New kitchen nightmare?

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So finally after Covid-19 eased off, we got round to start the kitchen which was planned before. The contracted company couldn’t do all the work and agreed to be flexible with me finding a new builder for them to then fit the kitchen once the builder has done all preparation work.

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My goals for Property118 in 2021

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Before the end of 2021 I want every person who buys a UK property for rental investment to able to make an informed choice about the optimal ownership structure to meet their short, medium and long term objectives.

To achieve that I need every estate agent and mortgage broker to have ‘front of mind thinking’

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Paul Smith: Why I won’t give anyone a refund, including a sick student signed off by her doctor

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A sick woman fighting to get £13,000 back from Touchstone Education says she feels “raped” by her dealings with the property investment training firm.

The woman – who wants to remain anonymous – has appeared in a video on the Andrew Burgess Property Education Truth Seekers YouTube site, speaking about how her attempt to get a refund on the basis of ill health left her feeling violated when the firm asked to look at her medical records.

She first paid £1,000 for a Touchstone Education online course and then another £12,000 after attending a very persuasive ‘free course’ last year – which was to pay for about seven courses and a monthly meeting.

But after being signed off sick for six months with complex physical and psychological problems, her GP agreed that attending a course could seriously affect her health, and wrote to the company supporting her claim.

Touchstone Education boss Paul Smith says he can’t comment on an individual case due to GDPR rules, but that when people ask for a refund it’s better to encourage them to finish their course.

“If someone has made that decision to invest in themselves, it’s not unusual to get cold feet, and people can miss a session, and when you speak to them they are embarrassed,” Smith tells LandlordZONE. “You need to get straight back on the horse again; those people that come back, the next month are typically gold standard.”

He says that when someone says they’re too busy it’s better to help them do the full course than give the money back. “That won’t change their life, but doing the whole course probably will.”

Smith adds that this year, out of all the thousands of people it has dealt with, only five have made any kind of refund request. “Our goal is to help people become wealthy and get a positive income for property. If that person isn’t happy with my decision we invite them to take it up with the ombudsman and will help them through that process. We have never had the ombudsman find against us.”

Watch an interview with the former student involved

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Paul Smith: Why I won’t give anyone a refund, including a sick student signed off by her doctor | LandlordZONE.

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Portfolio landlord banned from operating rental properties after sleaze conviction

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A landlord in Glasgow convicted of stalking a woman has been struck from the landlord register, preventing him from letting out his 14 properties.

Joga Singh, 48, was found guilty last year of repeatedly approaching the woman in Paisley Town Centre, following her and asking for money in return for permission to take photographs of her wearing underwear.

He was sentenced to a community pay back order of 252 hours and placed on a non-harassment order for one year.

Proving the effectiveness of landlord registration – something that’s already in place in Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as Scotland, with proposals to introduce it in England – Singh appeared before Glasgow City Council’s licensing committee this week.

His representative Archie MacIver told councillors that he had been a landlord for 21 years, dealing with many hundreds of tenants without issue.

“His moment of madness has brought a fairly good life crashing to a halt. He is a married man with three children, but the family is separated as a result, said MacIver.

Ashamed and remorseful

“He is utterly ashamed and remorseful. There is no running away from the fact that what happened here was extremely serious, distasteful and worrying.”

The committee heard that he had been refused an HMO licence last year. All Singh’s properties are managed by letting agents which means he doesn’t need to be in contact with his tenants and has told them about his conviction. However, the committee agreed to remove him from the landlord’s register.

The register lets anyone looking for information on landlord or property registrations for all private rented property in Scotland, and includes contact details of owners and agents, and information on enforcement orders. Landlords must be registered or face a fine of up to £50,000 and a ban on letting properties of up to five years.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Portfolio landlord banned from operating rental properties after sleaze conviction | LandlordZONE.

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DWP Pensions Minister has not got a clue how Universal Credit works

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Benefit tenants, you cannot get accommodation, because the DWP Pensions Minister Will Quince has not got a clue how Universal Credit works and the biggest UC Landlord in Nottingham here can no longer take you. https://t.co/AuoqDsQ2ct

MP Will Quince

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National Landlord Investment online Super-shows for 2020

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As a live event, 2020 has presented us with exceptional challenges. Our response is to lead the market by delivering the first-ever online show dedicated solely to the UK buy-to-let market. Partnering with an established digital events platform, the National Landlord Investment Show will be delivering 3 online events throughout October and November.

