CAN YOU HELP? UK’s first ever high street lettings agency for the homeless needs more landlords

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A lettings agency for homeless people in Walton-on-Thames wants more landlords on its books to keep up with rising demand.

Surrey-based RentStart is in the borough of Elmbridge, an area boasting some of the highest property prices in the UK but which has seen a five-fold increase in rough sleeping since 2015 when just two people were recorded on the streets.

About 450homelesspeople contact it – directly or through the council – each year and it manages to find 150 of them accommodation with its 30 private landlords.

But about a quarter of the 300 who aren’t successful could find a home if more landlords were willing to work with the charity, according to chief executive Helen Watson.

Guarantees

She explains that RentStart, which has been in the town since 2001, provides landlords with written guarantees that their scheme will cover unpaid rent in the rare case of the tenant defaulting and also pays one month’s rent upfront.

Its deposit guarantee scheme claim rate last year was 6%.

Watson and her team of 13 staff and volunteers are gearing up for a surge in demand, with the chancellor’s job support scheme replacing the furlough scheme next month as well as the end of the evictions ban – and it’s hoping to get more landlords on board as well as inspiring others to open similar organisations around the country.

She says: “Bad things happen to good people and you just need someone to give you a chance. That’s the kind of thing we do. Yes, we’ve got to look after the property and get the rent paid, but we can still treat the client with dignity and help them get back on track.”

Visit the Rentstart website.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – CAN YOU HELP? UK’s first ever high street lettings agency for the homeless needs more landlords | LandlordZONE.

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Rent Freeze in London says Mayor Khan…

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Mayor Khan has drafted a letter to the Housing Minister, Robert Jenrick, urging the Government to give him the necessary powers to put a freeze on private rents in London for the next two years.

Since his election Sadiq Khan has repeatedly called for powers to impose a regime of rent controls in London, but this time he is arguing that it is necessary to have a freeze to tackle the economic fallout from the Coronavirus pandemic, This crisis he says would include a ‘tsunami of evictions’ unless there is further Government support for private tenants.

The new emergency powers should allow a freeze on rent increases “both between and within tenancies”, and would be effective immediately the Mayor has said. He has also asked for an option to extend the two-year freeze if the economic outlook for renters does not improve.

Mr Khan says:

“More than ever, COVID-19 means that many of London’s private renters are facing a really uncertain future. More likely to be in lower-paid and insecure work, the end of the furlough scheme means even more renters in the capital are now at risk of pay cuts or losing their jobs. Yet at every stage of this pandemic, renters have been treated as an afterthought by the Government, with protection measures only ever rushed out at the last minute.

“This uncertainty is causing unnecessary anxiety and stress. I’m today calling on ministers to give me the powers to stop rents rising in the capital for as long as this virus is with us, to give London’s 2.2m renters more financial security. If Berlin can freeze rents for five years, there’s no reason London shouldn’t be able to freeze rents for two years in these extraordinary times,” Khan says.

The National Residential Landlord’s Association has been quick to respond to the suggestions, branding the Mayor’s proposal ‘a disaster’ for tenants.

NRLA policy director Chris Norris has said:

“Rent controls would drive landlords out of the market, exacerbating an already serious shortage of homes available.

‘Rather than driving a wedge between landlords and tenants, the Mayor should focus on using the powers he already has to boost the supply of available housing, including for private rent. Only then will he make any discernible impact on improving the affordability of housing across the capital,’ he said.

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LATEST: Scots landlords must now clear ‘pre-action hurdles’ before rent arrears evictions can begin

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Scottish landlords now need to prove they’ve followed Rent Arrears Pre-Action Requirements if they want to evict tenants.

New regulations announced by the Scottish government cover applications made to the First-Tier Tribunal for Scotland from 6th October for an eviction order on the grounds of rent arrears during the COVID-19 period. These changes apply to any tenancy where a notice to quit or leave was served after 6^th April.

