Eviction drama highlights huge challenge for temporary accommodation landlords

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A landlord who houses homeless people in serviced accommodation is having to foot the bill to evict a difficult tenant after the council stopped paying his rent.

Duncan Belton provides about 70 units – nearly half to local authorities across six different council areas – housing tenants including those fleeing domestic violence and newly released from prison.

Councils pay him a daily rate while they look for a more permanent place for the ‘guests’, who don’t have tenancy agreements.

One tenant, who has mental health issues and is prone to violence, is living in a property he operates in Aycliffe Village, County Durham (pictured).

After the ‘guest’ refused to accept any of the properties Durham County Council offered him, it stopped paying his bill last November and has now asked the landlord to remove him. Belton has lost about £7,000 in rent and is annoyed to have been given the task.

Squatting

“He’s basically squatting so I’ve had to get Landlord Action to start eviction proceedings – but why is it up to me to get him out?” Belton tells LandlordZONE. “The council have at least said they’ll provide evidence in court, but I’m hoping they’ll pay my costs.”

Lynn Hall, Durham County Council’s housing solutions manager, tells LandlordZONE that as it doesn’t own the property and is “not party to any implied agreements made directly between the landlord and the occupant”, it can’t take legal action.

She says: “However, we are in contact with the accommodation provider and have offered our support with any reasonable court costs associated with their own enforcement action.”

Read more: how to handle the evictions process.

The difficult tenant has tracked Belton down on Facebook and messaged him, asking to meet using menacing language.

However, he’s used to dealing with the more colourful side of life; last weekend, the police were called out to another tenant in the block, which resulted in a scuffle and arrest.

Belton adds: “It can be challenging and properties often get left in a state. I know this particular tenant is now damaging the walls, but it doesn’t put me off.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Eviction drama highlights huge challenge for temporary accommodation landlords | LandlordZONE.

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Wales clamps down on holiday lets with draconian new council tax rules

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The Welsh Government is to bring in its promised local tax rules for holiday lets to address the problem of unaffordable housing.

Self-catering accommodation in hotspots such as Tenby (pictured) currently pays rates rather than council tax when available to let for at least 140 days, and ‘actually’ let for at least 70 days.

From next April, these thresholds will increase to being available to let for at least 252 days and ‘actually’ let for at least 182 days in any 12-month period, to prove that they are being let regularly and making a substantial contribution to the local economy.

Second homes

The government has also announced that the maximum level at which local authorities can set council tax premiums on second homes and long-term empty properties will be increased to 300%, also effective from April next year.

Sian Gwenllian, the designed Member of the Senedd on the policy who represents Plaid Cymru (pictured) says these changes will make a difference, enabling councils to respond to their local circumstances, and will start to close the loophole in the current law.

“It’s a first, but important, step on a journey towards a new housing system that ensures that people have the right to live in their community,” she adds.

Gwenllian says that it is committed to introducing a package of measures to tackle the injustices in the housing market. “Second homes are a symptom of a wider problem – a market that treats property, not as a home, but as a way of making a profit.

By working across the parties in the Senedd, we will introduce more measures, as soon as we can, to make house prices and rents genuinely affordable for people.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Wales clamps down on holiday lets with draconian new council tax rules | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: Average property increased in value by £44,138 during pandemic

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The value of a typical property has soared by £44,138 since February 2020 – although analysts predict that domestic and global pressures will dampen future growth.

Nationwide reports that a combination of robust demand and limited stock has kept upward pressure on prices, increasing annual UK house price growth to 12.6% last month.

Chief economist Robert Gardner (pictured) believes the market’s continued buoyancy is a little surprising, given the mounting pressure on household budgets from rising inflation and since borrowing costs have started to move up from all-time lows.

“The economic outlook is particularly uncertain at present,” says Gardner.

“Nevertheless, it is likely that the housing market will slow in the quarters ahead. Indeed, there is scope for inflation to rise even further as events in Ukraine threaten to send global energy prices even higher.

“Assuming that labour market conditions remain strong, the Bank of England is also likely to raise interest rates, which will exert a further drag on the market if this feeds through to mortgage rates.”

Muted

Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, believes there won’t be a return to more muted house price growth until supply picks up, but says there are signs of that gradually happening.

He adds: “While demand has been unrelenting over the last several months, higher levels of market valuations requested by prospective sellers since the start of the year indicate that supply will pick up, particularly as the spring market arrives.

“We would therefore expect price growth to return to single digits later this year. Meanwhile mortgage rates will inevitably rise and higher inflation, accelerated by the effects of the Ukraine conflict, will start to put downwards pressure on demand and house prices.”

Read the Nationwide report in full.

Read more about the housing market.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Average property increased in value by £44,138 during pandemic | LandlordZONE.

