Will it ever stop? NW council is latest to reveal selective licensing plans

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Tameside Council outside Manchester is the latest to launch a bid to introduce a selective licensing scheme which would see all private rented properties within the borough require licencing.

The announcement follows neighbour Manchester Council’s announcement two weeks ago that it intends to vastly expand its selective licensing scheme and Liverpool’s second attempt to introduce one after being rejected by the Housing secretary earlier this year.

Tameside as had a mandatory HMO licensing scheme in place since October 2018. In 2019 it reported that 63 properties had HMO licenses and that the total number in the borough had increased from 160 in 2017 to 245.

Council leader Brenda Warrington says: “The coronavirus pandemic has shown that we need to do more.

“We intend to push forward with our plans to introduce a selective licensing scheme for the private rented sector.”

The plans appear to be at an early stage – attempts by LandlordZONE to find out more details about its selective licensing plans have so far been ignored.

But Tameside also plans to work closely with landlords to prevent evictions related to coronavirus-related arrears, while helping tenants come up with a repayment plan to repay the debt within two years.

Warrington says landlords who take part in the scheme will also be able to access funding from the Government’s Green Homes Grant to improve the quality and energy efficiency of their properties.

She also says Tameside’s homelessness service has done incredible work in the past few years in helping the homeless or those at risk of homelessness.

And she believes poor quality and overcrowded housing is also a key factor in vulnerability to infection, with groups like ethnic minorities, young people and migrant workers particularly at risk.

Tameside includes the town of Ashton-under-Lyne as well as Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Longdendale, Mossley and Stalybridge.

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Takeover signs revive UK quoted property company stocks

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Share prices in London office property companies were boosted by an average of 10% after it was revealed that US private equity group, KKR took a 5.35% in Great Portland Estates.

Some of Britain’s biggest property companies were boosted to the tune of collectively £800m after speculation that takeovers could ensure.

Britain’s biggest property companies have had their net asset values smashed as they navigate a most torrid time through the Coronavirus pandemic. Predictions of more home working for office staff and a shift in retail to more online business for home deliveries had put the jitters up existing shareholders, who have been selling in recent months.

But some of the world’s biggest private equity groups smell value at these levels, based on their expectations that the office market will eventually recover as the pandemic recedes and office workers drift back.

Other investors include Brookfield the Canadian investment house, having quietly built a 9.2% stake in the FTSE100 listed British Land, and South African money is continuing to find a safer home in the UK with the country’s Lighthouse Capital increasing its stake in shopping centre owner Hammerson, from 17.1% to 19.1%.

Mike Pew, stock analyst at Jeffries told The Times newspaper:

“Deep discounts to net asset value are attracting stake building in REITs”

REIT status confers substantial tax benefits for investment companies. REITs are essentially companies or groups of companies that manage a portfolio of real estate to earn profits for shareholders, and their special tax status means that they pay no corporation tax on the profits of their rental business, but they need to comply with a number of conditions set out in tax law:

• they must pay out 90% of their property income to shareholders every year.
• dividends are treated as property income to the investor, and are taxed accordingly.
• dividends are subject to a withholding tax at basic rate income tax, except for certain classes of investors including charities, UK companies, and pension funds who can register to receive gross rather than net payments.
• shares in REITs can be held in ISAs and Child Trust Funds (CTFs), and the managers of these can receive gross distributions, making these highly tax efficient.
• REITs investments must be primarily in property, rather than in development or other non-property related activities.
• As REITs are all listed companies, investments in them are generally easily traded.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Takeover signs revive UK quoted property company stocks | LandlordZONE.

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13% of properties sell for over asking price

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The NAEA Propertymark August report has indicated after the stimulus of the Stamp Duty holiday 13% of properties sold for more than the original asking price. This is the highest percentage in nearly 5 years. However, 53% of properties still sold below asking price.

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Homelessness Reduction Act review puiblished

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Nearly a quarter of a million households who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless have been helped to keep their home or into longer-term accommodation, by the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA).  The Review of the act has been published 25th September 2020.

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EVICTIONS LATEST: Landlords still waiting for courts to tackle new or restarted possession hearings

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Landlords hoping to initiate or restart possession hearings that were stayed by the evictions ban are having their plans dashed by the creaking courts system, industry experts have told LandlordZONE.

Many tenant organisations spent September warning that the re-opening of housing courts on September 20^th would lead to a ‘tsunami’ of new evictions. But this has proved to be wide of the mark.

“Bailiffs have started enforcing existing possession orders working through them in date order, which is giving some landlords relief after months waiting to get their properties back,” says Jacqui Walton, a senior paralegal at housing specialist Royds Withy King.

“But it is going to be some time before the courts are ready to hear new or re-started possession hearings as many courts have much to do before they will be ready to implement the new Covid rules.”

