Gas Safe Week kicks off to save more lives from dodgy appliances

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Gas Safety Week kicks off today to help the gas industry and consumer groups highlight the topic and raise public awareness.

Coordinated by Gas Safe Register, the campaign webpage includes a ‘gas map’ where users can input their post code to find out about the dangerous gas appliances found in the area as well as ‘Ten top tips to stay safe’ which reveals how to recognise the six signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. 

Supporter Swale Heating says both landlords and tenants need to stay gas safe. It advises tenants to check their landlord’s Gas Safety Record and encourages them to report any landlord who refuses to provide one to the HSE. 

But it adds that it’s also up to tenants to check any gas appliances they own every year.

“As would be stated in your tenancy agreement, the landlord is not responsible for gas appliances you own. This means it is your responsibility to arrange for these to be safety checked once a year and regularly serviced by a Gas Safe registered engineer.”

Important

Savills regularly supports the annual event which Theresa Wallace (pictured), head of customer relations, says is important to the estate agency chain.

She adds: “We continually work to educate our landlords about the obligations involved and work to ensure all our properties meet the requirements. As agents, we play a critical part in ensuring tenants are living in safe and habitable properties and gas safety comes sits at the top of this priority list.”

Visit the Gas Safe Week homepage.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Gas Safe Week kicks off to save more lives from dodgy appliances | LandlordZONE.

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HMRC claws back £254 MILLION from landlords via Let Property campaign

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Just over a quarter of a billion pounds has been clawed back from landlords since HMRC’s Let Property campaign began eight years ago, it has been revealed.

The latest figure for the campaign were revealed by Financial Secretary to the Treasury Jesse Norman in response to a written question by shadow equalities minister Charlotte Nichols.

She asked whether HMRC would fund a more direct approach to tracking down private landlords who fail to declare rental income, rather than the current mostly voluntary system.

This includes the Let Property Campaign, which encourages landlords to come clean about undeclared rental income in return for a lower penalty, along with more aggressive ‘nudge letters’ sent out to suspected miscreant landlords.

Non-compliance

“The Government is committed to reducing non-compliance in the tax system among all taxpayers, including landlords, and continues to give HMRC the resources they need to tackle the tax gap,” replied Norman.

“HMRC do not rely on voluntary disclosure from landlords and use a range of data and approaches to identify landlords with undeclared rental income.

“Since 2013-14, HMRC’s Let Property Campaign has prompted approximately 58,000 additional disclosures and raised an estimated £254 million in additional compliance yield for the Exchequer.

“Where landlords do not come forward to declare their rental income, after being prompted, HMRC take further steps including opening formal compliance interventions where necessary.”

Disclosures down

But the Let Property Campaign is not as effective as it used to be. Latest figures for 2020-21 reveal that there were 4,330 voluntary disclosures by landlords during the period, a 42% decrease on the previous year. Similarly, the tax yield from the campaign dropped almost 50% from around £34 million in 2019-20 to around £17 million in 2020-21.

“Taken together, the data suggests that the tax shortfall HMRC suspects exists among landlord taxpayers is likely accounted for by a high volume of low value discrepancies,” says Zena Hanks, a partner at accountancy firm Saffery Champness, which unearthed the data following a FOI request.

Read more about HMRC’s previous position on landlord tax compliance.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – HMRC claws back £254 MILLION from landlords via Let Property campaign | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: Tenants’ union’ latest branch to take ‘direct action’ against landlords

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Fast-growing tenants’ union Acorn has opened its latest branch, this time covering the towns of Falmouth and Penryn in Cornwall.

Lead by local Dan Newman, who recently graduated from Falmouth University, landlords and letting agents in the area can expect action from the group when they are in dispute with tenants.

He says his key concerns are the number of PRS properties being transferred to the short-lets/Airbnb market, rising evictions and unfair treatment of tenants by landlords.

