Selective licensing schemes ‘not accountable’ reveals NRLA research

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Nearly two-thirds of councils with selective licensing schemes don’t accurately record the number of complaints they get about private rented housing.

New National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) research reveals that 56% of councils aren’t properly recording these complaints, which rises to 61% for those with licensing schemes – despite the fact local landlords are supposedly funding housing standards enforcement through their licensing fees.

The report – The Enforcement Lottery: Local authority inspections and notices – says: “Landlords have a reasonable expectation that these schemes provide evidence they are working to address issues with property management.

“But more than half of schemes do not appear to keep accurate records. As a result, it is unclear how these local authorities are identifying progress in improving property management.”

FOI requests

The findings, based on Freedom of Information Act requests, show that of those local authorities which did accurately record PRS complaints, each dealt with an average of 274 complaints per year.

In all, councils conducted 98,858 inspections under the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System (HHRS) across England between 2018 to 2021, the equivalent of just one in 45 private rented sector properties.

Many councils fail to register any of their inspections, while only 1% resulted in a follow-up prosecution, with 4% of improvement notices resulting in a civil penalty.

Chris Norris, NRLA director, policy & campaigns (pictured), says these figures show there is a long way to go before councils deal effectively with the rogue landlords who bring the sector into disrepute.

He adds: “Until they adopt a more effective approach towards recordkeeping, it will be impossible for them to take the steps necessary to enforce regulations.”

The NRLA wants the government to look again at a national benchmark scheme for local authorities, requiring them to report on the outcomes of all enforcement activities. It also wants it to work with local authorities to identify why inspections rarely lead to prosecutions or civil penalties and to develop a holistic strategy around enforcement in the PRS.

Download the report.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Selective licensing schemes ‘not accountable’ reveals NRLA research | LandlordZONE.

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OFFICIAL: selective licensing ‘not accountable’ for fees charged to landlords

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Nearly two-thirds of councils with selective licensing schemes don’t accurately record the number of complaints they get about private rented housing.

New National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) research reveals that 56% of councils aren’t properly recording these complaints, which rises to 61% for those with licensing schemes – despite the fact local landlords are supposedly funding housing standards enforcement through their licensing fees.

The report – The Enforcement Lottery: Local authority inspections and notices – says: “Landlords have a reasonable expectation that these schemes provide evidence they are working to address issues with property management.

“But more than half of schemes do not appear to keep accurate records. As a result, it is unclear how these local authorities are identifying progress in improving property management.”

FOI requests

The findings, based on Freedom of Information Act requests, show that of those local authorities which did accurately record PRS complaints, each dealt with an average of 274 complaints per year.

In all, councils conducted 98,858 inspections under the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System (HHRS) across England between 2018 to 2021, the equivalent of just one in 45 private rented sector properties.

Many councils fail to register any of their inspections, while only 1% resulted in a follow-up prosecution, with 4% of improvement notices resulting in a civil penalty.

Chris Norris, NRLA director, policy & campaigns (pictured), says these figures show there is a long way to go before councils deal effectively with the rogue landlords who bring the sector into disrepute.

He adds: “Until they adopt a more effective approach towards recordkeeping, it will be impossible for them to take the steps necessary to enforce regulations.”

The NRLA wants the government to look again at a national benchmark scheme for local authorities, requiring them to report on the outcomes of all enforcement activities. It also wants it to work with local authorities to identify why inspections rarely lead to prosecutions or civil penalties and to develop a holistic strategy around enforcement in the PRS.

Download the report.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – OFFICIAL: selective licensing ‘not accountable’ for fees charged to landlords | LandlordZONE.

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Energy rebate/loan questions for student accommodation?

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OK so in October every house using electricity will get a £200 rebate (loan by stealth) then it has to be paid back over 5 years.

The information says that if someone shares and moves to a new property they don’t take a share of the £200 loan

View Full Article: Energy rebate/loan questions for student accommodation?

Stamp duty trap transferring property back into sole name?

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Dear All, I am trying to re-mortgage a leasehold flat as my current deal has moved onto an SVR.

The flat is jointly owned with my wife (as a Tenancy in Common with the intention of my share being 99% and my wife 1% –

View Full Article: Stamp duty trap transferring property back into sole name?

Avoid ‘no money down’ gurus and invest in property cautiously, new book advises

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A new book shines the spotlight on get-rich-quick chancers in the property training industry in a bid to stop investors from getting ripped off.

Property developer and trainer Henry Davis says the sector is rife with charlatans who charge exorbitant prices and, from personal experience attending courses, reckons their training is dishonest and misleading as you’ll never get rich from doing it.

“The only reason they say you can ‘buy a property with no money down’ is because they don’t want to reduce their target audience by giving a minimum figure to attend,” he tells LandlordZONE.

Investing proactively, yet cautiously, believes Davis, will result in making fewer mistakes, and he’s penned The Truth About Property “a no-nonsense, definitive guide to truly succeed in the property market, at any level” to explain just how, by offering no-nonsense advice on due diligence, valuations, buying tricks, and the art of project management.

“Watch the live auctions in your target area and don’t worry about the data, you’ll find out what’s in demand and you’re also teaching yourself how to value property and rental yield,” advises Davis.

“And make sure your first project is a major refurbishment – that way, by working with a professional architect, surveyor and planning consultant you’ll get a great crash course.”

