Fad or the future? Letting agency reveals Bitcoin rent payments system

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Lettings platform Mashroom has begun allowing tenants to use cryptocurrency to pay their rent. 

The online agency now accepts Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies which it processes through a crypto payment service, converts into pounds and then sends directly to landlords.

LandlordZONE believes Mashroom is the fourth major accommodation provider to accept cryptocurrencies. In 2015 agency RE/MAX became the trailblazer, followed by London BTR property developer The Collective and in February this year Essex estate agency PropertyVine.

Despite this slow adoption, Mashroom says virtual currencies are increasing in popularity, acceptance and use at many retailers and – with lower transaction fees – cryptocurrencies are often cheaper than standard credit card payments.

For customers, the process is like paying by card, where the financial exchange is taken care of by a secure third party, before being returned to the vendor. 

It adds that in the very traditional world of property, there has been a real boost in technological adoption, with many tenants and landlords now much more comfortable using online platforms.

The lockdown has also accelerated changes with an increase in video viewings and online signing.

Stepan Dobrovolskiy, Mashroom CEO and founder (pictured), says that as it’s possible to go through the whole process without stepping foot outside your door, the next logical step is to pay with digital currencies too. 

He adds: “For an increasing number of renters, cryptocurrency is the payment method of choice. With such a large demographic, we have to move with the times to avoid alienating anyone, and accepting crypto payments is the natural next step for a business in 2021.” 

Mashroom is encouraging tenants wanting to pay rent with cryptocurrency to encourage their landlord to sign up to the platform.

Read more about tech for landlords and tenants.

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Tenant on the run following ‘reckless’ attempt to implicate landlord’s partner in terrorist attack

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A tenant who tried to frame his landlord’s partner for the 2017 Westminster Bridge terrorist attack following a dispute over his tenancy has been convicted of perverting the course of justice.

Gerald Banyard (pictured), who lives in Lancashire, tried to implicate his Sussex landlord’s partner by sending package to police stations in Brighton and Eastbourne implicating him in the terrorist atrocity in London.

Although he has been convicted, Banyard did not attend his hearing at Southwark Crown Court this week and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

His actions followed the attack by Khalid Masood during which he ploughed his car into pedestrians on the bridge and then killing an unarmed police officer outside the Houses of Parliament, Keith Palmer.

“Banyard looked to exploit an extremely tragic and serious situation to try and settle what was a private dispute with his landlord,” says Commander Richard Smith, head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command.

“His actions meant that counter-terrorism resources were diverted to investigate what turned out to be a completely fabricated story which implicated an innocent man.

“His actions were disgraceful and completely reckless.”

Innocent

After the packages were sent, counter-terrorism detectives questioned the landlord’s partner and confirmed he was completely innocent.

He identified Banyard as a possible suspect because he was involved in a tenant-landlord dispute with his partner.

A handwriting expert confirmed that Banyard had written the notes sent to police.

PIC Credit: Metropolitan Police.

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ADVICE: Rent arrears and the new ‘breathing space’ debt scheme

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The government has shown concern during the pandemic about people with debts they cannot immediately repay, but how does it work asks Tom Entwistle.

As the country continues on the way to recovery from the pandemic crisis, and is moving back to something like normality, many people are experiencing long-term debt problems.

As a way forward the government has introduced legislation designed to alleviate the pressure on these people and help them recover their debt fee position.

The Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 were passed last November to help those people through the crisis who are in serious debt. It becomes effective from 4^th May 2021.

This situation could easily apply to landlords as to tenants, but it is something landlords and agents should be aware of should their tenants fall into this category.

There is some sensitivity around this matter as landlords and agents are not allowed to initiate conversations about an individual’s private affairs such their debt situation, but it is perfectly acceptable to respond if the tenant raises the matter.

It is also acceptable where, discussing other matters such as repairs, damages or rent arrears where this naturally leads to the tenants claiming that debt is the real issue. Advice can be offered and a knowledge of the various debt services can be useful.

Correct channels

This legislation covers all forms of debt, not just rent arrears but in order for a debtor to qualify for a debt ‘breathing space’ they must go through the correct channels, that is a FCA approved debt advisor, private advisory service, or a local authority debt advisory service.

The decision to offer a breathing space rests with the debt advisor though there are some mandatory eligibility requirements set in the legislation which are not open to discussion or negotiation.

Condition one is that the debtor can maintain the current repayment amounts as they fall due, though they are not in a position to address the existing arrears amount. The idea is that after the breathing space the existing debts will not be any larger that at the commencement of the breathing space.

