Minister says Renters Reform Bill WILL be introduced ‘during this parliament’

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The Renters Reform Bill will be introduced during the current parliamentary session, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has told MPs.

Simon Clarke (main pictured), who has been leading the department since his predecessor Michael Gove was sacked by Liz Truss following her leadership victory, told his Labour opposite number Matthew Pennycook (pictured) that introducing the Bill was a priority for the government.

This means that the necessary legislation will be introduced during the “next parliamentary session” which means before Spring 2024. A consultation on a key part of the Bill, a Decent Homes Standard for the private rented sector, has just closed.

But to stand any chance of becoming law, particularly given the current political machinations in Westminster and the looming General Election in January 2025, the Renters Reform Act needs to start its parliamentary journey therefore before Spring next year as most legislation takes approximately a year to pass scrutiny within both houses of parliament.

Mixed messaging

Pennycook told Clarke, referring to last week’s leak that Truss had considered scrapping the ban on Section 21 evictions to be included the Act, that: “Private renters need long-term security and better rights and conditions now, not chaotic mixed-messaging from a Government in disarray.

“So can the Secretary of State give a cast iron guarantee from the despatch box today that, if the Government is still standing come the time, a Renters Reform Bill will be brought forward in the next parliamentary session.”

Answering him, Clarke said he could confirm that the Bill would be brought forward “in the course of this parliament”.

View Full Article: Minister says Renters Reform Bill WILL be introduced ‘during this parliament’

Propertymark urges financial help for landlords to meet EPC targets

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Landlords will need financial and tax incentives for the government to reach its Net Zero ambitions and plans for EPC standards in the private rental sector (PRS), Propertymark says.

The organisation has made a written submission to the Department for Business

View Full Article: Propertymark urges financial help for landlords to meet EPC targets

Hunt reveals U-turn on all the mini-budget policies – except stamp duty

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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced that the government will reverse almost all the tax measures announced in its recent growth plan.

While it will still go ahead with cutting stamp duty, a planned 1p cut to the basic rate of income tax will now be shelved “indefinitely” while the energy price guarantee will be watered down. 

Help with energy bills was due to apply universally to every household for two years but Hunt says this will only last in its current form until next April. 

The Treasury will now conduct a review to study how best to provide targeted support to households and businesses beyond that time.

In a special broadcast, the Chancellor explained: “Whilst we will continue with the abolition of the health and social care levy and stamp duty changes, we will no longer be proceeding with the cuts to dividend tax rates, the reversal of off-payroll working reforms introduced in 2017 and 2021, a new VAT-free shopping scheme for non-UK visitors or the freeze on alcohol duty rates.”

Income tax U-turn

He said it was not right to borrow to fund the income tax cut, which would have reduced the rate to 19%. 

Last week, Liz Truss performed another humiliating U-turn by announcing she would not cancel the scheduled rise in corporation tax from 19% to 25% next year. The Prime Minister’s stamp duty cut was also universally panned by mortgage brokers who labelled it a catalyst for stimulating an overheated property market. Then chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng raised the threshold before stamp duty is paid to £250,000 and for first-time buyers, to £425,000.

The Chancellor, who is a landlord, will deliver the full Medium-Term Fiscal Plan to be published alongside a forecast from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility on 31st October.

Reaction

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, which represents UK estate and letting agents, says: “The Chancellor’s commitment to the Stamp Duty thresholds that better represent house prices will certainly help to restore some market stability and confidence which has taken a hit.

“Mortgage rates were already rising and we hope the wider announcements made today will translate into a settling down of that trajectory so buyers can proceed with more confidence that some of those additional lending costs will still be offset by Stamp Duty savings.”

Lawrence Bowles, director of research at Savills, comments: “In many ways, the Chancellor’s announcement this morning was the best feasible outcome for the housing market.

“Almost all of the tax cuts announced in the Truss/Kwarteng “mini” Budget three weeks ago have gone. Even measures that had been announced previously, such as the 1p cut to the basic rate of income tax, have been shelved.

“Reversing these cuts drastically reduces the size of the financial black hole the Government has to clamber its way out of. That should reassure global financial markets that the UK remains a safe place to invest, bringing gilt yields down.

“This, in turn, will reduce the need for the Bank of England to hike base rates. It means we can expect to see mortgage rates peak lower and fall faster once we pass peak inflation.

