Property Redress Scheme Seeks 15 New Advisory Panel Members

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The Property Redress Scheme (PRS) was launched in 2014 and is the UK’s largest lettings redress scheme with over 13,250 letting agency branches covered. All estate agents, lettings agents and property managers in England and Wales must become members of such a scheme with the fine for non-participation up to £5000.

View Full Article: Property Redress Scheme Seeks 15 New Advisory Panel Members

There are signs that the property market is returning to normal

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Lloyd’s of London one of the world’s biggest high-risk insurers occupies one of London’ s landmark tower buildings, affectionately known as the inside-out-building.

Lloyd’s has occupied the building for 36 years. Its lease will run out in 2031 but there is a break coming up in 2026 which would give the business an opportunity to move, to downsize floor space or change configuration in a new home, in the light of Covid.

Instead the company has indicated it wants to stay in the building. It seems it has now abandoned the idea of downsizing from this famous City of London tower and is already in talks with the owners extend its stay.

The pandemic efficient switch to working from home (WFH), followed by a slow return of brokers to the central City office, has influenced the directors to re-consider any plans it may have had to exercise the break clause in 2026.

The company has confirmed to The Financial Times that it has decided face-to-face trading remains a key function of its insurance markets and it seems it still needs this amount of floor space to perform these operations.

Lloyd’s has also confirmed that it is in discussions the its landlord, Chinese insurer, Ping An, to extend its lease beyond 2031, according to the FT, “if the right terms are agreed”. Lloyd’s has said:

“Our preference is to stay in the building… We remain on course to confirm our plans later this year.”

Lloyd’s decision to stay probably comes as a relief to its landlord Ping An, which the FT says, last month instructed its architects, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) to come up with ideas as to what it should do with the building if Lloyds were to leave.

The near 300ft unique office high tower known as the “inside-out” building, so named because facilities such as its lifts and pipework are visible on the outside, and the covering is predominately glass.

Designed by the late Lord Rogers, the building was bought by Commerzbank for £231 million in 2005 and Ping An paid £260 million for the tower in 2013.

Now it is planning to stay, Lloyd’s has said that it wanted to build “the marketplace of the future”, which means having an integrated digital offering, as well as a “thriving physical space for our market to convene”.

More signs of recovery

Another sign of recovery is the aims of the latest cohort of graduates moving into the employment market. Having endured enforced lockdowns, living with parents for extended periods and on-line tutoring, students want to enter physical spaces and workgroups.

Some students have gone through their whole courses doing remote learning and now they simply have one priority at their interviews: they want to learn about the world of work through meeting people, interacting physically and making friends at work.

Companies also want to see their new starters in the office, even when the company is perhaps already offering working flexibly for its staff, but this means that enough of the key staff need to be in the office to help with inducting, training and developing new staff.

In many industries it’s still an employees’ and graduates’ market – there’s a scrabble for talent from companies that want to employ the best. In the case of, for example, property agents JLL, the company intends to take 100 trainees in the UK operations this year, that’s twice as many as they took on last year, and other companies seem to be doing likewise.

The students coming back

Another effect of the relaxing restrictions and a return to normal, the giant student accommodation specialist landlord, Unite Group PLC, is looking to raise its student hall rents more that it had forecast, as more students plan to return to national university campuses.

The multi-site student accommodation provider says it is experiencing strong demand again from both domestic and foreign students for the 2022-2023 academic year and has already firmed up 90% of its room lets.

With a general relaxation in Covid restrictions, students are planning on returning to face-to-face lectures, and there will be less restrictions on international travel. The company is banking on an occupancy in the high 90s percentage level.

Joe Lister, Unite chief financial officer told The Times:

“We continue to make good progress with bookings, with reservations now ahead of pre-pandemic levels, demonstrating the strength of student demand.”

The company thinks it is well protected from a cost / price squeeze due to inflation, as it will be implementing annual re-pricing and cost hedging.

View Full Article: There are signs that the property market is returning to normal

Your last chance to sell your property portfolio for the best price

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You may think that you’ve missed your chance to sell a property portfolio for the best price, but surprisingly, the markets are showing otherwise.

According to the Halifax, property prices are defying the current economic downturn by continuing to rise.

View Full Article: Your last chance to sell your property portfolio for the best price

Landlords told to ‘brace themselves’ for inspections at 29,000 properties

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Durham Council has warned landlords covered by its new selective licensing scheme to brace themselves for inspections next month.

