Landlords support MPs calls to boost housing benefit

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Private landlords are supporting calls by MPs on Parliament’s Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee to boost the financial support available to tenants during the COVID-19 outbreak. Responding to the Committee’s calls for the Local Housing Allowance to be set at a rate that reflects real market rents, Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the […]

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LATEST: Students at two private halls of residence begin landmark rent strike

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What is thought to be the first official rent strike within the student private rental market since the Coronavirus crisis began has been announced at two large properties in the centre of Preston.

A group
of University of Central Lancashire (UCL) students living at private halls of
residence in Preston have gone on rent strike.

The students, from Foundry Court in Brook Street (pictured) and Trinity Student Village in Great Shaw Street, are angry at being charged rent, despite not occupying their accommodation during the third term due to lockdown.

It follows protests at the Universities of
Sussex and Warwick where hundreds signed up to withhold rent.

Third year UCL student Natasha Riaz says: “There
is no possibility of me being able to return to my accommodation this
term due to Government imposed lockdown rules, yet the landlords are
charging £1,267.71 for a room that will have zero electricity consumption, zero
water usage and zero use of the gas supply.”

In an email to Natasha, property managers Homes for Students said the decision to continue charging rent had been made by the owner of the building who had significant fixed costs to meet.

Refund progress

According to student
housing charity Unipol, 80% of universities and 30% of private sector landlords
have refunded or waived rents for students who’ve left accommodation early. 

It says £98,762,400 still hasn’t been refunded by
universities while £392,578,800 hasn’t been refunded by the private sector
purpose-built student accommodation providers for the third term.

While the Government has
again reiterated that it won’t be offering financial help to students, the National
Union of Students (NUS) says the Scottish Government’s recent announcement is
far more practical. 

There, students currently tied into contracts in
institution-owned halls of residence or privately-owned purpose-built student
accommodation are now able to give seven days’ notice before ending their lease
for Covid-19 related reasons.

An NUS survey found that
while about a third of students in England are keen to be released early from
their rental agreements, less than a tenth have been given that opportunity.

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LATEST: Stock, viewings and confidence return to rental market, leading companies reveal

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Both Rightmove and Spareroom report an energetic re-opening of the private rental market since the government’s decision to allow home moves last week.

Monday
saw the highest number of rental searches ever recorded in one day on Rightmove.

The
platform reports that demand for rental properties is up 33% compared to this
time last year as renters start trawling the site in earnest, with the largest year-on-year
increase in Rotherham (+97%), Cambridge (+77%) and St Helens (+75%).

With
the market now open, it’s the same story on flat-sharing site
SpareRoom which reports that more than half (54%) of renters are feeling
confident again about viewing a property now restrictions have been lifted.

SpareRoom’s survey found that while one in three (32%) would only feel comfortable viewing properties if they absolutely had to move, it’s reporting a huge increase in the number of video viewings since lockdown began, with six times the normal volume of uploads.

Virtual methods

Director Matt Hutchinson says renters,
landlords and agents are keen to get on with their search as safely as possible. “It’s clear that people are embracing virtual methods to continue
searching for properties safely,” he says.

“We’d
encourage as many people as possible to upload a video to their ads, especially
if it includes the people living in the property. We may well see video
remaining a natural part of the way people find rooms and flatmates way beyond
the end of social distancing.”

Rightmove reports that there are almost 23,000 new rental listings since the first day of reopening, down 10% on the same week last year, with total available rental stock up 13% since before lockdown. Asking rents – on average £1,089 pcm – are currently up 2.1% on 2019, but down from an annual rate of 3% before lockdown.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Stock, viewings and confidence return to rental market, leading companies reveal | LandlordZONE.

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FCA proposal to extend mortgage payment holidays to 31st October

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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced proposals which will continue support for customers who are struggling to pay their mortgage due to coronavirus.

The proposal outlines the options firms will be required to provide customers coming to an end of a payment holiday

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Scotland Coronavirus Bill amendments defeated

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A second Coronavirus bill was passed by Scottish Government 20 May 2020 and thanks to lobbying by Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) proposed amendments to enact a two-year private sector rent freeze; place a two-year ban on tenant evictions for rent arrears.and extinguish rent arrears in cases of extreme hardship as a result of Coronavirus were defeated.

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Landlord Hero of the Week #5: Julia Dee

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As the nation continues to clap its NHS and other front line workers, we highlight one landlord who has opened up her rental property to offer people working in Central London hospitals free accommodation.

Julia Dee didn’t think twice when an email landed in her inbox from UnderTheDoormat asking if homeowners wanted to offer their property to NHS staff.

“I didn’t even ask my husband but just said yes immediately,” says Julia, who owns a clothes alteration business in Battersea, central London.

