Implications of mortgage payment holidays, BBL & CBILS on future loan applications

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Jack Bertolone, Operations Director at Brooklands Commercial Finance, discusses with Kate Faulkner the impact of the pandemic on the UK housing market and the implication of mortgage payment holidays, BBL & CBILS on future loan applications.

Kate Faulkner is a UK property analyst and a regular commentator on BBC

The post Implications of mortgage payment holidays, BBL & CBILS on future loan applications appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Implications of mortgage payment holidays, BBL & CBILS on future loan applications

Update on Gas Safety Certificates and Section 21

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Landlords were extremely concerned last year over an appeal court ruling that meant Section 21 notices were invalid when a landlord had failed to serve a Gas Safety Certificate at the commencement of the tenancy.

What’s more, the error could not be mended. The ruling meant that the tenant effectively had a protected tenancy – no chance of eviction unless there was a serious and provable breach of the agreement using Section 8.

The original appeal ruling was the County Court appeal decision of Caridon Property Ltd v Monty Schooltz, which confirmed that the landlord’s failure to provide a copy of the gas safety certificate before the tenant occupied the property was a breach that could not be rectified.

Consequently, a judgment in the much-anticipated case of Trecarrell House Limited v Rouncefield was finally handed down on 18 June 2020.

In this case the landlord again did not provide a Gas Safety Certificate to the tenant before or at the commencement of the tenancy in February 2017. The landlord did provide an up-to-date copy of the Certificate prior to serving the section 21 notice in May 2018, but the tenant refused to leave.

At the possession hearing the landlord was originally granted an order for possession, but the tenant then successfully appealed on the grounds that they were not provided with a gas safety certificate before moving in.

The case then went to the Court of Appeal (Trecarrell House Limited v Rouncefield 2020) which by a majority concluded that the confusion over the regulations between the Housing Act and the gas regulations was wrongly applied by the previous courts.

It means that the anomaly has been removed and that landlords can enforce a possession claim using Section 21 as has always been the case, providing a copy of the Gas Safety Certificate is given before the Section 21 notice is serviced.

This comes a relief to landlords. Although evictions using Section 21 are relatively rare, when it is needed it works well for landlords and gives much more certainty of outcome than Section 8. However, landlords should make sure that all other requirements: as deposit protection, licencing, EPC, Electrical and Gas Checks and the How to Rent Guide information have been supplied and complied with as they can all affect the validity of a Section 21 notice.

The irony is that Section 21 is to be abolished in the coming months – currently delayed by Covid – but supposedly to be replaced by a more effective version of Section 8. We shall see!

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Update on Gas Safety Certificates and Section 21 | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Update on Gas Safety Certificates and Section 21

Sub-letting tenant breaching contract but refusing to leave?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Hi, since my last visit to my 3 bed property six months ago, my tenant on an AST has sub-letted all the rooms individually and he is occupying one of them.

He is now 3 months behind on rent and I am sure he is using covid as an excuse to stay rent free as long as possible and wants me to officially serve him notice and take him to court if I want.

The post Sub-letting tenant breaching contract but refusing to leave? appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Sub-letting tenant breaching contract but refusing to leave?

Splitting into leaseholds on freehold building to refinance

admin    Uncategorized     agents

I have a freehold building which was developed into several flats. I am looking hold on to them to rent, but would like to split into leaseholds as the mortgage rates are more competitive (the difference in rates have reduced over the last couple of years but the financing cost have gone up hugely) and it would also allow greater flexibility.

The post Splitting into leaseholds on freehold building to refinance appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Splitting into leaseholds on freehold building to refinance

Government urged to give young renters a break

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Landlord group joins forces with charities to push for more support for young people who face losing their income and potentially their jobs this summer

Scores of young renters will struggle to pay their rents as the furlough scheme is wound down, homeless charities warn.

Together with The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), Crisis and Centrepoint are calling on the Government to boost the safety net available to young renters before the Government’s subsidy – currently 80% of wages – starts to drop.

The NRLA’s research shows that 24% of private renters aged 16-24 and 27% of those aged 25-34 are reliant on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. It says young renters have taken the largest hit to their incomes of any age group; 56% of 16-24 year olds report that their incomes haven’t been affected as a result of COVID-19, while 76% of those aged 65-74 say they haven’t been badly hit. Despite this, 84% of 16-24 year olds and 87% of those aged 25-34 have been able to pay their rents as usual. It says this proves how reliant they are on Government support to make ends meet.

Following the decision to increase the Local Housing Allowance to cover the bottom 30% of rents, the NRLA wants ministers to now go further by suspending the benefit cap. It also wants advance loans given to Universal Credit claimants to cover the five-week waiting period to receive the first payment of the Credit converted to grants.

NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle says: “Both tenants and landlords need the security of knowing rents can continue to be paid, just as with mortgages and rents for social housing.” 

Together with the Chartered Institute of Housing, The Property Redress Scheme, My Deposits, the Tenancy Deposit Scheme and ARLA Propertymark, the NRLA has launched new guidance offering practical ways for landlords and tenants to address arrears building as a result of the pandemic. 

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Government urged to give young renters a break | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Government urged to give young renters a break

BTL product options on the increase

admin    Uncategorized     agents

As pent-up demand built up over the recent lockdown is released, Moneyfacts.co.uk has analysed how the buy-to-let mortgage market has changed over the year so far.

Landlords will be pleased to see that the choice of products has improved recently.

The post BTL product options on the increase appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: BTL product options on the increase

Young renters will need help

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Young people in private rented housing will be especially vulnerable to losing income and potentially their jobs as the furlough scheme scales down.

Polling for the National Residential Landlords Association shows that 24% of private renters aged 16-24 and 27% of those aged 25-34 are reliant on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

The post Young renters will need help appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Young renters will need help

Scotland puts brakes on cities’ short-term lets sector reopening

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Edinburgh Council hopes holiday lets landlords will quit the crowded market and convert their investments from rental to residential properties

Landlords in Scotland’s tenement blocks will have to wait even longer to rent out their homes after the Scottish Government ruled that those with shared facilities – including communal entrances, stairs and landings – can’t re-open in line with the rest of the holiday lets sector.

Reinforcing its reputation for cracking down on short-term lets, Edinburgh Council has welcomed the decision and is now calling on landlords to consider moving properties back into residential use or renting them to it instead.

Council leaders want landlords to help it tackle homelessness long-term and have also vowed to continue taking action against those who break the Scottish Government’s rules; even during lockdown it served planning enforcement notices against three properties – forcing them to be discontinued as short-term lets – and has a further five cases pending.

Council Leader Adam McVey says: “I want to see us work with rather than against landlords to make the rental market fairer on everybody who lives here. During lockdown, with our partners, we’ve successfully brought a number of short-term let properties back into residential use to help us house people experiencing homelessness.

“We face a huge challenge housing people who need it, and we’re saying strongly and clearly that landlords running short-term lets from residentials without permission should stop and move their property back into residential use. However, as lockdown restrictions begin to ease, we also need to be clear that we will take action if required.” Earlier this year, Edinburgh Old Town was found to have the highest incidence of Airbnbs, with 29 active listings for every 100 properties.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Scotland puts brakes on cities’ short-term lets sector reopening | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Scotland puts brakes on cities’ short-term lets sector reopening

Best way of Developing?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

I have a few buy to let properties and with the help of Property 118, I have taken advice from them and will be getting them to help me incorporate my property business – Thanks very much. Will be doing this soon.

The post Best way of Developing? appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Best way of Developing?

Government urged to rethink rules on insurance policy pay-outs

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Putting renters and homeowners on an equal footing would mean they wouldn’t rely so heavily on Government funding and could avoid problems with debt, a new report says

Shaking up the benefit rules for renters taking out private insurance policies would result in fewer getting into financial difficulty and would help them to pay their rent.

A new report from the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries (IFA) and Building Resilient Household Group suggests amending Universal Credit (UC) rules on pay-outs from policies (for Income Protection and Family Income Benefit), enabling renters to benefit from them – something which owner-occupiers can already do. It points to a growing gap created by the system between the rent that households have to pay and the amount of benefit they receive; in most of London and some other UK hotspots the gap can be very large and many end up in debt, which can then mean homelessness.

Under the current benefit rules, renters who receive income from insurance policies can’t use any of this money to cover the rent gap. Instead it simply reduces their UC entitlement. This means that it’s effectively impossible to insure against facing a rent gap while on benefits. However, recent changes to the rules have meant that any insurance payments that homeowners get to cover their mortgage are disregarded under UC rules.

The IFoA believes that if the amount paid out by an insurance policy was deducted from the actual rent payable by the tenant (gross rent) rather than the housing benefit (net rent) it would encourage more renters to take out cover for the gap between gross and net rent, giving them the ability to protect their accommodation.

Nick Reilly, IFoA chair of the health & care board, says: “The research suggests that this small change could dramatically improve the circumstances for many renters, protecting their homes at a time when they need them most. Under many circumstances the analysis shows that this change is also beneficial to the taxpayer, and so we urge Government to investigate this further as there are benefits for all.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Government urged to rethink rules on insurance policy pay-outs | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Government urged to rethink rules on insurance policy pay-outs