Help us avert Right to Rent post-Brexit catastrophe, group asks landlords

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Campaign group the3million wants landlords to join its fight to prevent a tenant-check crisis once the UK leaves the EU.

Its Denied My Backup campaign urges people to flood peers’ inboxes with emails to push for an amendment supporting physical back-up permits when the House of Lords debates the new digital-only UK immigration status for EU citizens on Wednesday.

After the Brexit transition process ends on 31st December, anyone from the EU, EEA or Switzerland living in the UK will need to apply for settled status.

Tenants will just get a code to give to landlords along with their date of birth, for them to check tenants’ status on the Home Office database.

However, the3million predicts problems if a would-be landlord logs on to check this ID, and the system crashes, which could mean these tenants might be passed over for someone else whose proof is easier to check. 

Digital skills

It also believes many people who don’t have easy access to devices or the digital skills to use them will also face problems accessing housing.

“The new digital-only scheme places an extra burden on landlords and particularly smaller landlords, who may be older people with low digital skills,” co-founder Maike Bohn tells LandlordZONE.

It fears that many prospective landlords will be deterred by the strict penalties facing those who fail to verify the immigration status of applicants, and could result in those unfamiliar with the requirements deciding to reject EU nationals as a precaution.

Bohn adds: “We are extremely worried about confusion and ignorance around the new scheme leading to discrimination of EU citizens in the rented sector come 2021.

“Because of the fines involved when you get it wrong, landlords will play it safe and not rent to anyone whose immigration status isn’t clear, easily accessible and understood.”

Visit the DeniedMyBackup website.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Help us avert Right to Rent post-Brexit catastrophe, group asks landlords | LandlordZONE.

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Problem getting access for EICR remedial work

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We recently had an EICR, which highlighted some C2 failures. It was difficult to arrange the EICR, and now proving even more difficult to agree on access with the tenant for the remedial work. Being fairly minor in nature, these are not major issues that will take a long time or cause great disruption.

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IWG (Regus) at war with its landlords

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With it’s share price in free-fall by 42% and debt levels increasing from from a half £bn to nearly six £bn the company has declared war on its landlords by threatening to dump some of its existing leases, unless rents are drastically reduced.

Jersey based Regus PLC, a subsidiary of IWG, is threatening to place £790m of lease guarantees into insolvency in days, which has brought consternation amongst its landlords who see the move as unethical and one which is using Covid as an excuse to wriggle out of its obligations.

The company has form on this kind of behaviour as in 2010 Regus was rebuked by the British Property Federation for threatening to put sections of its business into administration unless rent cuts were allowed. And in 2013 the US operation was put into Chapter 11 bankruptcy to force landlords into waiving rent payments and renegotiating leases.

In contrast, IWG approached its own tenants at the start of the Covid lockdown by promising to reduce its own rents only if its tenants were willing to sign up to longer leases.

Sector Growth and Peril

Services offices have grown relentlessly in recent years but the very flexibility they offered in the good times has somewhat worked against them with Covid. A serviced office letting agreement will typically be one year or less and can often be terminated with just 2 – 3 months’ notice, depending upon the length of the agreement.

In contrast, conventional non-serviced space will usually have signed leases for periods ranging between 3 and 5 years, sometimes longer, though the uncertainty brought about by the Covid experience means that conventional tenant occupiers may well demand even shorter lease periods in the future.

While initially the service office sector was focussed on central London, its rapid growth increasingly rippled out to the provinces and the office markets across the UK. The rise of the serviced office market was largely on the back of the growth in the technology sector and flexible working patterns already appearing before Covid.

But the increasing turmoil brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic means the vulnerability of the serviced office sector has been shown up for what it is: flexibility works two ways, so occupiers previously providing lucrative and premium level short-term rent payments have proved fleeting.

Other service operators, such as the US based start-up WeWork, have also suffering massively from the effects of Covid. Their business model of taking out long-term lease commitments on large office buildings in city centres and letting individual offices on short-term lets, although lucrative in the good times, now takes on a different stripe. WeWork has also had to borrow massively in order to survive.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – IWG (Regus) at war with its landlords | LandlordZONE.

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Five London rogue landlords fined £5,000 each after HMO investigations

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Five Greenwich landlords have been handed £5,000 fines for failing to license their HMOs.

