Free Lockdown Learning – 10 tips for dealing with telephone and video hearings
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Our next webinar is with housing barrister Robert Brown.
In this webinar, Robert will be looking at ten tips for landlords for dealing with telephone and video hearings.
Bearing in mind that failure to license properties can result in very severe penalties.
The post Free Lockdown Learning – 10 tips for dealing with telephone and video hearings appeared first on Property118.
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EXCLUSIVE: First modular rented homes built at pioneering pilot site
The first new modular rented homes backed by the government’s housing agency Homes England have been craned into place in the UK’s next new town.
Global housebuilder Sekisui House has joined forces with the agency’s property developer Urban Splash to supply 406 Modern Method of Construction (MMC) town houses at Northstowe near Cambridge.
The homes are created in an East Midlands factory before being driven to the site where they are assembled in only a few days.
Each takes about 67% less energy to construct compared with traditional builds and contain energy-saving features such as high-quality insulation, super energy-efficient windows and LED lighting, hot water cylinder with integrated airforce heat pump and clean, emission-free electric heating.
Andrew Cross (pictured below), project lead for house by Urban Splash at Northstowe, says: “By the time the homes arrive on-site for finishing touches a lot of the major groundworks and messy work has been completed.
“The homes are also delivered in batches of around six to nine homes, so we can also complete a street scene much quicker for when homeowners start to arrive and occupy their new home.”
The new ‘urban village’ will offer a mix of homes for sale and rent, from two and three-storey town houses to starter homes, mansion house apartments and later living facilities, and should be completed by the end of 2021.
Homes England aims to support smaller housebuilders and developers adopt MMC to increase the pace of construction, improve quality and energy efficiency and create a more diverse housing sector.
Inholm is one of a number of sites that will form part of its study into the performance of different types of MMC construction technologies.
©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – EXCLUSIVE: First modular rented homes built at pioneering pilot site | LandlordZONE.
View Full Article: EXCLUSIVE: First modular rented homes built at pioneering pilot site
Appalling rogue landlord with shameful track record sentenced AGAIN!
A rogue landlord who’s served time in prison for harassing tenants has been convicted of risking more tenants’ lives in three substandard and dangerous HMOs.
Despite this Nilendu Das, of Carter Knowle Avenue, Sheffield, has been given just a community order to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £7,000 in fines and court costs after admitting six offences.
The court heard these put tenants at serious harm from fire and exposed them to substandard and dangerous conditions at their homes in Sackville Road (pictured), Neill Road and Cemetery Avenue.
Previous prison sentence
Das has previously been jailed for tenant harassment, failure to comply with improvement notices and poor management of an HMO. He also has health and safety convictions – leading many local landlords to wonder how low a landlord needs to go before being banned from the sector.
Sheffield Magistrates’ Court heard that housing officers investigating complaints between December 2018 and March 2020 uncovered conditions related to gross neglect and hazards caused by disrepair.
They found inadequate fire detection and heating systems, damaged fire doors, serious damp, unsafe electrics (pictured) including bypassed electricity meters and rat infestations – all of which left occupants vulnerable to serious risk of harm from fire and infection.
Unfit to live in
One property was in such a poor state they served a prohibition order, declaring it unfit to live in.
When officers returned the following month, they discovered tenants had been allowed to continue living there and that the necessary work hadn’t been done.
As well as the fines and costs, Das was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a requirement that he completes 150 hours of unpaid work.
Councillor Paul Wood (pictured), cabinet member for neighbourhoods and community safety, says: “Mr Das shows a blatant disregard for the law and in doing so, puts the lives of his tenants at risk. We have given him very reasonable timescales to complete work but these have been ignored, leaving us no other choice than to pursue action through the courts.”
©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Appalling rogue landlord with shameful track record sentenced AGAIN! | LandlordZONE.
View Full Article: Appalling rogue landlord with shameful track record sentenced AGAIN!
LATEST: Liverpool green lights huge HMO licensing expansion plan
Liverpool City Council has clamped down on HMO conversions as it launches a new assault on the private rented sector.
Under a new Article 4 direction, any size home in the city centre will need planning permission to be converted into an HMO from 17th June.
Currently, only conversions of family houses into seven bedrooms and above need planning permission.
During the past decade, Liverpool has seen a big rise in HMOs which the council believes threaten the housing offer in the city for families and cause parking, anti-social behaviour and waste collection issues in some neighbourhoods.
The new direction applies to Anfield, Central, Greenbank, Kensington And Fairfield, Picton, Princess Park, Riverside, Tuebrook And Stoneycroft and Wavertree.
This isn’t the first time the council has gone down this route; in 2018, it implemented a similar direction in the Dales area of Greenbank Ward, in south Liverpool.
Selective push
It’s now preparing a new application for its selective licensing scheme after Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick thwarted its attempts early last year to renew the controversial scheme until 2025.
It decided not to launch a judicial review and instead came up with a new bid that covers about 80% of the 55,000 privately rented properties in 16 of the city’s 30 wards.