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More leaseholders seeking ‘right to manage’ after Law Commission review

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Solicitors are reporting a rise in the number of enquiries from leaseholders about taking over their freeholder’s management functions under The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, better known as ‘Right to Manage’ or RTM claims.

The claim is made by legal firm Blacks Solicitors whose Partner Anushka Nicholas (pictured) says advice is needed in several areas including, prior to the commencement of a RTM claim, because some groups face difficulties in acquiring up-to-date management information from the freeholder, much of which is essential to taking responsibility for the property.

“Leaseholders have become more aware of their rights since the Law Commission’s proposed reforms to leasehold law were announced in July 2020,” she says.

“As a consequence, more leaseholders are exploring the possibilities of RTM in an effort to take more control over the management of their flats.

“RTM claims are a no-fault right, meaning that they are not reliant on proving bad management by the landlord.

“Assuming the leaseholders fulfil the criteria and follow the statutory procedure, there is a very limited scope for landlords to object to a RTM claim or obstruct the process.”

Here Nicholas outlines some of the key information landlords should know before embarking with other leaseholders on the RTM route.

Who can do it

Qualifying leaseholders must hold a lease of more than 21 years in term, and two or more flats within the property must be held by these tenants.

The participating leaseholders must be those of flats comprising not less than 50% of the total number of flats, and the property itself must be a self-contained building or part of a building. 

How it starts

Leaseholders action the claim by incorporating a RTM Company which is limited by guarantee with a prescribed constitution, and the RTM Company then serves the notice on the landlord and management company.

No qualifying leaseholder can be excluded from the RTM company, and a notice of invitation to participate must be served on all of them.

Things to remember

Service of a claim notice activates a statutory timetable, and the landlord has the option to serve a counter notice (admitting or disputing the claim) by the date specified in the claim notice (not less than one month after service of the claim notice).

If the landlord fails to do this, the right will be deemed admitted.

Also, if a landlord serves a counter-notice disputing the RTM claim, the RTM Company must within two months of the counter-notice apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a determination.

The acquisition date for a RTM claim, where it is admitted and not disputed, is at least three months after the date for service of the counter-notice.

After service of the claim notice, the RTM company can serve an information notice on the landlord requiring delivery of any management information which is vital for the property’s management functions. From the acquisition date, the landlord is also entitled to become a member of the RTM Company.

More information from Blacks Solicitors.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – More leaseholders seeking ‘right to manage’ after Law Commission review | LandlordZONE.

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‘More leaseholders seeking ‘right to manage’ after Law Commission review’

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Solicitors are reporting a rise in the number of enquiries from leaseholders about taking over their freeholder’s management functions under The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, better known as ‘Right to Manage’ or RTM claims.

The claim is made by legal firm Blacks Solicitors whose Partner Anushka Nicholas (pictured) says advice is needed in several areas including, prior to the commencement of a RTM claim, because some groups face difficulties in acquiring up-to-date management information from the freeholder, much of which is essential to taking responsibility for the property.

“Leaseholders have become more aware of their rights since the Law Commission’s proposed reforms to leasehold law were announced in July 2020,” she says.

“As a consequence, more leaseholders are exploring the possibilities of RTM in an effort to take more control over the management of their flats.

“RTM claims are a no-fault right, meaning that they are not reliant on proving bad management by the landlord.

“Assuming the leaseholders fulfil the criteria and follow the statutory procedure, there is a very limited scope for landlords to object to a RTM claim or obstruct the process.”

Here Nicholas outlines some of the key information landlords should know before embarking with other leaseholders on the RTM route.

Who can do it

Qualifying leaseholders must hold a lease of more than 21 years in term, and two or more flats within the property must be held by these tenants.

The participating leaseholders must be those of flats comprising not less than 50% of the total number of flats, and the property itself must be a self-contained building or part of a building. 

How it starts

Leaseholders action the claim by incorporating a RTM Company which is limited by guarantee with a prescribed constitution, and the RTM Company then serves the notice on the landlord and management company.

No qualifying leaseholder can be excluded from the RTM company, and a notice of invitation to participate must be served on all of them.

Things to remember

Service of a claim notice activates a statutory timetable, and the landlord has the option to serve a counter notice (admitting or disputing the claim) by the date specified in the claim notice (not less than one month after service of the claim notice).

If the landlord fails to do this, the right will be deemed admitted.

Also, if a landlord serves a counter-notice disputing the RTM claim, the RTM Company must within two months of the counter-notice apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a determination.

The acquisition date for a RTM claim, where it is admitted and not disputed, is at least three months after the date for service of the counter-notice.

After service of the claim notice, the RTM company can serve an information notice on the landlord requiring delivery of any management information which is vital for the property’s management functions. From the acquisition date, the landlord is also entitled to become a member of the RTM Company.

More information from Blacks Solicitors.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – ‘More leaseholders seeking ‘right to manage’ after Law Commission review’ | LandlordZONE.

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