Activists launch campaign to reverse council’s selective licensing plans

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Tenants union Acorn is pushing for a selective licensing scheme in Brighton & Hove, three years after local landlord group iHowz managed to get the Housing Secretary to reject the city’s plans.

Its Landlord Licensing Now! campaign includes a tongue-in-check competition on social media to see whose rented property has the worst mould while it has also organised a rally in Brighton tomorrow (Saturday 19th June).

Activists say they are escalating efforts to collect evidence of poor housing after the city council reported that recent investigations in four wards – Queen’s Park, St. Peter’s and North Laine, Brunswick and Adelaide and Regency – revealed properties were, “overall found to be in a good condition”.

In 2018, iHowz successfully opposed the council’s plans which would have seen 27,000 rental properties covered by the scheme. Local landlords claimed it was unlawful, unnecessary and not justified by the evidence provided, and would almost certainly lead to rent increases for many private sector tenants in Brighton.

Landlord training

The council has promised to continue collecting evidence and working towards being able to apply for a licensing scheme. However, an iHowz spokesman tells LandlordZONE that together with the council, it implemented a landlord training and accreditation scheme which it believes already goes a long way to meet the charter called for by Acorn.

He adds: “Brighton & Hove, like most local authorities, have seen many budget cuts, but we wonder why Acorn have decided that landlords should be singled out to help top up the missing budget. It is an unfortunate fact that any council bringing in blanket licensing will have the unintended consequence that the cost of licencing will be reflected in rents.”

Acorn has been negotiating with the local authority for more than a year on the issue, and is also calling for an ethical landlords charter to be implemented. Branch secretary Ellen Musgrove (pictured) says its members often report serious issues with landlords that don’t get resolved.

She adds: “If the council can’t find the evidence they need they must be doing something wrong. We have tried to work with the Green administration to improve conditions for renters but the many delays make us question their commitment to standing up to bad landlords in this city.”

Councillor Martin Osborne, lead member for the private sector rented housing, says the desire is there but it is stymied by the thresholds the government has set. “While we do not yet have the evidence we need, we are continuing to collect evidence and work towards being able to apply for such a scheme,” he says.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Activists launch campaign to reverse council’s selective licensing plans | LandlordZONE.

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Home Office extends Covid Right to Right rules deadline to end of August

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The government has extended the period during which the existing and more relaxed immigration Right to Rent regulations can be followed by two months.

This is the third extension and reflects the recent proposed delay to the Covid ‘freedom day’ in England by Boris Johnson last week to the 19^th July.

The period during which the Right to Rent temporary adjusted checking processes apply was expected to end on 16^th May but was then extended until 21st June and now 31^st August.

This means until then landlords will still be able to do online video identity checks and accept digital/scanned copies of Right to Rent documentation.

Then, from 1^st September onwards landlords and letting agents will revert to face-to-face and physical document checks as set out in legislation and guidance.

The Home Office says this will ensure both groups will have sufficient notice to put measures in place to enable face-to-face document checks.

“You do not need to carry out retrospective checks on those who had a COVID-19 adjusted check between 30 March 2020 and 31 August 2021,” the Home Office statement says.

“This reflects the length of time the adjusted checks have been in place and supports landlords during this difficult time.

“You will maintain a defence against a civil penalty if the check you have undertaken during this period was done in the prescribed manner or as set out in the COVID-19 adjusted checks guidance.”

Read the full Right to Rent regulations as they currently stand.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Home Office extends Covid Right to Right rules deadline to end of August | LandlordZONE.

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The accounts and management are a joke?

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I have held the lease on my first floor flat for the past 21 years, extending it in 2013. The Freeholder owns and lets out the ground floor flat. I have struggled with the Freeholders approach to managing my Lease.

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New property valuation tech is ‘most accurate’ for buy-to-let – claim

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Entrepreneur Nitin Aggarwal has launched what is claimed to be the most accurate way to value properties online despite hot competition from other providers including Zoopla and Rightmove.

Aggarwal has launched what’s called an Automatic Valuation Model (AVM) platform which claims to be more accurate than the current available digital technology to value property.

The service is part of his Property Deals Insight website and can be used for free for two weeks but thereafter is a paid-for service.

It’s part of a package that ranges from per square metre valuations to the latest off-market deals and analysis, top ROI properties, local area analysis and more.

“Years ago I was amazed to find that there was no standard way of knowing a property’s value, and as I dealt with property at the time, I really needed a 100% solution to cover the knowledge gap,” he says.

“In the end after extensive analysis and development I built a solution.”

Human touch

Aggarwal is part of a sector that is chasing the most accurate AVM and most, including those offered by Zoopla’s data firm Hometrack offer value ranges but only really work on ‘cookie cutter’ properties or if more information is provided by a human.

Property Deals Insight claims to be going the extra mile and says his AVM is ‘more reliable than humans’ when judging a property’s value.

“Property investors will also find it to be an essential tool, a ‘property compass’ giving detailed intel on property yields, index properties by measurement and comparables – functionality that just does not exist elsewhere on the market.”

Read more about online property valuations.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – New property valuation tech is ‘most accurate’ for buy-to-let – claim | LandlordZONE.

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