Tenancy Agreements – Agents v Landlords?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

For the majority of my properties I use my own Tenancy Agreement (TA), established over time with updates as and when (mostly when issues have occurred with a previous tenant and to stop the potential for similar things happening again).

The post Tenancy Agreements – Agents v Landlords? appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Tenancy Agreements – Agents v Landlords?

How can iHeat make boiler replacement easier for landlords?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

We understand that a landlord’s job is important. As well as the day-to-day tasks, you must ensure your properties are safe and comfortable for you tenants and that their appliances are working safely and properly, including the boiler. 

While boilers are often almost invisible to tenants, they’re one of the most important pieces of equipment in the home, keeping your tenants warm and comfortable. As a landlord, you’re legally responsible for ensuring your tenant’s boiler is working properly, which means you must arrange and cover the cost of any boiler repairs or replacements, a process which can be stressful and costly.

Fortunately, at iHeat, we have the solution for you to make replacing a boiler simpler and more affordable.

How can iHeat make boiler replacement easier?

No Need for a Home Survey Visit

Perhaps one of the most stressful parts about arranging a boiler replacement for your property is arranging to have an engineer come out and conduct a survey to get a quote. This is especially true if your tenants like to be difficult.

Fortunately, with iHeat, you can get a free, fixed boiler quote online in less than a minute by answering a few simple questions about your property and choosing from our wide range of boilers. In fact, you can order a new boiler with us from anywhere in the world, so if your tenant’s boiler breaks down whilst you’re away on holiday or out of the country, there’s no need to panic.

This also means there’s no need to arrange an engineer callout as you can upload images of your property online, saving you plenty of time and money.

Fast turnaround 

As a landlord, you must carry out repairs within a ‘reasonable time’, under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act. If deemed an emergency, you must aim to get it fixed within 24 hours. Thankfully, with iHeat, you can have a boiler installed and as soon as 24 hours after ordering, delivering an incredibly fast turnaround and keeping your tenant happy. 

Incredible warranties

With iHeat, you can get a fantastic ten year warranty on parts and labour with a new boiler, ensuring you are protected for a long time, allowing you and your tenants to rest easy. We’ll even automatically register your warranty too, so you don’t have to move a muscle.

Annual service reminders

Landlords are also legally required to arrange annual boiler services to make sure the heating system is working safely. Not to mention, most insurance policies and warranties become invalid if you fail to arrange an annual service by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

That’s why iHeat will send you an annual reminder closer to the time, allowing you to book in with one of our Gas Safe engineers. 

We’re here to help

If you ever have any questions or are experiencing any issues, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of the team by giving us a call or messaging us via live chat and our expert engineers will be happy to help. 

You can get in touch with us between 8am and 7pm Monday to Thursday, 8am to 5pm on a Friday and 10am to 2pm on Saturday.

We work with tenants

Are you tired of your tenants calling you up every time they experience a slight issue with their boiler? Send them on over to us! We’re more than happy to get into direct contact with tenants and answer any questions they may have, giving them a personal point of contact instead of directing all of their questions to you.

We can also request the relevant images from your tenants by forwarding the link, saving you the job of constantly chasing them up.

Fixed prices

With iHeat, the price you see is the price you pay, so long as you have provided the correct information. The quote includes the cost of everything including:

The boiler

• Installation
• Pipeworks,
• Flue kit
• Wireless Controls
• Chemical flush
• Disposal of old boiler
• We’ll even upgrade your gas pipe for free if it’s needed

Get a free, fixed quote on a brand new A-rated efficient boiler today and check out our fantastic range of Viessmann, Worcester Bosch, Ideal and Alpha boilers.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – How can iHeat make boiler replacement easier for landlords? | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: How can iHeat make boiler replacement easier for landlords?

EPCs: Council in spotlight over ‘one rule landlords, another for its own properties’

admin    Uncategorized     agents

A local council that introduced fines to catch out negligent private landlords renting sub-standard homes has been hauled up for doing the same thing.

Legislation adopted by South Derbyshire District Council in 2019 means its landlords can be fined up to £5,000 per property if they rent energy inefficient homes rated below E.

However, a sample survey of 700 council homes in South Derbyshire, carried out by Nottingham City Council, found two homes rated F. Derbyshire Live reports that if this was replicated throughout all 3,000 of the council’s homes, it could total 12 homes which landlords would not be allowed to rent.

The research also found a third of homes were rated below C and needed a wide range of upgrades.