“But some tax changes remain: most pertinently, the cut to stamp duty. This cut means home movers and investors could save up to £2,500 on home purchases. First-time buyers could save up to £11,250.

“While these sums may not be enough on their own to encourage someone to move, they may give a push to any households sitting on the fence. In particular, households facing the prospect of remortgaging may take advantage of the stamp duty cut to move – their mortgage costs are going up either way, after all.

“It may be a long time until we see mortgage rates back to where they were in recent years. But, for now, we do expect to see some of the existing downward pressure on house prices and transactions to be tempered – if only a little.”

View Full Article: Hunt reveals U-turn on all the mini-budget policies – except stamp duty

U-turn Emergency Statement

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Under pressure from the nervous financial markets and having been locked away in Chequers all weekend with PM Lizz Truss, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt has given an emergency statement to the country.

This is an effort to stabilise the markets and inject some confidence

View Full Article: U-turn Emergency Statement

Judge declaring anything in advance as a DEPOSIT?

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Has any Judge let Tenants on a Section 8 countersue by deciding money in advance is a DEPOSIT that should have been protected?

Even after Johnson vs Old 2013 He appears satisfied the contract says money isn’t a deposit for any damages etc but possibly still wants to set a ‘president’

View Full Article: Judge declaring anything in advance as a DEPOSIT?

Landlords in Wales forced to give 6 months’ notice

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Last minute changes to the housing eviction law in Wales will see more landlords having to give their tenants six months’ notice.

That’s a change from the rules which enable a landlord to hand a tenant with a periodic tenancy just two months’

View Full Article: Landlords in Wales forced to give 6 months’ notice

New Chancellor is a landlord, but can he sort out the mess left by Kwasi?

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The new Chancellor and former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been tasked with sorting out the ‘Kwamiikaze’ mini budget introduced by his predecessor, who holds the dubious gong of having the 2^nd shortest tenure in the job ever.

Hunt, who has made two weak bids to become Prime Minister in the past, was a Sunak supporter during the recent Truss Conservative party leadership bid but now has the unenviable job of calming the political storm brewed by up Truss and Kwartang over the past week or so.

He told the BBC’s Today programme this morning that he faces ‘difficult decisions’ over the next two weeks, revealing that although 2008/9 style austerity is not on the cards, he will have to significantly slash Whitehall spending.

Hunt comes to the job with considerable experience and knowledge of the private rented sector.

Buy-to-let investment

In 2018 it was revealed that he had an interest in a landlord company that bought seven flats on the seafront at Southampton within an 82-flat block, called Alexandra Wharf, although at the time he said any profits from the properties would be donated to charity.

But Hunt got into trouble with the parliamentary watchdog for not declaring his interest in the business within the 28 days required by parliamentary probity rules.

The properties, which are owned via a company called Mare Pond Properties Ltd, are estimated to be worth £3.75 million within its accounts.

He also has a part-share in an office building in central London, his members’ interests filing reveals.

Pro-tenant

Hunt is also a supporter of the Government’s pro-Shelter line that tenants require more protection via longer and more secure tenancies, and was a supporter of the now enacted Tenant Fees Bill.

Commentary on his appointment has concentrated on his ability to calm City gilt markets and help persuade the Bank of England to temper its base rate rises, which have already increased mortgage rates for many landlords.

Settle nerves

Founder and former City analyst Anthony Codling (pictured) of Twindig, says: “The departure of Kwasi Kwarteng, the u-turn on corporation tax and the appointment of Jeremy Hunt did little to settle the nerves of residential investors.

“Some asked if these attempts to rearrange the chairs in the cabinet were akin to rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic

“The first challenge for Mr Hunt is to explain in detail how he will balance the books until he has done that the markets will remain unsettled, and the more markets are unsettled, the higher mortgage rates will rise.

“The second challenge he faces is to put the housing market back on an even keel. Whilst much of the recent economic turbulence can be traced back to the contents of the mini-budget, unfortunately for Hunt, the housing market started to drift south as living costs and mortgage rates started to head north”

View Full Article: New Chancellor is a landlord, but can he sort out the mess left by Kwasi?

NEW: Shocking lack of rental supply now dogging the ‘spare room’ market too

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Demand for shared rooms is at an all-time high, while supply has hit a nine-year low, according to flat share site SpareRoom.

