PROFILE: Meet the local landlords taking on regional and national regulators

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The Humber Landlords Association (HLA) can justly claim that it has the ear of local and central government – and isn’t afraid to take these authorities to task.

When it challenged Hull’s Accredited Landlord Scheme in 2019, the government delivered a sharp rebuke to the city council after finding it to be unfairly penalising private landlords by serving them with enforcement notices before they’d had the opportunity to address a tenant’s complaint.

“When the new enforcement policy was introduced, we told them it wouldn’t give people time to sort out problems,” chairman and local agent Danny Gough (pictured) tells LandlordZONE.

“It ended up at the High Court but when the council saw we were happy to go to the Court of Appeal, that made them sit up and think. We just wanted them to think logically and they’ve changed the policy. That was a real win.”

Resisted plans

The association also successfully resisted plans to introduce selective licensing and believes the fact private landlords provide more houses in Hull than the local authority gives it a mandate to step in when something doesn’t make sense for the sector. It’s even been to meet with then Housing Minister Michael Gove to outline concerns.

When it’s not campaigning, the HLA, which was set up more than 30 years ago and covers Hull, Humberside and North East Lincolnshire, meets once a month, conducts in-house training and keeps members informed about the law and their responsibilities, explains Gough, who has been at the helm for four years.

The result has been an improvement in standards throughout the PRS and more tenants living in a nice, safe environment.

Good work

“We currently have 115 members and more people wanting to join as they can see we do really good work, but there’s no desire to push the group into something bigger than it needs to be,” he says.

Involved in property since 2002, Gough has owned lettings, sales and investment firm MyPad in the city since 2012 and reckons it’s a good fit, asserting: “I’m passionate about the association.

“It’s what made my business better because I’m at the forefront of all the information, so our clients are the best informed.”

View Full Article: PROFILE: Meet the local landlords taking on regional and national regulators

BREAKING: Government seeks YOUR views on Decent Homes Standards plans

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The Government has today launched yet another consultation ahead of its previously announced Renters Reform Bill, this time looking at its plans to introduce a ‘Decent Homes Standard’ into the PRS.

As mentioned within the recent ‘Fairer Renting’ white paper, it will bring in a version of a standard already in place within the social housing sector.

The consultation asks whether privately rented homes should be required to be kept in a good state of repair with efficient heating, suitable facilities, and free from serious hazards like major damp or fire risks.

It seeks views from landlords, tenants, councils and housing groups on whether such new standards should be introduced and on how they should be enforced and will run for six weeks.

Landlords response

Responding to the consultation Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, (pictured, below) says: “Standards in the private rented sector are improving. That is why private renters are more likely to be satisfied with their accommodation than those in the social rented sector.

“The Government’s plans should focus on making it easier for private landlords, tenants and councils to understand what is expected of them by simplifying the almost 170 laws already affecting the sector.

“The plans need to also recognise crucial differences between private and social rented housing, including in the age and types of properties in each.

“In the end, all the laws in the world will do nothing without improved enforcement against the minority of landlords who tarnish the reputation of the responsible, law-abiding majority. That requires properly resourced councils tackling the criminals and rogues, whilst allowing the responsible majority to easily prove their home is safe and compliant.”

Housing Secretary Greg Clark (pictured) says he wants to see a thriving private rented sector, “but that does not mean that tenants should have to suffer homes that are not of decent standard,” he adds.

“This consultation asks what the minimum standard for privately rented homes should be.”

Visit the consultation page.

View Full Article: BREAKING: Government seeks YOUR views on Decent Homes Standards plans

UK rents continue rising to new heights

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Every region in the UK has seen annual and monthly rent growth with the average price now standing at £1,143, one index reveals.

According to HomeLet, the average rent in August grew by 8.5% from last year –

View Full Article: UK rents continue rising to new heights

Comment: the cost of living crisis is particularly acute for tenants living in the capital

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Today’s tenants are not just facing one problem; the cost of living, the scarcity of rentals and rapidly rising rents mean it’s just one thing on top of another.

