EXCLUSIVE: Rent arrears have increased by only 3% says leading lettings agency

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Belvoir says it has seen rental arrears increase from 2% to 5% of its tenants since the pandemic struck and that it believes this accurately reflects the wider market.

One of the largest letting agencies in the UK has reported this morning that just 5% of its tenants are in rent arrears, an increase of just 3% on top of its usual rate of 2%.

Belvoir, which has 165 branches across the UK and manages some 30,000 properties on behalf of landlords, says the modest increase in arrears is much less than it had expected during the first eight weeks of the Coronavirus crisis.

Its CEO Dorian Gonsalves tells LandlordZONE that he’s confident that his company’s figures are accurate because his branches cover a wide range of different housing markets around the UK, and also tenant incomes.

“There are a whole bunch of reasons why our rent arrears level is relatively low,” says Gonsalves.

He says Belvoir’s robust approach to referencing in the past is bearing fruit now, but also that – because his company’s property management operation didn’t shut up shop during the home moving lockdown – it has been able to keep in touch with tenants and landlords and sort out problems.

Gonsalves also suggests that because Belvoir is strongest outside of London, where the average monthly rent per property is £800, this means its tenant are less under pressure than in the capital, where the average is closer to £1,500 a month.

“For example, if you’re earning £1,600 a month from the furlough scheme then in the provinces paying £800 a month isn’t a stretch and that’s why I think our arrears rate has stayed low,” he adds.

Belvoir also believes it’s figures reflect the wider rental market – Gonsalves spoke to the company’s rent guarantee insurance provider recently and was told it had seen similar levels of rent defaulting within its business.

Read one letting agent’s coronavirus diary.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – EXCLUSIVE: Rent arrears have increased by only 3% says leading lettings agency | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: Former Revolut bank high flyers launch new renting platform for landlords

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Many have tried and few have succeeded but another set of young entrepreneurs are hoping to replace letting agents with technology.

This morning Kiko, a proptech startup founded by two former Revolut bank employees, has launched backed by seed funding of £540,000 and backed by a former Spotify executive.

As many landlords reading this will be aware, Kiko is not the first tech platform to try and replace the traditional letting agent and claim that the rental experience is ‘broken’.

Previous efforts including Upad, eMoov and HomeRenter have not succeeded in gaining significant traction and traditional letting agents have proved more difficult to dislodge than many tech investors believed.

Kiko has built a smartphone app that is free for landlords and tenants to use. It is being made available to landlords to try now, but its main public launch will be later this summer.

So what makes it different? Landlords will be able to use many of its features for free including advertising their properties on Rightmove and Zoopla, a rent guarantee scheme and ongoing management of their tenancies via the app.

Other free services include professional photographs, videos, floor plans and 360 degree walk-throughs, while landlords will pay for the more physical aspects of tenancy management including viewings, contract preparation and property maintenance all, it claims, for much less than a traditional management fee.

30-year-old CEO Valentin Scholz (pictured, above), who was previously Head of Product Growth at Revolut, says: “The rental experience is completely broken. Last year, UK landlords paid £4.7 billion in agency fees and, on top of that, they are bombarded with 152 regulations and endless paperwork.”

Kiko is launching in London, followed by a gradual roll-out to other cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh. 

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Former Revolut bank high flyers launch new renting platform for landlords | LandlordZONE.

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Meet the landlord tailoring support to his tenants during coronavirus

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The NRLA has heard from many members throughout the coronavirus pandemic who have told us about the extra things they are doing to support their tenants. One such landlord is Steve Harrison, who lets out properties in Newport, South Wales. Steve was some 4,220 miles away on a trip of a lifetime a week before […]

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4 students moving in 8th June?

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Hi all, some advice please. I have new students moving in, saying that they are uncomfortable as gov guidelines suggest different households should not mix. They are suggesting delaying till 1st July, and fishing for money off the rent.

I have searched Gov.

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Landlords take hit to support tenants

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Private landlords are willing to take a temporary hit to rental income to support tenants struggling as a result of coronavirus according to new research published today. According to a survey of over 4,500 landlords by the NRLA, 90% of landlords who had received a request for support from a tenant had responded positively.  This […]

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Landlords taking the hit to support tenants

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Private landlords have been willing to take a temporary hit to rental income to support tenants struggling as a result of coronavirus according to a survey of over 4,500 landlords by the National Residential Landlords Association.

90% of landlords who had received a request for support from a tenant had responded positively.

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Landlords told eviction pre-action protocols will require tenants’ mental health to be checked

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Government announcement is expected imminently on new rules to be followed before landlords start possession proceedings against tenants.

A leading evictions expert says landlords should expect the soon-to-be announced pre-action protocols for the privately rented sector to include requirements for them to consider a tenant’s mental health before applying for a possession hearing.

Pre-action protocols are already part of the eviction process within the social housing sector and require landlords to show they have considered a range of issues before applying to start possession proceedings.

“With the possibility of the courts reopening at the end of June for repossession hearings it is vitally important private landlords take into consideration all circumstances their tenants find themselves in,” says Tim Frome, Head of Legal at Landlord Action.

