BREAKING: Mortgage holiday extension to include landlords, HM Treasury confirms

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Earlier today the ministry revealed that home owners could apply for mortgage holiday for a further four months, but has now told LandlordZONE that this is to include buy-to-let loans.

HM Treasury has confirmed to LandlordZONE that its mortgage holiday extension for home owners announced early this morning is to also include landlords with buy-to-let loans.

None of the guidelines and announcements earlier today from both the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and HM Treasury mentioned mortgage relief for landlords but, after chasing around several government departments, a Treasury spokesperson has confirmed to us that the extended mortgage holiday scheme will include buy-to-let products.

Also, like the home owner loans, landlords will be protected from having their properties repossessed if they fall behind in their mortgage payments, until the Coronavirus crisis is over.

HM Treasury and the FCA jointly announced this morning that home owners – and now landlords – are to be offered a three-month mortgage holiday for a further four months, although landlords should remember that the ‘holiday’ is in reality a payment deferment that accrues interest.

The original scheme was due to run out at the end of June but is now to finish at the end of October, although the FCA says property owners should return to paying their mortgages where possible.

The FCA is to consult with lenders until 26th May on the proposals and then introduce the extended schemes.

Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “We welcome this announcement. Extension of the mortgage deferment scheme will enable landlords with mortgages to continue to provide flexibility to tenants who are struggling to pay their rents.

“The NRLA continues to campaign for further support
to ensure tenants can continue to pay their rents in the first place.
 This includes increasing benefits to ensure they cover the cost of rents
and Spanish style interest free loans for tenants in need of extra help.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: Mortgage holiday extension to include landlords, HM Treasury confirms | LandlordZONE.

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Second county court reveals plans to get ready for 29th June evictions re-start

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Announcement from Edmonton follows similar announcement by Barnet earlier this week, both of which point to at least a partial re-opening of possession hearings system.

Edmonton County Court in North London is the latest to reveal that it’s getting ready to begin processing possession hearings again on 29^th June.

As we reported earlier this week, the first was Barnet. Both say that unless told otherwise by the judiciary, they expect to recommence hearings, albeit via telephone or video platforms including Microsoft teams.

Courts tend to pre-empt government policy; it was clear that an evictions ban was in the pipeline back in March when Blackpool County Court began warning solicitors of an imminent close-down of possession hearings well before the government announced it evictions ban.

The announcement by Edmonton, and the similar nature of the announcement sent out to solicitors and members of the public, shows that the court system is limbering up for the evictions ban to be at least partially lifted, and that a common approach is being taken.

Least worst

Like Barnet, Edmonton has written to the solicitors who use its court to warn that hearings are likely to be more difficult to complete remotely and that it is the ‘least worst way of dealing with these possession claims in present circumstances’.

“We well understand that these cases have previously involved large numbers of mainly unrepresented defendants with limited means attending our court and, in some cases, meeting and reaching agreements with representatives of claimants in the court building,” the update says.

“That cannot be accommodated during the current crisis. The parties will therefore be expected to engage with one another well before the hearing date to a much greater degree than previously.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Second county court reveals plans to get ready for 29th June evictions re-start | LandlordZONE.

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Landlords support MPs calls to boost housing benefit

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Private landlords are supporting calls by MPs on Parliament’s Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee to boost the financial support available to tenants during the COVID-19 outbreak. Responding to the Committee’s calls for the Local Housing Allowance to be set at a rate that reflects real market rents, Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the […]

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LATEST: Students at two private halls of residence begin landmark rent strike

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What is thought to be the first official rent strike within the student private rental market since the Coronavirus crisis began has been announced at two large properties in the centre of Preston.

A group
of University of Central Lancashire (UCL) students living at private halls of
residence in Preston have gone on rent strike.

The students, from Foundry Court in Brook Street (pictured) and Trinity Student Village in Great Shaw Street, are angry at being charged rent, despite not occupying their accommodation during the third term due to lockdown.

It follows protests at the Universities of
Sussex and Warwick where hundreds signed up to withhold rent.

Third year UCL student Natasha Riaz says: “There
is no possibility of me being able to return to my accommodation this
term due to Government imposed lockdown rules, yet the landlords are
charging £1,267.71 for a room that will have zero electricity consumption, zero
water usage and zero use of the gas supply.”

In an email to Natasha, property managers Homes for Students said the decision to continue charging rent had been made by the owner of the building who had significant fixed costs to meet.

Refund progress

According to student
housing charity Unipol, 80% of universities and 30% of private sector landlords
have refunded or waived rents for students who’ve left accommodation early. 

It says £98,762,400 still hasn’t been refunded by
universities while £392,578,800 hasn’t been refunded by the private sector
purpose-built student accommodation providers for the third term.