Most tenants would like to see their time in rentals as a temporary episode in their lives, usually as a stepping stone to owning their own property, once they find a partner, combine resources, and settle down to a house with space, rather than the archetypal cramped city flat.

One crisis after another

But with seemingly one crisis after another for generations X, Y and Z, first Brexit, then Covid and now a European war has thrown another great spanner in the works, the house owning dream looks further away than ever for many renters.

The so called cost of living crisis is have a big impact on tenants already, and we’ve barely reached the start of it; as winter arrives we are likely to see the full extent, which could extend to years rather than months.

With tenants in the capital paying up to 50 per cent of their earning capacity on rent, the rising cost of heating fuel and food – as a result of Putin’s grotesque invasion of the sovereign state of Ukraine – and to some extent successive Governments’ seeming inability to invest in a coherent long-term energy strategy, it’s all having a devastating effect on the many tenants trapped in the rental market.

To make matters worse, there’s a severe shortage of rental accommodation, which means that if tenants need to move – and this is happening more often as landlord decide to sell-up – they are not only having to much pay higher rents, they are lucky to even find any vacancies.

Renting with bills included?

According to Melissa York writing for the Sunday Times, the most searched for rental property item on Rightmove currently is rental accommodation with bills included. Unfortunately for most tenants – apparently only around 1 per cent of landlords would do that – getting such a benefit in today’s inflationary environment is a bit of a forlorn hope.

Offering an all-in rent, for most landlords, is just one risk too far. Would tenants be as careful at keeping their use of electricity, heating, hot water and water usage in check, as if they were paying for these themselves? Human nature says not. Especially so in a multi-occupied groups, where there’s always someone willing to abuse trust, usage is likely to escalate under carte blanche – it’s the “Tragedy of the Commons” story over again!

A lower standard of living for everyone

Everyone’s cost of living and therefore standard of living will be affected by the ongoing crisis and there’s going to be no shelter from that. But with average rents outside of London now in excess of eleven hundred pounds, and 52 per cent fewer rental homes available to let, causing a scramble for every vacancy in the capital, according to property agents Hamptons International – some tenants are just teetering on disaster.

Among the younger population, renting is widespread in the UK with only around 40 per cent of 25 to 35 year olds owning their own homes. And despite a Conservative stated Government policy of encouraging home ownership, with it’s “Help to Buy” schemes, there’s still around 60 per cent of low earners, that is people earning below £300 per week, who are renting, and many likely to be life long renters.

Where do renters live?

In the UK over half of all renters live in “terraced” single-family homes, with around one-third in “flats” and the balancing minority living in detached rental houses. For renters, living conditions are on average worse that those of home owners, with fewer and smaller rooms, and often-times with some form of overcrowding.

If you go back 100 years local authorities were required by law to provide council (social) housing. This type of tenure was introduced to provide decent housing for returning army veterans after World War I, and the tenure received a further boost after World War II, largely replacing bomb damaged housing.

The switch to private renting

But by the 1970s the negative side of social housing began to show: lack of funding, lack of maintenance and large sink estates with decaying property stock. It led, under the Thatcher administration to a major shift in policy, away from Government provided housing to private supply: the private landlord and the growth of the private rented sector (PRS), which has continued to the present time. The private landlord now assumes that mantle that was once the remit of the local council.

Home ownership in decline

At the same time, home ownership had been in steady decline, as renting continued to increase. Ownership reached an all time peak in 2003 at just under 71 per cent, dropping to around 63 per cent today. So more people than every rely on landlords to provide rental housing at a reasonable price.

It’s something that now appears to be slipping further and further away, rents continue to soar as rental supply dwindles. So far there’s no sign the Government intends to do anything positive to encourage small-scale private landlords to invest: far from it, with the latest a A fairer private rented sector white paper is providing enough perceived threats to actually scare many landlords away – it’s literally the last straw for many.

