Section 21 – I kid you not!

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Hello, I issued a Section 21 Notice to my tenant in December 2021. A consistently bad payer, he had until February 2022 to vacate. He chose not to, knowing full well he could appeal.

The appeal was heard at Willesden County Court.

View Full Article: Section 21 – I kid you not!

What are financial experts predicting for landlords and buy-to-lets in 2023?

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The Financial Reporter asked a number of mortgage experts what they expect in the buy-to-let sector in 2023. It’s no surprise they unanimously predict financial difficulties ahead for most landlords as increased costs cause incomes to shrink but some also believe there will be an opportunity for cash-rich landlords to snap up bargain property later in the year.

View Full Article: What are financial experts predicting for landlords and buy-to-lets in 2023?

MPs slam unintended consequences of Government’s looming PRS reforms

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MPs have slammed the Government’s proposed reforms to the private rented sector (PRS) within its looming Renters Reform Bill, calling for Ministers to wake up to its unintended consequences.

Their report, published this morning, also makes the point that most tenants are not worried by insecure housing or low-quality properties, but high rents caused by the Government’s recent attempt to drive private landlords out of the sector.

The MPs’ criticisms includes how banning Section 21 evictions will lead to a surge of possessions cases before any likely deadline that will swap the courts and lengthen evictions.

They also say giving tenants easier access to the Tribunals system to challenge rent increases will also swamp that legal system.

“It is not clear whether the Government fully appreciates the extent to which an unreformed courts system could undermine its tenancy reforms,” the report says.

The Government has already rejected calls for a dedicated housing court to deal with this extra caseload, which MPs say is ‘unsatisfactory’, pointing out that landlords facing rent arrears and/or anti-social behaviour by tenants should be able to access fast justice to regain possession.

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee’s report on the Government’s planned (see link at bottom) also warns that the proposed Decent Home Standard will be usher in any improvement in housing stock unless councils are given significant financial support to police it.

Precarious

“The precarious position of local government finances, the shortage of qualified housing and environmental health officers, and the lack of reliable data are all obstacles to effective enforcement,” it says.

But the committee has concerns that unscrupulous landlords will use a ‘loophole’ in the proposed measures, which allow landlords to evict tenants when needing to sell or move back into a property.

It therefore proposes:

• An increase from six months to one year the period at the start of a tenancy during which the landlord may not use either ground;
• increase from three months to six months the period following the use of either ground during which the landlord may not market or relet the property.

MPs have also called on student lets to be exempted from the reforms, which aim to end AST contracts and bring in open-ended ‘periodic’ tenancies, a change for this sector that would make it “considerably less attractive to private landlords”.

“We warmly welcome much of today’s report and thank the Committee for taking on board many of the arguments we have made,” says Chris Norris, Policy Director for the National Residential Landlords Association (pictured)

“The NRLA has never been against reform of the sector, but it has to be fair and workable for both tenants and landlords.

“That is why the Committee is right to call for court reform to underpin the ending of Section 21, changes in plans for student tenancies and ensuring cases of anti-social behaviour are prioritised by the courts.

“As the Committee rightly notes, the biggest challenge faced by many renters is that there are not enough homes to rent.

“All the protections in the world will mean nothing for tenants if the homes are not there in the first place. 

“That’s why the Government should accept the Committee and the NRLA’s call for a full review of the impact of recent tax changes in the sector.” 

Read the report in full.

View Full Article: MPs slam unintended consequences of Government’s looming PRS reforms

Section 13 Notice advice?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Hello forum, I would like some advice on section 13 notices and the correct procedure.

I have 2 flats rented to tenants who moved in six years ago currently paying £850 rent in West London, the tenants are great never had any issues with payment and they have looked after the property very well.

View Full Article: Section 13 Notice advice?

Landlords continue to sell up and leave the PRS – and house prices fall

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The latest report from RICS makes for grim reading for landlords and homeowners with news that sales and house prices continued to decline across the residential market in January.