At least 29,000 properties, 42% of the county’s PRS, are covered by the scheme which launched in April after winning government approval.

Durham had originally submitted a plan that covered 65% of the county and included 51,000 private rented properties, but scaled it down following a consultation.

Councillor James Rowlandson (pictured), cabinet member for resources, investments, and assets, explains that the scheme is about holding landlords accountable who fail to provide appropriate living standards for their tenants.

He adds: “This is an opportunity for landlords to ensure their properties meet the required standard ahead of inspection, and to ensure they are complying with their legal obligations.”

The council is encouraging landlords to apply before the first inspections begin in August and says: “Landlords are required to carry out any necessary action identified during the inspection, such as repairs, in order to comply with the licence conditions. Failure to do so may result in enforcement action.”

The licence fee per property is a maximum of £500, with a discount if landlords meet certain criteria, however the reduction period for new applicants ends on 31st July.

In April, LandlordZONE reported that the council had waited three weeks after launching its scheme to share the news on its website – potentially leaving some landlords in the dark.

Despite announcing it had won approval back in December for a launch on 1^st April, the council’s website went quiet on the subject until 21^st April.

View Full Article: Landlords told to ‘brace themselves’ for inspections at 29,000 properties

Government promises to speed up court evictions process for landlords

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The government has vowed to speed up the evictions process for landlords by improving admin around bailiff enforcement activity and bringing in new technology.

During a debate on the courts system in the Commons, Justice Minister James Cartlidge, who resigned a few hours after his commons appearance, promised that by next year it would modernise how the courts deal with possession claims as part of the courts and tribunals service reform programme.

Conservative MP Andrew Lewer questioned whether reforms promised in the recent White Paper to speed up the court system would be in place before the change in private tenancies, given that it currently takes a private landlord nine months to repossess a property through the courts, with the end of section 21 repossessions expected to drive up cases.

The government was injecting more than £10 million a year into housing legal aid through reforms to the housing possession court duty scheme, said Cartlidge.

“We will further streamline the court process to ensure that landlords can get possession in the most urgent circumstances.

“Finally, we will continue to make administrative efficiencies to maximise bailiff resource for enforcement activity, including the enforcement of possession orders.”

Cartlidge added that more than 70% of all courtrooms, including more than 90% of Crown courtrooms, were already fitted with its video hearings platform and that it would be looking at what more it could do to increase throughput using technology.

Vulnerable tenants

Shadow Solicitor General Andrew Slaughter (pictured) asked why the government was extending fixed recoverable costs to housing cases that would prevent law centres and other providers from having the means to represent vulnerable tenants against bad landlords, including in disrepair and unlawful eviction cases.

Cartlidge said: “I am confident that we have put in a huge funding package across the justice system, with £477 million to support court recovery in the spending review.” 

The announcement comes four years after a consultation by the government on court processes speed.

View Full Article: Government promises to speed up court evictions process for landlords

Brownfield Land Release Fund

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Apparently, there is still some government work being carried out – Derelict and underused brownfield sites across England will be used to build thousands of new homes – the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced 8th July 2022.

View Full Article: Brownfield Land Release Fund

Retrospective registration?

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If you grant a tenancy for +7 years it has to be registered at HM Land Registry.

What will happen, under the new White Paper if it becomes law if tenants stay +7 years?

Does the tenancy then have to be retrospectively registered?

View Full Article: Retrospective registration?

Zero to Hero: The new breed of landlord who’s also an agent, blogger and investor

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“I won’t win every landlord so I might as well teach them how to do things properly,” explains Portsmouth-based investor and entrepreneur Tom Soane (main picture), who runs landlord workshops as well as the popular Anonymous Landlord podcast as a way to share his and others’ experience.

Soane, who runs a fast-expanding portfolio of properties, insists the information and advice is all free and promises to answer every email and help wherever he can.

“I’d love to offer a landlord support service one day,” he tells LandlordZONE, “where they could get a quick answer to everything.”

Empire

In the meantime, he’s busy growing his business empire in Hampshire. Soane started his career as a letting agent, then became a mortgage advisor before starting up his own agency – local online platform Pink Street – in 2012.

After getting some mentoring, he figured that scaling up was the way to go and first bought the Whites agency in Fareham followed by four more acquisitions in quick succession: Taylor Garnier in Wickham, Tenant Finders in Southsea, YesCanDo in Havant, and Principal Properties in Waterlooville.