The government wants landlords to be flexible with any tenants facing financial hardship and aims to make sure they make reasonable efforts to work with tenants before seeking repossession.

Landlords need to show that they’ve given tenants information on the terms of the tenancy agreement, as well as the amount of rent arrears, the tenant’s rights in relation to possession proceedings and how they can find information and advice on financial support and debt management.

Reasonable efforts

They’ll also need to have made “reasonable efforts to agree on a reasonable plan with the tenant” to make future payments of rent.

The rules also mean that landlords will have to consider any steps being taken by their tenant which might affect their ability to pay on time, the extent to which they have complied with the terms of any plan agreed and any changes to their circumstances which are likely to impact on a payment plan.

“We know that many landlords are already being flexible and accommodating to their tenants who have suffered financial hardship during this pandemic,” says Daryl McIntosh, ARLA Propertymark’s strategic development manager for Scotland (pictured, top).

“The introduction of these regulations will go a long way to in helping to sustain tenancies with agents, landlords and tenants working together and utilising the available financial support to create affordable and reasonable payment plans to prevent homelessness.”

Pre-action requirements for the UK were mooted over the summer but are yet to be fully clarified.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Scots landlords must now clear ‘pre-action hurdles’ before rent arrears evictions can begin | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: Landlords to face £30,000 fines in radical shake-up for energy efficiency regulations

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Radical new proposals for energy efficiency in the private rented sector could see landlords fined up to £30,000 for not improving their properties and tenants given the ability to claim compensation.

The Government’s consultation on its energy efficiency regulations sets out its aim to upgrade as many private rented homes as possible to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C by 2030.

It says the sector has some of the coldest homes – about 67% are rated at less than EPC band C – posing a risk to tenant health and leading to higher bills.

Ministers hope to introduce the changes for new tenancies from 2025 and all tenancies from 2028, and to increase the maximum investment amount, resulting in an average per-property spend of £4,700 under a £10,000 cap.

This ultimately aims to benefit landlords, tenants and the environment by creating lower energy bills, warmer homes, potential property value gains and greater carbon emission savings.

Dual targets

But an alternative proposal in its consultation would see landlords required to reach a dual metric target of both Energy Efficiency Rating (cost) band C and an Environmental Impact Rating (carbon emissions) band C, with an increased cost cap of £15,000.

The Government is also considering requiring letting agents and online property platforms to only advertise and let properties that comply with the regulations, as well as requiring them to provide an EPC before advertising a property, increasing the fixed civil penalty fine for offences to £30,000 – per property and per breach – and introducing a property compliance and exemptions database.

It suggests that local authorities could inspect properties and use EPC open data for enforcement, and to give tenants power to request that energy performance improvements are carried out when a landlord is non-compliant. It’s also proposing that tenants should be able to request redress from the landlord if they fail to comply.

Read the consultation document in full. Landlords and other interested groups have until 30th December 2020 to respond.

Read more latest news about EPCs.

Read a guide to keeping EPC compliant.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Landlords to face £30,000 fines in radical shake-up for energy efficiency regulations | LandlordZONE.

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Agency request ICO registration for copy of tenancy?

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I have several properties although only one is managed by an agency. The existing tenant has requested to renew their tenancy for a further 12 months, no problem with that.

The agency has informed me that they have now signed

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Allow Landlords to evict tenants where there are 14 days rent arrears

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All Landlords, please SIGN this petition and share with as many landlords as possible.

You can’t go into a supermarket and steal your weeks’ groceries. There are laws in place to protect shopkeepers large and small. Not paying rent is also theft with the Landlord being the victim.

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Zero to Hero: Jonathan Schuman, Magnet Properties

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Magnet Properties owner Jonathan Schuman (right) reckons the property business is really a people business.

“There’s no magic formula – it’s about finding properties that are under-valued and that comes down to contacts,” he explains.

With 30 years in the industry, Jonathan has steadily built up a substantial contacts book and an equally substantial portfolio of 250 residential and 100 commercial properties around Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Greater London.

