BREAKING: Minister halts High Court bailiff evictions but allows ‘extreme arrears’ cases to proceed

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Secretary of State for Justice Robert Buckland has written to the High Court Enforcement Officers Association to confirm that during the current lockdown there will be no enforcement of possession orders except for the most serious cases, including extreme rent arrears.

County court bailiffs had already been requested to stop enforcing possession orders but until now High Court bailiffs had been able to progress evictions, if requested to do so.

Although this latest announcement blocks off one of the last remaining avenues for landlords who have tenants with ‘normal’ (i.e. not extreme) rent arrears and other non-priority cases seeking to evict; it at least gives landlords facing extreme financial hardship caused by non-paying tenants some hope.

Buckland says his ministry will bring forward exceptions to the High Court enforcement halt, the key one being cases related to extreme pre-Covid rent arrears but also illegal trespassing and squatting, and tenants engaged in anti-social behaviour, fraud or deception.

Ben Beadle (left), Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, says: “The vast majority of landlords who have had tenants affected due to the pandemic have been working constructively to support them.

“We continue to encourage and support such action. But in a minority of cases renters have abused the protections afforded by the recent ban on repossessions, causing significant hardship.

“It is therefore important that the Government recognises that in the most serious cases enforcement action must continue.”

Paul Shamplina (left) of Landlord Action, says: “This narrows down which landlords can now progress possession orders to an eviction, but it’s a chink of light in dark times for those with extreme rent arrears – which we believe to mean of 12 months or more with cases that were in the courts before Covid.

“But first landlords will have to persuade the county court judge to transfer their case to the High Court but, if that can be done, then there is a good chance the eviction can take place before the lockdown ends.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: Minister halts High Court bailiff evictions but allows ‘extreme arrears’ cases to proceed | LandlordZONE.

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Valuable Webinar for Benefit of Universal Credit Landlords this Monday

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Any Landlords out there who are struggling with Universal Credit UC, or any tenants who’s Landlord may be evicting them getting no rent in, because UC make it impossible for Landlord to talk to them, please pass this to Landlords.

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No enforcement of Possession Orders except for the most serious cases

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In a letter to the High Court Enforcement Officers Association the Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland, has confirmed that during the lockdown there will be no enforcement of Possession Orders except for the most serious cases during the second national lockdown.

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Death of the tax return. Birth of APARI

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Over the next two years, UK landlords face the biggest change in tax returns in a generation. From the 6th April 2023 landlords and self-employed people will need to complete four quarterly updates and one annual self-assessment, submitting all information via HMRC-integrated tax software as part of the new Making Tax Digital (MTD) regulations.

This process will replace the current self-assessment tax return and should, in the long run, make tax simpler, easier and more transparent. However, during your first year of MTD, whether in 2023 or voluntarily before then, you’ll need to manage both processes at the same time.

The good news is that this is a one-off transition, which good software should help you to make. Once you are embedded in the MTD process you will be able to see your tax liability estimate in real-time so you can save the right amount of money to pay your tax bill.

As a landlord myself, I have been submitting tax returns for many years using an accountant. Yet, every year I carefully put together the information my accountant would need to complete my accounts and every year I was caught off-guard by my tax bill, often ending up paying late fees on top of my tax. It was all a bit of a mess.

When I stopped to think about it, I realised that I was doing the majority of the work on my accounts, while my accountant was adding very little value. All he was really doing was reformatting the information I provided into the format required by HMRC.

To test this realisation, the following year I formatted my information in the same way he had submitted it and sent it to him. Sure enough, he simply sent me the same identical report I had sent him, only with the tax calculation from his software added, along with a bill for £1,000.

It was a lightbulb moment for me. I realised that, if my accountant was simply reformatting information and making a simple calculation, I could build software that would do the same thing faster and more efficiently.

And with the upcoming HMRC MTD regulation requiring landlords to use software for tax, it felt like the ideal time to develop a solution.

This was the start of something special; it was the start of APARI.

What do you think about MTD? Tell us via this short survey.

Fast-forward a few years and APARI is now the first software solution for landlords that is recognised by HMRC to enable the transition to Making Tax Digital (MTD). What’s more, we’ve linked it together with our Jellyfish software which is designed for the current self-assessment process. 

That means that if you’re a landlord, you can use Jellyfish to replace your accountant now and seamlessly transfer all your account information across to MTD whenever you are ready.

So, whether you are starting with MTD voluntarily now or continuing to file an annual self-assessment, you can simply add your account information, sit back, and let APARI’s accounting software calculate and compile your tax return ready to submit directly to HMRC at the touch of a button.

Over the next few months, LandlordZone readers will get exclusive content from APARI and HMRC as the MTD project develops. We’ll also show you how APARI is automating more and more of the process for you, such as recognising and automatically tagging recurring payments, making tax returns easier and easier with each update.

Find out more about APARI on Twitter or Facebook

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LATEST: Professional Airbnb landlords to be charged higher licence fees than ‘home sharers’

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Landlords advertising properties on Airbnb could pay more for a licence than hosts renting out a spare room or those who only rent out their homes occasionally, under the Scottish government’s sweeping new plans for the short-term lets sector.

It’s currently fine-tuning the regulations which go before Parliament next month and come into force in April, consulting with local and regional councils to work out the details.

Local authorities are being asked to consider charging different fees for different types of short-term let, with lower fees for home sharing and home letting than for secondary letting.

