Ministers to ensure £200 energy bills relief ‘distributed fairly’ to tenants by landlords

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A new government consultation aims to study whether its planned Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) will treat all tenants fairly.

The scheme, announced in February as part of a package of support to help domestic energy customers with the costs of rising energy bills, starts in October and will provide funding so that all energy suppliers can pass a £200 reduction to domestic electricity customers.

This will be recovered through electricity bills over five years starting from 2023. 

Landlords must pass on the reduction to tenants; those with a domestic electricity connection who charge ‘all inclusive’ rent, where energy costs are included, will need to ensure that both the grant payments and the levy are also passed on to tenants.

Those with tenants who share a meter point will need to ensure that both the grant received, and the subsequent levy, is shared fairly between tenants.

The consultation – which closes on 23rd May – will look at whether the government should explore issues relating to tenancy agreements, for example, if a tenant has moved into a property after the rebate has been issued.

Split bills

It will also consider a situation where tenants split and pay utility bills separately but occupy the same property, and when tenants move into another property during the five years of the rebate.

London rental platform Rentd has revealed that opting for a rental property that includes bills costs the average tenant an extra £700 a year.

It found that the cost of renting a property without bills costs an average of £1,724 per month while those that include them average £2,023 per month – 17% more. 

Just 8% of all London rental homes currently listed on the market offer bills included within the top-line cost of renting. 

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Ministers to ensure £200 energy bills relief ‘distributed fairly’ to tenants by landlords | LandlordZONE.

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TOMORROW, are you joining the Virtual Property Exhibition?

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This is a very quick reminder about the Virtual Property Exhibition on Friday 29th April, 9.15am to 5.00pm and there is no cost to participate.

This is a once a year opportunity to update your knowledge and learn from 10 of the top UK property educators and commentators about what is happening in the UK property market right now

View Full Article: TOMORROW, are you joining the Virtual Property Exhibition?

‘BAN rent rises and evictions until cost of living crisis ends’, says Generation Rent

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Rent rises should be banned and Section 21 and Section 8 evictions suspended until the cost of living crisis subsides, says tenants’ advocacy group Generation Rent.

The organisation also wants to see landlords banned from requesting six or 12 months’ rent up-front – a tactic, it clams, that is used by some landlords to prevent those on benefits from renting their homes without explicitly saying so.

Generation Rent has used a raft of different data sources to back up its calls for government action including ONS stats that show 59% of renters were finding it difficult to pay energy bills last month and that nearly half were spending less on essentials such as food.

It also claims that a third of tenants recently reported to the ONS that their rent had increased over the past six months.

Other demands made by Generation Rent include unfreezing the Local Housing Allowance, restoring Discretionary Housing Payment funding to 2020-21 levels, reinstating the £20 per week Universal Credit uplift and proving funds to clear tenants’ rent arrears on top of the £65 million provided last year.

Join the conversation in the LandlordZONE Forum about rent controls.

Higher rent

“Although interest rates are rising, homeowners are able to minimise costs by remortgaging. Renters don’t have the same option: if your landlord thinks they can get a higher rent from a new tenant, there’s not much you can do. If you try to negotiate, your landlord can simply serve a Section 21 no-fault eviction notice,” says Alicia Kennedy, Director of Generation Rent.

“With renters so vulnerable to rent hikes and incomes stagnant, this causes impossible choices between paying rent and putting food on the table.

“Without a suspension of evictions and a rent freeze, the cost of living crisis will lead to spiralling rent arrears and homelessness for thousands of families.”

Read more about Section 21 evictions.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – ‘BAN rent rises and evictions until cost of living crisis ends’, says Generation Rent | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: Govt to launch probe into problems being caused by short-lets boom

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The Government is to investigate the short term lettings sector and the problems platforms like Airbnb are causing within the wider property market and economy, it has been announced.

Issues to be examined include damage to housing supply, avoidance of health and safety regulations and anti-social behaviour by holidaymakers.

“The call for evidence will be followed by a consultation, which will enable the Government to put forward proportionate policy options based on a firm evidence base,” said housing minister Eddie Hughes (pictured).

The consultation and call for evidence is to be launched by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), he added, in response to a question from shadow minister Rachel Maskell.

She is worried that landlords of traditional lets are using Section 21 eviction notices to eject long-standing tenants in some areas in favour of more profitable student tenants and holiday lets.
Landlord may remember that only a few years ago the Government was largely indifferent to regulation of the short-lets sector.

Ministerial action

But a growing campaign in England to highlight the problems it is creating within holiday hotspots within the Lake District and SW coastal towns and villages, and action by the Scottish government to prevent its capital from becoming a short-let hotspot, have prompted Ministers into action.

The allure of short-lets to some landlords are very tempting – annual rental revenues can be double or even triple those of long-term lets, while the laws governing this sector are non-existent or very light and taxation lower.
Also, outside London there are no – or lighter – restrictions on the number of days a property can be let out on a short-term basis before planning permission must be sought.

Read more: the ultimate guide to short-let insurance.

Last year Airbnb tried to bat off criticism that it is encouraging more and more homeowners and landlords to rent out their properties on a short-term basis with a White Paper.

This was written following consultations with local authorities, policymakers and businesses, and its key message was that a national registration for short-let properties should be introduced – something the new DCMS initiative, which has yet to be officially launched, will take on board.

Last week Airbnb caused a stir by saying it may ask property owners using its platform to reveal if they have used Section 21 eviction to clear sitting tenants from their property in order to cash-in on the growing sector.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Govt to launch probe into problems being caused by short-lets boom | LandlordZONE.

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Changes to the PRS in Wales – How it could apply to England?

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The new Renting Homes (Wales) Act has been published. I am wondering what people feel about the changes to Section 21 and if they feel that would be a compromise if it were implemented in England? >> https://gov.wales/housing-law-changing-renting-homes

I have copied a small part of it below:

Renting Homes (Wales) Act – Changes to evictions and notice periods
Ending a tenancy is also changing.

View Full Article: Changes to the PRS in Wales – How it could apply to England?