West of England Landlord Expo Tuesday 17th May 2022

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Key members of the Property118 and Cotswold Barristers team are hoping to meet several of our regular readers and tax planning Clients at the West of England Landlord Expo on Tuesday 17th May 2022 as well as an anticipated 500+ other attendees.

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Buy-to-let investors spurn big cities for Milton Keynes

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Landlords are increasingly choosing to buy properties in secondary towns and cities rather than major city centres, new research shows.

The largest number of buy-to-let completions during 2021 was in Milton Keynes, up a whopping 667% compared to the previous year, according to Paragon Bank, whose data reveals that completions in Bristol were up by 300% and in Luton by 258%. As well as London and Manchester (300%), the top ten hotspots also included Plymouth (183%), Stoke (157%), Northampton (133%), Cardiff (70%) and Nottingham (64%).

Demand strong

Paragon Bank director of mortgages, Richard Rowntree, says landlord demand for city and town centre property was strong in 2021, with its analysis showing completions for house purchases increasing by 100% compared to the previous year. Landlords had been reacting to tenants’ desire to live in urban areas, but in smaller towns and cities.

“There appears to be one of, or a combination of, three factors that each of these locations share,” says Rowntree. “They are in commutable distance to a major city, they mostly have vibrant universities and they have healthy local economies.”

Paragon’s figures show a 95% increase in buy-to-let completions in the capital during 2021, with landlords concentrating acquisitions in Zones 2 and 3 as they balanced the requirement for yield, availability of property, and tenant demand.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Buy-to-let investors spurn big cities for Milton Keynes | LandlordZONE.

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Northern Ireland landlords avoid rent cut as tenant bill moves closer

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Northern Ireland politicians have voted to overturn a proposal that would have cut private rents in the country by 10%.

Assembly members were debating amendments to the Private Tenancies Bill, which aims to strengthen the rights of private tenants by restricting rent increases to only once a year, as well as ensuring private renters don’t have to pay more than one month’s deposit up front.

Rent freeze

Gerry Carroll MLA had called for the Bill to include allowing those tenants who have lived in a property for more than six months to get a 10% rent reduction for a year, followed by a rent freeze for three years. However, Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey urged MLAs not to support it after many failed to oppose it during a previous vote. She said it put the Bill at risk of failing.

Hargey added: “The amendment places a duty on my department to conduct a consultation on a rent reduction and rent freeze. That is in keeping with the spirit of the amendment that was passed by the Assembly at consideration stage. The consultation will result in a report that is to be produced and laid before the Assembly within six months of the Bill’s receiving Royal Assent.”

Local elections

A Landlords Association of Northern Ireland spokesman tells LandlordZONE that the vote was simply a piece of electioneering in the run-up to local elections. He adds: “We’re opposed to the fact that by not being allowed to take more than one month deposit it means foreign students who don’t have a guarantor, and who previously paid a three or four month deposit, will end up having to pay one year up front instead.”

The proposed law, which will also make it mandatory for private rental properties to be fitted with smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, as well as having mandatory electrical checks, will now go through its final stage before it can become law.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Northern Ireland landlords avoid rent cut as tenant bill moves closer | LandlordZONE.

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Gove sends housebuilders back to drawing board over cladding plans

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Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove has rejected developers’ offer to remediate unsafe buildings while protecting leaseholders from escalating costs.

The building industry had suggested funding the remediation of fire safety defects in properties they had a role in developing above 11 metres, without drawing on the Building Safety Fund, and to offer refunds relating to buildings where money had already been handed out.

Unsafe cladding

In a letter to the Home Builders Federation, Gove said the proposal, “fell short of full and unconditional self-remediation that I and leaseholders will expect us to agree”. He added: “I am disappointed to see you have not proposed a funding solution to cover the full outstanding cost to remediate unsafe cladding on buildings 11-18m.”

Gove said developers must commit to full self-remediation of unsafe buildings without added conditions or qualifications and has given the sector until the end of the month to agree a fully funded plan. “If an agreement is not reached by the end of March, I have been clear that government will impose a solution in law and have taken powers to impose this solution through the Building Safety Bill.”

Principal residence

The government has already announced that portfolio landlords who own flats hit by the cladding scandal won’t be covered by the remediation fund; only those leaseholders who live in a property as their principal residence and accidental landlords – those who do not live in the property, but do not own any other residences – or who own only one other property are covered.

Gove added that another industry roundtable would meet at the end of March to finish discussions.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Gove sends housebuilders back to drawing board over cladding plans | LandlordZONE.

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Can I move into my HMO?

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Hi, I would appreciate some input on this idea. I have a 4 bed unlicensed HMO (does not require a licence). Cutting a long story short, I am getting to retirement age, so I decided to sell up.

I gave all tenants (all on statutory periodic) due notice.

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8 Ground rents trapped in a company structure?

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We have 8 ground rents trapped in a company structure where we wish to rationalise into one, the active Buy to Let company.

The Holding Company contains 2 Ground rents, a subsidiary and practically inactive Management Company contains 6 Ground Rents and one Subsidiary to the Holding Company a BTL active company with mortgage borrowing.

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