Silence costs absentee landlord £10,000 in fines and court costs

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A rogue landlord who refused to make safety improvements at two of her properties has been fined more than £9,500.

Madeleine Scott, 51, of Allfarthing Lane in London, was found guilty of ignoring three housing improvement notices issued by Folkestone & Hythe District Council after officers found serious problems at the homes in Pavilion Road and Wiltie Gardens, Folkestone.

Maidstone Magistrates Court heard that concerns included the risk of falling on stairs, falling between levels and fire safety, while officers also found electrical problems and excess cold in the properties.

However, despite repeated reminders from the council and numerous attempts to make contact, Scott ignored the notices.

An exasperated Folkestone & Hythe District Council explains that it had no other option but to bring legal proceedings.

Criminal

A spokesman says: “Our private sector housing team does not prosecute lightly – in fact, the last trial it was involved in before this was back in 2016 – and only considers this action as a last resort.

But when a landlord refuses to work with us to ensure standards are met, we will not hesitate in bringing about criminal proceedings.”

One of Scott’s properties has since been sold and is due to undergo extensive refurbishment, while the other has outstanding issues and is currently unoccupied. The council spokesman adds: “We are working actively to ensure the remaining remedial works are carried out as the health and safety of our residents remains one of our top priorities.”

Scott was fined a total of £4,500 for the offences and ordered to pay £5,000 costs and a £170 victim surcharge.

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EVICTIONS: Review hearings ‘have just cost landlords more money’ – claim

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Review hearings, one of the key evictions measures introduced by the government during the pandemic, have been a waste of time and cost landlords money unnecessarily, an online gathering of legal experts has heard.

The procedural tool was introduced by the government late last year to help courts prioritise the most pressing cases including extreme arrears.

But the online gathering of users at a county court in Essex heard from several speakers who highlighted how government under-funding of the court service is leading to judges feeling unappreciated, over-worked and under-paid.

The meeting also heard how court users including some of the 400 judges polled for the research felt that the review hearings system is not working the way it should and ‘has not been effective’ in helping manage the evictions caseload.

LandlordZONE also understands that two thirds of cases going through review hearings are going on to a full or substantive hearing.

This indicates that review hearings are not necessary and instead heap extra cost and create longer lead times for landlords seeking possession of a property.

“We employ someone full-time at the moment to do all the paperwork and get ready for review hearings on our landlords’ behalf but all too often the tenant won’t log-in or dial into to the meetings even though all the different parties will be waiting for them,” says Paul Shamplina of Landlord Action (pictured).

Also, the hearing heard that judges who are making decisions on evictions, many of whom are working virtually from home are not being sent paperwork in time which is in turn delaying everything even further.

“There is a pressing need for significant investment in the courts system and this was true before Covid struck,” says Shamplina.

“In particularly the courts’ online capabilities need to be upgraded, otherwise we are going to face major problems as judges attempt to clear the huge backlog once the eviction ban ends on May 31^st.”

Find out more about evictions.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – EVICTIONS: Review hearings ‘have just cost landlords more money’ – claim | LandlordZONE.

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Bill bundling tech platform for landlord portfolios raises £1.6m

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The appetite for investing in property start-ups among tech investors has not dimmed if the latest round of funding for PRS bills platform One Utility Bill is anything to go by.

It has announced a further £1.6 million raised from existing and new investors to help fund its expansion, taking the total ploughed into the company to nearly £4 million.

Launched by CEO Chris Dawson and CTO Dale Knight (pictured) in 2014, One Utility Bill unifies households bills into a single monthly payment for tenants but also offers landlords and letting agents referral fees if they recommend its services, as well as an ‘all inclusive’ rent and bills payments platform.

The company has some 4,200 customers, 30 staff based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and claims to have processed bills worth £15 million so far for thousands of households.

This latest round of investment has been led by existing investor and venture capital firm DSW Ventures alongside the North East Innovation Fund and Northstar Ventures.

Previous rounds included a £650,000 seed investment in 2018, £1.7 million in April last year. Dawson and Knight started up the platform when still students at Newcastle University via its incubator programme.

“We’re delighted to raise this follow-on round from our investors, our second investment in a challenging but very rewarding 12-month period,” says Dawson.

“This is a huge vote of confidence in our business and reflects the incredible progress that the One Utility Bill team has achieved over the last 12 months. We’ll be using the funds to further accelerate our customer growth and invest in our technology.”

Read more about the North East.

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Stop bashing landlords or rents will rocket this summer, referencing boss warns Ministers

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Rents will rocket this summer without a change in government policy, the boss of tenant referencing firm HomeLet has warned.

CEO Andy Halstead says the government risks continuing to alienate landlords with its prolonged assault through policies that disincentivise property investment and drive up rental prices.

HomeLet’s Rental Index for March reveals the UK’s average rent is now at a record high of £992 – after the fourth increase in as many months. When London is excluded, average rent is £847, an increase of 1% on last month.

Halstead says that with almost one in five people living in the private rented sector, it’s fitting that the government should focus on it, with an informed policy that strives to achieve a balance between letting agents, landlords and their tenants. “Unfortunately, that isn’t the case at the moment,” he adds.

“The continued increase in rents above the rate of inflation is a symptom of current policy.”

Halstead (pictured) believes the narrative that landlords and letting agents are driving up rental costs simply isn’t true. “Professional letting agents and landlords welcome initiatives that improve standards in the sector,” he says Halstead.

“As demand increases, the UK needs more rental stock for tenants, not less. Without policy informed fully by property professionals, rents will rocket to record levels this summer.”

Nine of the 12 regions monitored by HomeLet showed a monthly increase in rental values between February and March, with Northern Ireland seeing the most significant rise of 2.9%.

However, London’s rents continue to fall year-on-year, showing a 5% drop between March 2020 and March 2021 – the tenth fall in annual variance over the year.

Read more about the government’s landlord bashing.

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How much will it cost to solve my tax problem?

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My answer to this question is that a solution should save you money, not cost you money!

Do you agree?

Let’s look at this by way of an example.

Just suppose that Mr &

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