Periodic tenancies will make housing crisis worse, expert tells national radio show

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A homelessness expert has warned that switching to periodic tenancies under proposed renter reforms could lead to a worsening housing crisis.

Benjamin Howarth (main picture), founder of emergency accommodation provider the Howarth Housing Group, believes similar harm has already been done in Scotland after short assured tenancies were discontinued in favour of private residential tenancies in 2017.

Speaking on Shelagh Fogarty’s LBC show, he said the cost of renting in Glasgow had gone up by 38% between 2010-2019 – largely due to a change in the law. “There wasn’t enough effort put into strengthening the private rented sector, so it introduced more risk to landlords, less people were then becoming landlords, the number of tenancies dropped, and it increased rental prices,” he said. “The same thing will happen in England when the Section 21 ban takes effect.”

Howarth warned that the PRS needs to be protected, otherwise landlords will quit the sector which, along with councils building insufficient housing, would exacerbate the housing crisis.

“More restrictions and licensing that costs a lot of money is supposed to be a good thing but it’s often badly implemented,” he added. “You can’t blame individual landlords – they’re not able to have the return on their investment.”

Forced eviction

One landlord who called into the programme – Adam in Hartford – told of how existing pressures were forcing him to evict his tenant. He said: “Due to rising interest rates and the tax breaks which have been continuously eroded over the years, I’m going to have to make my tenant homeless which breaks my heart, she’s a single mother. I’m forced into a corner – I can no longer afford to rent it out.”

Howarth said one solution would be to make the PRS more desirable for tenants and increase the number of properties. “If you have your pick of property you can negotiate, instead of the current situation where you’re fighting with other people to live there.”

View Full Article: Periodic tenancies will make housing crisis worse, expert tells national radio show

LATEST: Periodic tenancies will make housing crisis worse, expert tells national radio show

admin    Uncategorized     agents

A homelessness expert has warned that switching to periodic tenancies under proposed renter reforms could lead to a worsening housing crisis.

Benjamin Howarth (main picture), founder of emergency accommodation provider the Howarth Housing Group, believes similar harm has already been done in Scotland after short assured tenancies were discontinued in favour of private residential tenancies in 2017.

Speaking on Shelagh Fogarty’s LBC show, he said the cost of renting in Glasgow had gone up by 38% between 2010-2019 – largely due to a change in the law. “There wasn’t enough effort put into strengthening the private rented sector, so it introduced more risk to landlords, less people were then becoming landlords, the number of tenancies dropped, and it increased rental prices,” he said. “The same thing will happen in England when the Section 21 ban takes effect.”

Howarth warned that the PRS needs to be protected, otherwise landlords will quit the sector which, along with councils building insufficient housing, would exacerbate the housing crisis.

“More restrictions and licensing that costs a lot of money is supposed to be a good thing but it’s often badly implemented,” he added. “You can’t blame individual landlords – they’re not able to have the return on their investment.”

Forced eviction

One landlord who called into the programme – Adam in Hartford – told of how existing pressures were forcing him to evict his tenant. He said: “Due to rising interest rates and the tax breaks which have been continuously eroded over the years, I’m going to have to make my tenant homeless which breaks my heart, she’s a single mother. I’m forced into a corner – I can no longer afford to rent it out.”

Howarth said one solution would be to make the PRS more desirable for tenants and increase the number of properties. “If you have your pick of property you can negotiate, instead of the current situation where you’re fighting with other people to live there.”

View Full Article: LATEST: Periodic tenancies will make housing crisis worse, expert tells national radio show

Environmental issues won’t go away because of a cost-of-living crisis

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ESG – Environmental, Social and Governance – has become something of a mantra in the financial world where investment funds have been diverting the attention of their investors to those investments which best demonstrate constituent companies’ ESG credentials.

From private to public corporations, government, education and health institutions, all are under increasing pressure to demonstrate their commitment to gradually improving their ESG credentials in their property portfolios.

Whether you are a property owner, occupier, investor or developer these issues cannot be ignored, they are becoming increasingly important, not only are they driven by the need to demonstrate social responsibility, they are important elements in achieving your environmental, energy efficiency, human resources and commercial goals.