Three of the homes assessed had no insulation. +The finding is another example of a council being quick to penalise transgressions while not always practicing what it preaches; earlier this year, Croydon Council was rumbled for allowing appalling housing conditions endured by council tenants in South Norwood go unrepaired for four years.

Domestic properties

The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 only relate to domestic private rented properties, which means councils like Derbyshire can continue renting council homes which are extremely energy inefficient and would land a private landlord with a fine, unless they had a valid exemption.

Paul Whittingham, the council’s head of housing, told councillors at a recent meeting that all the homes in question were already fitted with double glazing and top-grade boilers.

He said the houses might need fully replacing to give them the drastic energy efficiency improvements required. “They are at the end of their life, so for some this is a replacement programme,” added Whittingham.

The district council says the average cost per property to get them to an energy efficiency rating of C is £15,000.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – EPCs: Council in spotlight over ‘one rule landlords, another for its own properties’ | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: EPCs: Council in spotlight over ‘one rule landlords, another for its own properties’

#CPC21: Shelter softens its rhetoric on private landlords

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Shelter has struck a more conciliatory tone towards private landlords, saying it recognises that many have ‘bent over backwards’ to help their tenants during the pandemic.

The comments were made by its Chief Executive Polly Neate (main pic) at a fringe meeting of the Conservative party conference in Manchester.

Speaking alongside housing minister Eddie Hughes, she said her organisation did not want to ‘demonise’ private landlords and it recognised they play an important role in providing accommodation within the much-expanded private rental sector.

This is a significant shift in tone compared to its most recent media campaign, which launched a broadside against landlords and letting agents, using research among 3,500 private renters to accuse both groups of illegal behaviour.

But at the meeting Neate was keen to emphasise that, although Shelter wanted to squeeze out rogue landlords, she also wanted to see good landlords incentivised to stay.

Power balance

Nevertheless, Neate caused a stir by suggesting landlords held the balance of power within tenancies.

This led several of the audience to disagree, highlighting how many landlords now feel tenants have been given too many rights to the point where rogue tenants can game the system, and that plans to change evictions law would only make this worse.

But Neate reminded those attending that the private rented sector has changed enormously over the past 20 years and that many more vulnerable renters who used to live within social housing now rent privately.

“Traditionally renters were those on the cusp of home ownership, but now too many on the cusp of homelessness and we need to protect them,” she said.

Watch the meeting.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – #CPC21: Shelter softens its rhetoric on private landlords | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: #CPC21: Shelter softens its rhetoric on private landlords

LATEST: Minister reveals more about Rent Reform proposals

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Housing minister Eddie Hughes (pictured, 2nd from right) has given the strongest indication to date which of the government’s proposed rent reform policies are to be included within its much-expected White Paper.

The Walsall North MP told a fringe meeting at the Conservative party conference in Manchester that both a landlord register and a lifetime rental deposit scheme in England were set to go ahead.

Landlords may have some breathing space before they do – Hughes said his officials were still ‘half way’ through the policy formation process, indicating that the White Paper is unlikely to be published until the New Year.

The minister also said he was keen that the new measures would ‘not have unintended consequences’ for either landlords or tenants and that therefore his department was proceeding carefully.

The housing ministry has form on this front – for example its Tenant Fees Act has made it harder, not easier, for tenants with pets to rent homes – many MPs, Lords and pet campaigners have argued.

Landlord register

Hughes said a landlord register would only pull together information already available from different sources, and that similar schemes in both Scotland and Wales had already been successfully implemented without driving out landlords from the private rented sector.

Other speakers at the event including Grimsby MP Lia Nici (pictured, far right) also said that it was time English councils were able to understand who the landlords are within their boundaries, and which properties they rent out.

Hughes also revealed that the proposed lifetime deposit scheme, which would enable tenants to ‘passport’ their deposits from tenancy to tenancy would not expose landlords to extra financial risk and cost, as many have feared.

Hughes said his department had experts looking at how it would work best, but that it would most likely be an insurance-backed scheme. LandlordZONE understands this is likely to be similar in form to the ‘alternative deposit’ schemes available within the rental sector.

