Coronavirus has crashed my tenant’s business

admin    Uncategorized     agents

My tenant is an European national who has a holidays business across Europe. He tells me it has crashed due to Coronavirus and he is struggling to pay the rent and it is already 30% short this month. My agent has already started their automatic debt chasing process which used to include interest charges..

The post Coronavirus has crashed my tenant’s business appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Coronavirus has crashed my tenant’s business

Coronavirus: Pressure builds for landlords to give tenants rent holidays

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Tenants who contract the coronavirus or who are forced to self-isolate and therefore cannot work should not have to pay their rent, say leading campaign groups.

Landlords are facing increasing pressure from poverty campaigners and tenants’ groups to offer vulnerable renters who are unable to work after contracting the Coronavirus to be given rent payment holidays.

National tenants’ union Acorn has gone the furthest, calling for landlords to also halt evictions while the pandemic sweeps through the UK, while a leading Scottish tenants’ union has said that tenants should be given rent holidays if landlords are allowed to suspend mortgage payments.

Lettings platform Apropos has called on landlords with mortgages to contact their lenders as soon as possible to negotiate payment holidays “which many of the banks have already agreed for individual borrowers so this may be available for landlords,” says its MD David Alexander.

Several leading lenders have already announced financial support packages for their borrowers including the Halifax, which is offering to temporarily abolish fees for customers who miss their mortgage payments, and mortgage holidays.

Three months holidays

Richard Murphy, a
leading poverty campaigner and tax accountant, has called for tenants who
contract the virus or who choose to self-isolate to be given a three-month rent
holiday.

“I
would suggest that the grant of that extension should be automatic to anyone
who does not make a due payment of rent on the required date during the period
of the epidemic,” he has said in a blog.

“They
should be automatically granted this extension by the landlord without having
to make any further application or to complete any additional paperwork.”

The debate about rent holidays is also raging on Twitter. One tweeter, a Northern Ireland lecturer calling herself Elaine Crory, tweeted: “I’m just throwing this out there as a 40 year old renter who supports a family of four on one income; if mortgages can be suspended during Coronavirus, but landlords continue to collect rent (thereby *making money* from this), I WILL RIOT.” Her comment has been ‘liked’ by over 68,600 people so far and retweeted nearly 10,000 times.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Coronavirus: Pressure builds for landlords to give tenants rent holidays | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Coronavirus: Pressure builds for landlords to give tenants rent holidays

Coronavirus – How it affects HMO Landlords

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Coronavirus COVID-19 will affect HMO Property Landlords, buy to let property investors and the property market in the UK.

In the video below, Ranjan considers how HMO Property investors and the HMO Property Investment Market in the UK is going to be impacted by the onset of Coronaviris COVID-19.

The post Coronavirus – How it affects HMO Landlords appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Coronavirus – How it affects HMO Landlords

The Government has pledged its commitment to lifetime rental deposits in a new document that vows to improve the housing market.

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Plans to introduce a new lifetime
tenancy deposit are outlined in Planning
for the Future with a pledge to support good landlords who can, “continue
to provide the homes the country needs”. It adds: “Ensuring renters are treated
fairly through the Renters’ Reform Bill – we will improve security for tenants
by abolishing the use of ‘no fault evictions’ so that tenants can put down
roots in their communities and plan for their long-term future.”

The Ministry of Housing,
Communities & Local Government document says it wants to deliver a rental
system that is fit for the modern day – one that protects tenants and supports
landlords. This will start with a planning white paper in the spring to
modernise the planning system.

Although there are no details yet on how it would work, ARLA Propertymark says a lifetime deposit is likely to be welcomed by both tenants and landlords, while The Residential Landlords Association has long called for such a change, arguing: “It would be easier for all involved if a tenant’s deposit could follow them from property to property, with the tenant making up any shortfall caused by deductions.” ARLA believes that under the proposed system, a tenant’s deposit would follow them around from property to property, with the tenant liable to make up any shortcomings as a result of deductions.