Interest charges

The breathing space period will be reviewed at regular intervals and can be revoked if the debtor fails to maintain the current payments. No interest or late payment charges can be applied to the debts during the breathing space.

Condition two is that during the breathing space the advisor works with the debtor to plan a longer-term way of getting out of debt. The breathing space is designed to take the stress off the debtor in the short term, giving them the space to think, to plan and to act to reduce their debt position. During this period landlords and agents are not allowed to contact the debtor about debt repayments.

Landlords and agents are being warned in this regard not to send out letters or even standard letters that inadvertently make demands which go against the principle of the breathing space, adding more unnecessary stress for the debtor.

The “standard” breathing space lasts for some 60 days and during this time not only must the landlord or agent refrain from making demands, they are prevented from initiating eviction proceedings under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. Any proceedings under way at the time of the grant of a breathing space must be notified to the court. A section 21 application, unless it is motivated because of a debt, may succeed.

Only one breathing space is allowed within any 12-month period.

Landlords and agents are advised to consult with the debt advisor to make sure the whole of the debt is included in the arrangement.

In the case of a mental health debt breathing space, the request for this must originate from the mental health professional treating the individual. Unfortunately for the landlord intermediate payments during the mental health crisis would be suspended, but it is expected that mental health breathing space grants will be quite rare.

Read more about rent arrears.

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Deposit warning: Landlord narrowly avoids £83,760 fine after failing to protect

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Given that the deposit protection rules were introduced in 2004, most landlords are aware of them by now, but people still fall foul of the rules, says Tom Entwistle.

The legislation introduced by the Housing Act 2004 gives tenants and their lawyers something of an incentive to ‘catch out’ landlords who don’t comply with the rules. They can get compensation which is a multiple of the deposit paid, depending on the severity of the breach of the rules.

The tenant can claim and the judge can award anything from one to three times the original deposit in compensation for the tenant.

The Rules:

• Landlords or their agents must protect the deposit in an approved deposit protection scheme at the right time, i.e., within 30 days of taking it.
• The landlord / agent must serve on the tenant certain “prescribed information” – as set out in the legislation including details about the property, the deposit paid and how it is being held. This information must be served on the tenant and whoever provided the deposit.

Despite the rules being reasonably clear and simple landlords occasionally get taken to court over breaches of the legislation and receive quite heavy fines because of it.

What many people fail to realise is that where tenancies have been renewed and the deposit has not been legally protected, the fines can multiply. It is not uncommon for tenancies to be renewed several times over a period of years, so fines can be payable for each and every breach when the deposit has not been protected.

Howard v Dalton

Such was the story in the case of Howard v Dalton (2019), and this was rather an extreme example of multiple fines adding to an exceptionally large amount.

Ms Howard was the tenant of Mr Dalton and entered into a tenancy agreement in 2007 paying an initial deposit of £900. On signing the agreement, she paid a further £845, obtaining a receipt which said “deposit remainer”.

Ms Howard was a long-term tenant entering into a further seven tenancies over a period of years.

The deposit was not protected by the landlord and neither was the prescribed information served on the tenant. The deposit was not protected until 2014 and the prescribed information was never served.

Ordinarily, had the deposit been protected on the first tenancy and the information provided there would have been no requirement to re-protect or re-serve the notice on the subsequent tenancies.

The landlord was vulnerable to a claim.

Sure enough, Ms Howard brought a claim for compensation and the claim was defended by Mr Dalton. The surprise for the landlord was the amount of the claim.

Ms Howard’s claim included fines for 8 tenancies and for failing to protect a deposit of £1745. She claimed that the failure to protect and the failure to serve the notice amounted to 16 separate offences all subject to a fine of 3 times the deposit amounting to £83,760.

The district judge went along with the claim. It was held that there had been two breaches (failure to protect and failure to provide prescribed information) for each of the eight tenancies, so 16 breaches in all. The court awarded the tenant compensation amounting to three times the deposit of £1745 for each breach, making a total of £83,760.

The landlord, perhaps picking himself up off the floor, appealed.

Appeal court decision

It was a fact that the 2007 tenancy deposit had not been protected until 2014, there was no argument over that. The fact that no deposit had been protected meant that no prescribed information, a key requirement, could have legally been served.

The court identified that within S.214 Housing Act 2004 was provided a claim for damages for either a breach of s.213(3) or s.213(6) – it could be one (failure to protect) or two (failure to serve) it could not be both. The penalty was therefore to be one fine per tenancy.

Fortunately for Mr Dalton, Ms Howard had failed to mention in here pre-action correspondence that the eight tenancies involved would be relied on at the trial when claiming compensation. 

