North West council get green light for expanded licensing scheme despite landlord opposition

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Wirral Council is to renew its four existing selective licensing areas and add two new ones, which will now cover nearly 150 roads in the area.

Wirral Council (pictured) has been given the
green light to renew and expand its selective licensing scheme from four to six
areas.

The Council has renewed four existing
selective licensing areas – Birkenhead South, Egerton North, Egremont Promenade
South and Seacombe Library – that were due to expire at the end of June but also
extended the scheme to include Egremont South and Tranmere Lairds.

It says these areas were chosen because of poor property standards. The existing five-year selective licensing scheme has brought in nearly £840,000 for the council from 1,300 licences, which has helped fund 50 landlord prosecutions.

Landlords in these areas will now have to pay
£645 for a five-year licence in order to lawfully rent out their property;
those who already have a licence in one of the re-designated areas will need to
reapply. The scheme takes effect on 1^st July 2020
and will last until 2025.

The Residential Landlords Association had
opposed the proposal during Wirral Council’s consultation, highlighting the
fact that it already had the necessary tools to tackle poor housing management,
including the ability to issue civil penalty notices and banning orders. It also
raised concerns about the fee structure.

Landlords can also get a £100 discount for
applications submitted within three months of when the scheme starts, or within
three months of buying a property in the licensing area.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – North West council get green light for expanded licensing scheme despite landlord opposition | LandlordZONE.

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Buy to Let lenders will support all customers including Limited company products

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UK Finance has confirmed Buy to Let (BTL) lenders will look to assist all customers by extending the option of a payment holiday of up to three months to residential BTL  landlords who have tenants who are experiencing issues with their finances

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Universal Credit and coronavirus: government advice

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Landlords with tenants on Universal Credit have been contacted by the government in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. A website specifically dealing with Universal Credit in light of the pandemic has now been created and can be accessed here. It runs through what happens as regards new claims – if someone is unable to work […]

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Half of landlords wouldn’t give their tenants a Coronovirus ‘rent holiday’

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A poll of landlords by LandlordZONE has found the community divided on whether they should offer tenants relief from paying their rent if they catch Coronavirus or made redundant because of the related economic downturn.

Landlords are divided on whether to offer rent holidays for tenants following the Government’s radical package of measures to protect renters and landlords affected by Coronavirus.

A LandlordZONE Twitter poll
asking, ‘Landlords, would you give your tenants
a rent holiday due to the impact of the Coronavirus?’ discovered that just over
half – 52% – wouldn’t be offering this to tenants, while 48% would.

The latest Government
announcement means there’s a freeze on new evictions and possession proceedings,
but landlords do have the protection of a three-month mortgage payment holiday on
buy-to-let mortgages where tenants
are having financial difficulties.

Tenants around the country are now
asking for reductions or breaks in rent payment, but landlord groups are warning
that not everyone will have an inexhaustible capacity to cope with lost income. 

Chris Norris, National Landlords Association director, policy & practice, tells LandlordZONE that where landlords can access support, it’s recommending that these temporary savings are used to help struggling tenants through this difficult time.

But he adds: “We should not
assume that landlords will be able to cover their costs if rent is not paid.”

Leicester Landlords Association is advising members to get as much documented information of employment as they can from a tenant, so together they can work out a payment plan while their income is reduced.

Chairman
Tony Bhaur tells LandlordZONE: “We don’t know how many genuine cases there will
be. We’re saying, I can live with the rent arrears, but you need to tell me how
you’re going to repay it when your income is restored.”

And while the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) isn’t advocating that all landlords offer a rental holiday as all circumstances differ, policy manager John Stewart says landlords should be as flexible as possible where tenants are facing difficulties. 

“Many landlords and tenants are working well together with
numerous positive stories coming to light of support being given to tenants in
many ways.”

However, the RLA is also calling
for further action to support tenants including scrapping the five-week wait
for the first payment of Universal Credit and ensuring the Local Housing
Allowance properly reflects rent levels.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Half of landlords wouldn’t give their tenants a Coronovirus ‘rent holiday’ | LandlordZONE.

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‘No one wants to see tenants forced out of their home due to loss of income as a result of coronavirus’

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Eviction specialist Paul Shamplina says the government’s recent eviction and mortgage holiday measures have given landlords no option but to hunker down and work with tenants.

Paul Shamplina, the UK’s leading residential evictions expert and co-founder of Landlord Action, has called on landlords to work collaboratively with their tenants as the Coronavirus crisis intensifies.

His comments follow the government’s decision this week to bring forward emergency legislation to block landlords from evicting tenants who cannot pay their rent because of job losses or having to look after their children as a result of coronavirus.

The move, announced by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick, revealed that new eviction attempts will be banned for three months to give hard-pressed workers in private and social accommodation breathing space during the economic crisis.

But, to make sure landlords do not suffer, Mr Jenrick also revealed that buy-to-let mortgages would also be covered by the 12-week payment break.

