RAISE landlord cost cap for eco upgrades to £10,000, urges London Assembly

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London Assembly’s housing committee has called on the government to raise the cost cap of upgrading rented properties for landlords to £10,000.

Under Domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) Regulations, landlords currently don’t have to spend more than £3,500 (including VAT) on energy efficiency improvements.

A government consultation earlier this year also suggested increasing the maximum investment amount, resulting in an average per property spend of £4,700 under a £10,000 cap.

The committee has investigated retrofitting challenges in London and made recommendations to Housing Secretary Michael Gove as well as mayor Sadiq Khan, who has an ambitious target to make the capital a zero carbon city by 2030.

It believes Khan should bring together private sector landlords and tenants to look at barriers to retrofit and how government or local government could overcome them.

Cladding

It has also suggested that the government needs to ensure London gets a fair share of all retrofit funding or sufficient powers to raise finance itself – and wants the mayor to lobby for this – and to make sure that cladding remediation work can be carried out alongside retrofitting.

Chair of the London Assembly committee, Sian Berry, (pictured) says it can’t ignore London’s 3.5 million existing homes which account for a third of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions alone.

“The government must commit either to fully funding London’s ambition for zero carbon homes or giving us the powers to raise our own finance. In turn, the mayor must work with private sector landlords and tenants to find and overcome any barriers to retrofitting,” she adds.

“The world is in a race against time to fight climate change, and action on existing homes can no longer be put off or tackled without proper commitment from our leaders.”

Read more about eco upgrade funding.

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‘Short lets needs better standards and quality controls’ say leading provider

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The short-lets sector needs better standards and quality controls, according to one of its big players.

Host & Stay, which manages more than 500 properties across North Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Dales, Northumberland, the North East and South Wales, has joined the UK Short Term Accommodation Association (STAA) in a bid to help make these improvements.

It follows criticism of the sector by some local councils and MPs after many traditional landlords, particularly in the South West, switched to short-lets during the staycation boom.

It was recently reported that Devon has seen a staggering 70% drop in private rented properties over the last two years as a result.

Responsible

Host & Stay director Dale Smith (main pic) explains: “We believe the short-let industry needs better standards and quality controls.

“We want to be part of those improvements and feel that the STAA is well positioned to support the growth of the sector in a responsible manner and is the association that really understands how the industry is changing and is best aligned to where the industry is actually heading.”

STAA chair Merilee Karr (pictured) says during the last 18 months, membership has grown considerably and that the trade body is in a very strong position to work with members to initiate industry change and drive responsible growth.

She adds: “Our reputation for collaboration with local authorities, government and other associations is well known.”

Host & Stay provides an end-to-end service for holiday home owners, offering customers a full package of services including finding the right properties to buy, providing interior design packages, professional photography, marketing, booking generation, maintenance, housekeeping and a full laundry and linen service.

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End 5 week UC wait and pay housing element directly to landlords

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Today the Government will go ahead with a planned cut to Universal Credit of £20 per week. The level of welfare support had been increased in light of the impact of the pandemic on household incomes.

With rent arrears at historically high levels

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Nationwide launches platform to help landlords manage their properties and finances

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High Street lender the Nationwide has launched a platform that will be first of its kind created for landlords by a major financial institution.

Called The Landlord Works, it has been developed by a team headed up by Paul Wooton (main picture) who, after leaving its mortgage broker business, has spent the past two years developing the platform as its Director of Home Propositions, he tells LandlordZONE.

The platform is free for landlords regardless of whether they are Nationwide customers or not and enables them to manage, develop and monitor their property or portfolios from their laptops or smartphones.

This includes the ability to list their properties, track renewal dates for compliance paperwork such as gas safe certificates, EPCs and electrical checks. But it also helps landlords keep tabs on their portfolio expenses, revenue and profits/loss, manage right to rent checks and compile their tax returns.

Advice and support

Wooton says the platform is more than just a useful tool, but also part of the mutual society’s attempts to improve the private rental market by helping existing landlords maintain best practice and newbies understand their responsibilities.

The Nationwide also operates arms-length foundation that has funded several pro-tenant lobbying groups including Generation Rent and Shelter which, it says, is part of a wider attempt to improve the private rented sector.

The Landlord Works will offer advice and guidance on best practice for landlords and aims to help them be aware of and comply with the myriad regulations and laws that now cover the sector.

Wooton says there will be more developments to reveal at a later date, which may include offering member landlords exclusive mortgage deals via its broker and landlord mortgage platform The Mortgage Works.

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