive Civil Financial penalties
• Rent Repayment orders
• Fitness for Human Habitation –

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Up-front rental deposits service launches to help cash-strapped tenants during the crisis

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LandlordZONE parent company Hamilton Fraser has today launched Ome, a ground-breaking alternative to up-front rental deposits.

Ome offers tenants a monthly subscription-style service which allows them to rent a home without paying a huge deposit whilst also protecting a landlord’s need for financial security.

Ome’s mission is to help raise industry standards by introducing greater choice for renters based on their individual preferences.

It also promises to provide a solution for those seeking a replacement to a traditional cash deposit that can adapt to tenants individual circumstances.

Ome will also replaces the need for a large deposit at the beginning of a tenant as well as at the end, eliminating the need for tenants to effectively two deposits on the go.

Based on data from
Ome’s sister company, mydeposits, the average deposit over the past year was £1,299.

With the average net
monthly wage currently £2,059, this requires the average tenant to fork out 55
per cent of their monthly wage just to put down a rental deposit; rising to 69
per cent for those who have been furloughed on 80% pay.

Instead of paying an upfront deposit or fee, Ome will enable some 86 per cent of tenants to pay less than £9 per month with a small one-off £30 account set up cost.

Tenants are always responsible for any damage to the property and payment of rent and bills, and if this issue arises, they can deal directly with their landlord via an app with the support of a Hamilton Fraser’s resolution team, who operate the Property Redress Scheme and the mydeposits tenancy deposit scheme.

Lower fees

Landlords and agents benefit
from lower deposit arrangement fees and less risk of deposit-related fines; because
no deposit money will have been exchanged.

Ome will also be
launching a full suite of tech plug-ins that will allow larger lettings agencies,
digital platforms and property management software providers to automate the
Ome journey for their landlords and tenants – with a handful of early
candidates already lined up.

 “We’re really excited to launch what we believe is a brand and product that will set and define the new standards expected from a deposit replacement scheme,” says co-founder of Ome, Matthew Hooker.

“We anticipate Ome becoming a platform for a multitude of deposit and tenancy management solutions so we cannot wait to enhance our already competitive offering.”

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