LATEST: Suspend gas and electrical safety certification for six months, says NRLA

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Landlords’ association says difficulties sourcing engineers and worries among tenants about letting people into their homes mean safety certification, like MOTs for cars, should be waived until the crisis is over.

All gas and electrical safety certification for private rented homes should be automatically extended for six months, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) says.

The organisation says its poll of landlords found that 38% have been struggling to source maintenance contractors and that a third cannot complete safety and essential maintenance work because they or their tenants are self-isolating.

It also says many tenants are simply worried about letting tradespeople into their homes.

Also, the NRLA claims that there is a precedent for a safety certificate waiver following the Coronavirus pandemic; namely that the government recently did the same for vehicle MOTs.

This would give landlords the time to ensure that routine but legally binding checks can take place at a point when the danger of spreading the virus in rental properties is at least reduced, it is claimed.

Electrical safety

As well as gas safety certificates, the NRLA is calling on the Government to delay until next year the introduction of new routine Electrical Installation Condition Reports which are due to come into force from 1st July.

 “Whilst
landlords should ensure that urgent work to ensure properties are safe for
tenants is carried out, routine maintenance and checks need to be delayed to
prevent the spread of Coronavirus,” says Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the
NRLA.

“Extending the life of gas and electrical
safety certificates will protect landlords and tenants from unnecessary contact
and provide landlords with legal protection from enforcement action where they
are simply unable to get such work undertaken through no fault of their own.” 

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Suspend gas and electrical safety certification for six months, says NRLA | LandlordZONE.

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Landlords call for extension to safety certificates

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Landlords are calling for a six-month extension to the validity of all gas and electrical safety certificates to cover for the impact of the coronavirus.  This comes in response to a survey showing that 38 per cent of landlords are struggling to source maintenance contractors to undertake required work and just over a third are having difficulties […]

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Preparing to Exit Covid-19 – Online Meeting 7PM Monday 20th April

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Will you miss the best preparation for the opportunities this decade will present?

Some of the countries top experts join us this month for this online Great Property Meet event to share what they are doing to prepare to exit Corona Virus lock down and the opportunities they see ahead.

The post Preparing to Exit Covid-19 – Online Meeting 7PM Monday 20th April appeared first on Property118.

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Property Conference – landlords unite and raise money for the NHS

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Meet Property118 founder Mark Alexander at this unmissable online Event to raise funding for the NHS.

The Property Conference will be taking place on the 24th and 25th of April 2020, for full details including timings please see Facebook.

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Log on: How to survive #Coronavirus webinar for letting agents

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Key topics and challenges facing letting agents during the lockdown will be explored and explained by Paul Shamplina this Wednesday, 22nd April at 10am. Join him.

A free hour-long webinar is taking place on Wednesday at 10am for letting agents wondering how to survive the Coronavirus crisis.

To be hosted by HF Assist and led by Landlord Action’s Paul Shamplina, it will tackle some of the most pressing issues facing agents during the crisis.

This includes how to move tenants in and out of properties, help landlords whose tenants have stopped paying the rent, complete gas safety and EPC assessments safely and how to apply for government grants and other help aimed at SME businesses.

HF Assist is part of the Hamilton Fraser family of companies and exists solely to offer letting agents a telephone helpline staffed by people with both lettings and legal experience who can support agents in their day-to-day operations.

HF Assist’s Mike Morgan says: “We launched HF Assist, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, after survey results found letting agents would welcome a single ‘go to’ advice line.

“Lettings is a fast-moving industry with many moving parts and sometimes agents want to be able to just pick up the phone and check they’re compliant. 

“Since lockdown was enforced, letting agents have had to very quickly adapt their processes and learn what the changes mean for their business and their clients.”

Agents can register in advance for the free webinar, and then submit their questions in advance.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Log on: How to survive #Coronavirus webinar for letting agents | LandlordZONE.

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Legal Cases Webinar – Pease v. Carter

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Landlord Law Legal Cases – Pease v. Carter with Alice Richardson: Raising money for the Women’s Aid charity.

Renting property to tenants is heavily regulated and landlords have to know and understand the law.  This does not mean that you need to be a lawyer to be a landlord.

