War In Europe by Mark Alexander

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I make no apologies for sharing my thoughts on this topic, even though they are not directly property related.  I have disabled commenting because I do not want Property118 to become a Political debating ground or to subject our moderators to extremist comments on this extremely emotive subject.

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New TV series highlights property fraud

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A new four-part ITV drama series starting tonight is based around title fraud which can rob you of your property.

Downton Abbey actress Tuppence Middleton and Line of Duty star actor Martin Compston portray a couple who become victims of the little-known crime of house hijacking, a crime that “can destroy your life”.

Based on a 2018 thriller by Louise Candlish, who said the quote to describe the effects of losing your house title to the sinister world of identity fraud.

Based on real events

Candlish got the idea for her book after reading about a real-life drama, when Penny Hastings, the wife of military historian Sir Max Hastings, very nearly lost her investment property in London in 2015.

Her property in Fulham, west London had been sold under her nose to an unsuspecting buyer and by the time the crime was discovered, by accident, the new “owner” had received the keys and had got planning consent for renovations, and a builder was about to start.

This was a rental property that Hastings had on the market for new tenants with an estate agency. A female criminal had changed her name by deed poll – Penny Hastings – and processed the purchase with forged documents.

The real victim was the innocent purchaser, a young woman who paid the full amount of £1.35million in cash, with no mortgage. She had been fooled into handing over the money to the fraudster which was last heard of winging its way to a bank account in Dubai, never to be seen again.

This was a high value fraud, one which has been occurring with increased frequency reports the Metropolitan Police. A whole series of these linked frauds against ‘high value’ homes have been investigated by the Met’s Falcon (cybercrime) unit. They typically involve huge sums disappearing into Middle Eastern bank accounts. Several people have been arrested in recent years.

Rental properties are targets

Rental properties without the encumbrance of a mortgage are prime targets for this type of crime and ones which the owners rarely visit make the fraud easier to carry out. Home hijackers tend to target these rentals and second homes, mainly investment properties. They target wealthy cash buyers to complete the fraud which means that mortgage lenders do not need to carry out any checks.

Fraudsters will typically rent the victim owner’s property so they can impersonate the owner using forged documents, intercept the post and oversee estate agent and buyer viewings. Some owners have even been known to leave personal documents including passports in the property, which makes the criminal’s clandestine work even easier.

Candlish, the author of the book describes this type of property crime as the tops, “the crown jewels of property fraud”, a much more sophisticated scheme than the more common scam of intercepting conveyancing solicitors’ emails and diverting buyers’ payments.

Just imagine arrive home or going round to your investment property to find a removal van parked outside with a new family moving in. They bought your property from fraudsters and they are now the registered owners.

To many people this storyline may seem far-fetched, but in reality it’s far from it, it can happen to you, It’s a sophisticated scam that involves both the buyer and the seller in the con.

And it’s not insubstantial. During the financial year 2020-21, mostly during the lockdown period, The Land Registry paid out £3.5 million in compensation for 22 claims for property fraud of one type or another, from forging documents to transfer a parents’ home into a relatives’ own name or a stranger impersonating a homeowner and selling their house to an unsuspecting buyer as above.

Land Registry Property Alerts Service

There’s a simple precaution that every UK property owner can take to combat this type of crime:

sign-up to the Land Registry’s free properly alerts service. If you own a property without a mortgage especially, it’s a simple process which takes a couple of minutes on the LR website and well worth the effort.

In addition, The Law Society and the Land Registry are advising conveyancers to use enhanced identity checks on buyers and sellers to help screen out these frauds.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – New TV series highlights property fraud | LandlordZONE.

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Invest in the capital’s PRS or face a huge future housing shortfall, warn report authors

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London needs at least 83,000 new private rented homes a year to meet its housing needs, new research has found.

The Capital Economics report, commissioned by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), bases its findings on government targets which outline how 340,000 homes a year must be built across the UK by the middle of this decade to meet future demand. This is despite government figures revealing how the supply of private rented housing in London has fallen by 85,000 during the past five years.

Government targets

Capital Economics reports that, if owner occupied and social rented homes in the UK continue at their ten-year average rate of growth, private rented sector supply would have to increase by 227,000 properties annually to meet government targets. This growth is needed if supply is to meet the needs of an anticipated 1.8 million new households over the next ten years. In London, the number of 15-24-year olds is forecast to grow by more than 120,000 (almost 12%).  

Additional survey data by the research consultancy BVA-BDRC suggests that, in central London, 74% of private landlords saw an increase in the demand for homes to rent in Q4 2021 – up from 54% in Q3.  

Investment needed

Capital Economics believes that to meet targets for housing supply, the Treasury needs to encourage investment in the sector, including increasing the rate of new builds and switching commercial property to residential use, moving stock from short-term to long-term lets and bringing empty homes back into use.

NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle says that for all the efforts to support homeownership, the private rented sector has a vital role to play in housing so many Londoners. He adds: “Today’s analysis demonstrates the folly of the mayor’s calls for rent controls in the capital, a policy which would serve only to freeze investment in the very homes renters need.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Invest in the capital’s PRS or face a huge future housing shortfall, warn report authors | LandlordZONE.

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Property Tribes director makes mercy mission to Ukrainian border

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Property Tribes director Nick Tadd is urging the sector to get behind his one-man humanitarian mission to deliver supplies to Ukrainian refugees.

Tadd is driving to the Ukrainian border in Poland with a car and trailer loaded up with water, baby milk, non-perishable foods and hygiene products, as well as warm clothes that he plans to distribute. He’s making the spontaneous 20-hour solo trip after feeling compelled to act and has already raised £2,395 of the £3,000 target on his Just Giving page.

Mammoth journey

He plans to use the money to buy more supplies once he arrives in Poland, Tadd tells LandlordZONE, after only grabbing a few hours’ sleep in his car on the mammoth journey. “I hope to hook up with an NGO when I get there and am going to offer my services and hang around for a few days,” he says. “If they can tell me what they need I will try and source it, perhaps in a Polish cash & carry, and will keep going backwards and forwards until I’ve exhausted it.”

Tadd admits he has never done anything like this before but realised that by making the trip himself, 100% of funds raised would go direct to refugees. And while he doesn’t think it will be dangerous, he admits the experience will probably be emotional.

Donation plea

“Some remarkable things have happened since I set off yesterday – the momentum behind this has been quite humbling,” he adds. “Platinum Property Partners donated £1,000 to get the mission underway and I know there’s a huge groundswell of people wanting to do something, so please give whatever you can,” he urges LandlordZONE readers. “Every penny raised will go to assisting the Ukrainian refugees.”

You can donate at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ukrainemissionnick

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Property Tribes director makes mercy mission to Ukrainian border | LandlordZONE.

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The National Landlord Investment Show returns to London, Old Billingsgate, March 15th

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Widely considered the UK’s number one landlord and property investment exhibition, the National Landlord Investment Show returns to Old Billingsgate, in the heart of London on March 15th for the first show of 2022. With 100+ exhibitors, 50+ speakers &

View Full Article: The National Landlord Investment Show returns to London, Old Billingsgate, March 15th

‘UNFAIR’: Landlord faces £5,000 fine for deposit protected six months late by her lettings agency

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A landlord with a property in West Essex has urged LandlordZONE readers to be more careful when trusting agents to protect their tenants’ deposits via one of the government’s approved schemes after a vindictive renter took her to a property tribunal.

The female landlord, who wishes to remain anonymous until the legal process is exhausted, faces paying up to £5,000 to her former tenant after her letting agency protected his deposit with an approved scheme six months after the statutory 30-day deadline.

The tenant had caused water damage to the property during his 18-month stay between 2000 and 2021 and she sought to deduct money from his deposit via the deposit scheme’s redress process.

This deduction went ahead following the mediation process, but the tenant was then tipped off about late protection of the tenancy deposit and has now taken her to a First Tier Property Tribunal to claim up to three times his monthly rent in compensation via a ‘no-win, no-fee’ firm of solicitors

Tribunal

The landlord tells LandlordZONE that she spoke to the agency who had managed the property and asked that they help foot the bill for any potential award given by the tribunal.

But the agent inaccurately said it’s the landlord who is responsible, not the agent, and refused to get involved.

The landlord also says her deposit scheme has refused to give her any information that might help, which she needs as her letting agent went bust soon after the tenant left the property, so she needs confirmation that it was her agent who submitted the deposit late.

The lettings agency has subsequently started trading once again under new ownership and says the dispute is between the landlord and the firm’s previous owners.

“Since I got the letter from the solicitors I’ve been on anti-depressants because I can’t cope,” she says. “I feel everyone involved be it the deposit protection scheme or the letting agents have all left me high and dry to face this vindictive tenant alone. Where am I going to find £5,000?

“I keep wondering why the tenant would do this – but I suppose, like PPI claims, it’s because they can.”

Warning

The landlord says she wants other landlords to understand their responsibilities under the Housing Act 2004 and that they should not assume they are protected when a letting agency lodges a tenant’s deposit on their behalf via one of the three schemes – DPS, TDS and mydeposits.

“I did a ‘secret shopper’ ring-around of several agents in the area to ask them who is responsible for deposits, and many of them said it wasn’t the landlord – so even they don’t even know the law,” she adds.

