Mandatory redress scheme membership for landlords WILL happen, says Minister

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The government’s housing minister in the Lords has warned private landlords that mandatory membership of a redress scheme is around the corner.

In a reply to question to Baroness Ritchie about the government’s ongoing eviction mediation pilot, which he says is still being assessed, Lord Greenhalgh said the government remains strongly committed to bringing in redress for landlords.

Letting agents are already required to be a member of a redress scheme which, for a fee, mediates between tenants and agents over disputes. These issues often include poor service, rent not being passed on and shoddy maintenance work.

But landlords are not included in the Letting Agency Work and Property Management Work (Approval and Designation of Schemes) (England) Order 2013 which brought in mandatory membership in 2014 for lettings agents.

This will be a thorny issue for the government to untangle – for example, will a landlord have to join a scheme even if their property is managed by an agent, and which redress scheme would a tenant take a complaint to if both agent and landlords are members of different schemes?

“These issues need to be thought through and resolved before the legislation is prepared,” says Sean Hooker, who heads up the Property Redress Scheme. It is one of the two government-approved bodies, along with The Property Ombudsman.

“Nevertheless, all landlords registering with a redress scheme would mean that the whole private rental sector would be accountable to a complaint process.”

DIY operators

Approximately half of all landlords use a letting agent and that means over a million landlords are DIY operators and would be covered by new redress legislation.

“This will ensure that all tenants have access to redress where they have a legitimate complaint about their home, and will also make it easier for private landlords to understand their obligations,” said Greenhalgh.

The issues remains high on the political agenda – in April an ITV investigation in to ‘mouldy homes’ in the UK called for a better system to handle maintenance and repairs complaints between landlords and tenants.

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EXODUS: Leading North London landlord family with 17 properties quits the sector

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A landlord family has sold its large portfolio in north London to a property group after renting its 17 homes out for 30 years.

The portfolio — which sold for an undisclosed sum — is made up of 10 houses and seven flats in St Albans, Fleetville, Harpenden and London Colney and was bought by Clarence Property Group (CPG) after being in the same family for two generations.

Originally owned by a landlord couple, the investment passed to their three children who opted to sell it as one portfolio. 

CPG owner Chris Johnson (pictured) made the purchase after contacting the family through Daniels Estate Agents, which had managed the portfolio for 30 years. 

“They were looking to wind down,” Johnson told The Herts Advertiser. “We approached them back in February, which coincided with them deciding to sell.”

Three of the houses are occupied by sitting tenants, while the rest are let on assured shorthold tenancies. The flats are in an unbroken block in Grosvenor Road, St Albans, with a large garden which CPG is considering for further development.

The flats are all let on ASTs, apart from one occupied by a sitting tenant. Johnson added: “The sitting tenants and all the flats will all be retained for long-term investment, while some of the houses may be sold in the short to medium term, as and when they become vacant.”

This is the St Albans-based firm’s second portfolio acquisition of the year, after it bought five freehold buildings in West Norwood.

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New Lords Committee launches inquiry on UK housing needs

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A newly created House of Lords Built Environment Committee has launched its first inquiry on the demand for new housing in the UK and how barriers to meeting this demand can be overcome.

The focus of the inquiry will be on the key factors shaping the type

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A step towards a fully digital planning system

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MHCLG has launched two new web apps to will help owners improve and extend their properties and are a step towards a fully digital planning system and will save time and money for developers, architects and homeowners by speeding up and simplifying the application process.

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DEADLINE: From tomorrow ALL new tenants must be checked for immigration status

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Right to Rent changes come in tomorrow (1^st July) when landlords will need to start checking the immigration status of all adults before they let a property, regardless of their nationality.

EEA citizens and their family members now need immigration status in the UK, in the same way as other foreign nationals, and can’t rely on an EEA passport or national ID card to prove their right to rent. 

Most will have applied to the EU Settlement Scheme and already have digital evidence of their UK immigration status.

The government has reassured landlords they won’t need to evict a tenant who doesn’t have settled status unless issued with a ‘Notice of letting to a disqualified person’ by the Home Office.

 It has also confirmed that retrospective checks on existing EU, EEA or Swiss tenants won’t be required.

Discriminatory

But landlords will be held to be discriminatory if they only check people who they think are not UK citizens – all tenants must be checked regardless of their status.

Tenants with settled status can evidence their right to rent by sharing their immigration status digitally using the online Right to Rent service on GOV.UK which includes their photograph and personal details. Landlords can also make hard copy checks using a newly updated property documents list.

During Covid, landlords have not had to physically inspect Right to Rent documentation or conduct checks face-to-face.

Full document checks had been due to return on 21^st June but, following the government’s decision to delay the full suspension of Covid restrictions in England, this has now been extended until the end of August meaning that scanned or videoed documents are still acceptable.

Read more about right to rent.

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TV show to feature landlord’s battle to get back property back from rogue tenant

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The next episode of the new and sixth series of Nightmare Tenants Slum Landlords is due to air on Thursday evening (1st July 2021) at 10pm on Channel 5 featuring evictions experts Paul Shamplina.

