Landlord Crusader: Why landlords should not share equity profits with renters

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Knowing that those who hate landlords will be spitting when they read this, I must explain why sharing the capital gains made from a rental property investment is nonsense.

This is the argument made in a recent article in The Big Issue

View Full Article: Landlord Crusader: Why landlords should not share equity profits with renters

Talks begin on UK-wide ban on landlords advertising property as ‘no children’

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The Scottish and UK governments are working together to prevent landlords banning children from properties after a BBC investigation revealed the practice was still rife.

Following the launch of the Renters Reform Bill which would strengthen the law to make it illegal for landlords to have a blanket ban on tenants who have children or receive benefits, talks are taking place to extend it to Scotland. Housing Secretary Michael Gove (main picture) has written to Scottish Housing Minister Paul McLennan to offer a joint approach which he said would send a clear message to providers.

The Scottish government said it would work with UK counterparts to develop the plans.

But a spokesman told the BBC that any talks “must include a close examination of the UK government’s decision to freeze Local Housing Allowance rates at 2020 levels for the third year running”, saying affordability was “the far more significant barrier to accessing a privately rented home”.

Investigation

An investigation found thousands of adverts for rental homes posted by private landlords and letting agents which said children or pets were not welcome. Almost a quarter of just under 8,000 ads examined on the OpenRent website said families were not allowed to rent the homes, while 300 on Zoopla explicitly said children were not wanted.

The Scottish Association of Landlords says it’s another sign of how the lack of private rented homes is making it harder for many tenants.

A spokesman tells LandlordZONE: “While these actions do not represent the actions of the overwhelming majority of landlords in Scotland, the recent actions of the Scottish government to restrict landlords’ rights to repossess their properties will no doubt make landlords more concerned about who they let their properties to in the future.”

He adds: “We hope to work with others to find a solution that addresses landlords’ concerns while protecting tenants’ rights.”

View Full Article: Talks begin on UK-wide ban on landlords advertising property as ‘no children’

Landlords are flocking to Landlord Sales Agency to sell their property portfolios before the eviction ban

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It’s a double-edged sword for landlords right now, with 1 in 3 landlords saying they’re going to trim down or get rid of their portfolios, coupled with the looming eviction ban in just 12 months’ time. It’s no surprise, therefore

View Full Article: Landlords are flocking to Landlord Sales Agency to sell their property portfolios before the eviction ban

‘Huge competition is the key problem for families in PRS, not landlords’ says Shamplina

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Paul Shamplina says the key reason why tenants with children are struggling to find rented accommodation is the ongoing supply crisis created by Government intervention in the sector, and the huge competition for properties that it is creating.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live last night Shamplina – who is Director of Partnerships for Total Landlord insurance – said intense competition for properties means parents are finding it increasingly hard to find accommodation, as are most other types of tenants.

“Many landlords have children and at a recent industry show I spoke at most of the people in the audience said they’d be happy to rent to families,” he said.

Vilification

But Shamplina said increased taxation, more regulation via the looming Renters (Reform) Bill and the vilification of landlords are cumulatively persuading a greater number of them to quit the sector than normal, and this means many good tenants with children are being asked to leave as the properties are put up for sale.

“In my 30 years working with landlords and agents, I’ve never seen so many landlords exiting the market,” he said.

Speaking about the recent BBC research that showed almost three quarters of property listings on Open Rent stipulating ‘no children’, Shamplina tells LandlordZONE that a significant percentage of properties within the PRS are not suitable for children – in the same way not every home is ideal for dogs or cats.

‘no children’

“For instance, a one-bedroom or studio flat is not suitable for a family and neither is shared accommodation, student houses and HMOs, so landlords can fairly stipulate ‘no children’ in these circumstances,” he says.

“The Renters (Reform) Bill, when it goes live in 18 months’ time, will formalise what already exists out there in terms of landlords accepting tenants by setting out when a landlords can or cannot refuse a family with children, and this will stamp out unscrupulous landlords who say ‘no children’ for unfair reasons.”

