BREAKING: All students to return to campus from 17th May onwards, government confirms

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The Department of Education has also made an extra £15 million available to students who are struggling to pay their rent due to the pandemic.

This will cover both international and postgraduate students along with their domestic undergraduate counterparts.

The announcement is ‘Step 3’ in the government’s relaxation of Covid restrictions roadmap in England, assuming the steps preceding it roll out without infections, hospitalisations and deaths rising again.

Arts and ‘practical’ students have already been allowed to return sinc early March with an estimated 49 per cent of students already eligible to return to in-person teaching, subject to decisions by their institutions, while the remainder have continued to attend online lectures and seminars.

Covid testing

But the remaining students who return will have to jump through several Covid hoops in order to return to campus.

Returning students will have to take three supervised Covid tests, each three to five days apart regardless of whether they have symptoms or not. And they will have to take Covid Lateral Flow Tests twice weekly all the way through the summer term.

All tests will be free, and all students and staff who test positive from an LFD test will need to self-isolate for ten days, unless they receive a negative polymerase chain reaction or PCR test within two days.

Find out more about Covid student accommodation tenancies.

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EXCLUSIVE: ‘This is how PRS needs to be reformed to work better’

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Private rented sector expert Paul Shamplina has set out some key ideas to reform the market for privately rented homes so that it works better for both landlords and tenants.

Shamplina, who is consulted by civil servants when new regulations are being framed, says the key areas that need reform include the broken Universal Credit rent payment system, evictions and the dual problems of rogue tenants and landlords.

He says the government needs to think long and hard before banning Section 21 notice evictions.

“If S21s are banned then it is going to make landlords much more exposed to the kind of serial rogue tenants who play the system, and this will dramatically change referencing,” he told popular industry podcast Property Jam.

“Landlords are going to scrutinise tenants much closely before they get the keys and I think the voluntary schemes that link people’s credit scores to their rental payment track record need to be put on a more official footing.”

Tenant rogue databases

Shamplina has already told ministry of housing officials that the UK needs a national rogue tenant database – as exists in Australia – and that a ‘three strikes’ system should be introduced for landlords to exclude the worst offenders.

He told the podcast presenters this would be more effective than the current national rogue landlords database, which so far has only a handful of people listed after three years in operation, and is only available to local councils, not the public.

Also, the Landlord Action founder says the government’s decision to allow tenants on Universal Credit to be paid their rent direct has caused significant problems for thousands of landlords because it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to persuade the DWP to pay a landlord the rent directly when a tenant is struggling to manage their finances.

“I always say that there are more rogue tenants than there will ever be rogue landlords, but at the moment the regulatory and political campaigning doesn’t reflect this reality,” he says.

Listen to the Property Jam podcast for free.

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High profile East Anglian landlord fined over offences at infamous apartment block

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An much lauded landlord with his own Wikipedia page whose block of flats was in such a poor state that all the tenants had to be rehomed has been fined £6,100.

Nick Sutton, a director of Faiths Lane Apartments, which ran 60 Faiths Lane in Norwich, admitted six offences at Great Yarmouth Magistrates Court relating to breaches under the Housing Act.

It heard that following a complaint by a resident in December 2017, Norwich City Council inspectors visited the 40-flat block and found problems including fire hazards.

In January 2018, an engineer inspected the electrics and found hundreds of defects. Sutton was handed eight improvement notices, requiring him to fix defects by the end of June.

But, during another inspection in August 2018, inspectors found a smoke alarm hanging from a ceiling, large gaps between the rails in a stairway, putting children at high risk, a lack of smoke detectors, damp and mould on walls and defective fire doors in the basement boiler room.

Prohibition order

In October 2018, the council put a prohibition order on the building and ordered all tenants to leave, paying them compensation totalling £50,000.

In March 2020, the Royal Courts of Justice’s Upper Tribunal ordered Sutton and his company to jointly pay £174,000 for failing to fix the apartment block, a 70% reduction on the original £572,000 sought by the council.

Sutton told the court he had no previous convictions and that there were only issues with five of the 144 fire doors in the building.

Following his latest court appearance, District Judge Shanta Deonarine fined Sutton £6,100, as well as £4,000 costs and a victim surcharge of £610.

Long and difficult

A Norwich City Council spokesman told the Norwich Evening News that it was a long and difficult case. He adds: “We acted swiftly to protect the residents of St Faiths Lane after it become clear how serious and appalling the conditions were at these premises.

“Our private sector housing team has worked tirelessly to bring this case to a positive conclusion, and we’re delighted with the outcome.”

Sutton put the property on the market via a local estate agency for £5.5 million, and it has recently been refurbished and turned into upmarket short-term rental apartments (pictured).

PIC CREDIT: Booking.com

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SURVEY: Landlords worried by home working trend and what it means for PRS

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More than half of landlords have lost confidence in the buy-to-let market as uncertainty around home working, property prices post Covid-19, concern about future tax hikes and fear of rent arrears when the furlough scheme ends in September have kicked in.

Rentround’s survey of 20,000 landlords shows 20% are looking to leave while 33% are unsure about their future.

It says landlords worry that prices could dip due to the exodus away from London and the big cities, as well as companies embracing working from home policies.

Rentround found that letting agent fees – the biggest expense for landlords – is the most important factor when choosing an agent (28%), followed by the agent’s ability to quickly find tenants and fill void periods (27%) and to give a hands-off, headache-free landlord life (20%).

While 28% of landlords find agents on the high street, 27% use Google as their main source.

Tenant find-only services is what 39% of landlords want from an agent, while 30% report they’ll be looking for a guaranteed rent service next time, according to Rentround, which says this fits with a similar rise in guaranteed rent searches it has seen on the site since the first lockdown in March 2020.