In addition, landlords continue to flee the sector for the tenth consecutive month

View Full Article: Landlords continue to sell up and leave the PRS – and house prices fall

NEW: Petition launched urging residents to ‘rise up against HMOs’

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A Rugby councillor is trying to drum up opposition to HMOs with an online petition calling for an Article 4 direction in the town.

John Slinger (main picture) believes too many family homes are being turned into HMOs by landlords who often don’t have the community’s best interests at heart, causing problems with rubbish, crime, and noise.

He wants the Conservative-run council to limit their number and has encouraged 413 locals to sign his petition on Change.org.

Petitions

Another petition on the site, Rugby Borough Residents – Rise Up Against More HMOs! has garnered 324 signatures. It blames Rugby Council’s lack of policy on converting HMOs and says that in one street alone a developer is in the process of buying four homes in a row – turning each one into a seven or eight-bed HMO. This petition calls on the council to consider licensing all HMOs.

It explains: “HMOs are needed, we agree, but there needs to be some constraints put in place, some parameters set, a policy laid down that ensures that the whole town isn’t lost to this transient market that continues to take away affordable town centre family homes.”

Slinger’s fellow Labour councillor, Maggie O’Rourke, tells Warwickshire World she is not against HMOs being part of the housing offer in Rugby but that the growing concentration in certain areas is a concern: “Benn Ward has become a commercial property area.

“Every time a property comes up for sale developers can sense a commercial prospect and these are first-time buyer homes that are being taken away.”

Read more about petitions.

Pic credit: Rugby council.

View Full Article: NEW: Petition launched urging residents to ‘rise up against HMOs’

Build-to-rent growth falters as economic downturn and labour shortages bite

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Economic headwinds facing the construction industry put the brakes on the build-to-rent sector last year.

Build cost inflation and labour shortages meant that it only grew by 14% in 2022 – adding up to 242,548 homes in planning, under construction or completed – compared to a long-term annual average growth of 28%.

According to the British Property Federation, a slowdown in BTR construction was pronounced in Q4, while the wider economic uncertainty meant construction starts of 15,600 homes was 24% lower than the same period in 2021.

However, it reports that despite these challenges, the BTR pipeline remains robust; expansion of the sector is further evidenced by the fact 180 local authorities have now completed BTR homes, or have units in the pipeline, up 29% on Q4 2021.

Doubled

Investment in the BTR sector almost doubled during 2022, helping to fill the gap left by exiting residential landlords, according to research which showed that £1.17 billion was invested in Q3, up from the £600 million in the same period in 2021. Legal & General and John Lewis are just two of the big names who have signed deals on developments.

Ian Fletcher (pictured), the federation’s director of policy, says inflation and an uncertain economic backdrop makes it more difficult to deliver properties, and warns that government must be careful not to stymie the sector’s progress.

“The watering down of national housebuilding targets may mean there is less urgency around allocating land for residential development, and there is already evidence that the rent cap introduced in Scotland, and being debated in Bristol, is deterring investment,” says Fletcher.

“The BTR sector has a major role to play in urban regeneration and levelling up and we cannot take its success for granted.”

Pic credit: Mast Quay BTR development in Woolwich, London.

View Full Article: Build-to-rent growth falters as economic downturn and labour shortages bite

How to Get a 12 Week Deposit

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We’ve heard it all too often, you come to the end of the tenancy and the rent arrears and dilapidations exceed the deposit held.  You’ve now got to claim the full deposit through the ADR procedure and you are either left out of pocket or have to pursue the tenant through the courts for the balance.

View Full Article: How to Get a 12 Week Deposit

Is it time to ditch the spreadsheet?

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Spreadsheets. They’ve been around since 1979 and have served the property industry well since their inception.

However, with legislation like Making Tax Digital coming into play in 2026, we’re seeing Landlords slowly transition from using outdated equipment to more modern and purpose built solutions like Property Management Software.

