Leasehold reform campaigner resigns after ‘unfair’ bullying accusation

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Colleagues of Martin Boyd (picture above, inset), who’s resigned as chair of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership (LKP) after clashing with the Leasehold Advisory Service, have urged MPs to support him.

They say Boyd, who has been with the campaigning group for 12 years, felt compelled to step down after failing to get the backing of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government when the chair of the Leasehold Advisory Service, Wanda Goldwag, reportedly attacked him for tweeting criticisms of the Government quango.

The incident happened in 2019 at a meeting hosted by MP Sir Peter Bottomley (pictured above, left) and resulted in Boyd being accused of bullying LEASE staff – a claim he denies – and banned from its offices.

Along with campaigners including LKP patron Bottomley, Boyd has been instrumental in pushing for leasehold reform.

Social media

There’s now been an outpouring of support for the campaigner on social media, with Justin Madders MP, Labour MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston, tweeting: “You and LKP have done an amazing job in exposing the unfairness of leasehold and it’s now high on the political agenda at last, but we still have a long way to go and we need you with us in that fight.”

LKP colleague Sebastian O’Kelly (pictured above, right), who is a former Daily Mail journalist, is calling on more MPs to take up the issue.

He says: “Why should leaseholders be deprived of the services – freely given over many years – of Martin Boyd because of a series of ill-disciplined and wrong accusations by someone on the public payroll?

“If he is wrongly accused of bulling LEASE staff, they need to support him. Cladding leaseholders in particular owe Martin Boyd a debt of gratitude: it was solely thanks to him that their issues were first raised in Westminster.”

Visit the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership.

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WARNING! Benefits expert reveals £19,000 risk of not archiving emails

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The UK’s leading housing benefits consultant has warned landlords to keep copies of any correspondence with the DWP and local authorities for as long as possible to avoid potential court action and fines later on.

Bill Irvine (pictured) has made the comments after a recent case. He helped a landlord client in London avoid council tax and Housing Benefit repayments of £25,000, only for the local authority to issue debt collection notices totalling £19,000 months later.

The landlord in question, who wishes to remain anonymous, had rented out a property above a shop to his local council, who then sub-let the property to two sisters.

The council paid the housing benefit for both women direct to the landlord, while the duo also received a substantial council tax rebate due to their perilous financial position.

But it was discovered that the women had illegally sub-let an attic room to a third tenant, until that point without the landlord or council realising.

Incredibly, on discovery of the illegal sub-let in 2012, the council then asked the landlord to repay the full council tax and housing benefit payments totalling £25,000.

£19,000 demand

After a lengthy series of interactions with the council, Irvine had the payment request quashed. But recently the council then returned with a demand for £19,000.

“My client was understandably worried when he received this demand. I was less so, because I knew, the council didn’t have a leg to stand on, having effectively conceded both appeals; notified the Tribunal Service and Valuation Appeal Tribunal to this effect; and quashed the overpayments,” Irvine tells LandlordZONE.

“Fortunately, both my client and I were able to produce this evidence. Consequently, a simple email to the Debt Recovery Team, including the 2013 thread of exchanges, resulted in a quick and contrite response.”

But Irvine warns other landlords that, without the email trail he and his client had to hand, it would not have been as easy to fend the council off.

“So, if you ever encounter problems like those alluded to above, make sure you keep copies, just in case something similar occurs,” says Irvine.

Need Bill’s help?  bill@ucadvice.co.uk or 07733 080 389.

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How’s that fair? Holiday lets enjoy VAT break for another three months while landlords get nothing

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Holiday lets owners including Airbnb operators have been handed another tax break while traditional landlords continue to be overlooked by the Government.

Ministers have extended a reduction in VAT on holiday homes until 31^st March 2021 in response to the impact of the pandemic, but has yet to offer any financial support for landlords.

The temporary change – from the standard 20% to the reduced rate of 5% – was first introduced on 15th July in the Chancellor’s economic update and was due to last until 12th January 2021, at a cost of £4 billion.

Now it’s announced that the benefit will last until the spring.

The cut was made in response to the pandemic to support businesses severely affected by forced closures and social distancing measures.

VAT savings

The Government says: “It is important to note that it is not mandatory to pass on the effective ‘VAT saving’ to customers.

“This is entirely a commercial decision for business operators, and whether or not prices and rates are to be adjusted is for each business to decide, taking into account their own trading terms and conditions.”

The UK has one of the highest VAT rates on the tourism and entertainments sectors; most other European countries have previously taken advantage of EU rules which allow reduced VAT rates.

Read more stories about VAT and landlords.

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BREAKING: Scotland reveals six-week festive evictions ban

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The enforcement of possession orders in Scotland is to banned over Christmas, its government has announced this morning.
Bailiffs are to be prevented from enforcing evictions from 11^th December until 22^nd January.

The new regulations, which will be introduced in the Scottish parliament imminently, are designed to offer tenants protection from eviction during the festive break, reduce the burden on local authorities to find accommodation for those who are evicted and stop the spread of Covid.

The only exception to the new eviction ban will be tenants involves in serious anti-social and criminal behaviour, and domestic violence.

Scotland’s Housing Minister Kevin Stewart (pictured, below) says: “We took early action to, in effect, halt eviction action until March 2021 due to the pandemic.

“We have supported tenants throughout this difficult period through a number of actions including increasing our Discretionary Housing Fund from £11 million to £19 million to provide additional housing support and shortly we will introduce our Tenant Hardship Loan Fund.

“We are now taking this additional, temporary step after carefully assessing the unique housing situation created by the pandemic.