No restart

Commentary from the judiciary reflects Walton’s comments. An email sent out by an official from one London county court to fee earners shown to LandlordZONE says: “I do not yet have any date for hearings to start again.

“The court has to prepare for this and undertake the appropriate risk assessments and make plans for the safe socially distanced management of the hearings.”

And another County Court, this time near Liverpool, last week gave one legal firm a date of 19^th October for the first review of their case by a judge.

As we reported earlier this month, the new rules introduced by the Master of the Rolls require new and re-started evictions – other than accelerated claims – to be reviewed by a judge prior to a Substantive Hearing 28 days later.

“Despite comments to the contrary, the government has put measures in place which could be deemed to be substantial barriers to landlords gaining possession via the courts system,” says Tim Frome, Legal Director at Landlord Action.

“These measures are designed to help the courts manage the increased workload caused by the backlog of cases since March. They are also to help maintain social distancing within the buildings, ensure tenants get a chance to represent themselves and also to prevent a large number of evictions occurring straight away.”

Visit LandlordAction.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – EVICTIONS LATEST: Landlords still waiting for courts to tackle new or restarted possession hearings | LandlordZONE.

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Online fashion guru followed by millions joins the long list of wannabe ‘property educators’

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A leading fashion and beauty Youtuber turned property investor has attracted more than 268,000 views for her video detailing how she successfully bid for a property online in 15 minutes without even seeing it.

Londoner Patricia Bright’s YouTube channel has nearly three million subscribers who watch her monologues about clothes and make-up, but Bright has now turned her attention to property, and her second YouTube channel – The Break – describes her investments and gives advice to millennials buying property in the capital.

In her latest video, Bright showed viewers a list of possible properties in an online auction and told them how she and husband Michael had worked out possible rental values.

Eyelashes

An hour later she reported that they had successfully bid £220,000 for the property, exclaiming: “Michael bid on it and I hadn’t even finished with my eyelashes!”

Despite the speedy purchase, she explained that the couple had checked out the leasing paperwork so knew the property had been maintained, adding that they planned to do it up and rent it out, or would look to sell it if it went up in value.

“There’s a whole lot of unknowns with it so you have to buy it cheap to give yourself a cushion,” she told viewers, before proceeding to film herself going out to lunch and taking off her make-up.

The new purchase adds to her two other houses, and she told followers: “There is a lot of property that needs a lot of work in London. They are ripe for the picking for people who are interested in giving them love.”

Watch her video

See TV star Paul Shamplina interviewed on YouTube by Russell Quirk.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Online fashion guru followed by millions joins the long list of wannabe ‘property educators’ | LandlordZONE.

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FREE Livestream 7pm – Sky’s Property Elevator

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FREE Livestream Wednesday, 30th September at 7pm: Property Elevator Series 2 Preview

The hit show Property Elevator returns to Sky Channel 192 for its second series.

A ‘pitch’ show where property entrepreneurs present their deals in a bid to win funding from the Property Angels.

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Percentage of let agreed properties compared to listed is climbing

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The latest Rental Demand Index for Quarter 3 from Howsy, has revealed that demand for rental homes across the UK’s major cities has increased +13% since Q2. Howsy’s index looks at rental listings across all of the major property portals

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LATEST: Rental boom continuing as tenant demand ‘breaks records’

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Letting agents enjoyed record-breaking levels of rental stock and demand from tenants this summer, latest industry figures show.

The number of new prospective tenants hit an all-time high in August, with each branch registering an average of 101, breaking July’s record of 97.

According to ARLA Propertymark’s latest figures, branches managed 208 properties on average in August – equal to July, which beat the previous record of 192 properties managed per branch in July 2017. 

ARLA’s Private Rented Sector reportfound that tenants stayed in their properties for 21 months on average – another all-time high – with those in the East Midlands having the longest tenancies lasting 25 months, while North East tenancies were the shortest, lasting an average of 10 months. Demand for properties was highest from tenants in Yorkshire and the South West.

The number of tenants seeing rent rises was back up to pre-Covid levels in August, with nearly half of agents (48%) reporting that landlords had increased rent compared with 29% in June and 39% in July.

Rent rises

ARLA reports that year-on-year, this is still 16% lower than in August 2019, when the figure stood at 64%. 

President Angela Davey says its figures show the rental market still isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. “This paints a positive picture for the future of the private rented sector,” says Davey.

“With Covid-19 lockdown restrictions starting to increase again as we head towards the colder months, it’s more important than ever for landlords to communicate well with their tenants, and that tenants continue to pay their rent to ensure the market remains strong over the next period.” 

Read more about how Covid has changed rental demand.

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Advice for students wanting to leave their accommodation early

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Citizens Advice has issued the following advice if you are a student in privately rented accommodation who wants to move out and end your tenancy. What are your rights?

Generally, you are liable for any rent due until the end of your fixed term (and any guarantor may be pursued if you don’t pay).

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