Tenant has stopped communicating – what to do?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Hello, Our tenant stopped lines of communication in March. We were communicating by way of email and text, occasionally we tried a phone call but she texted us and said use email and text as her preferred method.

It says on her contract we can email etc.

View Full Article: Tenant has stopped communicating – what to do?

NEW: Landlords feeling economic heat, new mortgage arrears data shows

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If the Government needs evidence that landlords are struggling in the current economic climate, then the most recent mortgage arrears and repossessions figures should be sober reading within the dusty rooms of Whitehall.

Lenders have reported that the number of private landlords in arrears with their buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages has increased by 28% over the past three months.

There were 8,980 buy-to-let mortgages in arrears of 2.5 per cent or more of the outstanding balance in the second quarter of 2023.

Half of these mortgages in arrears were what UK Finance counts as ion the ‘lightest arrears’ band or those between 2.5 and 5 per cent of the outstanding balance.

It says this shows that problems are coming down the line – ‘lightest arrears’ are 41 per cent greater than in the previous quarter.

The figures also show landlords are being hit harder than home owners, with arrears building fastest among landlords.

For example – there were 81,900 homeowner mortgages in arrears of 2.5 per cent or more of the outstanding balance in the second quarter of 2023, seven per cent greater than in the previous quarter compared to 28% for landlords.

Stark

“Percentage increases are always going to look stark when starting from a low base,” says Sonia Fernandes, Principal, Mortgages at UK Finance.

“However, this does not take away from the fact that early arrears, 2.5 per cent – five per cent of balance, has increased for both homeowner mortgages and BTL.

“And for BTL landlords who are missing their mortgage payments, we are not seeing signs that this is because of rental arrears.

“As long as renters are able to keep up with their payments, lenders will typically allow them to stay in the property for the remainder of their lease, even if the landlord has missed their mortgage payments.”

Read the figures in full.

View Full Article: NEW: Landlords feeling economic heat, new mortgage arrears data shows

Landlords exiting PRS prompts 35% rise in Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions

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Shelter has urged the government to make scrapping Section 21 a priority after new Ministry of Justice data showed a 41% rise in the number of households removed from their homes in England due to no-fault evictions.

Between April and June, 2,228 households were evicted under Section 21 accelerated procedure repossessions by county court bailiffs, up from 1,578 in the same quarter last year. 

Private landlords started 7,491 court claims to evict their tenants under Section 21 this quarter, up 35% in a year.

The Renters (Reform) Bill has been slow to progress through Parliament and Shelter wants the government to prioritise this when MPS returns from recess in September.  

Paul Sowerbutts (pictured), Head of Legal at Landlord Action, says: “Scrapping Sectrion 21 without due process would be a knee jerk reaction.

“Whilst some landlords are struggling due to interest rate rises many are only to aware of the difficulties their tenants face wanting to keep good tenants.

“An historic ban like this needs to be carefully considered in terms of what takes its place. It is in everyones interest that this is properly debated so the correct balance is struck as there may not be another opportunity to consider this for a generation. Legislate in haste, repent at leisure.”

Leave the market

Chris Norris (pictured), policy director for the NRLA, says: “The NRLA wants to see every tenancy sustained wherever possible.

“However, growing numbers of landlords seeking to repossess properties comes at a time when increasing numbers are deciding to sell up and leave the market.”

Abuse the system

Shelter chief executive Polly Neate (pictured) says landlords can too easily use and abuse the current system.

“Some will hike up the rent and if their tenants can’t pay, they will slap them with a no-fault eviction notice and find others who can,” she adds.

“We speak to renters all the time who feel like they have zero control over their own lives because the threat of eviction is constantly hanging over them.

“The moment Parliament resumes, the government must get rid of no-fault evictions which have made the prospect of a stable home little more than a fantasy for England’s 11 million private renters.” 