Council officers uncovered damp, mould, and overcrowding at the HMOs, while one of their properties also posed a fire risk with no alarm, fire doors and overloaded electrical sockets. 

One four-bedroom house was rented to four separate tenants and was uncovered after a resident complained, while three of the landlords have properties in the Charlton district of the London borough – a five-bedroom, seven-bedroom and five-bedroom HMO – and the fifth property is a five-bedroom house in Thamesmead. 

Royal Greenwich operates a borough-wide additional HMO licensing scheme which came into force in October 2017. The council says it’s actively investigating HMO violations and will take enforcement action against rogue landlords.

It believes selective licensing will help it further improve town centres by reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, while improving living conditions for tenants, and has plans for a new scheme to include Woolwich Common, Glyndon, Woolwich Riverside, Shooters Hill and Plumstead wards.

The consultation was put on hold earlier this year due to Covid, but re-started in the summer and ended earlier this month.

Councillor Jackie Smith (left), cabinet member for community safety and enforcement, says: “Our HMO licensing requirement protects tenants by ensuring landlords are held legally responsible for meeting certain standards, such as fire and general safety, as well as ensuring the property is in good condition.

“I’m encouraging landlords to come forward and work with the council to help protect their tenants and avoid being fined a hefty sum.”

Further reading: HMO insurance guide

Read more about landlord HMO fines.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Five London rogue landlords fined £5,000 each after HMO investigations | LandlordZONE.

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MARKET: Get ready for rent falls, lettings blue-chip warns landlords

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Rents will continue to fall until 2022 as tenants’ reduced incomes and less stock continues to impact the sector.

Hamptons International says the UK will see a modest 1% drop in rents this year with the same decline in 2021, although it predicts a 2.5% rise in 2022 in line with house prices.

The estate agency believes tenants’ incomes have fallen more than homeowners’, while the increase in first-time buyer numbers is also putting downward pressure on demand for rented accommodation, coupled with the fact that young people are living with their parents for longer.

Growth in the sector has levelled off in the last few years as more people in the 25-34 age group climb onto the housing ladder, and Hamptons doesn’t expect any growth until 2023 because lenders are gradually reintroducing higher loan to value mortgages which will limit demand.

But Hamptons International says low interest rates will continue to mean returns from buy-to-let will outstrip cash in a savings account, supporting investment levels in the sector.

The number of homes available to let is down in every region except London, with rental growth set to remain concentrated in the Midlands and the North where purchases by landlords are still at historically low levels.

Hamptons says a continued reluctance to invest from landlords, lowering the supply of rental homes, is one reason why the sector hasn’t yet bounced back, to the surprise of many observers.

It adds: “The outlook for the rental market depends on how fast the economy can recover and whether it can make up lost ground.”

Read more about rent arrears.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – MARKET: Get ready for rent falls, lettings blue-chip warns landlords | LandlordZONE.

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Major student landlord rejects calls to return rent paid for ’empty apartment’

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One of the UK’s leading student landlords has rebuffed campaigners seeking compensation for a student who was told to go home by her university but persuaded to pay the rent for her accommodation.

Prime Student Living, which operates PBSA blocks in six UK cities, has rejected calls by Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana (pictured) and campaigning group Acorn to return the rent.

University student Rebecca Wallace quit her room at Trinity View in late March, returned the keys in June but was chased for the outstanding rent for April to the end of August, when her contract was due to expire.

The company said she owed £2,141 and told her the money owed had been passed to a debt collection agency. Wallace then paid the outstanding balance after borrowing money off her parents in Northern Ireland.

“Prime Student Living’s harsh actions make them stand out amongst other student accommodation providers,” an Acorn spokesperson told local media.

“UNITE Students, the largest provider in the country, allowed all of their students to exit their contracts early, and Coventry University allowed all students in university-owned or managed accommodation to exit their contracts early.”

Concerns and difficulties

A statement from Prime Student Living says: “We appreciate that COVID-19 is causing concerns and difficulties across the United Kingdom student population.

“But the overwhelming majority of Prime Student Living tenants in Coventry have accepted the circumstances, paid for and taken up their tenancies, and have been continuing their university studies through online distance learning from their rooms at Trinity View.