So let’s talk about your spreadsheet and the reasons why you should probably consider leaving it in the past.

1 – They can be overwritten, lost or even corrupted

When managing spreadsheets, you can easily become mixed up with versions which leaves you vulnerable to accidentally overwriting critical information.

Spreadsheets have also been known to randomly corrupt, meaning vital data can be wiped out in a matter of minutes leaving you at square one.

Spreadsheets offer limited or no failsafes should your files fall victim to corruption or overwriting, prospectively costing you thousands of pounds worth of time and missing rental income.

2 – Feature limitations

Due to the standalone nature and feature limitations of apps like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, some Landlords may find that they have to invest in other products or software just to get the job done.

You could be spending more and more money on apps which don’t communicate with one another, for example, we recently spoke to Tom Holliday (TWH Homes) who was using a collaboration of around 5 or 6 products for:

• Task Management
• Rental Tracking
• Accounting/Finance
• Record Keeping
• Document Storage

The problem Tom faced was that his bills were slowly racking up thanks to expensive subscriptions, as well as having to duplicate data input across different apps too.

Tom was able to consolidate multiple products into a single product called Alphaletz.

To learn more about Tom’s story, click here.

3 – Lack of portability

Another major flaw of spreadsheet software is that it often means you have to open it on a desktop or laptop to achieve full functionality.

This could be a problem of course for Landlords who find themselves on the move quite often.

Portfolio visibility is crucial more so now than ever before, due to the rising costs that Landlords have to face.

Most Landlord Apps have mobile applications by default, allowing you to keep up to date no matter where you are.

4 – They’re not easy to hand over

Most spreadsheets are built by the user in a way that only they understand and can become quite complex when more and more data is added.

A fair portion of Landlords hope to hand over their investment to their children or family members when they’re no longer around.

Not only that, some Landlords find themselves bogged down with the amount of work involved in property management, however, the idea of introducing and walking them through a spreadsheet you’ve built can be quite overwhelming.

Creating a system that can be easily shared is beneficial as it makes it easier to share access with those who might need it.

5 – They aren’t secure

Unless your spreadsheet is password protected and/or encrypted, anyone who has unauthorised access to your desktop, laptop or tablet can just waltz into a sea of confidential records, which is far from ideal.

Most property management apps are cloud-based and are held under a high level of data protection scrutiny, so they’re forced to ensure that your data is held in accordance with security standards.

Meaning that not only does moving away from a spreadsheet afford you extra time, but extra piece of mind as well!

6 – Making Tax Digital 2026

HMRC has confirmed that spreadsheets will be compliant with Making Tax Digital 2026 guidelines, however, spreadsheets will not (as a standalone product) integrate with HMRC systems and make the process any easier.

Making Tax Digital 2026 is rapidly approaching, and for those who seek to make life easier when the regulations tighten, you might want to go with a product that streamlines your tax processes.

LandlordZONE’s Exclusive Property Management Software Partner

If you’re looking for a property management solution, let us introduce you to Alphaletz.

Alphaletz is an all in one modern solution for Landlords and is the perfect platform to help manage your properties effectively.

With Alphaletz, you can efficiently manage compliance, track rental income & arrears, easily reconcile income & expenses and ultimately simplify the way your properties are managed.

Try Alphaletz free today or book a free product demo to see how it works.

View Full Article: Is it time to ditch the spreadsheet?

Property118 confirmed as the Official Media Partner for the Property Investors Awards 2023

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The Property Investors Awards, organised by the Property Investors Bureau , returned to hosting a physical ceremony for its 10th year anniversary. The illustrious event took place at the spectacular Marriott Grosvenor Square Hotel in Mayfair consisting of a wonderful evening of fine dining and entertainment to announce the 2022 Winners.

View Full Article: Property118 confirmed as the Official Media Partner for the Property Investors Awards 2023