Looking to buy properties off exiting landlords? New platform launches

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A new property platform aims to help private landlords target buy-to-lets and find potential HMOs.

Propalt contains details of more than 250,000 landlords so that investors can connect directly, as well as the details of two million properties.

Available information includes the full address of every property they own, rental history detailing which agents are involved and likely letting renewal dates.

Co-founder Kieran Slinger (pictured) explains that using its live market mapping tool, landlords can search for properties in a certain city being sold by a landlord, discover which of them have a good EPC rating, find HMOs in areas without an Article 4 direction, and look for potential HMOs.

“It drastically reduces the amount of time spent finding this data through the current sales and planning portals,” he tells LandlordZONE. The platform can then automatically target those landlords and send them a letter with a purchase proposal.

LinkedIn

Letting agents can use Propalt to build up a picture of which landlords use other agents in their area and then connect with them directly through LinkedIn. They can also get details about planning permission, flood plains and other risk factors in one place.

Slinger explains that there are no GDPR issues involved as the data it uses is already in the public domain. While the DLHUC plans to list rental properties, average rentals, rental yields and other useful information for renters on its upcoming property portal, Propalt stresses that it is a different proposition as it helps property professionals connect with landlords, suggests opportunities, and offers a portfolio analysis.

“Using Auto Trader you get details not only of the car, but its history and the previous owner – we aim to offer that level of detail,” he adds.

Propalt is keen to attract smaller landlords as well as portfolio investors, with monthly subscriptions starting at £95.

View Full Article: Looking to buy properties off exiting landlords? New platform launches

Landlords prepare to do battle over city’s proposed HMO licencing extension

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Landlords in Nottingham are preparing to fight an extension of the city’s additional licensing scheme, weeks after the council was warned that a second selective licensing scheme would prompt many to quit the sector.

The current additional scheme, covering parts of central Nottingham, will soon come to an end and the council hopes to introduce a new citywide scheme, which would run for five years from January 2024.

Nottingham Council insists that its current additional scheme has had a positive impact on HMOs, including tackling problems with waste management and anti-social behaviour.

Vocal

Landlord group EMPO has been vocal in its opposition of the new selective scheme and business development manager Giles Inman says he’s astonished at council plans to vote an additional scheme through.

“You would have thought that after 10 years, the schemes would have achieved their desired outcomes by now and clearly that isn’t the case,” he tells the Nottingham Post.

“We have tenancy agreements and so they know what clauses are within those but when it comes to tackling serious anti-social behaviour, that should not be a matter for the landlords,” he says.

“There is also the issue that if someone is presenting with serious anti-social behavioral tendencies, landlords may not have the necessary skill set to deal with those.”

Councillor Toby Neal (pictured), the portfolio holder for housing and human resources, says: “The council believes the introduction of a new licensing scheme would not only bring benefits for tenants and local communities, but also landlords who, by obtaining a licence, will be able to clearly demonstrate to prospective tenants that they meet required standards.”

If it gets the go-ahead at an executive meeting on Tuesday, a consultation would run throughout March, with the scheme coming in next January, if approved.

Read more: A complete guide to running an HMO.

View Full Article: Landlords prepare to do battle over city’s proposed HMO licencing extension

EPC obtained but not provided to tenants – Is S21 valid?

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In September 2022 I served a S21 on my tenants giving 4 months Notice. They have approached the Council as they require assistance getting rehoused and have been told that the S21 is invalid because the EPC expired in 2020 and they weren’t issued with a copy of a new one.

View Full Article: EPC obtained but not provided to tenants – Is S21 valid?

Landlords hope Sturgeon exit will soften SNP’s anti-landlord approach

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Scottish landlords hope that Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation may lead to a less aggressive approach towards the buy-to-let sector.

The SNP leader has presided over a range of anti-landlord legislation since becoming first minister in 2014, including the recent rent and eviction freeze under its Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Act in a bid to protect landlords, prompting some investors to quit.

Exact opposite

The Scottish Association of Landlords says restrictions have had the exact opposite of their intended effect – reducing investment, pushing landlords out of the sector, reducing supply and driving up costs which have led to higher rents. 

It’s a view echoed by David Alexander, CEO of DJ Alexander Scotland. “There has too often been a confrontational approach to the private rented sector in Scotland and this was part of the reasoning which produced the recent rent freeze and ban on evictions,” he says.

Conciliatory

Alexander hopes that the next Scottish leader will adopt a more conciliatory, reasoned approach and will encourage growth in the PRS.

“I think the new leader of the SNP needs to understand that the private rented sector is an essential and integral part of the housing market and that this sector will be improved by working closely with those involved in investing, in letting, and in renting homes in Scotland,” says Alexander.

“Only in this way will we have a system that works for landlords and tenants.”

Last month, the Scottish Association of Landlords, Scottish Land and Estates and Propertymark submitted a petition to Edinburgh’s Court of Session, seeking a judicial review of the Scottish government’s rent control and eviction ban legislation. 

View Full Article: Landlords hope Sturgeon exit will soften SNP’s anti-landlord approach

HMRC and Family Investment Companies

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In 2022 there were over 50,000 property investment companies formed but less than 1% of them were Family Investment Companies despite HMRC having given this form of business continuity and legacy planning the thumbs up in the previous year. In this article

View Full Article: HMRC and Family Investment Companies