“Speaking in general terms, if a Prime Student Living contract is agreed and signed by a tenant, and the accommodation is available, then the tenant is contractually bound to pay fees regardless of whether or not the tenant occupies the property.

“The tenancy agreement, as agreed and signed, does not contain any clauses allowing premature termination of a contract.

“The form of contract in question is no different from hundreds of thousands of standard student accommodation contracts currently operating across the country, whether with Prime Student Living or other providers.”

Read more about Sarah Zultana.

Read the Hamilton Fraser student accommodation landlord guide.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Major student landlord rejects calls to return rent paid for ’empty apartment’ | LandlordZONE.

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Market standing firm despite turbulence

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The latest summary of market health from Benham and Reeves, has revealed that the market stood firm in Q2 despite the broader turbulence of lockdown. Data from the top four house prices indices to give an overall view of market health based on buyer and seller expectations via mortgage and asking price data

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Rent guarantor necessary in this case?

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I have a 2-bed flat where the rent is £640 pcm. The tenant is part working and on UC. As she can pay 5 weeks deposit herself and RIA, the Local Authority have said they can’t help her further.

I am just waiting for her to allow me to talk to DWP direct about her claim/her to tell me how her DWP breaks down exactly (I can see she has a monthly lump sum but not sure how much is for rent)

Should I still ask for a rent guarantor?

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Exclusive: ‘I’m within my rights’ says landlord facing ground-breaking short lets test case

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A landlord in Scotland who could be the first to face court action over illegal short-lets activity has protested his innocence to LandlordZONE.

Jamal Boutoubane, who rents out a flat in Victoria Road, Glasgow, is still advertising rooms on sites including Booking.com despite receiving two council enforcement bans.

Glasgow Council has received complaints about anti-social behaviour and poor management of bookings, and neighbours say they have had to help guests who’ve been left waiting outside the building, unable to get into their rooms.

The council is also looking into neighbours’ claims that the two-bedroom flat was converted into four bedrooms without planning permission and that fire doors were replaced or removed entirely.

Boutoubane was told by the council that the flat should only be used for residential use in October 2017 and again in July 2020.

Court injunction

Council planners are said to be confident they have enough evidence to persuade a sheriff to issue a court interdict (injunction) to prevent the property being used for holiday lets, in what would be a test case.

A Glasgow City Council spokesman says: “The council is considering legal action in light of the failure to comply with the enforcement notice.”

Jamal Boutoubane tells LandlordZONE that his neighbours have been trying to sabotage the business.

“Airbnb is totally legitimate and calling the property that you rent out to suit the style and decoration is 100% allowed and temporary modifications within the interior do not require any consent,” he says.

“I live in this apartment with my brother and do not rent out regularly – I rent out two rooms which I am allowed to do.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Exclusive: ‘I’m within my rights’ says landlord facing ground-breaking short lets test case | LandlordZONE.

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Third of landlords prefer using online lettings agencies, says poll

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Online letting agents now have 35% of the private sector market, with many landlords happy to forgo trips to their local high street office to meet agents face-to-face.

Online comparison site Rentround collated data from 35,000 landlords and found that while 45% still prefer a traditional agent, 35% now opt for an online agent, while 20% use both.

Another surprising finding is that 60% of landlords choose to pay a one-off fee for finding a tenant, with 21% plumping for a fixed monthly rent, with the least preferred option being a percentage of monthly rent, which 19% of landlords choose.

Most landlords want a hands-on services from their agent, with 42% looking for full management, while 19% choose guaranteed rent.

Guaranteed rent

But Rentround says landlord searches on the site showed a 34% increase in those looking for guaranteed rent services after May, which shows this has become more in demand since the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It indicates landlords are willing to part with more of their rental income in exchange for rental security during these difficult times,” it says.

The survey found that 58% of landlords use mobiles to look for an agent and conduct their searches mainly after 3pm on weekdays, so it suggests that agents ensure websites are mobile-friendly, with more staff manning the phones in the late afternoon.

It adds: “On Rentround it’s common for landlords to choose to send their details to a number of agents to discuss fees. The quickest agent therefore has the first chance, and highest chance, to convert the lead.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Third of landlords prefer using online lettings agencies, says poll | LandlordZONE.

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