“These are unprecedented times and all landlords must now work collaboratively with their tenants to come to solutions to get us through this public health crisis and move forward after,” says Shamplina.

“The measures taken are right and fair; no one wants to see a tenant forced out of their home due to loss of income as a result of coronavirus, nor does anyone want to see landlords face unmanageable debts.

Tenant mediation

“With this in mind, we will shortly be launching a
tenant mediation service which will involve Landlord Action working
collaboratively with the Property Redress Scheme to offer support to both
landlords and tenants to come to suitable arrangements for the future.

“We are awaiting confirmation from the government as
to the details of the suspension, a possible verification process, and
information on what will happen with current possession claims that are going
through the court process.

“I would urge landlords to be as flexible as
possible with tenants facing difficulties with their rent payments arising from
the current situation.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – ‘No one wants to see tenants forced out of their home due to loss of income as a result of coronavirus’ | LandlordZONE.

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RLA Wales calls on support from Welsh government for landlords

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The RLA is calling on the Welsh Government to provide more information on how its measures will affect private landlords as it outlines how it aims support the population through the coronavirus outbreak. Wales’ Economy Minister Ken Skates AM announced steps being taken to help businesses and the self-employed yesterday: “After confirming all of the […]

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Bank Base Rate cut to 0.1%

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The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) convened a special meeting and voted to cut Bank rate to a record low 0.1% and increase holdings of UK government and corporate bonds by £200 billion.

“The spread of Covid-19 and the measures being taken to contain the virus will result in an economic shock that could be sharp and large

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Landlords must now work collaboratively with their tenants

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On 18 March, the government announced that landlords will be blocked from evicting tenants who cannot pay their rent because of job losses or having to look after their children as a result of Coronavirus.

The move announced by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick stated that new eviction attempts will be banned for three months to give hard-pressed workers in private and social accommodation breathing space during the economic crisis.

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Can I still rely on guarantors?

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If the tenant, who decides for whatever reason to stop paying their rent even if having work or the funds, and has a guarantor does this emergency legislation stop landlords from going the the guarantor for the rent.

Or is it only to stop the serving if s21 or s8 notices.

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Nearly half of private landlords prepared to “throw in the towel”

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Landlord Exodus:

Nearly half (48%) of
private residential landlords have indicated that they plan to exit
the buy-to-let market, that’s according to the findings of a recent
survey by Aldermore Bank.. This could be in protest at a punitive
taxation regime and government plans for increased regulation of the
industry, with more tenant-friendly legislation planned.

Recent events are
only likely to have strengthened their resolve as demands increase to
give tenants “rent holidays” if they are unable to pay, due to
the spread of the coronavirus crisis. The research carried out by the
challenger bank suggests that many small-scale landlords have simply
had enough.

The government’s
policy of reversing the rising trend of buy-to-let in favour of home
ownership among the young, and a drive to encourage institutional
investment with build-to-rent, is making small-scale landlords feel
decidedly unloved. Institutional investors in professionally managed
large blocks of flats, receiving tax incentives, will pose a real
challenge to the traditional buy-to-let sector.

The sector has
recently been inundated with change: the imposition of a 3% stamp
duty premium on rental and second properties; the phased removal of
mortgage interest relief; a letting fees ban; restriction on
deposits; and this coupled with new energy efficiency and home safety
standards; the imminent introduction of electrical safety checks;
and the threatened removal of section 21, to name a few, have just
been piling up as a massive burden and extras costs.

According to the
bank survey, landlords see the burden of regulatory changes as the
biggest threat to their livelihoods, followed by the tax burden and
the additional costs associated with bringing properties up to the
latest energy efficiency and electrical safety standards, not to
mention many of the other measures.

The horrendous
complexity involved in managing and meeting the more than 150 rules
and regulations now affecting lettings, some carrying substantial
fines and even criminal penalties, is simply daunting for many, and
turning – particularly part-time landlords – off the occupation.
Something like 70% of landlords own just one or two rental
properties.

Responsible
landlords see the changes hitting them hard, when the real target of
many of these measures is missing the target altogether; the rogues
are still getting away with renting out substandard and dangerous
properties, with the result that all landlords are seen as bad in the
eyes of the media and the public.

However, every cloud
has a silver lining, and with the majority, admittedly by a slim
margin (52%) still see the sector as a good place to invest. And with
good management they can see opportunities for further investment and
growth as others leave the sector.

Aldermore’s
managing director of retail finance, Damian Thompson has said:

“Private landlords
exiting the UK market would mean less choice and likely impact
negatively the quality of rental properties for tenants.

“The number of
people renting in the UK has been rapidly growing, up 1.7 million in
ten years, so it is vital there is enough rental supply to meet this
demand.

“Landlords will
need support and advice on how to manage their portfolios going
forward from lenders and the wider industry so they can continue to
support the private rented sector the way it needs to be.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Nearly half of private landlords prepared to “throw in the towel” | LandlordZONE.

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