Councillor Barry Kushner (pictured), cabinet member for housing, says: “Changing the planning rules by introducing controls under Article 4 will not just protect the wellbeing of the people who live in these communities, it will also help protect the balance of our housing offer – which, in some areas, is close to a dangerous tipping point of being dominated by one-bedroom bedsits.”
Kushner adds that it also listened to landlords who were concerned about the effect on ongoing conversions during the pandemic and decided to extend the period before the direction takes effect in June.
©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Liverpool green lights huge HMO licensing expansion plan | LandlordZONE.
View Full Article: LATEST: Liverpool green lights huge HMO licensing expansion plan
BREAKING: EPCs and Green Homes Grant savaged by MPs in official report
A key parliamentary committee has published a blistering criticism of the government’s attempts to de-carbonise England’s homes including its three million rented properties, and called for a major overhaul of the EPC ratings system.
The Environment Audit Committee does not mince it words with the 75-page report and is all the more powerful because the committee has a majority of Conservative MPs making up its ranks.
The report says the government’s actions to decarbonise the UK’s 29 million homes have stalled and that Ministers have ‘seriously underestimated’ how much decarbonising them will cost and needs to ‘get a grip now before it is too late’.
It also criticises the already much-maligned Green Homes Grant, which the MPs say has been poorly implemented and beset by administrative problems and delay, including leaving many builders out of pocket.
The government has also underestimated the huge retrofit skills gap in the UK which has left many landlords waiting months for quotes or work to start, the report adds.
Piecemeal and not delivering
“While there are some welcome new policies such as the Home Upgrade Grant, overall policy is piecemeal and not delivering at the scale or pace required,” it says.
“It is also not coherent with policy costs disproportionately added to electricity bills, which is hampering the adoption of low carbon heating options such as heat pumps and support schemes such as the Energy Company Obligation, which only supports the upgrade of one energy efficiency measure at a time.
The document also criticises EPCs for being too inaccurate and calls for more meaningful detail to published within them, and for EPCs to be replaced by a building renovation passport for both home owners and landlords.
It also notes that the current EPC regime unfairly forces landlords to pay for all the upgrade work that ultimately benefits tenants not the property’s owner, and that enforcement of EPC regulations is poor.
©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: EPCs and Green Homes Grant savaged by MPs in official report | LandlordZONE.
View Full Article: BREAKING: EPCs and Green Homes Grant savaged by MPs in official report
Government expects pets to ‘act in a tenant like manner’?
Most AST agreements now contain a clause similar to “Not keep any animals, reptiles, insects, rodents or birds at the Property without our written permission (which will not be unreasonably withheld)”. With the government wishing to encourage greater flexibility in the approach to pet ownership
The post Government expects pets to ‘act in a tenant like manner’? appeared first on Property118.
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Councils given power to build more homes
Councils in England will have more freedom on how they spend the money from homes sold through Right to Buy, to help them build the homes needed in their communities, under reforms announced 20 March 2021 by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick.
The post Councils given power to build more homes appeared first on Property118.
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Desperate landlords face six-month wait as nightmare tenants wreck property
A landlord couple are at their wits’ end trying to evict nightmare tenants whose habits are so bad that their furniture shop underneath the flat faces regular damage.
Zoey and John Wingfield from Grimsby served the family with an eviction order after rent arrears had built up for four months, but it was thrown out after the judge told them they must give six months’ notice. They’re now trying to appeal the decision but while they wait, both receive abuse from the family and John was assaulted. They believe the stress led to him ending up in hospital after a heart attack.
The flat has been wrecked during the last year, with mountains of rubbish strewn across the flat roof at the back of the property.
Blocked drains in the bathroom have caused water to leak down into their furniture shop; according to John and Zoey, the nightmare tenants clogged up the toilet with nappies and blocked up the bath with cigarette ends.
The couple have spent tens of thousands of pounds trying to keep on top of all the damage being done to their business and the other flats they own in the building – three of them are now empty after tenants were driven out.
Zoey tells LandlordZONE: “They’ve blown our electrics and the water damage has ruined some of our stock a few times. We really don’t know what else we can do but watch them destroy our livelihoods.”
She adds that they’re now worried the poor state of the cooker and blocked fire exits are a real fire risk.
“They’ve changed the locks recently and won’t let us in to check the gas,” adds Zoey. “We’re just desperate now and it feels like we’ve got to start all over again with the courts. It’s just not fair.”
©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Desperate landlords face six-month wait as nightmare tenants wreck property | LandlordZONE.
View Full Article: Desperate landlords face six-month wait as nightmare tenants wreck property
LATEST: CMA forces two leading house builders to ditch ‘doubling ground rent’ contracts
Housing developers Countryside and Taylor Wimpey have been ordered to ditch contracts forcing leaseholders to pay ground rents that double every 10 or 15 years.
It follows enforcement action by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into the two firms for potentially using unfair contract terms which break consumer protection law. As this increase is built into contracts, it means homeowners can struggle to sell or mortgage their properties, while the terms can also affect their property rights.
The CMA has ordered them to remove ground rent terms from all existing Countryside and Taylor Wimpey contracts and to agree not to use the terms again in any future leasehold contracts.