“It has made me super aware of all of the regulations and rules governing the industry because it turns out I’m the one who foots the bill if it’s done incorrectly.”

Expert opinion

Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the PRS, which was not involved in this case, says: “This is a tragic but rare set of circumstances.

“Both the landlord and the agent are jointly responsible for protecting the deposit once the tenant pays it over to the agent.

“If the deposit is not protected and the correct information provided to the tenant in time, then both parties are jointly responsible, but it is usually the landlord who is taken to court.

“A landlord cannot say it is ‘nothing to do with them’. They will have to deal with the situation and take their own action against the agent, either through a redress scheme or the courts. In this case, as the agent no longer exists, the landlord faces the rap on their own.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – ‘UNFAIR’: Landlord faces £5,000 fine for deposit protected six months late by her lettings agency | LandlordZONE.

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Landlords fail to win judicial review of ‘impractical’ out of hours decision in Northern Ireland

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Private landlords in Belfast are frustrated that they have been prevented from launching a further legal challenge against being put on call around the clock.

The High Court ruled this week that they must provide an emergency out-of-hours contact number for dealing with anti-social behaviour – and has dismissed an application for a judicial review, The Irish News reports.

A judge rejected claims by the Landlords Association for Northern Ireland (LANI) that they have been unreasonably burdened by the new licence condition introduced as part of efforts to tackle nuisance residents in HMOs.

The judge was referring to ongoing problems with antisocial behaviour in the city, in particular near student HMOs where late-night street parties in the Holyland area of the city are common.

LANI argued that this put landlords on call “24/7, 365 days a year” and claimed it was an impracticable obligation for members with up to 100 tenants on their books.

Middle of the night

It said landlords contacted in the middle of the night would be able to do nothing more than could be achieved during office hours. Failure to comply could lead to prosecution or being taken off the HMO licence register.

However, Mr Justice Scoffield said there was no expectation of action being taken in the middle of the night to terminate leases or serve notices to quit, instead, the council was seeking to leverage any available influence over nuisance residents.

He added: “A landlord, or agent who manages the property, may have an ongoing and/or personal relationship with the tenants (and/or, in the case of student tenants, their parents) which might make the tenants more amenable to persuasion to moderate their behaviour at the landlord or agent’s behest.”

He said that in some cases, a landlord’s intervention might be effective when engagement with council or police officers was not.

Justice Scoffield added: “There may be less of an element of bravado involved in dealing with the landlord than there may be dealing with police or council officers, for a variety of reasons.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlords fail to win judicial review of ‘impractical’ out of hours decision in Northern Ireland | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: Birmingham rubber stamps launch of UK’s biggest selective licensing scheme

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Birmingham Council has approved the UK’s biggest selective licensing scheme and is now waiting for Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove to give it the go-ahead.

Landlords across 25 wards including North Edgbaston (pictured), South Yardley and Sparkhill are set to need a licence as the city bids to tackle crime and deprivation. 

The scheme covers 40,000 properties, meaning that the £700 licence fee would generate an income of £28 million for the authority.

A previously suggested £670 fee was increased to meet extra staffing costs.

Birmingham hopes that selective licensing will improve 1,000 properties in the private rented sector each year as a result of the intervention and believes it will reduce the deprivation gap between the 25 proposed wards and the rest of the city.

Rights and responsbillities

A council report explains: “It may be that tenants in these properties are wary of complaining or may not know their rights or the responsibilities of their landlords.”

The council’s report adds that its scheme will contribute to alleviating fuel poverty because measures to improve standards will ensure that heating appliances are properly checked, maintained and working efficiently.

It says: “Improvements in the housing standards should also make properties more secure which should assist with minimising crime, particularly burglary. The availability of and living in improved housing conditions should contribute to a reduction in homelessness.”

Arbitration

As a result of its consultation, the council will consider if it can provide support or signposting for arbitration between landlord and tenant disputes and has also promised to investigate providing online annual updates on the delivery of outcomes for the scheme.

Its consultation showed that only a minority of landlords and letting agents believed that a selective licensing scheme would address crime and deprivation while the majority of other respondents agreed it would.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Birmingham rubber stamps launch of UK’s biggest selective licensing scheme | LandlordZONE.

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Renters union ACORN apologises unreservedly to Landlord

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Renters union ACORN apologises unreservedly to Landlord: Click here 

Apology and Correction: “We provide this Apology and Correction in order to apologise to Zobia Rafique and Century One Estates Ltd in relation to very serious, defamatory and false allegations that we made about them in publications dated 20 December 2020

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Paying for major works in March – which tax year?

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Hi, my managing agents to a flat I rent are asking for a £2k payment for major works, which is fine as they have done the section 20.

The question I have is if I paid it now (March 2022)

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