One potential downside is how quickly any possible shortfall could be made up without affecting either the outgoing or incoming landlord – something the Tenancy Deposit Protection Reform Working Group was set up to explore.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – The Government has pledged its commitment to lifetime rental deposits in a new document that vows to improve the housing market. | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: The Government has pledged its commitment to lifetime rental deposits in a new document that vows to improve the housing market.

Fraudulent London landlord jailed for forgery

admin    Uncategorized     agents

A rogue landlord jailed for forging documents to prevent enforcement action being taken over his three illegally converted HMOs has been ordered to pay £55,000.

Siddarth
Mahajan of Milton Crescent, Ilford was convicted under the Proceeds of Crime
Act at Snaresbrook Crown Court during a confiscation hearing where Barking and
Dagenham Council recovered £30,000. The judge also ordered him to pay £25,000
in costs.

Mahajan was
sentenced in February 2019 for converting a three-bedroom family
home in Sherwood Gardens, Barking, into an HMO without planning permission. He’d
bought the property in 2015 but falsely claimed it had been in use as an HMO for more
than 10 years and was therefore immune from enforcement action. He produced a
number of documents to support this claim including several tenancy agreements,
a letter from an estate agent and a sworn affidavit which appeared to show that
it had been an HMO since 2008.   

The Special Investigations Team examined other
properties owned by Mahajan in St Erkenwald Road and Ripple Road, Barking. He
had also converted these family homes into HMOs without securing planning
permission, and provided similar forged documents. Mahajan was found guilty of
two counts of perverting the course of justice and three counts of using copies
of forged documents, and sentenced to eight months for each offence, to run
concurrently.

Councillor
Margaret Mullane, cabinet member for enforcement and community safety, says: “I
hope this serves as a stark warning to disreputable landlords that we will
continue to come after them for their money even if they have been previously
prosecuted.  

“The council will not stand by and let our residents
live in cramped properties that are harmful to their wellbeing.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Fraudulent London landlord jailed for forgery | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Fraudulent London landlord jailed for forgery

Right to Rent checks raise Coronavirus fears among lettings agents

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Worried letting agents are calling on the Government to issue advice about how to conduct Right to Rent checks without putting themselves and their tenants at risk.

ARLA Propertymark has written to the
Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, asking for guidance, stressing just
how much social interaction is needed for letting agents to do their jobs. Chief Executive David Cox writes that
by law, letting agents must carry out face-to-face Right to Rent checks in the
presence of all adult occupiers, but many agents are concerned about their
ability to do their work in light of the Coronavirus.

“The virus poses more of a problem when tenants are
self-isolating and there are issues at the property that need to be resolved or
at the start and end of the tenancy process with interaction between multiple
parties,” says Cox.  

He adds: “Given the importance of housing and the ability
for people to buy and sell property as well as rent, we implore the Government
to provide urgent advice to the sector to ensure that their businesses can
continue to operate.”

The Residential Landlords Association’s policy manager
John Stewart suggests that if landlords have a property inspection scheduled, they
should consider whether it can be delayed until later in the year. If it
can’t, or they’re checking a tenant in or out, he says they should follow official
advice. “While you don’t want to be unnecessarily intrusive, it may be
worth asking tenants if they have travelled from higher risk areas or are
showing symptoms.”

“If your properties are managed,” adds Stewart, “then
ask what steps your agent is taking to inform tenants, and if they have
contingency plans in place should a tenant have to self-isolate.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Right to Rent checks raise Coronavirus fears among lettings agents | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Right to Rent checks raise Coronavirus fears among lettings agents

Breaking: Council bids to host England’s first Housing Court

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Portsmouth council and its local landlords’ association believe everyone involved in the private rental market would benefit from the proposal.

Portsmouth council has become the first in the
UK to apply to run its own local Housing Court, ahead of a government decision
to set up a national system.

