LAUNCH: Novel system that eliminates damp and mould in rented properties

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A new ‘mechanical ventilation with heat recovery’ (MVHR) system aims to provide the solution to landlords’ damp and mould problems.

Ebac’s self-managing, ‘hands-off’ eco-system is designed to be installed in a loft opening and works to continually extract polluted, humid air from a building and replace it with fresh air taken from outside through a heat exchange system.

The company’s Smart Control system adjusts airflow and performance levels based on live readings from the building’s internal climate, reducing energy usage and requires no programming.

The scale of the UK’s damp and mould problem continues to make headlines following the death of toddler Awaab Ishak which prompted the government to announce plans earlier this year to tackle mould within the private and social housing sectors through updated guidance and initiatives.

It also confirmed that the PRS’s new housing ombudsman would lead the battle against mould.

Andrew Hobson, Ebac’s sales and marketing director, says with the new legislation and retrofit requirements for commercial and residential buildings in the lead up to 2050, its system offers a more cost-effective solution for housing associations, councils and private landlords to ensure that their tenants live in healthier, more energy-efficient spaces.

He adds: “Our Smart Control feature means that tenants and homeowners do not have to touch the units, only requiring a filter change every 12-24 months depending on usage.”

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View Full Article: LAUNCH: Novel system that eliminates damp and mould in rented properties

Meet the hero landlord who hasn’t raised rents for 25 years

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A good Samaritan landlord is bucking the national trend by not raising his rents for more than 25 years.

Mick Musson, who owns eight flats at the former Blue Horse Pub (inset), in Great Ponton, Lincolnshire, hasn’t increased the rent since he took over the property, and now counts the tenants as his friends.

One, Rob Podum, was homeless before moving into a one-bedroom flat in the block in 2006 and admits he was at his lowest ebb, reports The Grantham Journal.

Podem, 56, says Musson is a brilliant landlord and doesn’t want to move. “It’s been brilliant, and I have known Mick a long time,” he says. “I’m still paying what I paid when I first moved in, and I offered to pay him more to cover the electric as I wouldn’t want to see him suffer.”

Exploited

Adds Podum: “You hear about these people who are exploited by landlords. However, Mick is great.”

Follow tenant Alan Hodgson, 68, also lives in a one-bedroom flat in the property and says

Musson has been “good as gold” since he first moved in four years ago. Hodgson adds: “He’s the best landlord anyone could ever have. If you have a problem, he’ll be there. All the time it’s been the same rate and he’s never ripped anyone off. He’s a good man.”

Musson explains that he tells tenants the rent they pay when they move in won’t change. “I don’t think they will leave unless they have a certain reason,” he adds. “They are friends. They will come down to pay their rent and then end up having a cup of coffee.”

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View Full Article: Meet the hero landlord who hasn’t raised rents for 25 years

Early BTL investors are retiring and selling up

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Most BTL investor sales are from those landlords who were among the first to invest after buy to let mortgages were launched in 1996, research reveals.

The findings from Hamptons show that landlords are now retiring and selling up in increasing numbers –

View Full Article: Early BTL investors are retiring and selling up

Tenants in the capital will be most affected by EPC changes

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Renters in London will be the worst hit by the government’s proposed energy performance certificate (EPC) laws, research reveals.

That’s the view of data science firm Outra which says that tenants will have to leave unlettable properties if the government imposes a minimum EPC rating of C by 2028.

View Full Article: Tenants in the capital will be most affected by EPC changes

Propertymark calls for council tax reforms

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A leading industry body has called on the government to change council tax housing banding for HMOs.

Propertymark has submitted a response to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ consultation arguing that HMOs should be banded as one property under one council tax band

View Full Article: Propertymark calls for council tax reforms

Crunch time for PRS revealed as increasing numbers of ‘pioneer’ landlords retire

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Thousands of landlords who entered the private rented sector following the introduction of dedicated buy-to-let mortgages in 1996 are now retiring in increasing numbers, it has been revealed.

Research by estate agency Hamptons reveals that some 140,000 landlords retired in 2022, representing 73% of all the properties sold by BTL investors.

Purchases made by this ‘original cohort’ of landlords some 15-25 years ago following the introduction of the buy-to-let mortgage still make up the majority of privately rented homes in Great Britain, the report says.

Just over half of today’s outstanding buy-to-let mortgages were taken out between 1996 and 2007.

Spike

Last year saw an unusual spike in landlords withdrawing from the market after deciding to retire and cash-in their properties, but Hamptons says a further 96,000 landlords are expected to retire this year and each year afterwards.

This in addition to the 924,000 who are already over the age of 65 but are still renting out properties.

During the past 12 years between 2010 and 2022 the agency estimates the number of landlords retiring annually has doubled as their demographic ages.

These figures will be particularly worrying for Ministers as the trend will further put pressure on stock and see rents rise.

Hamptons says recent tax and regulatory for private landlords mean many younger people are put off investing in the PRS and that the “number of new purchases by landlords has remained relatively muted”, says its head of research, Aneisha Beveridge (pictured).

“Millennials, who have struggled to get onto the housing ladder, have not been in a position to afford or consider purchasing a buy-to-let too.”

View Full Article: Crunch time for PRS revealed as increasing numbers of ‘pioneer’ landlords retire