Mr Dalton raised this point at the appeal trail, and the judge agreed it was a valid limitation. The judge also applied the 6 years statute of limitations rule which reduced the number of tenancies under consideration to four. Furthermore, the judge decided that the second payment of £845 was in fact a rent in advance payment.

Further still, the judge reduced the fine multiple from three to two times the deposit, not giving any reason for this but these fines are at the court’s discretion, making a total fine and the compensation figure that Ms Howard was to receive at £7,200.

While this fine was much less that it could have been, it is still a substantial amount and a warning to landlords and agents to take great care over deposits. Courts will come down heavily on landlords who blatantly breach the deposit rules, but clearly they are reluctant to impose fines which are so high they would cause unnecessary suffering and distress.

Read more about deposits.

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Revised Right to rent requirments from 21st June

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The temporary adjustments to the right to rent check introduced on 30 March 2020, due to COVID-19, are ending. From 21 June 2021, you must check the prescribed documents as set out in the right to rent code of practice and the landlord’s guide

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Longer notice periods for tenants until at least October

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Renters will continue to be supported as national COVID-19 restrictions ease, with longer notice periods in place until at least October, Housing Minister Christopher Pincher announced.

As part of a phased approach, notice periods – previously extended to 6 months as an emergency measure during the pandemic –

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BREAKING: Government reveals ‘positive’ evictions ban wind-down plan

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The government has announced plans to wind down the evictions ban, offering light at the end of the tunnel for the thousands of landlords waiting to evict tenants.

In a significant concession for desperate landlords won by the NRLA, housing minister Christopher Pincher (above) has signed off changes to evictions legislation that will see bailiffs restart their work on 1st June.

Many experts had worried that the bailiff evictions ban might be extended once more in expectation of economic problems as the furlough scheme comes to an end later this year.

Notice periods

Bailiffs re-starting will coincide with a reduction in the eviction notice period landlords must give to tenants from the current six months to four months.

But most crucially, the relaxation of restrictions is to include Section 21 notices, a significant concession to landlords given the hard campaigning by many tenant groups such as Shelter to have them banned.

It had been expected that ministers would only allow the evictions process to re-start for mandatory grounds not the ‘no fault’ grounds that Section 21 notice enable.

Returning to normal

Pincher has also signed off on notice periods for Section 8 notice ‘grounds’ evictions returning to normal on October 1^st.

This will be between two weeks and two months, depending on the grounds being claimed.

Also, on 31^st May the ‘serious arrears’ grounds period will be reduced from six months to four months, enabling landlords to begin proceeding earlier, with a further reduction expected in August. Some exemptions will apply (see below).

Unprecedented action

Minister Pincher says: “From the beginning of the pandemic, we have taken unprecedented action to protect renters and help keep them in their homes.

“As COVID restrictions are eased in line with the Roadmap out of lockdown, we will ensure tenants continue to be supported with longer notice periods, while also balancing the need for landlords to access justice.

“Crucial financial support also remains in place including the furlough scheme and uplift to Universal Credit.”

Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the NRLA says: “Having operated under emergency conditions for over a year, today’s announcement from the Government is an important step in ensuring the sector’s recovery.

“It does nothing though to address the rent debt crisis. With the number of private tenants in arrears having increased threefold since lockdown measures started, more are at risk of losing their homes as restrictions ease.

“We want to see tenancies sustained wherever possible and call on the Chancellor to step in and provide affected tenants with the financial support they need to pay off rent arrears built as a result of the pandemic.”

Tim Frome of Landlord Action (left) says: “It is good news for landlords that bailiffs will be restarting from 1^st June for landlords who have possession orders. It is likely the bailiffs will be very busy clearing the backlog so we wait to see how the courts cope,” says

“The government setting out a timetable for the resumption of previous possession notice periods by 1^st October will hopefully give some certainty and enable us to advise landlords on their options.”

More detail

From 1 June, notice periods that are currently six months will reduce to at least four months. Notice periods for the most serious cases that present the most strain on landlords will remain lower:

• anti-social behaviour (immediate to 4 weeks’ notice)
• domestic abuse in the social sector (2 to 4 weeks’ notice)
• false statement (2 to 4 weeks’ notice)
• over 4 months’ accumulated rent arrears (4 weeks’ notice)
• breach of immigration rules ‘Right to Rent’ (2 weeks’ notice)
• death of a tenant (2 months’ notice)

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: Government reveals ‘positive’ evictions ban wind-down plan | LandlordZONE.