Unacceptable
Andrea Coscelli, CMA chief executive, believes it’s unacceptable that homeowners find themselves trapped in their homes. He says: “Countryside and Taylor Wimpey must entirely remove all these terms from existing contracts to make sure that they are on the right side of the law. If these developers do not address our concerns, we will take further action, including through the courts if necessary.”
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick adds that unfair practices such as crippling ground rents have no place in the housing market. “This behaviour must end and I look forward to appropriate redress being forthcoming for leaseholders,” he says.
Countryside and Taylor Wimpey now have the chance to respond to the CMA’s concerns and avoid court action by signing formal commitments to remove the ground rent terms from their leasehold contracts. The action comes despite Taylor Wimpey signing up to the government ‘leasehold pledge‘.
As part of its review of the leasehold sector, the CMA will investigate investment companies that bought freeholds from these developers and continue to use the same leasehold contract terms. Its other study into Barratt Developments and Persimmon Homes over the possible mis-selling of leasehold homes is still ongoing.
Read more about leasehold terms and conditions.
©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: CMA forces two leading house builders to ditch ‘doubling ground rent’ contracts | LandlordZONE.
View Full Article: LATEST: CMA forces two leading house builders to ditch ‘doubling ground rent’ contracts
Helping Landlords Sell despite evictions ban extended to 31st May
It was an evictions ban that was due to end on the 31st March, but the government has announced an extension to the ban on evicting tenants. A survey conducted by This Is Money showed that 70% of landlords have been contacted by tenants worried about paying rent.
Tenants that can’t pay rent, and Landlords that can’t evict them. That coupled with house prices predicted to fall following the end of the stamp duty holiday in June, and it’s clear that now is the perfect window to release the cash in your portfolios and sell up. Experts and Landlords alike are agreeing, there has never been a better time to sell your property portfolios than right now.
During Covid we’ve decided to go all-out to help landlords who are hit by section 24 taxes, by the pandemic, and by the recent evictions ban.
“We have seen an increase of landlords at Landlord Action desperate to gain possession from tenants failing to pay the rent, so they can sell their properties. With possession times taking the best part of a year including new notice period times, I envisage a lot more landlords will be selling their properties with tenants in situ.” – Paul Shamplina
National Residential, a trusted company who are known for their “any problem we can fix” formula are taking the lead when it comes to selling portfolios fast and for the highest price. Founded by industry expert, David Coughlin, in 2006, National Residential have been able to provide the best solution for Landlords. Whether it’s selling part of your portfolio to release cash to pay the upcoming tax bills, or selling your full portfolio now before house prices fall, National Residential are doing it, and they’re even doing it with tenants still in the properties, overcoming the eviction bans in a way that no other company is doing.
Helping Landlords Sell
Being a private landlord myself, I first-hand understand the issues and challenges facing landlords right now. Now is the perfect time to sell, so it’s about overcoming problems fast, but also in a way that means both the landlord and the tenant are happy. At National Residential we know how to solve every barrier that landlords come up against, even for example when they can’t gain access to their own properties.
How we sell Landlord properties
Like many landlords at the moment, you may be considering selling either all or some of your buy-to-lets. Now is the right time, and we’re the team to do it. No matter what the obstacle, my experience, combined with my team’s expert knowledge, has allowed us to find that sweet spot.
Earlier in the month a landlord approached us with a portfolio of 5 tenanted properties that spanned from Staffordshire all the way up to Newcastle Upon Tyne. He’d read about us here and wanted to see if we really could deliver what we say. Like many landlords who’ve been approaching us recently, he wanted to sell up his portfolio fast, but get a great price.
We promised him exactly that. The highest price for his buy-to-lets, no matter what challenges needed to be overcome. With a mixture of clever marketing to both investors and first-time buyers to drive up the prices, and Covid-friendly video tours, we went all out to keep that promise.
The first property sold in 2 days. 10 days after that 2 more sold.
By day 24 the fourth property had sold in Durham, and by day 26 the last and final small property was sold in Lancashire. The fifth property was sold to a buyer who was so happy with the photos and the video tour we’d got from the tenant, he made an offer without even viewing the property.
The only task the landlord had done throughout the sale was make the decision to contact us to sell. We handled everything else.
It really was that simple. £500,000 made in 26 days with zero hassle, worry or stress. The landlord was able to sit back and enjoy just over 3 weeks of relaxation knowing he had the best team in the UK solving every single challenge for him.
No matter what issues arise, we really do overcome every single obstacle to get your properties sold for the best prices. On top of this, as with every case, all our buyers are chain free and pay 1% (min £2500) deposits, ensuring that buyers, regardless of whether they’re first time buyers or investors, are financially committed to the sale from the start and are able to complete quickly.
There’s no better time to consider selling your property portfolios than right now, and you only have to read our reviews on Google and Trustpilot to see that we’re a company who absolutely delivers what we say every single time.
So if you’re a Landlord who is considering selling your property portfolio, get in touch today and see for yourself what we can do for you.
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©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Helping Landlords Sell despite evictions ban extended to 31st May | LandlordZONE.
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