The shocking figures have also led to average monthly room rents reaching record highs and increasing across every UK region in Q3 2022; Scotland is up 20%, Northern Ireland up 16% and London up 18% where tenants are now forking out £857 a month.

Its poll also revealed that 40% of renters have had to pay over the advertised price for their room, rising to 47% for London renters, with 37% ending up in a bidding war.

SpareRoom says it found 94% of landlords have no confidence in the government’s approach to housing, making it no surprise that 36% plan to reduce their portfolio this year and a further 16% plan to leave the rental market by the end of the year, reducing supply even further.

It points the finger at Section 24, which stopped landlords claiming tax relief on their mortgage interest, alongside a 3% stamp duty surcharge for second properties which has also made it harder for many smaller landlords to make ends meet.

Real worry

SpareRoom director Matt Hutchinson (pictured) says he’s never seen the market like this. “The spike in demand will ease over time, but the real worry is the continued drop in supply. Landlords are leaving the market in alarming numbers and renters are facing an incredibly tough time,” he adds.

“One silver lining is that homeowners are starting to look at renting out their spare rooms to make a little extra cash and help with the cost-of-living crisis. That could provide much-needed supply far quicker than anything government can do and will bring rents down, while helping struggling homeowners too.”

View Full Article: NEW: Shocking lack of rental supply now dogging the ‘spare room’ market too

Council fines HMO landlord £60,000 and directly manages property

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A landlord who left his tenants without gas or electricity in an unlicensed HMO has been fined a whopping £60,000.

Coventry Council made its first Interim Management Order after the landlord persistently failed to licence the property in Monks Road, despite being asked to do so for several months.

Following a complaint from the tenants, environmental health officers discovered it was operating without a licence and that there were multiple breaches of the HMO management regulations.

It made the order as it believed there was no reasonable prospect of the HMO being licensed in the near future.

Tenants will now pay their rent to the council – whose housing and homelessness team is managing the HMO – while the landlord is still responsible for any mortgage payments.

Severe punishments

David Welsh (pictured), cabinet member for housing and communities, says it sends a clear message to landlords.

“The level of the financial penalty notice highlights the severe punishments that can be levied to those who flout the law,” he says.

“These fines are then ring-fenced for use by the team to further their enforcement work.”

Adrian Chowns, property licensing and housing enforcement manager, adds: “Our officers have worked tirelessly in the city to promote the HMO licensing scheme and to ensure that where landlords abandon their duties and responsibilities, the team is ready to step in to protect tenants and use the full range of enforcement powers at their disposal.”

Read more about Coventry’s HMO regulations.

View Full Article: Council fines HMO landlord £60,000 and directly manages property

LATEST: ‘Landlords quitting Airbnb short-lets as strict Scots rules kick in’

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AirBnb owners are switching to long term lettings following changes to Scotland’s short-term lets laws, according to a leading property firm.

In a reverse of the recent trend that’s seen scores of landlords ditch tenancies for holiday lets, DJ Alexander says it has been approached by many of those who are deterred by costs and uncertainty around more stringent regulations.

The rules, which take effect from this month for new properties and from April 2023 for existing lets, mean landlords must apply for planning permission to operate a holiday let – incurring fees and legal costs – and there is no guarantee that it will be approved. Some have also complained that they don’t have clear guidance on how to comply with the new rules.

Breaking point

Chief executive David Alexander (pictured) says it’s welcome news for the long-term residential sector, which is at breaking point, with demand far outstripping supply.

He adds: “While the holiday market may suffer from this loss of accommodation, the long-term rental market welcomes this much-needed addition of housing stock to what is already a market with a severe shortage of properties. I think this trend will accelerate as we head toward next April’s deadline.”

DJ Alexander recently introduced an online system for property viewing requests and in the first month, received 51,887 requests in Edinburgh where there are usually between 100-150 properties available, and 27,601 requests in Glasgow where the firm usually has 40-60 properties.

The longest waiting list for a two-bedroom property in Edinburgh is 788 people and there are up to 900 groups of students on a waiting list for every property.

Read more: New short-lets charter introduced in Devon.

View Full Article: LATEST: ‘Landlords quitting Airbnb short-lets as strict Scots rules kick in’