Investors and other stakeholders, as well regulators and the general public expect organisations to be thinking about and moving towards higher ESG compliance. In an era where evidence of climate change increasingly underlines the importance of adhering to stringent social and environmental standards, landlords face being left behind if they don’t start planning now.

Energy Efficiency

With city buildings soaring higher, urban centres getting bigger all the time, and summers getting hotter, the rate at which global energy is being used will continue to increase exponentially – you only need to look at the predictions for the increase in air condoning use, especially across Asia but also in Europe.

Most existing commercial and residential buildings in established urban areas were constructed well before anyone considered the importance of energy efficiency, with construction methods, glazing and levels of insulation proving totally inadequate, not withstanding the recent dramatic hikes in energy costs.

UK buildings are responsible for over 40 per cent of energy consumption in the UK. Nearly 70 per cent of that energy consumed in commercial buildings is used to provide heating, lighting, air conditioning and hot water. The potential economic and environmental savings are enormous.

Property owners and operators should now be planning and working to improve energy efficiency by applying a range of solutions that can help meet socially desirable targets, and will be highly beneficial long-term.

Formulating a plan

Owners and operators along with building occupiers need to work towards a long-term strategy with clearly defined and understood goals, targets set for achievement goals along the way. A survey whether carried out in-house or by external consultants should identify those measure that will be lease expensive and provide quick-fix solutions, followed by a hierarchy of priorities which become increasingly expensive.

Planning the works will necessitate working around occupiers’ needs, tackling improvements by moving ongoing works around, or waiting until buildings become vacant.

A focus on energy efficiency is a good starting point. Reducing energy consumption using a more efficient heating and ventilation system, better insulation and glazing, and using methods to self-generate energy to supplement the buildings total energy usage will provide a big hit.

Government drive to net zero

Commercial owners and occupiers will face an energy efficiency drive in the near future, with Government proposing two upcoming “compliance windows”, the first of which being from 2025 to 2027. From 1 April 2025, all non-domestic rented buildings in the scope of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) regulations will be required to have a valid EPC, and if one has expired, a new one will have to be obtained.

The owners of commercial buildings including many institutional buildings such those used for educational purposes, student accommodation, hospitals and other institutional will be have to achieve a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least C, if not B, by 1 April 2030, as well as being required to comply with more stringent inspections of heating and air conditioning systems.

Further tough measures are expected in the future regarding carbon reduction, where there will be introduced industry-wide standards and requirements for measuring and reporting carbon emissions.

Electric vehicle charging facilities

Especially in the case of institutional operators such as hospitals, education establishments and large employers, there will be increasingly a need to provided large scale electric vehicle (EV) changing points. There are projected to be millions of electric vehicles on the roads by 2030 when manufacturers will no longer be offering internal combustion engined car for sale.

The Department for Transport has announced funding of £500m to be made available to kick-start the roll-out of a national electric car charging network. The aim is to increasing the number of electric vehicle (EV) public charging points in the UK by tenfold over the next eight years, to make the network more accessible for drivers.

The money will be allocated via the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI), providing local authorities with finance for the improvement of local facilities, along with a £950m Rapid Charging Fund to increase to 6,000 the number of EV rapid charging points on the UK motorway network by 2035.

While cost saving is a usually a priority aim when upgrading commercial buildings, other employer priorities will include improving air quality through better ventilation systems, and especially following the upheavals of Covid, measures to better cope with the post-Covid changing working model and a more comfortable working environment.

View Full Article: Environmental issues won’t go away because of a cost-of-living crisis

Glasgow: A warning to all landlords in the UK?

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Landlords around the UK have been warning for years that with growing numbers leaving the private rental sector, tenants will increasingly struggle to find somewhere to live and, it seems, that this has now come to pass.

Two stories from Glasgow this week highlight what can happen when rented accommodation becomes scarce –

View Full Article: Glasgow: A warning to all landlords in the UK?

Landlord banned from letting properties in England for five years

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A rogue portfolio landlord has been banned from letting properties for five years after she admitted multiple offences relating to fire safety issues.

Naomi Knapp, a landlord with 34 properties in Bristol, was convicted of eight banning order offences and will now be added to the government’s rogue landlord database.

