Covid pressures drive council to make harsh choices over property licensing

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Slough Borough Council has revealed that it is to wage a campaign against rogue and non-compliant landlords over the next six months but de-prioritise inspecting the 1,700 already-licensed properties within its three licensing schemes, and is already preparing to take four persistent offenders to court.

Since July 2019 hundreds of small and large HMOs, and a larger number of properties covered by a two-ward selective scheme, have had to be licenced at a cost of between £400 and £750 per property for five years.

But ‘teething problems’ with its IT system, which landlords are forced to use to apply for a licence, plus problems recruiting staff and the huge financial and logistical challenges of Covid, have led its housing team to focus on chasing up the rogue and non-compliant element of the PRS.

Unprofessional

“The rationale for prioritising unlicensed properties is that unprofessional, negligent and rogue landlords that pose the greatest risk to tenants can often be identified by their absence from the licensing schemes; so it follows that focussing resources on identifying unlicensed properties will have the greatest benefit to residents,” a report submitted to the council says.

Slough says it has therefore decided not to undertake large-scale inspection of licenced properties, although it will continue to react to individual cases where tenants alert it to poorly-managed properties.

The immediate focus for the team in the next six months is to locate as many unlicensed properties as possible and to robustly enforce against those who persistently fail to make a licence application, as it is these landlords who are most likely to put their tenants at risk of harm.”

Read more: How to be compliant with landlord legislation.

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Mortgage Express (Rosinca Mortgages) will not allow transfer of equity?

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Has anyone any advice for the following situation: 3 BTL properties with Mortgage Express (now Rosinca Mortgages) which still have 8 years left on a 25-year interest-only mortgage term.

The properties are jointly owned by myself and my Brother.

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Council HMO guidance – Now more confused than when I started?

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I’ve read Bexley Council and Government guidance but am just more confused than when I started.

I have converted my house into 3 separate living ‘units’, I’m not calling them flats as they don’t meet building regulations (I do have planning permission for the extension and conversion works).

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Landlord given suspended sentence and £20,000 fine after tenant dies in HMO blaze

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A criminal landlord has been handed a suspended jail sentence after a tenant died in a house fire at his sub-standard HMO.

Tenant Evaldas Grisciukas died in the fire which started in his first-floor bedroom on Hitchin Road in Luton on 27^th March last year, despite two other tenants attempting to save him. One was badly burnt and suffered smoke inhalation.

The court heard that seven people were living in the house at the time of the fire; it had no fire doors and some fire detection that wasn’t linked between rooms and might not even have been working.

Landlord Bhagwent Sagoo, of Old Bedford Road, Luton, admitted failing to take general fire precautions, putting tenants at risk of death or serious injury. 

He accepted that he was the manager of the property but said he believed it had been let as a single tenancy.  

The judge ruled that he ought to have known who was in the house and would have done, if he had carried out regular inspections. Sagoo was jailed for four months, suspended for 12 months, and fined £20,000 with £12,000 costs.

Luton Councillor Tom Shaw (below), portfolio holder for housing, says: “We are committed to keeping residents safe and inadequate fire safety in a HMO just isn’t acceptable. We expect landlords to put the safety of their tenants first and are pleased to see this sentencing handed down.

“We will continue to work towards ensuring landlords keep their properties in good condition and adhere to safety regulations, or face prosecution.”

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Auction watch – 4 auction deals at forthcoming sales

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This video is a review of four upcoming property deals on sale at auction over the next fortnight.

In the video I am joined by Piotr Rusinek, Jay Howard and Rod Turner as they analyse four potential auction bargain opportunities.

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Landlords celebrate as MP steps in to block selective licensing decision

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Hastings MP Sally-Ann Hart has clashed with the town’s council by siding with landlords opposed to the renewal of its selective licensing scheme.

In an unusual move, the Conservative MP (pictured, above) says local landlords are angry about the blanket licensing, arguing that it has pushed up rents for their tenants. 

