Jersey parliament bans evictions during Coronavirus and stops rent rises

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Island’s States Assembly has voted to introduce the wide-ranging changes to private rental market but local landlords are hurt by implied lack of trust.

The Jersey Landlords Association says guidance to help
ensure fewer renters become homeless during the crisis give the impression that
landlords cannot be trusted to do the right thing.

Regulations passed by the States Assembly mean tenants in
financial hardship due to COVID-19 can’t be evicted for failing to pay rent or
other bills.

This includes preventing landlords from increasing rents,
even if they have issued notice of a rent increase before the regulations came
into force, while tenants can extend their tenancies if they’re due to end
before 1st October.

Also, landlords will be able to deal with rent arrears in
the usual way after 30th September when the regulations end.

Tenants struggling to pay rent are being asked to write
to their landlord with evidence of financial hardship so they can agree how to
manage rent arrears.

However, the association had already issued similar guidance to its members, advising against evictions, but believes the Government’s approach may complicate difficult conversations between landlords and tenants.

Compassion

Chairman Peter Lucas tells LandlordZONE it reduces
flexibility. “The vast majority of landlords are behaving with compassion,” he
says. “There are vulnerable landlords as well as vulnerable tenants. Some
tenants are working and capable of paying a rent increase.”

Minister for Housing Senator Sam Mézec says that with
housing costs in Jersey being so high the law aims to ensure that Islanders
facing financial hardship don’t have to move house or become homeless during
the outbreak.

“Throughout this difficult time, we expect landlords and
tenants to be honest, transparent and reasonable in how they communicate.”

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Use of carried forward company losses

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Hi Mark

I have used the services of Property118 previously for tax planning advice.

I have a company that is no longer trading (but still active) that is sitting on a £20,000 of losses and I was wondering if the losses of this company could be set against any potential future gains if I was to change this company to a property rental business?

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Parliament enquiry into effect of Coronavirus on PRS

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The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee is inviting written evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on homelessness, rough sleeping, and the private rented sector, as well as any other connected issues.

In particular, the Committee is interesting in finding out:

How effective has the support provided by MHCLG and other Government departments in addressing the impact of COVID-19 on those in the private rented sector

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Call of the Week-I’ve offered to reduce the rent due to Covid-19, do I need to change my AST?

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A landlord gave our advice team a call this week with a question about offering a rent reduction to one of their tenants. The tenant had informed the landlord they were struggling financially due to Covid-19, and were worried about paying their rent. Sympathetic, the landlord agreed with the tenant verbally to accept a lower […]

The post Call of the Week-I’ve offered to reduce the rent due to Covid-19, do I need to change my AST? appeared first on RLA Campaigns and News Centre.

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Landlord Law Virtual Conference 2020

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Whilst most events have been forced to cancel or reschedule due to the coronavirus crisis, we are delighted to confirm that the Landlord Law Conference 2020 will now be a two day virtual event, taking place on 12th &

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Salisbury office landlord donates £10k Coronavirus grant to his struggling tenants

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The office rental market is under the same financial strains as the residential one, but one landlord’s unusual and generous offer to his tenants shows commercial landlords can be accommodating too.

A kind-hearted landlord has used his small business grant to give tenants a rent holiday, unlike many of the larger commercial landlords.

Alan Munro, who
runs an accountancy firm in Salisbury, rents out offices in his two-storey
premises to the
Alzheimer’s Support and Digestive Cancers Europe charities along with a drum
studio.

But instead of pocketing his £10,000 grant
from the Government to help firms during the crisis, the small business owner
waived all their rent.

Says Alan: “I got the grant through from the
council because the building was closed. The purpose of this grant is to get
businesses to survive and whilst I have interest costs in the mortgage I took
out on the building, that doesn’t use up £10,000 in three months.

“Given that the offices are closed and they don’t use any
electricity and stuff like that it seemed very fair to me. The scheme is not
there to make a profit.”

Alan often organises events and sponsored runs to raise
funds for Alzheimer’s Support, which is losing about £7,000 a week as donations
dry up. It says although it has a number of premises around the country, Alan was
the only landlord to waive its rent.

And Alan has this message for other landlords: “If you are a rental business and you have received a grant, ask yourself why would you collect your rent if you’ve got enough money to maintain the building and pay your mortgage.”

Read more about commercial landlords and Coronavirus.

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I am helping a Telegraph journalist

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I am helping a Telegraph journalist with an article and she would like to know:

1. What experience landlords have of being refused the so-called ‘mortgage holidays’?

2. Which lenders are doing this?

3.

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STUDENT landlords: Charity works with property owners to release 250 students from tenancies

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Leicester-based accommodation charity Sulets is one of the first in the UK to negotiate a blanket deal for its student tenants with private landlords.

Sulets is the latest student
accommodation provider to give its tenants a hand-out to help them get through
the difficult summer term.

Working with private landlords, the two-branch Leicester-based educational charity has released university students early from their housing contracts in its leased properties.

Sulets made the decision to help the many students who have lost their jobs
and have had their studies and exams disrupted, after university buildings closed
and the need to ensure safe practices left them in a difficult position.

More than
250 students will benefit if they decide to be released from their tenancy
early.

CEO Irving Hill says the
decision means it will experience a significant loss of income, as will those
landlords who have worked with Sulets to share the financial pain to help the
city’s students.

He adds: “Sulets has a clear mission and we would be failing in that if we did not do all that we could for the students who are our tenants.

“I would like to thank those landlords who have partnered with us, at financial cost to themselves, when they didn’t need to, so that students could be released from their contracts without penalty.”

Read more about student landlords and the Coronavirus crisis.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – STUDENT landlords: Charity works with property owners to release 250 students from tenancies | LandlordZONE.

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BREAKING: Mayor of London calls for extreme measures to protect renters during and after crisis

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Sadiq Khan has today said that the government should introduce a ‘triple lock’ of measure that would make it almost impossible for landlords to evict many tenants after the Coronavirus has eased.

The Mayor of London Sadiq
Khan has called for the government to go even further to protect tenants and wants
to see a ‘triple lock’ of measures that would make it almost impossible for
landlords to evict tenants after the Coronavirus pandemic has passed.

Khan says he wants to see the
government:

• Increase benefit support for renters through higher Local Housing Allowance rates and a suspended Benefit Cap.
• Permanently ban private landlords from evicting tenants who have run up rent arrears because of the Coronavirus pandemic and making Section 8 arrears’ grounds discretionary in court proceedings.
• Bring forward ban of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.

“For too long, renters in
the capital and across the country have been denied the security they need in
the place they call home. The current crisis has brought these issues into
stark relief,” says Khan.

“With millions of low
paid renters in London now facing increased financial uncertainty we face a
ticking timebomb of debt, arrears and widespread evictions once the suspension
in court proceedings is lifted.

The Mayor’s call for action is being backed by legal charity Safer Renting, who spokesperson Ben Reeve-Lewis, says:“From what we are seeing on the ground, Government guidance for landlords and tenants to work together reasonably during this crisis isn’t getting through to the rogue landlord market.

“We are seeing no let-up
in cases of harassment and illegal eviction. It’s just business as usual.”

Khan was due to face re-election on May 7^th but has now been given an extra year in office as Mayor of London after the election was postponed until May 2021.

Read more about the Mayoral election.

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Landlords welcome calls for benefit boost for tenants

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Landlords have supported calls from the Mayor of London to ensure the benefits system covers the cost of private rents for those tenants adversely affected by coronavirus. Sadiq Khan is calling on the government to introduce a new ‘triple lock’ of measures aimed at protecting private renters. He has urged the government to increase welfare […]

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