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Hero Landlord of the Week #1: Max Rayner

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Each week we are highlighting landlords who are going the extra mile for their tenants during this challenging time for everyone involved in the private rental market.

This week Meet Max Rayne, 26. He set up Hemel Hempstead based Stuart Clinton Property with his business partner Alex Baker three years ago and it now operates 20 properties across the South of England and the Midlands, specialising in high-end HMO accommodation.

Max says he and Alex recognised that a lot of
tenants are going through a stressful period during the crisis but who are also
hearing that landlords are getting ‘automatic mortgage holidays’, even if that
isn’t true, and assuming they will also get a rent holiday.

Max says his company is working with tenants who
are facing financial hardship on a case-by-case basis and deciding whether to
either defer their rent or help them come up with a payment plan.

But he also says the company wants to let all its
tenants know that they aren’t forgotten. So it recently decided to send all of
its HMO tenants a ‘survival’ pack which included a personal cleaning kit for their
properties (which are usually cleaned by contractors but not during the pandemic)
plus anti-bacterial spray, cloths and gloves as well as a chocolate selection, a
crate of beer and a card urging them to get in touch if they are struggling.

And during the early days of the pandemic when
many shops ran out of toilet roll, Max worked with one of his letting agencies
to provide tenants with loo roll if they were running low. The stock had been bought
off a pub which no longer needed it after shutting up shop following the lockdown.

“Our strategy when doing up properties, and when
managing them, is to always think of the tenants first – would we live here and
how would we like to be treated. That’s what has driven our actions during the crisis,”
says Max.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Hero Landlord of the Week #1: Max Rayner | LandlordZONE.

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MP’s letter urging landlords to waive student rents for the rest of the year gets a frosty reception

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Warwickshire MP Matt Western has urged private landlords to let students off their rent for this academic year and possibly the next, and also return deposits, angering many landlords who feel politicians have abandoned them during the crisis.

Landlords in Warwickshire are less than impressed after a local MP wrote a letter on House of Commons letterhead urging them to let student tenants off paying rent for this academic year and the next. The missive also urges them to return rental deposits and waive any rent arrears created by the crisis.

Labour MP Matt Western who represents the Warwick and Leamington constituency has signed the letter alongside Tiana Holgate, the local NUS representative.

The letter says it has been sent out in the name of ‘thousands’ of students within the constituency who have ‘huge concerns, like many others, about how they are going to make ends meet’.

Western also argues that students should be considered for special treatment because many are unable to work in their spare time or during the holidays because most are employed in industries that have been closed down by the pandemic such as bars, restaurants and other hospitality businesses.

Rent payments

“Students are now facing upcoming rent payments for properties they are not living in, and which many will not be able to afford,” the letter says.

“We firmly believe students should not be penalised financially for abiding by Government advice. Warwick University students living on campus have been released from their halls of residence contracts. It is only fair that all students are given the same right.”

Western and Holgate point out that private landlords should help because the government has given them mortgage payment holidays, while students have not so far received any specific financial help during the Coronavirus crisis.

The letter is aligned with Labour policy on rental payment waivers, which the party recently said should be made compulsory during the three months of the crisis.

Landlords who were sent the letter have turned to social media, describing it as a ‘joke’, ‘nonsense’ and pointing out that the payment holiday scheme does not help those without mortgages, and that almost all of the government business support schemes miss out landlords, who are classed as self-employed.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – MP’s letter urging landlords to waive student rents for the rest of the year gets a frosty reception | LandlordZONE.

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Today in politics: rent referral and Universal Credit

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We look at a case study from Shelter outlining the challenges faced by tenants who have lost their jobs as a result of coronavirus and news that the DWP is allowing people with existing Government Gateway accounts to  use them to access Universal Credit. Shelter shares tenants’ story Shelter has shared a case study of tenants who have […]

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Coventry make tenants homeless with new licensing scheme

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A ‘be careful what you wish for’ consequence of the new licensing scheme which has been introduced by Coventry City Council commencing May 4th – against government guidance – has already started a cascade of tenants being served eviction notices as a direct result.

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