Eviction ban to end 24th August

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A Government Minister confirmed that the eviction ban will end and courts will begin to hear possession cases from 24th August to the relief of many landlords in the PRS.

Responding to a series of parliamentary questions, Lord Greenhalgh

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Why are developers failing to raise private investors funds?

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6 things you need to know if you are serious about raising finance from private investors. Lets start with “What do private investors want to know?”

Whether you are looking to kick start your property journey or scale your property business

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Government confirms evictions ban WILL end on 23rd August

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The government has confirmed that the evictions ban is to end on the 23^rd August and that the courts will re-open for possession hearings the next day, Monday 24^th August.

This confirmation was made by Lord Greenhalgh (pictured) in the Lords today, and confirmed by a spokesperson from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to LandlordZONE.

The announcement will be a huge relief for the estimated 5,700 ‘in limbo’ cases that were granted hearings just before the ban, and the estimated 60,000 new notices that have been issued during the lockdown but have not been able to proceed.

Lord Greenhalgh’s comments were made in response to a question by Baroness Altmann, who had asked ‘what provisions are or will be in place to ensure that private landlords, who obtained a legal possession order prior to the suspension of evictions in March, are able to reclaim possession of their properties without further delay’.

Greenhalgh then stated that on 24^th August the “courts will begin to process possession cases again,” he said.

“This is an important step towards ending the lockdown and will protect landlords’ important right to regain their property.

“Work is underway with the judiciary, legal representatives and the advice sector on arrangements, including new rules, to ensure that judges have all the information necessary to make just decisions and that the most vulnerable tenants can get the help they need when possession cases resume.”

This last paragraph is a reference to the pre-action protocols that the governments has been working on in recent weeks that will required landlords to work much more closely with financially struggling tenants before a judge will allow a possession hearing to be granted.

“The Master of the Rolls, as head of civil justice, has convened a judiciary-led, cross-sector, task-and-finish working group to consider and to address so far as practicable matters affecting litigants and the courts when the present stay on possession proceedings is lifted. This group has the support of the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,” an MHCLG statement says.

“The focus of the group is on preparing the courts for the lifting of the suspension including how best to support parties, including vulnerable renters. The group will also include rules, guidance (including to private landlords as well as social landlords), the provision of information and the sharing of best practice.”

Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “The Minister’s comments provide greater certainty for the rental market.

“We continue to work hard with landlords and tenants to sustain tenancies wherever possible. In the vast majority of cases this is happening.

“It is vital however that swift action can be taken against those tenants committing anti-social behaviour or domestic violence.  We are calling also for priority to be given to cases where possession orders were granted prior to lockdown or where rent arrears have nothing to do with the COVID pandemic.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Government confirms evictions ban WILL end on 23rd August | LandlordZONE.

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Use property to pay for private school fees?

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Hello, Consider the following scenario:

Person A has £100k to pay towards school fees over the next 5 years. Fees are 20k per year (6,700 x 3 terms). On the basis that Person A has the lump sum up front is there a model

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Electrical Safety Standards from 1/7/20 new tenancies and 1/04/21 existing

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The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require that landlords have property electrics checked at least every 5 years by a properly qualified person. The electrics must meet standards and landlords must give their tenants proof of this.

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LATEST: Scottish rent controls kicked into the long grass… for now

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New constraints on Scottish landlords increasing rents now look unlikely after the country’s parliament announced there wasn’t enough time to scrutinise proposed legislation.

Holyrood’s local government committee blamed its failure to properly scrutinise Pauline McNeill MSP’s (picture, above) Fair Rents (Scotland) Members Bill on a heavy workload, which means this is now unlikely to be debated before next year’s Scottish Parliament elections.

The Bill aims to radically reform the sector by linking rents to average wages and providing more information about rent levels.

It outlines a cap on annual private sector rent increases across Scotland at one percentage point above inflation and calls for landlords to update the landlords register to include changes in rental charges, so a picture of market rates can be built up.

It also hopes to overhaul rent appeals; when a tenant contests the amount, officers and members of the tribunal could either lower or maintain the rent, depending on their assessment but, unlike the current system, couldn’t raise costs.

McNeill says she’s extremely disappointed by the committee’s decision “I appreciate that time is tight between now and the end of this parliamentary session, but the Bill proposed important measures to protect renters and improve housing affordability,” she says.

