ARE YOU READY for the biggest opportunity for property investors in 2021?

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Changes are afoot in the world of commercial property, to make it far easier to repurpose commercial buildings for other commercial and residential uses.

These changes will offer tremendous opportunities for property investors who know how to exploit them and use them to their advantage!

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Oxford council to vastly enlarge landlord licensing powers at meeting on Wednesday

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The city of dreaming spires is set to introduce a blanket selective licensing scheme following a consultation last year that revealed strong backing for the scheme among tenants and residents. It also plans to renew its existing HMO licensing scheme.

But because of the size of its proposed selective licensing scheme, the council will then have to seek approval from the Secretary of State before going live, most likely in early 2022.

During the council consultation, two thirds of Oxford residents who were canvassed said they’d back greater regulation of the private rental market there via a selective licensing scheme, while 72% supported the additional licensing scheme for HMOs to be renewed.

Oxford has an unusual housing market, largely due to the very high concentration of students living in the city, where nearly half of all homes are rented.

Housing hazard

A survey of rented homes last year found that a fifth of its 30,00-odd privately rented homes featured a serious housing hazard, and that one in every ten tenancies had been reported to the council over low standards of housing or property management.

In 2011 Oxford was the first English council to bring in a citywide additional licensing scheme requiring all HMOs to be licensed. The adoption of selective licensing would mark the biggest change to Oxford’s private rented sector since additional HMO licensing.

Oxford council says that, despite Covid, it has worked hard to canvass a wide variety of people involved in the PRS on the proposals. This has included landlords, agents, industry associations, residents and resident’s groups, private tenants, third sector organisations, advice agencies, registered housing providers, councillors, businesses and neighbouring councils.

“We recognise there are strong differences of opinion between landlords and agents on the one hand, and tenants, residents and organisational representatives on the other,” says Councillor Alex Hollingsworth (pictured), cabinet member for planning and housing delivery.

“However there is broad consensus that there are issues in the private rented sector which do need addressing and we believe that licensing is the best way of doing this.”

Read more about Oxford.

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High-profile rogue landlord turned glamour model is banned for five years

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A high profile rogue landlord has become the first in Cornwall to be slapped with a banning order after years of breaching lettings rules.

Julie Stoddern, of North Roskear, Camborne, can’t let a property for five years and has been placed on the national Rogue Landlords Database.

She was convicted in November 2020 relating to the breach of a prohibition order, allowing a property to be overcrowded and failure to hold an HMO licence. She was fined £5,000, with costs of £5,515 and a victim surcharge of £190.

Cornwall Council’s private sector housing team picked up on the offences during the first national lockdown over concerns that the house risked increasing community Covid transmission.

It was Stoddern’s third conviction for housing offences over an eight-year period. Due to the seriousness and repeat nature of the offending, the council applied for a banning order which has now been issued by the First-Tier Tribunal.

Modelling

Stoddern has featured in several newspapers including The Sun after turning to glamour modelling to try and pay off these fines, but says she is focussed on providing homeless and vulnerable people with accommodation. At one point she also launched her own calendar, pictured, above.

But Stuart Kenney (pictured), from the council’s housing team, says: “Prosecution, including fines issued by Truro Magistrates’ Court, have seemingly not deterred repeat offending and the council has exhausted all options available to encourage compliance.

“There have been multiple reports of anti-social behaviour and police attendance to the address over several years, with a demonstrably high community impact linked to the offending. It is hoped that the risk of imprisonment will stop further offending.”

The national Rogue Landlords Database, which currently only has about 50 people (up from 18 a year ago) on it, remains secret as a government consultation that closed in October 2019 into widening tenants’ access appears to have stalled.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – High-profile rogue landlord turned glamour model is banned for five years | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: RICs’ new cladding guidance is flawed claim campaigners

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New External Wall System (EWS) guidance to help leaseholders sell flats in blocks with external cladding has been criticised by campaigners for ignoring the thousands who will remain trapped in unsafe buildings.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) guidance issued today clarifies the checks required by banks and building societies before issuing a mortgage.

There will now be no need for EWS checks on all buildings of four storeys or below, as long as they are not clad in aluminium composite material (ACM), other metal composite materials (MCM) or high-pressure laminate (HPL).

Buildings that are five or six storeys high won’t need to be checked if they do not have ACM, MCM or HPL present, and if the cladding covers less than 25% of the building.

However, the End Our Cladding Scandal (EOCS) campaign says that the need for an EWS1 form is only one part of the national building safety crisis. It believes the wide range of serious, internal and external, safety defects being uncovered in residential buildings of all heights aren’t being considered.

This revised guidance will do nothing to help many leaseholders, says campaigner Tasha Letchford, who adds: “The EWS1 certificate will only identify issues with the external wall and it is now clear that many of the fire safety issues within these buildings are internal. We will continue to call on the government to end this crisis.”

It adds that the RICS’s decision that buildings of any height with HPL cladding will still require an EWS1 form puts into focus the, “unfair and arbitrary decision of the government to force cladding tax loans onto innocent victims in HPL-clad buildings under 18m”.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick (pictured) says the new guidance means nearly 500,000 leaseholders will no longer need an EWS1 form. “Backed by nearly £700,000 government funding, over 500 assessors have now started training so that where valuations are needed these can be done more quickly, speeding up the process for homeowners,” says Jenrick. 

The guidance is due to be implemented by 5th April 2021.

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New RICS guidance on valuation of properties with cladding

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The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) announces a step forward in unlocking the flat market for buyers and sellers. The new guidance Valuation of properties in multi-storey, multi-occupancy residential buildings with cladding, clarifies types of properties that will, and those that will not require additional inspections

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Are Lambeth’s Proposed Additional HMO Conditions Illegal?

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Lambeth Council is consulting on the introduction of Additional HMO licences – deadline 12th March. There seem to be quite a few conditions that I would think are unenforceable/unmanageable and would like to know your views please so that I can respond to them.

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Is Scotland about to extend its eviction ban by six months?

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LandlordZONE has been made aware of speculation within Scotland that housing minister Kevin Stewart is considering a six-month extension to its existing evictions ban due to expire at the end of the month.

Scotland’s original evictions ban on bailiff evictions was due to run out on 22^nd January but was extended to March 31^st for all eviction warrants except those involving cases of serious anti-social behaviour, including domestic abuse.

Like in England, the Scottish government has been preventing evictions via a ban on bailiff activity. This has applied to all areas of Scotland under Level 4 or 3 restrictions, which at the moment covers the whole country.

Landlords have also been required to give a tenant six months’ notice of an eviction, a regulation that is also due to run out on 31st March and could be extended as well.

Sturgeon’s hint

Although Covid restrictions are due to eased in Scotland in the coming weeks as both the ‘R number’ has dipped under one and worries over unemployment have been subsiding, two weeks ago First Minister Nicola Sturgeon hinted that a further ban could be in the pipeline.

“We have already extended the ban on evictions, and we will do that again should it be necessary. It is important that people have protection against eviction, given the circumstances that we are living through,” she said in response to a question from Green MSP Alison Johnstone.

Sturgeon said her government is also considering a permanent ‘winter evictions ban’ of the type seen in France every year.

LandlordZONE approached the Scottish government for comment over the weekend but has so far not received a response.

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