“A temporary ban on carrying out evictions will give additional peace of mind to tenants over Christmas and into the new year.

“It will also prevent additional burdens being placed on health and housing services, during a time where they are already working hard due to the impact of the pandemic.

“It will allow tenants who are facing eviction, and may decide to take the opportunity to form extended bubbles over the festive period in line with relaxed guidance, time to effectively self-isolate afterwards should they come into contact with a positive person.”

Read more about evictions.

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Stamp duty on main residence?

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I owned 2 properties – 1 that I rented out, and lived in my other property as my main residence. I sold my main residence on 29th May 2019, bought 2 more BTL properties and I am living in a static caravan.

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EICR – Rogue electrician scam?

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I hired an electrician for an EICR, which he failed and said it needed a new consumer unit to pass EICR, which I agreed, and he completed the job and issued a “satisfactory” EICR.

It only raised my suspicions after I subsequently gave him EICR for two more properties (almost new build)

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HMRC stamp duty clarification to give landlords significant rebate windfalls

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Landlords who have bought mixed-use properties could be due a big windfall after HMRC clarified stamp duty payment rules

HMRC says that when claiming the relief on purchases of mixed-use buildings, tax should be calculated without using the 3% surcharge, even for purchases made by companies.

This means that the effective tax rate might be lower than 3% and those who claimed the relief within the last four years (having paid tax including the 3% surcharge) are due a refund.

When buying a building with retail premises and four flats above it for £1.5m, landlords will now save £27,000 in stamp duty surcharges, according to tax advisers Blick Rothenberg.

If the commercial unit is worth £150,000 and the residential units worth £1.35m, then £19,950 of stamp duty would be payable – made up of £13,500 due on the flats plus £6,450 on the retail premises.

In the past, £40,500 would have been charged on the residential properties, bringing the total tax bill up to £46,950.

The clarified rules will also make it more attractive for landlords to buy mixed use buildings in future, according to partner Sean Randall (pictured), who says it’s good news for buyers of mixed use buildings, irrespective of the size of the residential element.

He adds: “A significant tax saving may be due, for example on a single mixed use building containing four flats, as well as on a purpose-built private-rented sector development containing 2,000 flats.”

Read more about stamp duty.

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PROPERTY PIONEERS: Meet the WeChat king of UK’s Chinese buy-to-let community

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The UK property market will remain popular with Chinese investors despite Covid and Brexit, according to the UK Chinese Landlords Alliance.

It’s confident that the Chinese community will continue to see buy-to-let as a relatively safe investment and, as they work and save hard, they’ll still have the necessary capital to buy a wide range of properties around the UK.

Junhua Zhu, the Bromley-based founder and chairman, tells LandlordZONE that the Chinese community are mainly anti-Brexit, after experiencing divisions and civil wars in their own country.

“There was a drop in interest after the vote because overseas investors were nervous and most are still concerned about how it will work, but I believe confidence will return in the next few years,” says Zhu.

Zhu first started sharing his experience of building up a property portfolio in the UK on WeChat, the Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media and mobile payment app.

“My popularity grew as people realised I knew what I was talking about,” he explains. “I then started my own group which grew really fast and I now run seven groups with between 2,000 and 3,000 people following me.”

Malaysia

About 80% of members are based in the UK, with the rest mainly in China and Malaysia – almost all are ethnic Chinese.

Those based overseas or who are less confident tend to invest in modern blocks and use agencies to manage properties, says Zhu, while those working here buy larger houses that generate more income.

He recognises that as English isn’t their first-language, it can be hard for some to navigate the buy-to-let process, and as flats are the norm in China, he gives potential investors insight when they’re looking to buy larger houses.

As relationships in the alliance have formed, some members now make joint investments, and as its profile has grown, property developers regularly approach it to discuss possible opportunities. “As the economy isn’t going to rocket soon, after Covid, property in the UK is a safe investment,” he adds. “As we don’t see interest rates going up, even if the market doesn’t boom, our costs are under control.”

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Scotland to introduce EPC Min Band D

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The Energy Efficiency (PRS) Regulations which were to be enacted this year are now to be introduced next year with the Min EPC rating being Band D w.e.f. 01 Apr 2022 on new leases and by 31 Mar 2025 for existing leases.

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Tenants using evictions ban as ‘green light’ to stop paying rent

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Some tenants are using both the evictions and bailiff ban as a ‘green light’ to stop paying their rent even when they are able to afford the payments, it has been claimed.

ARLA Propertymark has made the comments within its submission to the ministry of housing’s investigation into the impact of Covid on the private rental market.

“This means that many landlords face extended non-rent payments with no reasonable certainty of how to recover costs,” it says.

“A second wave could make these cases much worse and lead to the landlords who are experiencing problems selling their properties and leaving the sector altogether, reducing the number of homes people can rent.”

ARLA has also published shocking figures that reveal the huge impact on landlords since the evictions ban was introduced including that, despite the courts re-opening, many landlords – except in the most extreme cases – face a nine-month wait to gain possession of their properties.

A survey of ARLA’s lettings agency members revealed that half said their landlord clients had issued a Section 21 notice to at least one of their tenants in September, a figure which increased to 55% in October.

Rent arrears

“The two main reasons for serving these notices were rent arrears and landlords wanting to sell their property,” says ARLA.

“Our Private Rented Sector Report from September shows an increase in the number of landlords selling their buy-to-let properties and the figures are the highest we have on record for the month of September.”

Like the National Residential Landlords Association, ARLA is calling for the government in England to copy its Welsh counterpart and introduce a government-backed interest-free loan to help tenants clear their rent arrears.

Find out more about how to evict.

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