Government to consult landlords on looming ‘eVisa’ Right to Rent check changes

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Landlords are to be asked how looming changes to the Right to Rent scheme will affect them, the Government has revealed.

In a statement to parliament, Minister for Immigration (and former housing secretary) Robert Jenrick (main picture) said the transition from physical biometric immigration documents to entirely digital eVisas by 2024 is likely to impact landlords and letting agents conducting Right to Rent checks via a new digital system.

The consultation is due to start soon and will ask landlords whether the understand the changes, and how they’ll impact how tenants are checked.

These changes carry risk for landlords. If they do not conduct Right to Rent checks thoroughly enough then they face considerable fines and even criminal prosecution.

For example, if a landlord is found to be renting to someone who does not have a right to rent, they may be liable for a civil penalty of up to £3000 per tenant.

And if they are proved to have done so knowingly, landlords may also be committing a criminal offence under section 33A of the Immigration Act 2014.

eVisas

Jenrick said: “Since the introduction of biometric immigration documents in the form of eVisas, the Code of Practice needs to be updated to fully reflect the specific elements and approach to eVisas.

“This includes updating the requirements and sanctions associated with holders of these accounts. To ensure they are effective and proportionate, I am launching a consultation on these changes.

“It will explore how these sanctions would potentially be understood and effect individuals, including those who are vulnerable.

Read more news about Right to Rent checks.

“It would also explore how the sanctions may impact groups linked to the holders of eVisas [such as] employers, landlords and financial institutions.”

Read more about the Right to Rent Code of Practice.

View Full Article: Government to consult landlords on looming ‘eVisa’ Right to Rent check changes

EXPERT: ‘Binning Section 21 won’t help as many tenants as campaigners hope’

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Section 21 is the biggest headline grabbing element of the Renters Reform Bill but will be the least effective pieces of the legislation.

That’s according to letting agent Kristjan Byfield (main picture), co-founder of Base Property Specialists, who believes the changes will only affect a tiny percentage of the tenants it sets out to protect.

He says it’s estimated that between 85-90% of all tenancies are ended by the tenant, while other reasons for taking a property back such as wanting to sell constitute another 5-6%.

Breach

“Section 21 when used by a landlord or letting agent is perceived to be an easier way to remove a tenant who is in breach of contract [for non payment of rent usually],” said Byfield during an interview by property portal Zoopla.

“At the moment they have to be at least two months in arrears to start an action and two months in arrears at the point your hearing happens – a lot of tenants play the game with that.”

With the onus instead on repetitive arrears under the new bill, it should help landlords and agents, he said.

“We have one tenant we’re pursuing through the courts for Section 21 and their rent arrears go up to three months then back to one.

“It’s a difficult battle but with the new legislation we hope we’ll be in a much stronger position with tenants like that in future.”

Decent homes

Byfield added although it’s disappointing that preventing tenants from living in a property without mould and heating needs to be legislated, the bill sets a clear framework.

“It’s really important for private landlords to understand as there will be more technical requirements for what is considered a decent home, a suitable response as to what gets reported and that you’ve made an effort to address it.

“A lot of landlords will need to pull their bootstraps up because an attitude of ‘I’ll get to it when I get to it’ is not going to fly.”

Read more about handling the evictions process.

View Full Article: EXPERT: ‘Binning Section 21 won’t help as many tenants as campaigners hope’

Think tank predicts shock 25% drop in house prices

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Rising interest rates threaten to slash the value of homes by up to 25% in the biggest drop in wealth seen since WW2, one think tank warns.

A new report by the Resolution Foundation and the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust found that higher borrowing costs have already wiped out £2.1 trillion of household wealth in just one year.

View Full Article: Think tank predicts shock 25% drop in house prices

LATEST: Rental homes stock plummets by 35% to four-year low

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The number of available private rental homes has dropped by more than a third since 2019 to a 14-year low.

Only 241,000 PRS homes were available last month compared with 370,000 in June 2019, a fall of 35%, according to consultancy TwentyCi which analysed UK rental data from estate and lettings agents and online property portals. 

Chief customer officer Colin Bradshaw says mortgage affordability has dropped dramatically in the last two months, undermining landlords’ business models and causing some investors with rental property portfolios to sell up.

“The yield position on any asset that you own where it’s mortgaged is likely to be severely eroded,” he told the FT.

Average buy-to-let mortgage rates jumped sharply this week, hitting 6.9% for a two-year fixed rate deal, up from 6.6% last week, according to data provider Moneyfacts.

As stock levels have dwindled, rents have risen sharply, reports TwentyCi which says rental prices have gone up by 23% since 2019. 

Renters

“Availability is reduced and affordability is down,” adds Bradshaw (pictured). “There are fewer properties and they cost more. That’s not great for renters.”

His firm’s data also points towards a big difference in the availability of homes to rent at either end of the price spectrum.

For premium properties renting at £3,000 a month or more – a market dominated by central London – availability has risen by 41% since 2019.

For those wanting to pay less than £800 a month, there are 32% fewer properties than just a year ago and 65% fewer than pre-pandemic.

The combined issues of availability and affordability means that renters will stay in properties for longer; in 2019, the average rental length of a tenancy was 3.6 years but today it is 4.8 years.

Read more: How much rent to charge? Some things to consider 

View Full Article: LATEST: Rental homes stock plummets by 35% to four-year low