View Full Article: Landlords exiting PRS prompts 35% rise in Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions

Where will tenants go when EPC work is carried out on properties?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Hello, regarding the proposals to upgrade all properties to an EPC ‘C’ rating, where are the tenants of a two-bed back-to-back going to live whilst the work is carried out? Don’t forget that pets are as important as kids in many families.

View Full Article: Where will tenants go when EPC work is carried out on properties?

Abolishing Section 21 will be a ‘disaster’ warns leading northern landlord

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Removing Section 21 will be a disaster – and the threat is causing good landlords to quit the sector, says one fed-up investor.

York-based landlord and developer, Matthew Laverack (inset, main pic), believes politicians should stop bashing landlords and make it easier, not more difficult, to provide housing.

While the cost of living may be extremely challenging, so is being a landlord during a time of high costs, onerous regulations and abundant financial risks.

Writing in the York Press, Laverack says Section 21 doesn’t allow landlords to give two months’ notice without reason and was introduced to give certainty to investors who otherwise wouldn’t be interested in private rentals.

“Removing Section 21 is a disaster,” he says. “Landlords make a living renting out homes. They make a loss when homes are empty and don’t give notice unless they have to, when a tenant doesn’t pay and/or behaves appallingly.”

Laverack has had some tenants for more than 20 years who started out with a six-month tenancy.

Throwing out

“We don’t invoke Section 21 because providing homes is our livelihood – throwing out good tenants isn’t what happens,” he adds.

“The housing crisis cannot be solved by rent controls. It is throwing petrol on a fire. It makes more landlords leave the market with few investors willing to replace them. Also, financial institutions will not fund an enterprise with rising costs and a fixed price cap.”

Alternative view: Why abolishing Section 21 isn't all bad news for landlords

Laverack, who has been in the rental and housebuilding sector for 40 years, has previously spoken out against government interference for deterring investors who would have helped meet the demand for housing but decided it was no longer worth the risk.

Read more about Section 21.

Pic credits: Getty/Matthew Laverack/Twitter

View Full Article: Abolishing Section 21 will be a ‘disaster’ warns leading northern landlord

Landlords urged to give views on major changes to Scottish EPCs

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Landlords are being urged to give their views on an overhaul of EPCs (Energy Performance Certificates) in Scotland including making both residential and commercial landlords and homeowners renew them every five years rather than ten.

This is Ministers’ second attempt to reform EPCS. In 2021 they consulted on reforming EPCs to add a metric showing a property’s energy use, but now a second one is due to end on 10^th October.

No changes were made to EPCs following the original consultation but now the government is carrying out a new consultation on more extensive changes to EPCs, with the new EPC regulation brought in during late 2024.

The newly-proposed changes are designed to help homeowners and tenants understand their building’s energy performance, but the Scottish Government believes the current metrics, ratings and format aren’t ‘suitable’ to drive improvements and meet net zero targets by 2045.

Its new consultation – setting out proposals to reform domestic and non-domestic EPCs – includes plans to change the metrics, purpose and validity period of EPCs, the document format and quality assurance procedures.

Stakeholders

Changes would provide “relevant and holistic information” to ensure EPCs provide clear and useful basic information about a building’s energy efficiency for current and prospective building owners and tenants, and other stakeholders.

As well as using a letter to describe a property’s energy efficiency, three new rating types would be added – building fabric, cost and heating type – to give tenants and homeowners a clearer idea of what they are renting or buying.

Also on display will be an ‘emissions rating’ and an ‘energy use indicator’.

This means that landlords will no longer be able to make small changes (such as replacing a boiler) to get a property over the line to a ‘C’ as is the case now, but instead make more substantial improvements that meet the ‘net Zero’ target.

The Scottish government wants feedback ahead of the introduction of revised Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations due in Winter 2023-24 which would mean that revised EPCs would come into force shortly afterwards and in advance of wider Heat in Buildings Regulations planned for 2025.

As in England and Wales, Scottish landlords have until 2025 or 2028 to get their properties to a minimum ‘C’ level depending whether a tenancy is new or existing.

Impact

Any update to the EPC system would have a significant impact on letting agents, sales agents and commercial agents, says Propertymark CEO Nathan Emerson (pictured).