Fees could also vary by property size, based on the number of rooms or occupants, and with discounts given for hosts who only let rooms part of the year.

Three-year licence

All short-term lets will need a three-year licence, but (mainly) only secondary letting within newly established ‘control areas’ will have to apply for planning permission.

Highland Council believes resourcing is going to be a huge problem with the volume of applications.

Its report on the scheme also flags up an inevitable delay between it starting and control areas being set up, which it says would mean many hosts wouldn’t have obtained planning permission in time and would potentially be in breach of the licence condition.

It adds: “This would mean that sub-standard and potentially unsafe properties and persons who are not deemed fit and proper to hold such a licence could end up with a licence for a year automatically regardless.”

The consultation also proposes that a licence applicant needs to notify neighbours within a 20-metre distance of the property, including all residents on a tenement stair and neighbouring tenement stairs, which Highland Council says is confusing and open to interpretation.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Professional Airbnb landlords to be charged higher licence fees than ‘home sharers’ | LandlordZONE.

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New York City landlords left out in the cold…

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As the pandemic continues to ravage business communities, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and President Trump’s policies have given protection to tenants through evictions bans, but have done next to nothing for property owners. It’s killing landlords says the New York Post.

Just like UK landlords, small-scale (mom-and-pop small-building owners) New York City landlords have been struggling for months to survive, but these landlords are in a far worse state than their UK counterparts.

Thousands of NY City tenants are behind with rent payments and many are now abandoning the City, trying to escape the virus, the violent crime and the plunging quality of life. They are fleeing, which is dramatically increasing vacancy rates and pushing down market rent levels.

At the same time there’s no let-up for landlords’ bills: property taxes, and water and sewage charges mount up without respite, and cleaning and security costs have risen sharply.

In what seems a heartless move, the City authorities are passing on landlords’ unpaid invoices, selling these debts (known as tax liens) to commercial debt collectors along with 18 percent interest charges. Scores of foreclosures are being predicted with landlords in danger of losing their investments.

Gov. Cuomo had placed a moratorium on debt sales but this expired on Tuesday (election day), a doomsday scenario for those landlords who find themselves unable to pay. The Post says this nightmare will not just face landlords, but also the many private home owners who are in debt, as well.

It’s a downward spiral similar to the housing-market crash of 2008, but this could be worse. Landlords will have no choice but to neglect and abandon their buildings, leading to decay, spreading urban blight, and depriving the City of much needed tax revenue.

New York City operates a form of rent control for its social housing sector known as rent stabilisation. The Rent Stabilization Association president Joe Strasburg has said:

“If the City Council doesn’t end tax liens… the housing crisis of the 1980s will pale in comparison.” No one ‘will be spared.’ And New York’s property-tax base, the city’s top revenue producer, will come crumbling down. Yes, the city needs a way to collect taxes it’s owed. But those levies can eat up as much as 50 percent of a landlord’s income. That’s not sustainable even in good times.”

Landlords are desperately calling for relief, otherwise they predict, if they don’t get it soon, they won’t be the only ones to suffer.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – New York City landlords left out in the cold… | LandlordZONE.

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I am a 40% taxpayer and my partner 0%

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Hi, I am looking to buy a BTL property with my partner (not married), and intend to have 50/50 ownership of the property.

I am a 40% taxpayer and my partner 0%.

To be tax efficient we want the rental income to be in my partner’s name.

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Podcast: Is mediation in eviction cases REALLY worth it?

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While landlords face huge delays for a court date, landlords face an uphill battle in securing their property and reclaiming outstanding rent.

Eviction and housing law specialist solicitors, Landlord Action, have partnered with the Property Redress Scheme (PRS) to provide a unique service helping landlords to regain possession of their properties through a mediation service that helps to find a resolution outside of court.

As an established industry veteran and a qualified civil and commercial mediator, Steve Bowen of the PRS provides his unique insights into the benefits of mediation for both landlords and their tenants.

In this podcast (see below) he explains how mediation can help landlords to avoid a lengthy wait for a court hearing by solving disputes through effective communication, pre-action protocols (making reasonable attempts to resolve issues before a case can be brought to court) and rent payment instalment plans.

Eddie, Paul and Steve discuss what mediation really means for landlords, why a long-term customer focus could benefit landlords and why it is vitally important to set reasonable expectations in order to resolve issues fairly.

Having helped to resolve rent arrears cases from £500 to £50,000 Steve brings invaluable experience in dealing with a multitude of scenarios and explains a typical mediation journey, including the importance of relationship management, to avoid facing the same problem again in the future.

Don’t forget to listen out for brand new episodes of Hamilton Fraser’s Property Podcast with new special industry guests every episode! 

Missed the previous podcasts in the series? Don’t worry, you can catch up with industry news here!

Previous guests include:

• Jonathan Schuman, established portfolio landlord and Owner of Magnet Properties
• Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA)
• Matt Hooker and Nick Hamatsos, Co-Founders of Ome, a new breed of deposit replacement scheme
• Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the Property Redress Scheme
• Kate Faulkner,market analyst, commentator and co-author of ‘The Landlord’s Friend’
• Tessa Shepperson, residential property lawyer and Managing Director of Landlord Law

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QE increased by £150 billion and Bank Base Rate held at 0.1%

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The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted unanimously to maintain Bank Base Rate at 0.1% and to increase the stock of purchased UK government bonds by an additional £150 billion, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves (Quantitative Easing)

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