Read more about the Renters (Reform) Bill.

View Full Article: ‘Huge competition is the key problem for families in PRS, not landlords’ says Shamplina

UK landlords with Airbnb properties in EU to pay 20% VAT on rental income

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British landlords who use rental platforms to let holiday homes in the European Union will soon have to pay VAT on their rental income.

Under the EU’s VAT in the Digital Age scheme, from 2025, these landlords will need to pay an average of 20% VAT, regardless of whether they live in the same country or outside the EU.

According to Tax Assist Accountants, the charge will be applied to platform operators such as Booking.com and Airbnb, requiring landlords to factor this cost into their rental fees to maintain profit margins. 

The EU predicts that almost three-quarters (70%) of accommodation providers using on-demand platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com aren’t VAT registered.

This will cause administrative headaches for operators, who will need to notify each applicable member state which providers are VAT-registered and those who don’t yet have VAT numbers. 

Agents

This also includes firms that act as local agents for landlords owning holiday villas, apartments and cottages across Europe. 

The programme is designed to make the EU’s tax rules in the travel and hospitality sector fairer; due to the complexities surrounding VAT registration, hotels and conventional taxi services currently pay VAT on all the sales they disclose, unlike independent landlords and taxi services. 

The firm says that it’s possible Chancellor Jeremy Hunt could monitor the success of the programme and consider taking a similar path to improve tax parity. 

View Full Article: UK landlords with Airbnb properties in EU to pay 20% VAT on rental income

Has anyone used a Zero Deposit scheme?

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Hello, has anyone used a Zero Deposit (ZD) scheme? I’m coming into the ZD scheme from fresh having always taken traditional deposits up front so I’m wary of the scheme at the moment. I have been advised it might be a way of getting tenants to come forward.

View Full Article: Has anyone used a Zero Deposit scheme?

Sell now before rates cause buyers to scatter and prices to plummet

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The NRLA recently reported that 1 in 3 landlords are going to trim down their portfolios. A whopping 33% of landlords currently selling throughout the UK. Of that 33%, most landlords agreed that they would be willing to take 80% of the value just to get rid of them because mortgage payments are out of control.

So we’ll get straight to the point. At Landlord Sales Agency, we get landlords higher than 80% value, faster. In fact in many cases we’ll even get you higher than the current market value. We’ll also sell your entire portfolio, or however many properties you need to shift, in less than a month. Our average sale time is just 21 days, for the best prices.

How? We sell to other landlords coming into the market. This means that tenants can stay – new landlords starting from a financially “fresh” position don’t mind taking your portfolio on no matter what condition, and they’re prepared to pay high prices for a ready-made deal they can fix.

Problem tenants? No problem for us, we mediate to ensure all your tenants are happy whilst you sell, or if they want to stay we’ll come up with a deal for you, and negotiate on your behalf. No one else is giving tenants this much security to ensure both you and your tenants walk away winning.

Need a refurb? We’ve got an entire team of builders to assist. Need to be compliant to regulations? We can help you with all your certificates.

Worried about what price you’ll get compared to an auction or estate agent? We’ll do you one better: nothing beats the bidding wars from our powerful database of over 30,000 private buyers who get alerts straight to their phones every time we list a new property.

Put simply, no one can beat us. We’re here to get landlords the best prices, and get them out of the market while they still can.

We’re the problem solver for landlords when they’re at the end of their tether.

So if you’re a landlord who needs to sell, come to us. You’ll want to act fast – with the eviction ban looming in just 12 months time, on top of already rising interest rates in a falling market, there’s no time like the present to ensure you exit the landlord sector unscathed and ready to invest elsewhere.

We don’t have to convince you to come to us, if you’ve seen our recent news before, you’ll know there’s a reason we’ve got the best relationships with landlord associations throughout the country. We’re fast, honest, and we do exactly what we say we’ll do.