“Newman (pictured) warns landlords that, like other groups within the Acorn network in the UK, he is not afraid to take direct action against property managers and owners including email campaigns, pickets and eviction resistance events/+.

“We deserve affordable housing and rental properties. Cornwall is not a playground, it is not just a tourist-hot-spot and nice place to live by the beach if you have the cash for it – it’s our home, it’s our culture, our family, friends, livelihoods – and we can’t even afford to live here,” he told local media.

Acorn has been growing both in size and both levels and scope in activity in recent years. Its most visible actions have included picketing landlords’ homes and letting agency branches.

The organisations, which was founded in Bristol seven years ago, now has operations in in 18 cities and 21 branches.

Branches

This includes Aberystwyth, Brighton, Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham Oxford, Sheffield, Stoke, Swindon, York and now Cornwall.

It also has a presence in three London boroughs – Lambeth, Haringey and Enfield.

As well as engaging in direct action, Acorn is also involved in efforts to persuade councils to renew or introduce property licensing schemes in many areas including, recently, in Brighton & Hove, and its Manchester branch is backed by actress Maxine Peake.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Tenants’ union’ latest branch to take ‘direct action’ against landlords | LandlordZONE.

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Japanese Knotweed cases up 27.91%

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A study by Horticulture.co.uk has indicated that over the last 5 years, cases of Japanese Knotweed have increased by a national average of 27.91%. They have also produced an interactive map searchable by postcode to show  live and resolved cases by area: Click here

A YouGov survey of homeowners in July last year suggested 80% of potential buyers would walk away from buying a property affected by Knotweed and even if they were still considering the purchase they would expect a discount of 5-10% on the asking price.

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How are Councils assisting Afghan refugees to find properties?

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There are funds available to LA’s to provide accommodation to Afghani refugees, but they have no properties of their own to offer. Many Social Housing providers (that the LA’s have no choice but to use) have said that incoming Afghans will NOT be treated as a priority over and above the already never-ending list of those needing accommodation.

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Does estate agent owe me half of the holding deposit?

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An estate agent has refused to pay me half of the holding deposit of tenants who withdrew on the point of signing. Does he have the right to hold onto their full holding deposit? When this has happened before, other estate agents have always split it in half with me.

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Landlord suggests novel way to deal with pets – but it is legal?

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A tenant has posted details of a tenancy contract which offers a potentially simple solution to the thorny issue of whether to accept pets – namely, a sliding scale of charges.

On Reddit, he shared one landlord’s way to cover costs, depending on the animal: “Where the landlord has approved the placement of pets, the following fees will apply.

“The additional value will be added to the monthly rental account. £10 pcm for pets caged in house eg. hamsters, £10 pcm for pets that will be kept externally to house in garden eg. guinea pigs, £25 pcm for pets that will be free-roaming in the house eg. cats, dogs, house rabbits, snakes, lizards.”

Roaming snakes

Most posters thought it was amusing to have snakes roaming free, but the concept could be an alternative to the one proposed by pet campaigners; they are seeking an amendment to the Tenant Fees Act, so landlords can either take additional deposits off tenants seeking to rent with pets or require tenants to take out extra insurance.

While PRS explains that a pet ‘deposit’ is not allowed, a landlord can negotiate an increased rent for allowing a pet in the property but must make sure this fee is advertised in brochures, and is transparent, before viewing.

Not prohibited

Head of redress Sean Hooker says landlords can set whatever rent they like, and that using pets as a reason to charge more wouldn’t be prohibited.

But he adds: “If someone said they were going to charge more because a tenant had children there would be uproar.”

There’s still the issue of paying back the deposit if the pet causes damage – and whether a higher rent would have an impact on this.

Adds Hooker: “Landlords might say that tenants have to hand the property back in the same state they acquired it, so could tell them they are going to charge a higher rent because of undertaking a higher standard of cleaning to ensure the tenant does the same when they leave.”

Read the Reddit string.

Read more about renting to tenants with pets.

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