Mentoring

His suggestions are based on 32 years of experience in residential and commercial property – he now operates under We Buy Any House Liverpool, M Luxury & H Apartments and Genii Developments Ltd – and already shares his knowledge on NRLA-run courses as well as through one-to-one mentoring.

The Liverpool-based author started off by buying a neighbour’s house in 1990, then began trading in apartment blocks 20 years ago, buying in bulk from developers and flipping contracts by selling them on individually – using the deposit from each buyer to fund his deposit with the developer.

Davis now focuses on developing large HMO blocks, all en-suite and a minimum of nine square metres, which is the secret to low tenant churn, he explains. “I average 24 months with these HMOs, whereas the industry average is six to eight months.”

Buy his book via Amazon.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Avoid ‘no money down’ gurus and invest in property cautiously, new book advises | LandlordZONE.

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Belvoir CEO warns of continuing rental increases in 2022 and beyond

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Belvoir’s rental statistics reveal the highest rental increases since records began in 2008. Belvoir CEO Dorian Gonsalves warns of further challenges to come, as years of flawed government policies continue to impact the market, resulting in stock shortages and high tenant demand.

View Full Article: Belvoir CEO warns of continuing rental increases in 2022 and beyond

89% of local authorities built zero council homes in 2021

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Using the most recently published data by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Admiral Home Insurance analysed which parts of England have seen the most and the fewest new homes being built.

With a shortage of housing for many years in England

View Full Article: 89% of local authorities built zero council homes in 2021

TORY thinktank slams Gove’s plans to abolish Section 21

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A leading ‘free-market’ economic commentator has questioned the government’s latest push to abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction notices.

Ryan Bourne, who is a regular TV pundit and Daily Telegraph columnist but also a member of the US-based thinktank the Cato Institute, doubts that abolishing Secton 21 would be a ‘win for tenants as campaign groups imply’.

“What we have here is an example of [tenants] wanting more of something – security – without being willing to pay for it,” he writes.

His comments follow Michael Gove’s decision to roll-up his department’s rental reforms, including abolishing Section 21, into the government’s ‘levelling up’ plans.

“In these scenarios, basic economics tells us that mandating benefits will lead to a waterbed effect of other margins adjusting, as landlords seek to protect themselves against the new higher risks of lock-in that such tenancies entail.”

Unintended consequences

Bourne, who is a long-standing opponent of rent controls, goes on to outline the unintended consequences of abolishing Section 21 including tougher referencing for tenants as landlords seek to weed out high-risk candidates, making it harder for those on benefits to access the PRS, higher rents as some landlords use rent hikes to force out tenants.

But, most worrying of all, he predicts fewer people will be willing to become private landlords and more will choose Airbnb not the traditional route.

He also slams the government’s plans to beef up Section 8 eviction notices to enable landlords to evict tenants under some circumstances such as needing to move back in or sell the property. Bourne claims, as many landlords commentators have, that this route will make it more difficult and expensive for landlords to evict tenants.

“Those harmed most by limited rental options will be the poorest, those without deposits for owner-occupied housing, and those for whom accessing new private rental accommodation is a route to a better job or life,” he adds.

“The beneficiaries will be those who want to stay in a property for years and years.

“This really highlights why fiddling with landlord-tenant relations is no alternative to major planning reform.”

Read the original blog on the ConservativeHome website.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – TORY thinktank slams Gove’s plans to abolish Section 21 | LandlordZONE.

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GREEN taxes unfairly hitting poorer tenants hardest – warns landlord

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Tenants in homes with electric heating are being unfairly penalised by the government’s green tax policy, says one concerned landlord.

Young, single tenants – often on low wages – are discriminated against because the green levy on their bills is higher on electricity than gas, according to Tricia Urquhart who has tenants in one and two-bed houses using electric heating.

They are generally paying far higher bills to heat their homes – often four to five times per kWh – and the recently announced 54% rise means their already expensive heating is even more costly in real terms.

The Nottingham landlord tells LandlordZONE: “I put in electric radiators when electricity was 10p a unit and the selling point was that they shouldn’t cost you more than gas – now it’s 21p.

One tenant couple never put their heating on because they don’t think they can afford it, while I’m surprised that another single tenant, who works from home and has the heating on, hasn’t given me notice.”

Little difference

Recently announced government help will mean 28 million households will receive about £350 to help offset soaring energy prices, but Urquhart says this will make little difference to these sole electricity users, whose bill is made up of 40% in green levies.

Currently, 23% of the cost of electricity is made up of environmental and social obligation costs, however, gas costs include less than 2%.

She adds: “Given that these users are using the green fuel it seems really unfair that the young, the single and the lower paid are paying such a large proportion of the green tax.

“I accept that the green levies may still need to be paid but they could be added to high use gas users and so penalise the polluters.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – GREEN taxes unfairly hitting poorer tenants hardest – warns landlord | LandlordZONE.

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EPC targets are a threat to the PRS

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Specialist Buy to Let and commercial bank Shawbrook has released a report concerned about the threat to the rental market posed by a future C rating EPC target. Click here

The headlines of the report indicate that 23% of landlords surveyed say the EPC ratings of their properties are currently D or below and that a further quarter of landlords are unaware of the specific energy efficiency rating of their property.

View Full Article: EPC targets are a threat to the PRS