The government are on cloud nine when it comes to selective licensing

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I recently wrote a letter to the Housing Minister regarding the selective licensing scheme in Nottingham. I received a reply from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Private Rented Sector department.

I’ve replied to their letter which you can read below:

Dear Rachel Maclean MP and Private Rented Sector Division

View Full Article: The government are on cloud nine when it comes to selective licensing

The best way to keep up to date with property market changes

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Now the kids are back to school, and the summer holidays are officially over despite the heatwave this week, it’s time to refocus on your property investing to make the most of the remaining part of 2023.

There have been a lot of changes in the property market over the past nine months

View Full Article: The best way to keep up to date with property market changes

Minister ‘sad’ that landlords are ignoring green grants

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The government has promised to focus on promoting grants to make PRS homes more energy efficient and ensure that tenants won’t be penalised for demanding green improvements.

During a Lords debate, the Liberal Democrat’s Baroness Grender said the balance was wrong when, according to a report by Generation Rent, nearly 40% of fuel-poor households rented privately but only 14% of energy company obligation grants helped them in any way. “Will the minister ensure that the Renters (Reform) Bill protects tenants from either eviction or prohibitive rent rises if they get these grants?” she asked.

Retaliatory eviction

Housing Minister Baroness Scott of Bybrook agreed that more time should be spent trying to improve take-up of government grants for energy efficiency in their homes. She added: “Without the fear of retaliatory eviction, once Section 21 is abolished, tenants will be more empowered to act within their legal rights, complain about unacceptable standards and seek improvements. Private rented properties should be warm and decent, and we have several schemes to support energy-saving improvements to provide this.”

Energy security

Baroness Scott told peers that the government was investing £12 billion in Help to Heat schemes but said it was “sad” that not enough private rental landlords were taking up those grants. “We also have the ECO Plus scheme – the GB insulation scheme – for which both tenants and landlords can apply. In the energy security strategy, the government have just announced zero-rated VAT for the next five years on the installation of insulation and low-carbon heating. It is important that landlords know what is available and that tenants ask them for it.”

Contrary to her boss’s comments earlier this summer when Housing Secretary Michael Gove suggested landlords needed more time, Scott insisted that the government was committed to raising efficiency from EPC band E to C by 2028.

View Full Article: Minister ‘sad’ that landlords are ignoring green grants

Mortgage pricing gives company purchases more appeal

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Three-quarters of landlords who plan to buy a new rental property in the next year will use a limited company, new research reveals.

Paragon Bank’s poll of nearly 1,000 landlords, carried out by BVA BDRC in the second quarter of the year, shows this was the highest level recorded on BVA’s tracker survey and up from 62% during the first quarter. Those who plan to buy in an individual name fell to 17% from 41% recorded in the final quarter of 2021.

Mortgage interest

Buying via a limited company structure means landlords can deduct mortgage interest from company income and pay tax at corporation tax rates. It can also offer more favourable mortgage financing options; most lenders set interest coverage ratios at 145% for higher-rate taxpayers, while limited company applications require a ratio of 125%. They can typically secure higher loan amounts too.

Louisa Sedgwick, Paragon Bank’s commercial director of mortgages, says holding rental property within a limited company structure has been growing in popularity since the mortgage interest relief changes introduced in 2017, but has accelerated in the past year.

Portfolio landlords

She adds: “As a lender that specialises in portfolio landlords, we have always attracted a higher proportion of limited company lending, but that has certainly increased, particularly as interest rates, and subsequently mortgage pricing, have risen.”

The average portfolio size was 16.9, up from 15.6 in Q1 and 13.1 in the final quarter of 2021. Of those landlords, the average number of properties held within a limited company in Q2 was 12.3, up from 11.7 in Q1 2023 and 7.8 in the final quarter of 2021.

View Full Article: Mortgage pricing gives company purchases more appeal

Angela Rayner – Will rent controls and tax rises for landlords be on the agenda?

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The appointment of Angela Rayner by the Labour Party as Shadow Housing Secretary means that landlords might have a Jeremy Corbyn supporter keen to bring in draconian laws for landlords in the private rented sector (PRS), one landlords’ organisation warns.

View Full Article: Angela Rayner – Will rent controls and tax rises for landlords be on the agenda?

Capping rents will cause landlords to leave PRS warns industry body

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An industry body warns that capping rents will only deepen the current rental crisis.

The National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) says capping rents would lead to a “stampede” of landlords quitting the sector.

They are urging the Government to look at increasing Local Housing Allowances to ease pressure in the sector.

View Full Article: Capping rents will cause landlords to leave PRS warns industry body

Disability group says hoarding and other mental health issues ‘not reason to evict’

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A disability rights group has vowed to push for stronger regulations in the Renters Reform Bill so disabled tenants don’t face discrimination from their landlords.

Disability Rights UK says increasing landlords’ powers to evict tenants displaying anti-social behaviour could be misused as a more harmful alternative to Section 21 evictions.

Its briefing for disability groups explains that hoarding can be defined as anti-social behaviour, while neuro-diverse people, those with learning disabilities or experiencing mental distress, might show behaviours which could be seen as anti-social.

While the proposed property portal could be an opportunity for tenants to understand more about their rights and extremely useful if landlords were forced to include information on a property’s accessibility – helping the case for arguing for more accessible properties – it fears that if councils don’t have the ability to ensure landlords use the portal, it won’t help disabled tenants.

Bad experiences

It also worries that councils won’t have the capacity or staff to enforce signing up to a new ombudsman.

It adds: “We know that many disabled people have had bad experiences with ombudsmen in other sectors such as social housing, health and social care or local authorities.

“Some ombudsmen schemes don’t even publish their case decisions which reinforces inequalities and hinders disabled people’s access to justice as there is no room to challenge or develop the law.”

Disability Rights UK also highlights the lack of measures in the Bill that improve the accessibility or adaptability of homes and the fact there is no mention of improvements to the Disabled Facilities Grant.

Speaking on ITV news, campaigns and policy officer Mikey Erhardt (main picture), said: “The law is pretty weak in that area and we know that weakness means that discrimination and poor behaviour is really commonplace.”

View Full Article: Disability group says hoarding and other mental health issues ‘not reason to evict’