He’s particularly proud of the fact that he’s done this from scratch, starting from nothing – with nothing – as a residential estate agent in Wembley in his late teens.

Although he and his dad bought a property in the late ‘80s and made a small amount of profit, Jonathan spent the next six years concentrating on gaining his chartered surveyor qualification.

After a stint in commercial agencies in the capital, he worked for a one-man band negotiating with dealers and developers, soon realizing that he wanted to work for himself. “I wanted to drive around in the nice cars like them!”

Determination

Proving his determination, Jonathan moved back home with his parents for a couple of years to build up some capital, before buying and selling some small residential properties around Harrow.

His timing – the early ‘90s – was good although he admits to being “naïve and green”, making up for his failings with enthusiasm. “The market moved with me so that stuff I had bought was going up,” he remembers. “Even though I made mistakes I was let off by a rising market.”

After a decade of making contacts and building up a portfolio he realized in 2007 that there had never been a better time to buy property, and focused his attention on Luton where he started buying in earnest: residential properties, as well as industrial units and blocks of sheltered housing.

“My timing was right and I picked the right area,” he says. But he’s not finished yet. Adds Jonathan: “I really enjoy my work and I’m buying more at the moment than I ever have.”

Visit Magnet Properties.

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Government consultation to increase minimum EPC rating to band C for PRS

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The Government has just released a new consultation proposing to amend the energy efficiency regulations for the PRS in England and Whales and raise the minimum EPC rating for rented property to band C.

To download the consultation document click here

The consultation proposal would also allow Councils to impose a fine on landlords of up to £30,000 for non-compliance.

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‘Time to name and shame dodgy letting agents’ says Shamplina ahead of evictions TV show

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More shocking and unusual evictions cases will be included in tonight’s episode of Extreme Nightmare Tenants on Channel 5 at 10pm.

The programme is the fourth episode of the new series, which kicked off on September 10^th and stars Paul Shamplina of evictions specialist Landlord Action.

Tonight’s episode investigates a new a new breed of dodgy letting agents targeting small landlords and tenants alike, which have become a regular part of Shamplina’s job.

The programme looks at three sets of landlords who have fallen victim to unscrupulous and sometimes criminal agents. This includes:

Susan and Gary Bailey

The couple bought a buy-to-let and were approached by a letting agent with a too-good-to-be-true promise of hassle free, guaranteed rent.

Having agreed to let through him, the Baileys very quickly began having serious doubts when they discovered his website was a copycat of a legitimate agency.

But before they were able to back out, the dodgy letting agent broke into their house and changed the locks. Now Susan and Gary can only look on powerless, as their home is carved into bedrooms and new tenants are moved in.

Monwara and Mohammed

These two hired a letting agency who to their shock have been pocketing their tenant’s rent. Getting nowhere they decide to confront the agents face to face. But with a new company name above the door, the employees claiming ignorance and a violent confrontation, the landlords are left out in the cold.

Daniel Chira

The publishing professional thought his property in Romford was in safe hands with a local managing agent, but the agency stopped paying rent, despite having guaranteed it in the contract. Daniel has instructed Shamplina to try and recover his property and missing rent. Forced to confront them face to face, Daniel is determined to get some answers and his house back. 

“Agents who get up to these kind of criminal activities need to be named and shamed and hopefully this episode will help raise awareness among landlords about the kinds of scams they can fall victim to if they’re not careful,” says Shamplina.

Series Six of the main TV series, Slum Landlords, Nightmare Tenants is due to start soon.

Visit the Extreme Nightmare Tenants website on Channel 5

Read more about Landlord Action.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – ‘Time to name and shame dodgy letting agents’ says Shamplina ahead of evictions TV show | LandlordZONE.

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Housing Rip Offs – Extreme Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords Tonight

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Tonight at 10pm Channel 5 on  Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords we have 3 stories.

Out of the shadows of our overstretched housing market a new breed of dodgy letting agents has emerged who target small landlords and tenants alike.

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