Following a case brought by Bristol Council’s private housing team, a First Tier Property Tribunal made the decision to ban Knapp after it heard about missing or inadequately installed fire doors and damaged and poorly maintained walls and ceilings. Fixtures and fittings in the communal areas of the properties were also damaged and badly maintained.

The landlord has a long history of non-compliance, according to the council, which has previously worked informally with Knapp before it decided to take action in April 2021 at Bristol Magistrates Court over three poorly managed HMOs.

Severe sentence

The tribunal was satisfied that a £22,000 fine for her offences was a suitably severe sentence, and highlighted Knapp’s lack of understanding of the legal requirements. It added that her failure to follow up on her proposals to make improvements demonstrated her unwillingness to change conditions for the better.

Councillor Tom Renhard (pictured), cabinet member for housing delivery and homes, says: “Any tenant who rents from Ms Knapp does not need to do anything at this point – the banning order does not change a renter’s legal rights and does not necessarily mean they will need to leave their properties. However, if they are concerned about their rights they should contact the council or Citizen’s Advice Bureau for support.”

Bristol has now successfully applied to ban three landlords.

View Full Article: Landlord banned from letting properties in England for five years

Call for landlords to be protected in new debt plan scheme

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Landlords and letting agents should be protected under the new Statutory Debt Repayment Plans (SDRP) from tenants who may exploit a loophole if they have racked-up rent arrears.

Propertymark says that the proposals for SDRP would see rent arrears being considered as ‘discretionary’

View Full Article: Call for landlords to be protected in new debt plan scheme

Mechanics of putting a clause in a long lease – Lender wants a soft charge?

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Morning All, I have a remortgage renewal and the lender wants to take a ‘soft charge’ on the freehold of the building which houses 6 flats.

They say because I am the director of the management company and the long lease holder this becomes necessary.

View Full Article: Mechanics of putting a clause in a long lease – Lender wants a soft charge?

How landlords can beat the looming economic crisis of soaring inflation

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Tired of renting, fed up with regulations, constant tenant hassle, costly repairs and, to cap it all, hammered by Section 24 Tax? You aren’t alone. Landlords nationwide have had enough and are looking to get out of renting by selling all or part of their portfolios.

But, if you want to sell quickly without waiting months for your tenants to leave, you face a problem: Tenants refusing to co-operate on a sale, refusing to allow viewings from buyers, or refusing to leave at the end of an AST, has massively delayed or wrecked a property sale for landlord’s time and again.

​And now, the Government is to give tenants even more protection by banning Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and possibly increasing your tenants’ notice period to 6 months.

​That’s a nightmare scenario for landlords, especially if you want, or need, to sell quickly to release equity.

​And, if you don’t sell quickly, with the looming economic crisis of soaring inflation, higher taxes and rising interest rates you could see the value of your property falling fast, while your tenants happily stay in your property and delay a sale.

​That’s where we can help here at Landlord Sales Agency. With a mailing list of over 30,000 investors – from the UK and overseas – we can get you offers from buyers who will take on your property and your tenants. Why? Because it gives them immediate rental income and ROI without the hassle of finding a tenant themselves or paying a letting agent. And, with rental demand and rents soaring, property still offers far higher returns for cash rich investors than the paltry interest rates on offer.

That’s the perfect result for you. It means you sell without tenant hassle, without losing rental income, and without waiting weeks or months for a sale to complete.

​However, this window of opportunity could soon close. That’s why as a landlord myself I have personally already cashed in some of my portfolio before prices fall. Savvy landlords nationwide are doing exactly the same. 

But, don’t miss the last days of the boom. This could be the last opportunity you get for years to sell quickly while prices are still at record levels and before even more tenant protection hits landlords hard. Contact us NOW for immediate cash offers from our mailing list of 30,000 investors. FREE to advertise and no sale no fee.

Contact Landlord Sales Agency:

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View Full Article: How landlords can beat the looming economic crisis of soaring inflation

Affordability and summer heat being felt in the lettings market

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Affordability is becoming increasingly important in the lettings market as it continues to heat up over the summer, one lettings agency reveals.

They point out that its rental value growth forecasts for 2022 are being upgraded as stock remains low and demand shows little sign of easing.

View Full Article: Affordability and summer heat being felt in the lettings market