Rentround founder Raj Dosanjh (pictured) believes it will be interesting to see how the number of landlords choosing letting agents with a high street presence changes as more agents adopt online or hybrid approaches.

He adds: “Guaranteed rent continues in popularity. The uncertainty brought about by eviction bans, the future ending of furlough and changes in tenant behaviour is pushing landlords for safer approaches where their rental income is concerned.”

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PM advertises prospective tenants with animals will be ‘considered’

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Dog loving Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has advertised his Oxfordshire cottage for rent at £4,250 a month with the listing confirming prospective tenants with animals will be ‘considered’.

It remains to be seen how ‘considered’ a pet-owning tenant will be in his £1.2 million Grade II-listed 4-bed family cottage.

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Unsatisfactory EICR is an absolute shower?

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The electrician who recently did an EICR for my property found the installation “Unsatisfactory”, one of the reasons being that the shower circuit (6mm twin and earth) is overrated with a 40A overcurrent device.

In 2017 I had a new 18th edition consumer unit installed and that electrician provided a complete Domestic Electrical Installation Certificate valid for 5 years to the next inspection.

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EXCLUSIVE: The country is facing an adapted properties crisis – could you help?

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NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle on the association’s new guidance showing landlords the role they can play in supporting the UK’s ageing population and disabled renters

Could you provide a home for someone with a disability, or elderly tenant that needs a place offering that little extra help?

Properties suitable for tenants are in high demand but short supply, yet many landlords are unaware of the potential within their properties – or the funding available to adapt them.

Now, with the need set to increase as our population ages we are asking the government to work with private landlords to bridge the country’s accessibility gap – before it is too late.

Many landlords are unaware of the potential within their properties – or the funding available to adapt them and in our new adaptations guidance we set out how private landlords can consider requests for adaptations from their tenants.

The guidance was created with input from access and adaptation specialists from across the housing sector, and we hope it will improve awareness of the opportunities out there when it comes to providing adapted properties for a more diverse range of tenants.

Research

According to recent research conducted by the Social Market Foundation, the number of  PRS households headed by a person 65 years or older is set to double by 2046.

In addition to this, data from housing provide Abode Impact shows four in five disabled people live in housing that doesn’t meet their needs and 91% say they experience barriers to renting.

Many tenants who need them, say they can’t access adapted properties in the  PRS – that these homes simply don’t exist.

At the same time our research suggests that there has been a lack of engagement between local authorities and PRS when it comes to responding to these needs.

We believe the time has come to tackle the issue and work in partnership with local authorities before the situation reaches crisis point.

If we want to help expand the number of adapted homes for UK disabled and older renters then landlords need to be aware of the support that is out there.

Funding: Disabled Facilities Grant

Under the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) scheme landlords can claim up to £30,000 (in England) to adapt their property so that it meets the needs of a disabled tenant. The figure is £36,000 in Wales.

However recent research by the NRLA shows 79% of landlords had no knowledge that the scheme existed.

On the plus side once they were told about it 68% were more willing to make adaptations.

The NRLA is now asking local authorities – which are responsible for distributing the grants – to do more to raise awareness of the DFG scheme and support landlords willing to adapt their homes.

Of course we are realistic. We know that there are limitations.

There are some properties that can’t be converted and are not suitable for adaptations, due to their size, layout or structural integrity.

But there are some that, with grant funding, could offer a vital home for someone struggling to find a property that meets their needs.

The NRLA is working to bring about a successful, vibrant and above all inclusive private rented sector that works for all.

With this in mind please take some time to look and the guidance to see if adapting your property is an option for you.

More information

• To access the full guidance click here.
• As part of this month’s Listen Up Landlords podcast we spoke to Sallie Stone-Bearne, founder of specialist letting agency Branch Properties, which sources adapted and accessible properties and Josh Wintersgill a wheelchair user who has struggled to find a rented home to meet his needs. To listen to the new episode click here.

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Shergroup Joins Property118 as a Sponsor

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Intro – 

Shergroup Limited is delighted to join Property118 as a sponsor in relation to Sheriffs, Bailiffs, and all things enforcement.  The invitation to join the Property118 community comes at a time when Sheriffs, Bailiffs, High Court Enforcement Officers

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EVICTIONS: Activists mobilise across UK to lobby government on ban extension

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Housing activists hope to mobilise an army of volunteers around the country, ready to fight evictions after the ban ends on 31^st May.

Momentum kicked off its campaign with a day of action at the weekend when protestors picketed landlords and agents’ offices demanding they commit to not evicting tenants during the pandemic.

As part of Momentum’s Eviction Resistance campaign, action groups in Southend, London, Loughborough, Bradford and Shipley held socially distanced protests against what they labelled a “rigged housing system” and have vowed not to stop until their demands are met.

The protests came after Momentum activists wrote to major landlords in their areas, requesting they sign up to the pledge.

Housing companies such as Uncle Living and billionaire property-owner John Christodoulou “refused or failed to reply” according to activists.

September extension

Momentum’s new housing campaign is working to build a social movement to extend the eviction ban in England and Wales until September 2021, legislate to force landlords to forgive all rent arrears accumulated during the pandemic – with means tested financial support to compensate small landlords where necessary – and an end to Section 21 evictions.

Jennifer Forbes, a member of its national coordinating group, told Tribune: “We’ve got a couple of weeks before the ban lifts to build an army of organisers across the country.

It’s the tireless work of people on the ground which will make the difference between success and failure. By knocking on doors, by getting rooted in your community, by mobilising your friends and family, by running your local campaign, you can help turn the tide.” 

She added: “To stop evictions we need organisers spread across all parts of England and Wales, ready to mobilise when the ban is lifted.” 

Read more about the most recent evictions ban.

PIC Credit: Momentum via Twitter.

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