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Should I risk changing the hearing date?

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Hi, I have been given a court review hearing date to recover my property. The review hearing is 7th June, however, today I have received a letter from my tenant saying she is going to move out on the 13th of June.

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TECH launch: Platform promises to take hassle out of gas, electricity and EPC inspections

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New online platform Symple promises to take the hassle out of arranging property certifications and inspections.

The system guarantees that landlords’ inspections always get done on time by liaising directly with registered service providers who can manage these jobs on the platform.

Landlords upload their property details and the last date of inspection and it reminds them when a property certificate is up for renewal.

They can renew a property certificate online and Symple arranges for the inspection to be carried out by a local provider, so landlords don’t have to worry about finding and chasing tradespeople to do the job.

Accredited

All providers and energy assessors must be accredited and are vetted before they can accept work.

Symple’s system – at symple.co.uk – also handles the delivery of all certifications and ensures landlords receive them ahead of the due date. Landlord registration is free and covers single or multiple properties.

Founder Simon Dresdner (pictured) says he knew there had to be an easier way for landlords to book their gas safety, electrical installation and energy performance inspections and an easier way to never forget when they’re due.

“That’s when the idea for Symple was born,” he adds. “We want to help take a few of those worries away and make life easier for our users. All they need to do is confirm their order and we’ll do the rest.

“That includes ensuring the work is carried out on time, as arranged. We guarantee certificates will be in their inbox by the due date or they’ll receive it for free.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – TECH launch: Platform promises to take hassle out of gas, electricity and EPC inspections | LandlordZONE.

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UPDATE: Do you or your tenants need a ‘breathing space’ to repay debts?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The government has shown concern during the pandemic about people who have debts they cannot immediately repay.

As the country continues on the way to recovery from the pandemic crisis, and is moving back to something like normality, many people are experiencing long-term debt problems.

As a way forward the government has introduced legislation designed to alleviate the pressure on these people and help them recover their debt fee position.

The Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 were passed last November to help those people through the crisis who are in serious debt. It becomes effective from 4^th May 2021.

This situation could easily apply to landlords as to tenants, but it is something landlords and agents should be aware of should their tenants fall into this category.

Sensitivity

There is some sensitivity around this matter as landlords and agents are not allowed to initiate conversations about an individual’s private affairs such their debt situation, but it is perfectly acceptable to respond if the tenant raises the matter.

It is also acceptable where, discussing other matters such as repairs, damages or rent arrears where this naturally leads to the tenants claiming that debt is the real issue. Advice can be offered and a knowledge of the various debt services can be useful.

This legislation covers all forms of debt, not just rent arrears but in order for a debtor to qualify for a debt “breathing space” they must go through the correct channels, that is a FCA approved debt advisor, private advisory service, or a local authority debt advisory service.

Eligibility tests

The decision to offer a breathing space rests with the debt advisor though there are some mandatory eligibility requirements set in the legislation which are not open to discussion or negotiation.

Condition one is that the debtor can maintain the current repayment amounts as they fall due, though they are not in a position to address the existing arrears amount. The idea is that after the breathing space the existing debts will not be any larger that at the commencement of the breathing space.

The breathing space period will be reviewed at regular intervals and can be revoked if the debtor fails to maintain the current payments. No interest or late payment charges can be applied to the debts during the breathing space.

Condition two is that during the breathing space the advisor works with the debtor to plan a longer-term way of getting out of debt. The breathing space is designed to take the stress off the debtor in the short term, giving them the space to think, to plan and to act to reduce their debt position. During this period landlords and agents are not allowed to contact the debtor about debt repayments.

Warned

Landlords and agents are being warned in this regard not to send out letters or even standard letters that inadvertently make demands which go against the principle of the breathing space, adding more unnecessary stress for the debtor.

The ‘standard’ breathing space lasts for some 60 days and during this time not only must the landlord or agent refrain from making demands, they are prevented from initiating eviction proceedings under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. Any proceedings under way at the time of the grant of a breathing space must be notified to the court. A section 21 application, unless it is motivated because of a debt, may succeed.

Only one breathing space is allowed within any 12-month period.

Landlords and agents are advised to consult with the debt advisor to make sure the whole of the debt is included in the arrangement.

In the case of a mental health debt breathing space, the request for this must originate from the mental health professional treating the individual. Unfortunately for the landlord intermediate payments during the mental health crisis would be suspended, but it is expected that mental health breathing space grants will be quite rare.

Read more about the breathing space scheme.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – UPDATE: Do you or your tenants need a ‘breathing space’ to repay debts? | LandlordZONE.

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