“They found me a tenant within a couple of hours – a consultant anaesthetist at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, who didn’t want to stay at home because his wife is undergoing chemotherapy.”

Julia usually stays in her one-bed flat in Chelsea for three days a week and for the last year has let it out for the rest of the time when she’s at home in Hampshire.

But she, like many of UnderThe Doormat’s clients, is part of the NHS Homes Initiative; it’s hooked up medical staff with free accommodation so they can stay nearer hospitals during the COVID-19 outbreak and currently has 100 properties in the scheme.

“I requested a mortgage holiday from my lender and was furloughed from
my business in March,” she explains. “I knew I couldn’t rent the flat out so
wanted to help out instead. I’m glad to have taken away some of the strain from
someone – after all, he’s saving lives.”

Her anaesthetist tenant moved in at the beginning of April and will
stay until early June, when Julia hopes to rent out her flat again, adding:
“I’m sure he’ll be very glad to get back home by then!”

The UK Short Term Accommodation Association is coordinating the scheme, arranging for the laundry to be done and deep cleaning it when tenants leave. And while the utility bills are minimal, her tenant agreed to pay them in May. Julia says the initiative has made the whole process really easy. “NHS Homes epitomises the spirit of what this couple of months has been about,” she adds.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlord Hero of the Week #5: Julia Dee | LandlordZONE.

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Government tells students one last time: you’re not being let off your rent

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Education minister Michelle Donelan confirms Johnson government has no intention of helping students who live in private rented accommodation despite a noisy campaign conducted by the NUS.

The Government has confirmed
once more that it won’t be handing out cash to help students survive the crisis,
despite rising cries of anguish from student organisations.

Unlike Scotland, where the government has
provided a £5 million package of emergency support for those suffering COVID-19
hardships, and is also about to enable tenants to quit tenancies early, Westminster
has demurred.

In answer to a Parliamentary written question
from Catherine West, Shadow Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,
Education Minister Michelle Donelan said students should approach landlords
with requests for help.

West asked what steps the department was taking to support university students with accommodation they could no longer use because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Early release

Donelan replied that students who were tenants
with individual private landlords could discuss the possibility of an early
release from their tenancy agreement, as they might be entitled to a refund,
depending on the terms of their contract.

She added: “Tenants without an agreed release
date are still liable for their rent and should pay this as usual. They should
speak to their landlord if they think they will have difficulty meeting a
rental payment.”

Donelan also referred students to Citizens
Advice and suggested they raise a complaint under the accommodation codes of
practice.

The National Union of Students
(NUS) has written to private landlords with a list of demands to help student
renters financially survive the crisis, including rent
subsidies, reductions or waivers for six months for those impacted by Coronavirus,
and no rent increases for the
next 12 months.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Government tells students one last time: you’re not being let off your rent | LandlordZONE.

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Breaking: Scottish housing market to reopen in mid June, says First Minister

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Nicola Sturgeon makes announcement today after publishing her government’s five-phase roadmap for Scotland’s emergence out of Coronavirus shadow.

Landlords in Scotland will be able to begin renting out their properties once more on or after June 18^th, it has been announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

This date is the beginning of Phase 2 of the SNP government’s five-phase roadmap to ease Scotland out of the Coronavirus pandemic, albeit at a much slower pace then in England. Its housing market reopened fully last week following a sudden announcement.

Instead, Sturgeon says Scotland will move out of its current complete lockdown on 28^th May and move to Phase 1, which will see Scots able to fraternise with family and friends in outdoor spaces, workplaces re-open but only where home working is not possible.

Restrictions relaxed

During this period Sturgeon has said her government will work with landlords and agents to prepare for a relaxation of restrictions on house moves.

This will take place during Phase 2 of the plan, which will begin on June 18^th this summer.

During both Phase 1 and 2 there will also be a limited re-opening of schools and house builders will also be able to restart their construction sites.

But Sturgeon has warned that her roadmap is not fixed and will be dependent on careful monitoring of the virus, including the infamous R number being kept below one.

“This document sets out the steps that will take us there,” says Sturgeon. “It doesn’t have all the answers and it doesn’t set exact timescales. That’s because we are still learning about the virus. We will have to move carefully and gradually to ensure we keep it under control and develop the best ways of doing so.”

Read the roadmap in full.

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Uni tenant demanding 3 months rent for water damage?

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The house I rent to students was water damaged by storms and my tenant was unable to use her room for 10 days.

She therefore  went home as the University was Closed.

I have offered her two weeks rent

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Negotiating rent arrears repayment

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During the pandemic, many employees will have found themselves furloughed, or worse, without employment. This means that they might struggle to continue to pay their rent.

If you have a tenant who has not kept up with payments and has built up rental arrears there are steps you can take.

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