She says: “This has forced tenants out, particularly those who depend on housing benefit, as they can no longer afford the rent – even a couple of pounds a week has a huge impact on many people.” 

Hart believes the council hasn’t provided evidence that the current licensing scheme – which ends on 25th October – is necessary to address problems such as anti-social behaviour.

She adds: “The scheme pushes up costs for good landlords whilst rogue ones carry on as normal. There are better ways of improving the condition of private rental properties, including the enforcement powers that councils have.”

Poor condition

The council’s report says that while there has been a reduction in anti-social behaviour in the seven wards covered by the scheme, there are others in the borough with a large proportion of private rented properties in poor condition.

It wants to include Braybrooke, Castle, Central St Leonards, Gensing, Old Hastings and Tressell in the renewed scheme, which needs approval by the Secretary of State.

Cabinet member for housing Andy Batsford told a council meeting this week that there had been a massive improvement in the quality of rented homes in the seven areas.

“Since the scheme was put in place, rents in Hastings have gone up by about 40% and that is nothing to do with the selective licensing scheme,” he says. “The thing that has driven up prices and driven out landlords is the Government’s tax regime.”

Read more: Why selective licensing doesn’t work.
Read more bout Sally-Ann Haart.

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Contentious logbook initiative kicks off, with pilot likely next April

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Property MOTs took a huge step forward yesterday during the inaugural meeting of a group working towards the introduction of property logbooks, which would enable the Property MOTs landlords see as – although well intentioned – a form of snooping.

The freshly-minted Residential Logbook Association (RLBA) is leading the project, which will see every home in the UK given a digital ‘passport’ in which all its history, relevant documentation and a host of other information will be kept.

These would include details of the proposed ‘property MOTs’ that the recent Rugg & Rhodes report recommended government adopt, which will require landlords to prove that their property has passed an independent inspection.

Attended by the government’s housing market reform chief Matt Prior, the meeting discussed how the logbooks will work and when, how and why organisations will be allowed access.

Rental information

Rental information will not be directly part of the logbooks, but rental apps will be able to ‘see’ the data within them which could, among other uses, help prevent rental scams by confirming who a property’s landlord/owner is.

Not all landlrods are likely to welcome logbooks, which could make it easier for councils to check if a property being offered for rent has been licenced or has the correct certification including a Gas Safe certificate.

The first logbooks will be trialled in the second quarter of next year but there is plenty to do before then.

The key task is to define what information they will hold. At the moment this includes a property’s unique property reference number,

Title number, handover packs, legal documentation, records of work completed on a property plus internet links to utility companies, local authorities, government, the Land Registry and a range of certification bodies.

Any organisation that feels they might like to be a stakeholder is invited to contact Tim Main timmain@piphome.co.uk.

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EPCs – New ones issued via email link only?

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I have had a raft of new EPC’s done and the assessors have just emailed me the link to the .gov site where they are stored. You can’t download them (I have tried).

Question – do I have to send a copy of the new EPC to the existing tenant?

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Farm Business Tenancies – tenant farmers argue for longer tenancies

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With the average Farm Business Tenancy (FTB) now trending at below 4 years, farm tenants say they can’t plan and invest for the future. Research shows that 90 percent of all new FBTs have been let for 5 years or less, which means tenants must think twice before investing in new projects.

Calling for a ‘greater degree of realism’ from landlords and their land agents, farm tenants, when approaching new Farm Business Tenancies (FBTs) want landlords and agents to be more understanding of their situation. The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) told FarmingUK that there was ‘little scope’ for tenants under these very short term tenancies to invest or enter into post-Brexit ‘public goods’ schemes.

Public Goods – the new Agriculture Bill (1920-21) has clearly set out the Government’s intention to replace the Basic Payment Scheme (EU subsidies) with a system based on the principle of delivering public goods.

All farm businesses face changes in the amount of direct payments received under the Basic Payment Scheme, which is going to be phased out by 2027. As part of the change, the government in England plans to introduce a new Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMs) with a contract for farmers and landowners to delivery environmental public goods such as managed habitat for wildlife, provision of clean water and air, as well as actions against climate change, and management of landscape character and public access.