“Landlords should think about whether their tenant could be considered a vulnerable person under the Equality Act 2010.

“The social housing repossession pre action protocol already makes this a requirement on landlords so it is likely that this will be replicated in the private housing version which is going to be issued shortly.”

This will require landlords to consider not only if a tenant facing eviction is vulnerable, but in particular whether the tenant has the necessary mental capacity to defend a possession claim and, where appropriate, apply to appoint a litigation friend under Part 21 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

“With it being Mental Health Awareness Week I would urge all landlords to think about the last time they checked in with their tenants to make sure they are ok,” says Frome.

“A simple telephone call or text message can make a big difference to a person.”

Rental deposits alternative Ome, which is part of the Fraser Hamilton family of companies, last week launched a Rental Wellbeing Helpline to aid tenants who have found themselves suffering mentally, physically or financially with no obvious path to turn to for help. It is available within the free Ome app on both Android and Apple.

Read more about pre-action protocols.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlords told eviction pre-action protocols will require tenants’ mental health to be checked | LandlordZONE.

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‘If a tenant is facing hardship, increasing their burden with rent arrears will not help them or their landlord’

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Unusually candid lettings agent cuts through the arguments over rent waivers, arrears and evictions with a common sense approach to helping both his tenants and landlords. Would you be won over?

Meet the lettings agent who has adopted an unusual business strategy to
get his tenants and landlords through the crisis.

Boris Drappier, founder of online agency Rent Happily in Bristol, believes tenants don’t need to be burdened with rent arrears while landlords can still get their rent in the long run if they apply for a payment holiday.

One-third
of Rent Happily’s tenants
have seen their income dwindle and are struggling to pay rent, so Drappier has
been working with his landlords to cook up a solution, acting as a go-between
tenants, landlords and mortgage lenders.

Rent relief

Consequently,
some of his landlords have granted a blanket three-month rent relief, while
others have gone for a monthly renewable agreement.

He
adds that while they have the right to claim their rent arrears, given the
circumstances, they are unlikely to get them back, and could face even greater
costs finding new tenants in an insecure rental market.

“If the tenant is facing
hardship, increasing their burden with rent arrears is going to help neither
the tenant nor the landlord. Instead of passing the rent arrears onto a single
tenant, it should be passed onto the tenancies until the term of the mortgage
is over,” he says.

Drappier
explains that after one landlord won a three-month break on their £700 pcm mortgage
payments, he temporarily lowered the rent from £950 to £250 a month – the
rental income he would normally receive on top of the mortgage payment, so he didn’t
lose out.

He tells LandlordZONE: “It might be unusual, but our landlords have done this after careful consideration. They have a good relationship with their tenants and have been taking the long-term view as they want to keep them. And while some have had to give proof of their tenants’ financial situation, some haven’t – it depends on the lender.”

Read more about rent arrears.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – ‘If a tenant is facing hardship, increasing their burden with rent arrears will not help them or their landlord’ | LandlordZONE.

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Strict liability for Unlicensed HMOs? – Legal Cases Webinar

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In our Landlord Law Legal Cases series, we discuss one important landlord and tenant legal decision in the Courts with one of the barristers in the case. We will be running the next webinar on Tuesday 26 May at 10.30 am and it is a case on HMO licensing and strict liability.

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Scottish MSPs reject campaigners key proposals for rental sector including rent payments freeze

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Despite attempts to persuade the committee voting through amendments to Scotland’s latest emergency Coronavirus legislation to accept the need for the radical proposals, they have now been left out of the latest draft.

Scottish MSPs have rejected four proposals added recently to the country’s draft emergency Coronavirus legislation as amendments.

This included a two-year rent freeze, a hardship fund for tenants and a tenant rent support facility as well as voting down plans to allow judges to disregard rent arrears as grounds for eviction during the pandemic.

The proposals were included within 53 amendments tabled by several parties at a crucial committee meeting, including the Green Party, to vote on amendments to Scotland’s second emergency coronavirus bill, which is currently making its way through parliament.

Pandemic

“The Bill makes changes that will help public services continue to operate during the coronavirus pandemic,” the bill’s supporting guidance says.

“It also includes changes to support businesses and individuals. These reflect changes to the way people can live and work during the emergency situation.”

Referring to the rent freeze, committee member and MSP Graham Simpson said he opposed the measure because: “Many landlords have reduced their rents to help tenants already during the crisis, and I know landlords in Edinburgh who have reduced their rents by 30% for a minimum of three months and that’s what should happen – tenants telling landlords when they are facing difficulties, and landlords responding in a flexible manner.”

But although MSPs rejected these proposals, a key one did make it through; to enable students to exit their existing rental contracts by giving seven days’ notice during the Coronavirus crisis.A further amendment also exempts landlords from paying council tax on properties that have been vacated by tenants, during the crisis.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Scottish MSPs reject campaigners key proposals for rental sector including rent payments freeze | LandlordZONE.

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