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Welsh government extends Covid-19 eviction protection measures to next March

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In-line with those in England, it was announced Wednesday 15^th September that letting agents and landlords in Wales must wait six months (as opposed to the usual 2 months notice) before they can start new possession claims, except where anti-social behaviour or domestic violence is involved.

Under the powers of the Coronavirus Act 2020, the deadline has been extended until 31 March 2021, the original deadline being 20 September 2020. Housing Minister, Julie James MS also confirmed there will be a pause on physical evictions both during the festive period and within any further local lock-down, the same as the UK Government announced recently.

The Minister in Wales also announced that, with immediate effect, tenants can be given shorter notice periods if they are involved in anti-social behaviour or domestic violence, the same as before COVID-19 regulations came into play.

A formal announcement of the change will be made along with the publication of regulations before the end of this month.

Where rent arrears have accumulated due to the Coronavirus pandemic, private rented sector tenants will soon be able to apply for a loan in Wales through the Tenancy Saver Loan Scheme, opening at the end of September 2020. The Welsh Government is providing £1.4 million to boost services that support people in Wales to manage debt problems.

Unrelated to to the pandemic, the Welsh Government is to continue with its tenancy changes with their Bill to amend the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 which aims to increase the security of tenure for tenants. The Bill will extend the no-fault notice period from two to six months, and landlords will be prevented from issuing a no-fault notice until at least six months from the date of occupancy.

The change will mean that in Wales tenants will get a minimum of 12 months’ security of tenure from the commencement of a residential tenancy contract, giving Welsh tenants greater security than anywhere else in the UK.

Julie James MS, Minister for Housing and Local Government says:

“The Coronavirus pandemic is continuing to have a significant impact on daily life and is still posing major challenges for all of us, I have therefore acted to give additional protection to renters. I am committed to ensuring we continue to protect renters whilst at the same time mitigating impacts on landlords and protecting communities from the harmful effects of ongoing anti-social behaviour.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Welsh government extends Covid-19 eviction protection measures to next March | LandlordZONE.

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Letter of claim from no win no fee solicitor?

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I served a S21 on my tenant. Since then, he has been on a mission to hurt me! He has now got a no win no fee solicitor who has sent me a letter of claim for disrepair.

The tenant has refused access to the flat for many months.

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Rees-Mogg: ‘Evictions ban extension? We’ve already spent £1 billion helping tenants’

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The Leader of the House of Commons has given another strong indication that the government is not considering a last-minute U-turn on the eviction ban.

Jacob Rees-Mogg dismissed calls from Coventry MP Zarah Sultana to debate the issue again by unequivocally responding that the Government had already spent enough money on tenants.

During a Parliamentary session, Sultana asked him to give Government time to urgently discuss measures to stop a potential housing eviction and homelessness crisis, such as by extending the ban for at least a year, scrapping no fault evictions and cancelling rent arrears.

However, Rees-Mogg said nearly £1 billion had been provided for renters, including increasing the generosity of housing benefit and Universal Credit so that the Local Housing Allowance covered at least 30% of market rents in local authorities.

Balance struck

He added: “Measures ensuring no tenant has been forced out do come to an end on Sunday, but landlords have not been able to evict for at least six months.

“There’s a balance to be struck between landlords and tenants, and the Government has spent a great deal of taxpayers’ money trying to support tenants.”

From Monday, landlords will be able to issue tenants with a Section 21 or Section 8 notice but will be asked to submit evidence about how their tenants’ circumstances may have been affected by coronavirus.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Rees-Mogg: ‘Evictions ban extension? We’ve already spent £1 billion helping tenants’ | LandlordZONE.

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Is this a DWP system failure or just an excuse?

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To cut (an inevitably long story short!) I had a tenant who declared a change of address away from my property completely unknown to me. As a result, the Managed Payment to Landlord (MPTL) arrangement that existed for my property was cancelled on the date he reported the address change.

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