Gove returns as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

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Michael Gove has made one of this week’s big political comebacks after being appointed once again as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, this time by new PM Rishi Sunak.

Gove was sacked from the job by Boris Johnson in July this year after joining the growing chorus calling for Johnson’s resignation in a letter signed by other leading MPs including Lee Rowley, who later became a junior housing minister during the Truss premiership.

Rowley remains in the line-up at the time of writing. He replaced Eddie Hughes who had been praised for his work getting the Rent Reform Act off the ground but who clearly wasn’t on ‘team Truss’. Yesterday Hughes was pictured at Sunak’s side in his capacity as a member of the 1992 Committee that ousted Truss and helped anoint the new PM – so revenge really is best served cold.

United ‘big tent’

The re-appointment of Gove is part of a determination by Sunak to build a ‘big tent’ of figures from the different and often politically opposed wings of the Conservative party in order to build unity and restore trust in the Government by re-introducing ‘professionalism’ to its ranks – a clear dig at Johnson by Sunak yesterday.

This is something that Gove, who may be disliked by many Conservative Party members for turning on Boris, was appreciated for during his short spell at the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) earlier this year.

Trade body Propertymark’s Head of Policy and Campaigns, Timothy Douglas (pictured), makes the point: “The Levelling Up agenda and reforms to the private rented sector in England would appear to be back and will take centre stage in the new government as Michael Gove returns to the DLUHC.

“Mr Gove previously focussed on regional disparities and fixing the cladding scandal, but he now needs to go further and tackle the supply crisis in the private rented sector, implement the next steps for leasehold reform, set out the UK Government’s plans for home buying and selling as well engage with the sector to get more people onto the housing ladder and stimulate right sizing to release large, family homes.”

But Gove’s return was most likely a surprise to him too – only a few weeks ago he had lauded his return to the back benches, and had been putting himself about as a paid-for conference speaker, something those in Cabinet are not allowed to do.

View Full Article: Gove returns as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Landlord and agent given fines totalling £28,000 over unlicensed HMO

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A landlord and letting agent in Liverpool who were operating an unlicensed HMO have been slapped with fines totalling £28,000.

An inspection by Flintshire County Council’s private sector housing team discovered that there were five tenants living in the HMO in Hawarden, Deeside.

At Mold Magistrates court, landlord Jayne McGuinness was fined £6,000 after she was found guilty of operating an HMO without a licence, appointing an unlicensed agent to carry out lettings work and property management work.

Her agent, RVC Estates, was found guilty of operating an HMO without a licence and four offences of not complying with HMO management regulations and fined £10,000.

Director Richard Collins was found guilty of operating an HMO without a licence, carrying out lettings work and property management work without a Rent Smart Wales Licence, four charges of not complying with HMO management regulations and failing to comply with an Improvement Notice. He was fined a total of £12,000.

Additional costs

They did not attend the court hearing and, along with the fines, were ordered to pay an additional £1,640 in costs.

Flintshire’s cabinet member for planning, public health and public protection, councillor Chris Bithell (pictured), says the successful prosecution sends a clear message that the council will protect its residents from rogue landlords who operate unlicensed HMOs and don’t comply with the Rent Smart Wales laws designed to protect tenants.

He adds: “It reflects Flintshire’s commitment to ensuring homes in the private rented sector are properly managed.” 

Pic credit: Google Streetview

View Full Article: Landlord and agent given fines totalling £28,000 over unlicensed HMO

MP says Treasury ‘looking into’ measures to cool market for Airbnb properties

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Treasury officials are looking into tax and other fiscal measures to cool the market for second homes and properties for short-lets in popular holiday hotspots across the UK.

The initiative was revealed by Steve Double, Conservative MP for one of the areas affected, St Austell and Newquay in Cornwall, during a debate to introduce an amendment tabled by Tim Farron to a procedural piece of legislation brought in to confirm former Chancellor Kwasi Karteng’s stamp duty changes revealed in his otherwise disastrous mini budget.

Farron is MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale in the Lake District, an area struggling with its popularity as a tourist destination.

Double said he had been assured last week by Edward Argar, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury appointed that “the Treasury was looking at this issue”.

‘This issue’ is that, other than a 3% stamp duty surcharge and, in some areas, higher council tax bills, landlords and second home buyers have free reign to buy properties in rural and coastal holiday hotspots.

As LandlordZONE has reported before, Farron has been vocal inside and outside parliament to do something about local being squeezed out by properties being sold to Airbnb operators and outsiders buying holiday homes.

Rishi’s error

During this debate he said: “The former Chancellor and soon-to-be new Prime Minister — I congratulate him — my constituency neighbour, Rishi Sunak made an error at the beginning of the pandemic when he created the temporary stamp duty holiday.

“The immediate result was that in the first few months of the pandemic 80% of all house sales in my constituency, and in communities like it, were in the second home market.

“I hope and assume that was not the intention of the former Chancellor and soon-to-be Prime Minister, but that was the consequence.”

His amendment, which would have created a separate set of stamp duty rules for second homes and short-let properties, was defeated.

But as Richard Fuller, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said during the debate, the Government is keen to do something to stop holiday hotspots in effect becoming inaccessible and unaffordable for locals.

Read the debate in full.

View Full Article: MP says Treasury ‘looking into’ measures to cool market for Airbnb properties

How we sold half our rental properties without paying CGT

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18 months ago my family and I relocated to our dream home in the Algarve, Southern Portugal. This had nothing to do with tax, it was always our plan because we are passionate golfers.

We first engaged Property118 to calculate our new base cost for Capital Gains Tax calculation purposes.

View Full Article: How we sold half our rental properties without paying CGT

Electric Heating Options?

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Hi everyone, We have one large property divided into 5 flats. Currently, we have one gas and one electric meter supplying all flats. All flats are let out on an all-inclusive tenancy agreement. We are planning to change the utility supply for all flats

View Full Article: Electric Heating Options?

What barriers affect you renting to tenants on benefits?

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The personal finance reporter for the Telegraph, Alexa Phillips, is looking to speak to landlords about having benefit claimants as tenants.
The Local Housing Allowance has been frozen for several years but costs are going up – have you been affected by this?
View Full Article: What barriers affect you renting to tenants on benefits?

What is the likelihood of a large Labour majority?

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Hi Everyone,
Much of the chatter in the media is Labour almost certainly is going to have a majority in the hundreds and the Tories down to routinely suggested less than 100 or even single numbers. I was musing how likely is that in reality?

View Full Article: What is the likelihood of a large Labour majority?