Many FBT agreements precluded farm tenants from participating in such schemes without the consent of their landlords, says the TFA.

British farming must now ready itself for life after the Brexit transition period, and as Britain leaves the EU completely after 40 years, as part of the EU customs union and single market, farmers must adapt and invest for the future or die.

Depending on the outcome of the negotiations over the next couple of months, farmers are facing the prospect of trading under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules – the prime minister has said the UK should now ready itself for a ‘no-deal’.

With a question mark yet over a free-trade agreement with the US, and the possibility of a no-deal Brexit rising, Britain is still searching for a role in the world, with agriculture in the vanguard. One chink of light in this scenario is a movement lobbying to link four Anglo Commonwealth countries together in a free trade and free movement pact, known as CANZUK International – its a conglomeration of the four countries with combined economic strength to rival the big blocks: Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and to facilitate agricultural trade in particular.

Leaving the EU will trigger in England the start of a transition period away from current agricultural support schemes, a time when, as the TFA predicts, the business environment within which agriculture operates is about to get ‘a lot more challenging’.

Because of this, they say, landlords and their land agents should ‘wake up’ to these changes and make long-term agreements with tenant farmers.

TFA Chief Executive, George Dunn has said:

“The modus operandi of a number of agents acting for landlords is to use short lengths of term and threats of re-marketing, to offer FBT agreements on very restrictive terms at unsustainable levels of rent.

“Landlords would be better placed to instruct their agents to make long-term agreements with tenants with more flexibility and at sensible levels of rent.”

Such agreements would provide both a sustainable return to landlords and a good platform for the business success of the tenant, Mr Dunn says.

“A generation of landlords agents has been schooled by some of the leading, national firms of agents to use FBTs to exact the maximum amount of leverage for the short-term benefit of their clients.

“This seems to be a long way from the requirements of the Royal Charter of the RICS to ‘promote the usefulness of the profession for the public interest’,” he said.

The TFA has called for landlords’ agents to show ‘greater concern’ for issues impacting tenant farmers’ long-term sustainability.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Farm Business Tenancies – tenant farmers argue for longer tenancies | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: Council green-lights dual licensing push despite thumbs down from landlords

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The London borough of Havering has extended its additional licensing scheme and given the green light to a selective scheme in two areas.

The additional scheme for HMOs, which currently covers smaller properties with three or four tenants in 12 wards, will be rolled out to a further six: Cranham, Emerson Park, Hacton, Hylands, St Andrew’s and Upminster.

Councillors have also voted to launch a five-year selective licensing scheme covering all single-family properties in Romford Town and Brooklands wards, which takes effect on 25th January.

Many landlords responding to the council’s consultation felt the new scheme was too punishing. However, it says there’s no evidence that licensing fees have directly resulted in higher rents in areas covered by the scheme. 

Councillor Viddy Persaud (left), cabinet member for public protection and safety, insists there was support to extend it.

She says: “It means we can further look to help increase protection to tenants, support landlords and further support our aim of tackling poor management, overcrowding and anti-social behaviour.”

A report on the borough’s sector shows that a quarter of the 30,000+ privately rented homes in Havering have “serious hazards” that put tenants at risk, including an estimated half of the 1,312 HMOs.

It’s estimated there are about 600 seriously hazardous properties rented in the Romford Town area alone. Since the current scheme was launched in 2018, it has handed out £417,500 in final penalty notices and issued 314 HMO licences.

Portsmouth push

Meanwhile, in Portsmouth councillors have pledged to reconsider selective licensing after lobbying by the Labour group.

They argue that rapid growth in HMO numbers has led to a range of issues relating to housing conditions, property management and anti-social behaviour. However, the council’s housing boss, Councillor Darren Sanders, says that issues such as rent arrears or poor property conditions aren’t tackled by licensing.

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