Soane is still growing his own portfolio of properties around the country – mainly buy-to-let houses for a fast exit if needed – using the capital to re-invest.

4,000 properties

He’s also on the lookout for more agencies around Hampshire and aims to eventually reach his target of having 4,000 managed properties, up from the current 1,000, to become the biggest independent letting agency in the county.

Lettings make up 80% of his companies’ business and Soane explains that he’s taken learnings from each firm to hone his model.

“The difference between mine and other companies is the people I employ and having robust processes for everything,” he says.

He predicts that in the future, the PRS will witness larger property owners creating agencies for their own portfolio, and his next project builds on that: a portfolio management firm for those landlords currently using multiple agencies for their properties around the country, giving them a single point of contact – opening the door for him to buy agencies in other areas. “I love to keep busy,” he laughs. “It’s also a way of leaving a legacy.”

Read more ‘Zero to Hero’ stories.

View Full Article: Zero to Hero: The new breed of landlord who’s also an agent, blogger and investor

Landlord wins battle with council over ‘typing error’ that stopped him selling property

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Benefits landlord Mick Roberts (pictured) is fuming that he’s spent hours chasing up his local council after it mistakenly billed his daughter for rubbish clearance but refused to speak to him when he tried to clear up the admin mess.

Nottingham Council sent him a bill addressed to his daughter back in 2016, without any explanation about what it was for.

When he called to explain the error, officials told him they could only talk to the person named on the bill – so he didn’t pay it.

And when he recently came to sell the house, Mick’s solicitor alerted him to a £417 charge which he then connected to the incorrect historic bill.

“Their legal department said they wouldn’t talk to me as I had a solicitor dealing with the complaint when in fact my solicitor was just doing conveyancing work,” an exasperated Mick tells LandlordZONE.

“It’s so frustrating that they won’t just pick up the phone, as it could all be sorted out so much more quickly.”

Typing error

The council has acknowledged the “unfortunate typing error” and explains that the charge related to the removal of rubbish in 2015, which it has now refunded. It told him that this now won’t appear on a search.

A spokesman says professional conduct rules prevent, “communication with a person in relation to a subject in which that person is represented by another solicitor, without permission from that other solicitor”.

She adds that the complaints team doesn’t have access to the individual council departments’ files, information or knowledge, but that they work out who can deal with the complaint before passing on a response, so that citizens don’t have to contact multiple departments.

Mick isn’t satisfied and plans to take his complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman but doesn’t hold out much hope that it will take any action.

“This absurd Nottingham Council complaints process is meant to wear us down and give up trying,” he adds.

Read more about Mick Roberts.

View Full Article: Landlord wins battle with council over ‘typing error’ that stopped him selling property

LATEST: 18% of rented homes will need £10,000 spent on them to achieve EPC band C

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Nearly one-fifth of private rented homes would need work costing more than £10,000 to bring them up to an EPC Band C, according to the latest PRS figures.

The English Housing Survey Private Rented Sector report for 2020-21 found that these were more likely to need larger sums of money spent on them to reach a C than those of social renters but less likely to require the greatest spend of £15,000 or more compared with owner-occupiers.

Energy efficiency improvement costs were estimated at between £5,000 and £9,999 (45% of PRS homes), while almost a third (31%) could be improved for under £5,000.

At the other end of the scale, 18% of homes would cost more than £10,000 to improve to at least a Band C, and a further 6% of homes would require £15,000 or more.

2025

The government is currently considering proposals that would mean all new tenancies started after the end of December 2025 would need a minimum EPC rating of C while all existing tenancies would need this from December 2028.

In 2020, most private renters lived in properties with a Band D (45%) and C (39%) while 10% lived in homes with a Band E, and 4% were in the lowest rated homes with Band F or G.

Read more about energy efficiency laws.

Private renters generally lived in poorer performing dwellings compared with social renters; 63% of social renters’ homes had a Band C and only 1% lived in houses with a Band F or G. Private renters in London (50%) were more likely to live in a property with a C rating compared with the rest of England (36%).

The report puts the poorer energy performance of the private rented sector down to the fact it has a higher proportion of the oldest (built before 1919) and generally less well-insulated housing stock than the social sector.

Read the report in full.

Read more about EPCs

View Full Article: LATEST: 18% of rented homes will need £10,000 spent on them to achieve EPC band C