He will be seen helping landlord Sam Mubarak who bought a house for his mum but, when she became ill and moved back in with him, he then converted into an HMO.

A year-and-a-half ago, one of the tenants stopped paying rent and refused to move out, leaving Sam nearly £11,000 out of pocket and desperate to get his property back.

Vandalism

Other cases featured in the programme include letting agents Karen O’Connor and Gemma Painter who investigate claims of vandalism and anti-social behaviour at a property they manage in Wigan. 

When they discover the tenant is no longer living there, they track her down and discover she’s abandoned the property and has tried to move in somewhere else via a fake reference.  

Also, lawyer Chris Sharpe is called in to evict squatters who have taken over a commercial warehouse in Hackney, London and in Darwen, Lancashire letting agent Paul Ainsworth-Lord issues eviction proceedings on a tenant with over £3,000 in arrears. 

But his attempts at evicting him are delayed when the tenant refuses to leave unless Ainsworth-Lord gives him a good reference. 

The lawyer knows there’s only one way to sort out the problem – going straight to the tenant’s guarantor. But will she play ball with him or make the whole situation worse?

Watch the previous episode of the series aired on 24th June 2021.

Find out more about evictions. Read more stories about HMOs.

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Greedy Rich Landlord raking it in collecting Taxpayers money he’s not entitled to

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It’s official, DWP Universal Credit will keep paying Landlords money they are not entitled to, wasting Taxpayers money.

Benefit tenants, here is another reason (of many) why you can’t secure accommodation any more. Shelter, DWP UC will pay me £20,000 over 3 years

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It’s good to be beside the seaside

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Post Lockdown research by  GetAgent.co.uk, indicates that Great Britain’s historic towns have become the most in-demand buying locations in the country, with higher annual price rises than any other type of British town.

In the past year

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BREAKING: Welsh government launches £10m rent arrears grant scheme for private tenants

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The English government is under pressure today to bring in a rent arrears relief grant programme after the Welsh government followed its Scots counterparts and announced a £10m Covid-related rent arrears relief scheme.

The new Welsh Tenancy Hardship Grant will start in a few weeks and is designed to help people in private rented accommodation who are struggling to pay their rent because of the pandemic.

“This help in Wales follows that of Scotland, and exposes England as being the poor relation when it comes to support for the private rented sector. It is time for the Chancellor to provide similar assistance for landlords and tenants in England,” says Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the NRLA.

Qualifying tenants must have fallen behind on their rent by more than eight weeks between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2021.

The scheme has strings – rent arrears can be due to a loss of income due to furlough and a reduction in work or because they were only able to claim Statutory Sick Pay when ill with Covid-19. It is only open to people who are not receiving housing-related benefits.

This scheme will replace the existing Tenancy Saver Loan, which was introduced in December 2020 and is in addition to existing support financing. Anyone who received a loan will have that loan converted to a grant.

“I understand the stress and worry people will be experiencing if they have fallen behind in their rent,” says Welsh minister Julie James (pictured).

“Once someone falls behind with their rent it can be increasingly difficult for them to catch up without support.

“We know that if they are made homeless, the impact on them and their families is huge – so too is the cost to public services of dealing with homelessness.

“I urge anyone who is struggling to pay their rent – even if they’re just starting to have difficulties – to contact their landlord or agent and organisations like Citizen’s Advice or Shelter Cymru so they receive the right advice and support.”

Positive step

“Today’s announcement is a positive step for both landlords and tenants in Wales and will help keep people in their homes,” says Ben Beadle (pictured).

“We welcome that the Welsh Government has listened to NRLA calls to introduce an improved scheme that will help more tenants pay their rent.

“It is essential that the grants are made as accessible for tenants as possible and implemented effectively. We encourage landlords who have tenants with arrears to make them aware of the scheme.”

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Tenants wariness of flat and house sharing on the rise, says academic Covid research

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The pandemic has prompted a drop in the number of people wanting to flat or house share while more tenants now want to live with smaller groups of people.

A survey by the University of Bath and flat-sharing site Ideal Flatmate reveals a big shift in attitudes since the start of Covid, with trends likely to remain beyond the lifting of lockdown restrictions.

The site, a matchmaking service that pairs up compatible flatmates, found that 64% of respondents would feel uncomfortable living with people who broke the social distancing rules, which it reckons could affect flatmate preferences in the future.

Most (68%) flat-sharers still prefer to live in cities although there has been a shift towards rural locations, such as villages, towns or suburbs. Many young sharers have relocated back home to families during the pandemic.

Working from home

The study also found an increased desire for gardens and green spaces, with a 33% rise in flat-sharers saying this would be a key factor in the future. Meanwhile, 55% of flat-sharers now work from home more than they did before Covid.

Tom Gatzen (pictured), co-founder of Ideal Flatmate, says it was aware of anecdotal evidence about sharers discussing attitudes to Covid before they move in with strangers.

“This is borne out by the research, with two-thirds not wanting to live with people who have broken the rules,” says Gatzen.

“This is likely to remain a factor as we move out of lockdown and the vaccine campaign is rolled out amongst the youngest population groups in the UK.”

Read more about Covid and tenants.

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