View Full Article: Comment: the cost of living crisis is particularly acute for tenants living in the capital

Landlord ‘ignorance’ about wear and tear vs damage is getting costly

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Educating landlords about what constitutes wear and tear could reduce the number of costly deposit disputes, according to the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC).

Those landlords who can’t distinguish between the two are likely to raise disputes over negligible wear – and are more likely to lose them, particularly without a thorough inventory.

The AIIC says relying on knowledgeable inventory clerks can protect both tenants and landlords but also reduce unnecessary disputes.

Mydeposits reports that rental deposit disputes between landlords and tenants amounted to a costly £27 million in 2021 – an average of £1,005 per tenancy.

AIIC chair Daniel Evans (pictured, below) says the money wasted on unnecessary disputes could be reduced with better understanding of fair wear and tear, which describes the deterioration of the condition of the property as a result of reasonable use by the tenant.

Damage caused by negligence does not fall under this criteria, but items, fittings, or fixtures that have been worn through natural use would be classified as fair wear and tear.

When a home’s wear and tear is assessed, average useful lifespan of an item, expected usage, who is renting the home and the length of the tenancy are all considered.

“We recognise that deposit disputes cannot be prevented altogether but if issues arise, the only way to ensure the right amount of money from the deposit is received is by relying on an inventory,” says Evans.

“Landlords can do their bit by making sure all the correct information and documentation is provided throughout the tenancy. This will ensure that adjudicators have sufficient evidence and neither parties are left to bear the brunt of unnecessary costs.”

Read more: A handy end-of-tenancy checklist.

View Full Article: Landlord ‘ignorance’ about wear and tear vs damage is getting costly

Landlord insurance pay-outs remain steady despite increasing claims

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Market analysis from Total Landlord Insurance reveals that the average proportion of a landlord insurance claim being paid out has fallen by -33 per cent since before the pandemic. 

The research shows that: –

• In 2019, landlords submitted insurance claims totalling £2.5 million to Total Landlord Insurance, with fire and water damage leading the way as the most expensive claims. Of this total, £2.1 million or 86 per cent was paid out by Total Landlord Insurance. 

• By 2021, however, the picture had significantly changed. The total sum of annual landlord insurance claims rose from £2.5 million to £4 million, while actual insurance payouts remained steady at £2.1 million. 

• This means that the proportion of total claims paid was 53 per cent in 2021, a drop of -33 per cent compared to 2019.

• It’s interesting to note that the biggest decline in the proportion of claims paid between 2019 and 2021 was for those related to landlord liability insurance – insurance that covers the landlord in the event that a tenant is injured inside the property.  

• In 2019, landlords submitted liability claims of £44,400, 68 per cent of which was paid out by the provider. In 2021, however, total liability claims rose to £125,500, of which just 8.6 per cent was actually paid – this marks a decline of almost -60 per cent compared to 2019. 

• It’s a similar story with storm damage claims. In fact, Total Landlord Insurance doubled the amount it paid out for storm damage claims between 2019 and 2021, but the amount being claimed rose even more, from just under £338,000 to more than £1.5 million.

View Full Article: Landlord insurance pay-outs remain steady despite increasing claims

UK’s annual house price growth slows to 10%

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The UK’s annual house price growth slowed to 10% in August – down from July’s 11%, according to the latest Nationwide house price index.

The data also reveals that prices rose 0.8% month-on-month after seasonal effects were taken into account.

View Full Article: UK’s annual house price growth slows to 10%

Student landlord fears over periodic tenancies dismissed

admin    Uncategorized     agents

It looks like student landlords will have to move to periodic tenancies for their rental properties – according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC).

While the Renters Reform Bill has still to make its way through Parliament

View Full Article: Student landlord fears over periodic tenancies dismissed