He adds: “Whilst we understand the Scottish Government wants to reach net-zero, attention must be paid to ensuring information contained is clear and concise to allow users to gain the very best understanding.”

Read the consultation.

Landlords have until 10^th October to submit their views via the Government’s consultation hub.

View Full Article: Landlords urged to give views on major changes to Scottish EPCs

Letting agent expelled from TPO owing landlord £10k appears to be still trading

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A letting agent operating in Stratford, East London, has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) due to its failure to honour a compensatory award amounting to £10,264 to a landlord – but appears to be trading still.

The award came after a landlord lodged a formal complaint with TPO after a dispute involving the letting agent’s management of a property.

View Full Article: Letting agent expelled from TPO owing landlord £10k appears to be still trading

LATEST: Demand for rental property remains strong as property sales nosedive

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The latest RICS housing report has revealed a sharp downturn in property sales but in contrast a rental market bolstered by continuing ‘strong demand’, landlords will be relieved to hear.

While those selling homes are seeing demand for properties evaporating fast as high mortgage interest rates dent buyer confidence, those offering properties to rent have seen demand rising firmly over the three months to July.

RICS says this points to the “strongest quarterly pick-up in rental demand since the start of 2022”.

Set against this, the number of landlords asking agents to list properties to rent declined for another month in a row.

This is good for landlords profitability as fewer properties on the market lead to higher rents, but it will lead to further headlines that the market is ‘broken’ as more and more house hunting renters are asked to pay higher and higher rents.

Consequently, more agents have told RICS they expect rents to rise over the coming months than during the last quarter of the year, the report shows.

Constrained

RICS Chief Economist, Simon Rubinsohn (pictured), adds: “The recent uptick in mortgage activity looks likely to be reversed over the coming months if the feedback to the latest RICS Residential Survey is anything to go by.  

“Just as concerning are the insights being provided around the lettings markets.

“Demand shows no signs of letting up, supply remains constrained and that means rents are likely to continue rising sharply despite the cost-of-living crisis.”

The Homelet rental report, also published today, reveals that the UK monthly rent has hit an all-time high of £1,243 PCM, up 1.1% from last month, or £1,032 excluding London.

View Full Article: LATEST: Demand for rental property remains strong as property sales nosedive

Find out how to tax efficiently structure & manage your property portfolio in this free event!

admin    Uncategorized     agents

With high-interest rates, huge uncertainty & opportunity in the market, there has never been a better time to consider the structure for your property investment.

As landlords, tax will be one of the biggest costs you face and you will want to find a way to legitimately reduce this.

View Full Article: Find out how to tax efficiently structure & manage your property portfolio in this free event!

Student landlords face turmoil for several years predicts guarantor firm

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Students face two years of challenging housing supply as rental stock dwindles while demand remains high.

According to rental guarantor service Housing Hand, with rent reforms now not due until after the current period of student admissions is complete, the impact will be felt in full next year when the supply challenge is set to be even more acute.

It reports that students in particularly oversubscribed locations are already having to adjust their expectations by accepting less space than they would like or paying for larger properties than they need, due to the lack of choice.

Some students would also face longer journey times to campus after being forced to revise their expectations about property location.

6% more students

Research by Save the Student shows that 46% of students already rent from private landlords during term time rather than in halls or with family – an increase of 6% on last year.

This extensive demand means that both students and working professionals will be hard-pressed to secure accommodation over the coming weeks.

“The influx of students into the private rented sector is always a challenge in terms of meeting demand and this year will be even more so, given the lower number of landlords in the market,” says James Maguire, head of sales and business development (pictured).

“That’s why students will need to be flexible in terms of their expectations.”

Housing Hand has seen a 50% increase in applications for rental guarantors over the past six months and says many students are using the firm’s partnership with Canopy, which delivers rapid referencing services, so that they’re ready to move fast if they find the perfect property.

View Full Article: Student landlords face turmoil for several years predicts guarantor firm