Landlord says protecting tenants during portfolio sale will cost him £500,000

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Nottingham benefits landlord Mick Roberts (main picture) has made another bid to sell 40 of his properties by offering to cut the sale price by a tenth if a landlord buyer keeps his existing tenants on.

The regular LandlordZONE contributor has previously suggested paying his tenants’ deposit if they buy their home from him.

During an interview with The Telegraph newspaper, he says the average property in his portfolio is worth £130,000 so by paying their 5% deposit for each of the 40 houses it would cost him a total of £260,000 – but he’s had no takers for his offer so far.

Now he plans to take a 10% hit on the sale price if a buyer will buy the properties with the tenants in situ, a discount which could cost him more than half a million pounds.

Mick, who operates one of the largest private property portfolios in the city, blames government policies, licensing schemes and a tortuous Universal Credit system – with the latest EPC regulations being the final straw – for his decision after 25 years as a landlord housing mainly benefit claimants. 

He had hoped to slowly dismantle the portfolio by selling the properties as and when his tenants moved on, but as the supply crunch deepens, Mick’s low-income tenants are increasingly unable to move anywhere else.

Crappy landlords

He tells LandlordZONE: “I don’t want to sell my houses to some crappy landlord – I’ve got a duty of care to these tenants, some of whom have been with me for 24 years.

“Someone has offered to buy the whole lot in the past, but I wasn’t comfortable with the deal and my tenants would have been petrified to have had some armchair investor in charge, who might not do their repairs like I do and would probably put the rent up.”

However, he isn’t particularly hopeful that many landlords will take him up on the offer. Mick adds: “I’ll give it three years and if the plan doesn’t work, I’ll just have to go ahead regardless.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlord says protecting tenants during portfolio sale will cost him £500,000 | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Landlord says protecting tenants during portfolio sale will cost him £500,000

How many BTL properties is enough?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Why is it that so many landlords judge themselves and their peers by how many Buy-To-Let properties they own?

Given a choice between owning 1,000 flats in Northern England or Scotland, which are let to benefits tenants, or the alternative of owning the Burj Khalifa in Dubai

View Full Article: How many BTL properties is enough?

LATEST: Guidance issued for landlords with tenants hoping to take in Ukrainian refugees

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Landlords have been warned to check a property’s potential status if their tenant wants to offer Ukrainian refugees a spare room.

Updated guidance on the rules around the Homes for Ukraine scheme outlines that where a private tenant is paying rent for their accommodation, the property might be covered by additional/mandatory HMO licensing schemes in the area.

It advises: “The landlord can consider whether they are happy to approve of the arrangement, including whether this may bring them within scope of HMO licensing in their local area.

“Where accommodation could be covered by selective licensing, councils should take a pragmatic approach in recognition of the unique nature of the scheme.”

Landlord consent

Tenants offering a spare room are already advised to seek their landlord’s consent before doing so, according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, which adds: “Where no rent is being paid by the sponsor of the accommodation, and since no rent is payable by the guest under the scheme, we do not expect councils to require such accommodation to obtain an HMO licence, whether mandatory or additional.”

LandlordZONE has already reported that landlords have been warned about the legal pitfalls of opening up a home to Ukrainians fleeing the war, as offering anything other than a room in your own main home, such as an annex or separate property, can inadvertently create a tenancy.

There are also questions around responsibility for property maintenance, insurance and payment for utilities and council tax that need to be considered.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Guidance issued for landlords with tenants hoping to take in Ukrainian refugees | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: LATEST: Guidance issued for landlords with tenants hoping to take in Ukrainian refugees

TONIGHT: How to buy in a Booming Market

admin    Uncategorized     agents

This is just a quick reminder about the live training tonight at 8pm, all about how you can compete in today’s booming market and still purchase using very little of your own money.

Generally, sellers expect to get paid top price for their property and are often getting it.

View Full Article: TONIGHT: How to buy in a Booming Market

BREAKING: Wales delays introduction of controversial Renting Homes Act

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The Welsh government has announced a five-and-a-half-month delay to the introduction of its controversial Renting Homes Act which had been due to go live on 15^th July this year.

Now postponed until 1^st December, housing minister Julie James says the delay has been announced after representations from both private and social landlords.

The act will bring in huge changes to the way landlords can evict tenants, issue tenancy contracts, and manage their properties.

This includes a  six-month notice requirement for a landlord to end a contract where the tenant is not at fault, a minimum ‘security of tenure’ of one year from the date of moving in and tighter rules on so-called retaliatory evictions and easier management of joint tenancies.

The act also ushers in a whole new terminology for landlords to grapple with including contract holder (not tenants or licencees) and occupation contracts or standard contracts (replacing ASTs).

Landlord properties must also pass the minimum fit for human habitation (FFHH) test including ensuring that electrical safety testing and ensuring working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are fitted.

Also, abandoned properties can be repossessed without needing a court order.

More time

But landlords have told James that they need more time to prepare for these changes after the long slog of Covid and the ongoing job of helping house Ukrainian refugees.

“Wholesale reform of the type that the Renting Homes (Wales) Act is bringing about happens only very rarely – perhaps once in a generation,” says James.

“I want to do all I can to ensure landlords have adequate time to make the necessary preparations to comply with the requirements of the Act.”

Frustration

The minister adds that she appreciates that this delay will be a source of ‘frustration’ to some of the government’s partners, “especially those who are anxious to see the enhanced protections for tenants the Act will deliver”, she says.

“I share those frustrations, but I recognise that preparing new occupation contracts and ensuring that properties meet the fitness standards set out in the legislation are major undertakings, particularly for those landlords responsible for a large number of properties and tenants. 

“I also accept that landlords from both private and public sectors, as well as letting agents and other stakeholders, would benefit from additional time to familiarise themselves with the various pieces of subordinate legislation – the final tranche of which are due to be made in July – before commencement.”

The Welsh government has launched a dedicated website for landlords about the new rules.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: Wales delays introduction of controversial Renting Homes Act | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: BREAKING: Wales delays introduction of controversial Renting Homes Act