Brace Yourself for Shocking Mortgage Rates!

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Hold onto your seats because we have a jaw-dropping revelation about mortgage rates today that will leave you stunned.

Did you know that a seemingly modest 6.43% rate offered today is equivalent to a whopping 25.7% rate back in 1980?

View Full Article: Brace Yourself for Shocking Mortgage Rates!

Famous landlord to pay £166,000 legal costs after losing court claim

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Multi-millionaire landlord Judith Wilson (main picture, inset) has been hit with a £166,000 court bill after losing a legal battle against Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council.

Wilson, wife of the controversial Fergus, who was once dubbed ‘Britain’s worst landlord’ by the national press, claimed her Victorian property in Wateringbury village, Kent, became an eyesore after the authority carried out safety repair works on an external wall, removing large sections of brickwork.

She said workers re-inserted the original bricks “any old how”, resulting in an odd multi-coloured effect which sparked complaints from disgruntled village residents, reports The Daily Mail.

The property tycoon sued the council for £100,000 at Central London County Court.

Took control

The authority’s lawyer said it took control of the project to make it safe, denied all liability and had counter-sued to cover its costs. He told the court that Wilson had accepted the property was in a dangerous condition in 2019 while a risk assessment pinpointed the building as, “likely to collapse – and with the potential consequence of fatalities”.

District Judge Samuel Rippon threw out Wilson’s claim, saying the works had been necessary for safety reasons. He added: “She admitted that both she and her husband are control freaks who generally controlled every part of a project.”

The pair carved out a huge real estate empire and were once thought to have owned 300 homes before selling most of them off in recent years. Last June, Fergus Wilson was banned from selling off his houses in a bid to avoid paying a £250,000 legal bill. It came after he was banned for life from contacting Ashford Borough Council after a 10-year campaign of abuse against its staff. 

Read morea about the Wilsons.

View Full Article: Famous landlord to pay £166,000 legal costs after losing court claim

GETTING REDRESS: ‘Who agreed to an illegal HMO – agent or landlord?’

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Suzy Hershman (main picture), Resolution Department Lead at HFIS, examines a shocking case her team dealt with recently and highlights what landlords can learn from it.

The case

A landlord with a four-bedroom property in East London alleged that his agent had rented the house to approximately 12 tenants, exposing him to a potential fine or prosecution as his HMO licence only allowed four people to live within it. 

Although he signed a guaranteed rent contract with the agent which was straightforward (albeit skewed in the agent’s favour), what’s disputed are the negotiations that took place before the tenancy started.

The landlord claims he did not agree to it being operated outside its licence conditions, while the agent says it was already over-crowded when they took on the property.

The agent has since refused to relinquish the house despite the landlord giving notice under the terms of the contract.

The local agent that the landlord used was a member of the Property Redress Scheme and therefore the landlord’s complaint came to us.

What happened?

This case began last year when, after finding that the property was overcrowded and that local people had been complaining about the tenants, the landlord asked that it be returned to him once the contract with his agent expired in April this year.

The second issue was that the agent had paid the landlord £300 a month less than agreed. Our case officer suspected that the landlord didn’t want to take all the money because he knew the property was being rented out illegally, but it was only a hunch.

Nevertheless, the agency took almost twice as much in rent as they are paying the landlord.

We felt that although the landlord and agent did have a written agreement, the agent behaved unreasonably and continues to do so by not relinquishing the property.

Therefore, an award has been given to the landlord for the poor conduct of the agent.

Agents should always keep good records of their dealings with landlords particularly when they are changing, agreeing or discussing important features of a tenancy. 

We felt this agent considered the landlord somewhat naive and that they could get away with taking advantage of him.

An example of this is that when the landlord gave notice under the terms of the rent guarantee contract, the agent claimed they couldn’t return the property to him until the tenants moved out – which is likely to be a long time – and that’s exactly what’s happened.

What are the key lessons here?

• Landlords and agents should record all their discussions and negotiations prior to signing contracts in writing – otherwise working out who’s telling the truth in a dispute can be difficult later on.
• Vet your agent very carefully – for example what’s their office like? How do their staff talk to people on the phone? Are they accredited and do they have valid redress membership displayed in their windows?
• Don’t assume rental contracts are balanced – some agents write them to be in their favour and not so much in your interests.
• If you’ve signed an agreement with an agency, it is possible to negotiate if you feel they are unreasonable – but very few landlords do.

View Full Article: GETTING REDRESS: ‘Who agreed to an illegal HMO – agent or landlord?’

Welsh minister backs review of existing higher stamp duty rates for landlords

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Welsh Minister for Climate Change Julie James has backed the NRLA’s call for a review of property taxation in the PRS.

Speaking at the launch of the group’s State of the Welsh Private Rented Sector report, the Minister said she was “very interested” in looking at how to ensure a level playing field around Land Transaction Tax and would welcome ideas about supporting the provision of long-term rental homes.

NRLA research found that 76% of Welsh landlords say demand for rental properties has increased in the first quarter of 2023, however, despite this, 48% planned to cut the number of properties they let.

It has urged the government to exempt the purchase of additional homes for long term rent from the 4% Land Transaction Tax levy. It says this would encourage landlords to bring properties into the sector, potentially where they were previously vacant or in a state of disrepair.

Better information

James also accepted the NRLA’s calls for better information about the sector in Wales after the report warned that the availability of comprehensive, up-to-date, and official data on who lives in the sector, its exact size, and the type of properties remained limited.

The Minister agreed the government needed to improve this to make decisions affecting the rental market and also backed a potential Welsh Housing Survey.

Hampered

Chief executive Ben Beadle says it’s a welcome move. “Too often good decisions have been hampered by a lack of robust data on the state of the rental market,” he adds. “We will continue to work with the government to ensure policy is rooted in evidence and what works for responsible landlords and tenants.”

Earlier this month, the Welsh government launched a consultation on fair rents and adequate housing in which James revealed she was considering rent controls.

View Full Article: Welsh minister backs review of existing higher stamp duty rates for landlords

Landlords sell their high-yield properties amid surging mortgage rates

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Landlords are now scrambling to sell their high-yielding rental properties as rocketing mortgage rates hit profit margins on even the most lucrative investments, the Daily Telegraph reports.

In data provided by Hamptons estate agents, the report reveals that 25% of buy to let properties sold this year have boasted yields of 7% or higher.

View Full Article: Landlords sell their high-yield properties amid surging mortgage rates