Last week statistics showed that 3,000 landlords had tuned in to hear our podcast, The Landlord Show, giving advice on landlords wanting to sell. In the last two weeks alone, we had over 150 landlords approach us to sell. Our team of experts jumped in, ready to help every single one of them.

So get in touch today, let’s get you sorted. No matter how many properties you have, no matter what condition, we’ll get them sold and get you money in the bank so you can move on and avoid the financial crisis once and for all.

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View Full Article: Sell now before rates cause buyers to scatter and prices to plummet

New court service for tenants risks more landlords facing huge eviction costs

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The new Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service could result in more landlords fighting – and potentially losing – expensive court battles.

There are fears that the threat of a £15,000 legal bill if they lose their possession claim hearing could be enough to dissuade some from taking legal action.

From 1st August, tenants facing eviction or repossession can get free early legal advice on housing, debt, and welfare benefits issues before appearing in court, as well as continuing to get advice and representation on the day of their hearing. It replaces the Housing Possession Court Duty Service which only offers ‘on the day’ emergency advice and advocacy.

Unintended consequence

Paul Sowerbutts (pictured), head of legal action at Landlord Action, tells LandlordZONE that while it will mean more tenants get advice earlier, the likely – unintended – consequence will be more tenants also getting full legal aid, so that landlords end up fighting more lengthy and costly court battles.

He says costs of at least £15,000 for a one-day trial are not uncommon. “This scheme makes it more likely for a case to go to a full day trial – tenants can cause more mischief and are at a significant advantage,” says Sowerbutts. “If they lose the case, they don’t have to pay costs.”

More difficult

He adds that the upcoming reforms and this new scheme will make it more difficult to be a small landlord, although it should encourage a better relationship with tenants as landlords try to pre-empt problems.

One worried landlord tells LandlordZONE: “It seems very unfair as tenants don’t need to be means-tested to get help while we have to pay for representation, which is a lot for someone who only has one or two properties. The system is really weighted against landlords.”

Read more about the Housing Loss Prevention Services.

View Full Article: New court service for tenants risks more landlords facing huge eviction costs

BTL landlords should share capital gains profit with tenants – call

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Since tenants pay for their landlord’s buy to let mortgage repayments, they should get a share of the profits, one leading commentator says.

John Bird is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Big Issue, a social enterprise and street newspaper

View Full Article: BTL landlords should share capital gains profit with tenants – call

PRS reform legislation to cost landlords just £10 a year, claim campaigners

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Pro-tenant campaigners have claimed that the Government’s looming overhaul of the private rented sector will cost landlords a ‘meagre’ £10 each per annum.

The Renters’ Reform Coalition, a group that lists 20 organisations including several tenant unions, Shelter, Age UK, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Crisis and the Nationwide Foundation, has not revealed why it believes the huge changes will cost such a small amount.

Its statement published last night claims landlords can easily afford the money given the ‘median total wealth of buy-to-let landlords is £942,00’.

The coalition says it has made the claim in a bid to persuade the Government to accelerate its Renters (Reform) Bill which, although it was introduced nearly two months ago, has yet to receive a second reading.

Also, the Renters’ Reform Coalition accuses landlords – namely the NRLA – of conducting a “years-long lobbying campaign…to water down and delay the proposals, by claiming the additional regulation will drive landlords to sell their properties, and to push for favourable tax changes to compensate for any increased regulation”.

Negligible

Tom Darling, Campaign Manager of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, says: “The Government’s own Impact Assessment shows that the costs to landlords of the basic protections for tenants in the Renters (Reform) Bill are negligible, especially compared to the significant wealth of a typical buy-to-let landlord.”

“There is a crisis facing renters and the lack of progress on this important legislation is very concerning.”

“The Impact Assessment ought to give the Government confidence to ignore the hot air from landlord groups about the burdens of regulation, bring forward the Bill, and heed the Renters’ Reform Coalition’s demands to improve the protections for tenants in the legislation, such as through longer notice periods and extended protection from eviction.”

View Full Article: PRS reform legislation to cost landlords just £10 a year, claim campaigners