While the Government has
again reiterated that it won’t be offering financial help to students, the National
Union of Students (NUS) says the Scottish Government’s recent announcement is
far more practical. 

There, students currently tied into contracts in
institution-owned halls of residence or privately-owned purpose-built student
accommodation are now able to give seven days’ notice before ending their lease
for Covid-19 related reasons.

An NUS survey found that
while about a third of students in England are keen to be released early from
their rental agreements, less than a tenth have been given that opportunity.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Students at two private halls of residence begin landmark rent strike | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: Stock, viewings and confidence return to rental market, leading companies reveal

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Both Rightmove and Spareroom report an energetic re-opening of the private rental market since the government’s decision to allow home moves last week.

Monday
saw the highest number of rental searches ever recorded in one day on Rightmove.

The
platform reports that demand for rental properties is up 33% compared to this
time last year as renters start trawling the site in earnest, with the largest year-on-year
increase in Rotherham (+97%), Cambridge (+77%) and St Helens (+75%).

With
the market now open, it’s the same story on flat-sharing site
SpareRoom which reports that more than half (54%) of renters are feeling
confident again about viewing a property now restrictions have been lifted.

SpareRoom’s survey found that while one in three (32%) would only feel comfortable viewing properties if they absolutely had to move, it’s reporting a huge increase in the number of video viewings since lockdown began, with six times the normal volume of uploads.

Virtual methods

Director Matt Hutchinson says renters,
landlords and agents are keen to get on with their search as safely as possible. “It’s clear that people are embracing virtual methods to continue
searching for properties safely,” he says.

“We’d
encourage as many people as possible to upload a video to their ads, especially
if it includes the people living in the property. We may well see video
remaining a natural part of the way people find rooms and flatmates way beyond
the end of social distancing.”

Rightmove reports that there are almost 23,000 new rental listings since the first day of reopening, down 10% on the same week last year, with total available rental stock up 13% since before lockdown. Asking rents – on average £1,089 pcm – are currently up 2.1% on 2019, but down from an annual rate of 3% before lockdown.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Stock, viewings and confidence return to rental market, leading companies reveal | LandlordZONE.

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FCA proposal to extend mortgage payment holidays to 31st October

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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced proposals which will continue support for customers who are struggling to pay their mortgage due to coronavirus.

The proposal outlines the options firms will be required to provide customers coming to an end of a payment holiday

The post FCA proposal to extend mortgage payment holidays to 31st October appeared first on Property118.

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Scotland Coronavirus Bill amendments defeated

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A second Coronavirus bill was passed by Scottish Government 20 May 2020 and thanks to lobbying by Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) proposed amendments to enact a two-year private sector rent freeze; place a two-year ban on tenant evictions for rent arrears.and extinguish rent arrears in cases of extreme hardship as a result of Coronavirus were defeated.

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Landlord Hero of the Week #5: Julia Dee

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As the nation continues to clap its NHS and other front line workers, we highlight one landlord who has opened up her rental property to offer people working in Central London hospitals free accommodation.

Julia Dee didn’t think twice when an email landed in her inbox from UnderTheDoormat asking if homeowners wanted to offer their property to NHS staff.

“I didn’t even ask my husband but just said yes immediately,” says Julia, who owns a clothes alteration business in Battersea, central London.

“They found me a tenant within a couple of hours – a consultant anaesthetist at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, who didn’t want to stay at home because his wife is undergoing chemotherapy.”

Julia usually stays in her one-bed flat in Chelsea for three days a week and for the last year has let it out for the rest of the time when she’s at home in Hampshire.

But she, like many of UnderThe Doormat’s clients, is part of the NHS Homes Initiative; it’s hooked up medical staff with free accommodation so they can stay nearer hospitals during the COVID-19 outbreak and currently has 100 properties in the scheme.

“I requested a mortgage holiday from my lender and was furloughed from
my business in March,” she explains. “I knew I couldn’t rent the flat out so
wanted to help out instead. I’m glad to have taken away some of the strain from
someone – after all, he’s saving lives.”

Her anaesthetist tenant moved in at the beginning of April and will
stay until early June, when Julia hopes to rent out her flat again, adding:
“I’m sure he’ll be very glad to get back home by then!”

The UK Short Term Accommodation Association is coordinating the scheme, arranging for the laundry to be done and deep cleaning it when tenants leave. And while the utility bills are minimal, her tenant agreed to pay them in May. Julia says the initiative has made the whole process really easy. “NHS Homes epitomises the spirit of what this couple of months has been about,” she adds.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlord Hero of the Week #5: Julia Dee | LandlordZONE.

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