The Right Amount Of Debt On Your Property Portfolio And Property Business

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What is the right amount of debt for a property investor?

Too little debt can be as costly as too much on your property portfolio, so maintaining your debt correctly is vital to your property business.

In this episode of The Property Tax Show

View Full Article: The Right Amount Of Debt On Your Property Portfolio And Property Business

DWP to spend £20m ejecting bad landlords from ‘exempt’ accomm sector

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Local councils in England can now apply for a share of a £20 million pot that’s been made available to drive up standards in the supported housing sector.

The government wants to hear from authorities dealing with poor quality provision or unscrupulous landlords exploiting vulnerable residents by charging high rents for poor-quality accommodation while offering almost no help.

It cites landlords providing as little support as dropping off a box of cereal but claiming £250 per week in an area where the average rent is £80.

Supported – or exempt – accommodation is non-commissioned and unregulated supported housing where tenants include ex-prisoners, addicts, rough sleepers and fleeing survivors of domestic abuse.

Landlords can apply for provider status, exempting them from local licensing regulations and housing benefit caps, meaning that councils have few powers to act over the quality and safety of homes or how tenants are treated.

Clamp down

To clamp down on the sector, the new funding programme will give councils resources to carry out inspections and enforcement activity. Alongside this, the government has introduced new minimum standards to prevent landlords from exploiting some of the most vulnerable tenants.

Local authorities will get new powers to better manage supported housing so rogue landlords can’t exploit the system, while there will be changes to Housing Benefit regulations to define care, support and supervision.

Minister for Welfare Delivery, David Rutley MP (main picture), says: “Having a settled home gives people the security to improve their lives by getting on the employment ladder or taking other steps towards financial independence.

“This, supported by changes we recently announced which will give people on benefits the choice of putting money towards a deposit, provides the chance to make progress on the pathway to home ownership.”

This programme builds on the success of £5.4 million year-long supported housing pilots in Birmingham, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Hull and Bristol.

View Full Article: DWP to spend £20m ejecting bad landlords from ‘exempt’ accomm sector

Lower EPC rating after improvements – Is there an official referee?

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I have an EPC from 2009 which rated my house as a D67 this noted that there was ‘partial double glazing ‘ and recommended that full double glazing be fitted, which would boost the rating to a C76. This was duly done.

View Full Article: Lower EPC rating after improvements – Is there an official referee?

Supported Housing Crack Down

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Unscrupulous Supported housing providers who exploit vulnerable residents by charging high rents for poor-quality accommodation and offering almost no help will be driven out of the supported housing market by a new £20 million government improvement programme launched on 2 July 2022.

View Full Article: Supported Housing Crack Down

Landlords oppose evictions, pet rights and benefits tenant reforms in White Paper

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Landlords have revealed that they oppose three of the key reforms proposed by the government in its Fairer Renting White Paper.

The research by Total Landlord Insurance among nearly 1,100 landlords shows that 60% don’t support the abolition of Section 21 evictions, 57% are against the right to allow tenants to rent with a pet unless they can reasonably refuse and 58% are also against plans to make a blanket ban on tenants renting with children or with the support of benefits illegal.

But some elements of the White Paper are supported by landlords.

Nearly two thirds of landlords are in favour of giving tenants stronger powers to cease arbitrary rent review clauses such as unjustified rent increases, while a similar proportion of landlords were in favour of doubling notice periods when rent increases are justifiably implemented.

Most surprisingly, 89% are behind the creation of a new ombudsman to deal with rental market disputes.
The proposals may also deliver the Conservative’s stated aim of chasing more landlords out of the PRS with 17% of those canvassed by the survey saying they’d reduce their portfolios if the proposals become law.

“We’ve waited with bated breath for three years to hear the detail of the Government’s proposed rental market reforms and while it’s fair to say that their latest plans are rather tenant focussed, any attempts to improve the sector are extremely welcome and should improve standards for all stakeholders regardless of what side of the tenancy agreement they stand on,” says Eddie Hooker (pictured), CEO of the Hamilton Fraser Group, which operates Total Landlord Insurance.

“Despite this, our latest gauge on landlord sentiment shows that the vast majority are in favour of greater tenant protection and a fairer, more level playing field across the rental sector.

“This has always been the case and while there are bad apples in every batch, the view that all landlords are money hungry tyrants who forsake tenant welfare to increase their rental yield simply isn’t the case.”

Read the White Paper in full.

View Full Article: Landlords oppose evictions, pet rights and benefits tenant reforms in White Paper