The meeting, which was organised by centre-right thinktank Onward and sponsored by Shelter, also discussed the government’s plans to abolish ‘no fault’ Section 21 evictions, during which the minister gave assurances that the new system would offer tenants security from retaliatory or unnecessary evictions but also enable landlords to repossess properties for good reasons – such as to sell up or move back in.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Minister reveals more about Rent Reform proposals | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: LATEST: Minister reveals more about Rent Reform proposals

Unless 3 x the deposit is more than the small claims limit the Part 36 offer is a bluff

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Landlords who fail to protect tenancy deposits and to serve Prescribed Information Forms correctly may be liable for a penalty. The minimum that can be ordered for each breach is one times the amount of the deposit and the maximum is three times.

The post Unless 3 x the deposit is more than the small claims limit the Part 36 offer is a bluff appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Unless 3 x the deposit is more than the small claims limit the Part 36 offer is a bluff

LATEST: Fix the rental market or face a landlord exodus, trade body warns Chancellor

admin    Uncategorized     agents

National letting agent trade body Propertymark has told the Chancellor that unless the private rented sector is overhauled a significant number of landlords will quit the sector.

The organisation says within its submission to the Sunak’s Autumn Budget and Spending Review that the rental market is already facing a ‘cliff edge’ as the private rented sector struggles to keep up with demand, but that rent arrear and a crumbling court system are making the situation worse.

Such an exodus of landlords would be catastrophic for the housing system, including the many people who rely on the private rented sector to meet their housing needs.

Research completed recently by broker The Mortgage Works found that 20% of landlords are likely to sell property in the next 12 months.

Tax implications

Propertymark says this is down to a combination of moving goal posts, tax implications, tenant debt and a backlog in the courts as reasons many smaller portfolio landlords are being left with few options.

The trade body says the effect on landlords has been compounded over the pandemic and official government figures show the proportion of private renters in arrears has tripled during the pandemic, from 3% between April 2019 and March 2020 to 9% during November and December 2020.

It warns that if the upward trend in this data continues the number of renters in arears could reach almost 800,000 by the end of 2021.

Mark Hayward, Chief Policy Advisor for Propertymark says: “We are urging the UK Government to look at the bigger picture here.

“It’s not about propping up landlords but more about doing the right thing for the country as we work to build back better from the devastating effects of the pandemic.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Fix the rental market or face a landlord exodus, trade body warns Chancellor | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: LATEST: Fix the rental market or face a landlord exodus, trade body warns Chancellor

BREAKING: Gove conference speech side-lines housing as ‘levelling up’ takes over

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The keynote speech by Michael Gove, the new housing secretary, to this week’s Conservative party conference has revealed just how far his newly-named department has swung away from housing.

During his 10-minute speech to the main hall at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, over half of Gove’s speech was taken up by the levelling-up agenda while housing took up just 46 seconds before he returned to levelling up once more, commenting that ‘every department within the government is now for levelling-up’.

Gove dealt with just a few of the key housing policy areas his department is currently grappling with, but left almost all the rest alone.

He namechecked the Grenfell fire, making homes safer and greener, tackling urban regeneration, building new homes on brownfield sites, better social housing, and helping more renters into home ownership.

Housing market

But his speech omitted many other key topics vexing the housing market at the moment including the leasehold scandal, the promised reforms of the private rental market, rent arrears, evictions, pets and commercial landlords’ difficulties on the high street.

The rest of his speech at the conference sounded more prime ministerial than his predecessor Robert Jenkin’s ever did, spending the rest of his oration talking up the UK’s success including its diversity and economic success as well as the benefits of the Conservative’s devolution efforts, and laying into Labour’s economic, home and foreign policies.

He also nodded to criticism of the levelling up scheme – including voter unhappiness resulting in June’s lost Chesham and Amersham by-election – by saying that it would ‘level up every part of the United Kingdom’.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: Gove conference speech side-lines housing as ‘levelling up’ takes over | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: BREAKING: Gove conference speech side-lines housing as ‘levelling up’ takes over

BTL purchase inside a new LLP?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Hi, I am looking to purchase a new Buy to Let investment property. However, I would like to make the purchase of the property inside a newly created Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)  i.e. I am not transferring an existing property to the LLP.

The post BTL purchase inside a new LLP? appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: BTL purchase inside a new LLP?

Muslim Charity Increases Housing Grant by 50%

admin    Uncategorized     agents

In response to the recent change in renting law, UK Muslim Charity, National Zakat Foundation (NZF), are introducing a Covid recovery scheme to support those at risk of eviction.

The charity which collects Zakat, an obligatory payment in the Islamic faith of 2.5% of annual qualifying wealth which is then distributed back into the Muslim community

The post Muslim Charity Increases Housing Grant by 50% appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Muslim Charity Increases Housing Grant by 50%