 “The need for these measures was great before the Covid-19 crisis but lockdown has intensified the need for change in this sector.” She has promised to try and have it scrutinised by another parliamentary committee instead.

Mike Dailly, a solicitor advocate at Govan Law Centre, who helped to draw up the Bill, says: “Lockdown has meant a massive increase in rent arrears – what could be more important than discussing fair rents in Scotland? Unless the Scottish Parliament embraces Pauline McNeill’s bill, Scotland will continue to fail private renters when it comes to social justice, equality and fairness.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Scottish rent controls kicked into the long grass… for now | LandlordZONE.

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NRLA slams Generation Rent over ‘landlords don’t care’ evictions campaign

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The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has slammed Generation Rent for suggesting that homelessness will treble due to rent arrears built up during the pandemic.

It believes concerns over a spike in evictions once the current ban is lifted are unfounded and has called out the tenants’ group for wrongly assuming that landlords are doing nothing to support tenants to stay in their homes where rent arrears are building.

Generation Rent reckons 592,000 renters are reporting being behind on rent payments in England, which could make 45,000 households homeless, costing councils an extra £117m in temporary accommodation and other support.

The group is now calling on the Government to introduce a Coronavirus Home Retention Scheme to clear rent arrears not covered by the welfare system, by guaranteeing landlords’ income up to 80% of the rent.

Director Alicia Kennedy says: “Our package of measures would ensure no renter faces destitution or becomes homeless due to Covid-19. But with the economy contracting, the Government should not be expected to sustain rent levels set when the economy was strong. That’s why we propose that landlords would only be guaranteed up to 80% of their rent.”

However, the NRLA argues that its research of more than 2,000 tenants across England and Wales found that 90% have been able to pay their rent as usual since the crisis began, while 82% hadn’t needed to ask their landlord for any support. Of those that did ask, three-quarters received a positive response. 

NRLA policy director Chris Norris says nearly all landlords want to support tenants to stay in their homes. “Given that some 30% of landlords have reported facing some level of financial hardship, they will do all they can to sustain tenancies,” he says.

“That said, we do support calls to boost the finances available to tenants who are struggling to pay their rent, especially as the furlough scheme begins to wind down. This should include ensuring that benefits cover the cost of rents.”  

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – NRLA slams Generation Rent over ‘landlords don’t care’ evictions campaign | LandlordZONE.

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Evictions ban has cost landlords £530 million so far in lost rent

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The UK’s leading letting agents’ industry body has written to the head of the judiciary to express its worries over the huge backlog of possession cases built up since the evictions ban began, which its figures suggest have cost landlords £530 million in lost rent so far.

ARLA Propertymark, which represents 9,500 UK lettings agencies, is also worried that the government doesn’t have a ‘robust’ plan.

It says 62,000 ‘business as usual’ evictions have been backed up as landlords wait for the courts system to reopen for possession hearings, and that’s assuming evictions haven’t increased during the Covid pandemic.

ARLA is calling on the Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland, to develop a ‘robust and co-ordinated strategy as a matter of urgency’ in response to the backlog, highlighting letting agents’ and landlords’ worries that the judiciary hasn’t grasped the enormity of the post-evictions ban deluge facing the court system.

The association says its estimate is based on the government’s own mortgage and landlord statistics for 2019. It also says that calculations show that, on average, landlords who issued a claim on the day the evictions started face a loss in rental income of £8,549 or in total £530 million.

“Every week a landlord must wait to regain possession of their property is a week of lost income; particularly affecting private landlords and agents who may be relying on rental income to pay their own mortgages and bills,” says David Cox, the Chief Executive of ARLA Propertymark.

“Within the backlog of possession claims accumulating during the stay on proceedings, private landlords would have needed to wait for possession to be achieved by using a bailiff on over 3,300 occasions.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Evictions ban has cost landlords £530 million so far in lost rent | LandlordZONE.

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Are we overlooking anything?

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Hi, we are the flying freeholders of a flat ( with 3 leased garages below) all with 59 years remaining on lease.

One of the garage tenants wishes to sell their house which includes this leased garage.

Their solicitor enquired if we would be willing to extend the term of the Lease.

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Nationwide House Price Index grinds to a halt

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The Nationwide House Price index for June has been released and is showing annual house price growth has ground to a halt as the impact of the pandemic filters through with prices down 0.1%.

This is the first negative annual growth since 2012 and prices also fell 1.4% month-on-month

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