Ministers finished consulting on a separate Housing
Court system in January and an announcement is expected soon. Both lettings
agency and landlord
industry associations as well as housing
charities have been lobbying hard for it to be introduced.

Disputes in England are currently heard either
in a County Court or a First Tier Tribunal but
the government has said it is aware that many tenants, and landlords, find
these processes daunting and expensive.

Portsmouth is therefore proposing to ask
Ministers for permission and funding to set up its own local Housing Court
which, if successful, would make it the first to do so.

Local landlords are behind the plan. Alwin
Oliver, vice chairman of the Portsmouth and
District Private Landlords Association (PDPLA) told a meeting of the council that: “’We would ask firstly for a
mediation service to try to settle things. But it could lead to a specialist
division of the county court dealing just with housing.

“We think if there’s a good system
that a landlord or tenant can go and say ‘I have got a problem’ and a mediator
can help that would be better. It can take months for things to happen in
county courts.”

Oliver also said his organisation
would help the council lobby for funds from the ministry.

The meeting also revealed that the
council has other plans up its sleeve including proposals to loan tenants cash
to pay for deposits, lend landlords funds to do up properties, launch a website
listing accredited landlords and widening its HMO licensing scheme.

But
the meeting also heard arguments from one councillor against introducing a
selective licensing scheme within the city, local media
reported.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Breaking: Council bids to host England’s first Housing Court | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Breaking: Council bids to host England’s first Housing Court

BTL max age now 99 for Gatehouse bank

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Gatehouse Bank has relaxed its age criteria for Buy to Let mortgages increasing the maximum age at the end of the term, from 85 to 99 years. The 99 year age only applies to borrowers relying solely on rental income to stress test for affordability.

The post BTL max age now 99 for Gatehouse bank appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: BTL max age now 99 for Gatehouse bank

Exclusive: landlords warned over new WhatsApp business usage rules

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Landlords who use WhatsApp to communicate with tenants are exposing themselves to legal action from the global communications giant, which is owned by Facebook and in the UK is the most popular way to text friends and family.

The free-to-use service has quietly ushered in new terms that mean businesses including landlords and letting agents cannot use its service to communicate with customers and must instead use a separate business version.

After talking to several landlords who wished to remain anonymous, it is clear that the use of WhatsApp is widespread within the private rented sector as a means to both on-board tenants and manage property and tenancies.

Landlords are also not being compliant with GDPR data protection and privacy laws when using the free personal version of WhatsApp for business purposes, according to consultancy Stitch.ai.

Late last year WhatsApp updated its terms to say that: “In addition, beginning on December 7, 2019, WhatsApp will take legal action against those […] that violate our Terms of Service, such as […] non-personal use, even if that determination is based on information solely available to us off our platform.”

WhatsApp expert Paul Gandar from consultancy Stitch says: “Having client messages on Personal WhatsApp Accounts – using a work phone doesn’t cut it – is something that you need to avoid if you want to maintain a client relationship over WhatsApp.”

Under the radar

He says smaller landlords with a few properties and only intermittent communications with tenants are, although technically breaking the new rules, likely to remain under the radar.

But other landlords with larger portfolios who run their own businesses whether through a limited company or not, are exposed.

There are two solutions. Either to sign-up to use the separate WhatsApp Business app or use a paid-for third-party managed service that directly plugs into WhatsApp.

“For the free version, we would point out to any business that they need to ensure they adhere to the correct naming policy, as well as WhatsApp Business Policy,” says Gandar.

“If
you need to manage your messages within a team, then a supplier such as Stitch will manage the Display
Name Policy, and Business Engagement policy on your behalf.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Exclusive: landlords warned over new WhatsApp business usage rules | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Exclusive: landlords warned over new WhatsApp business usage rules

Exclusive: leading letting agency calls for Right to Rent reform

admin    Uncategorized     agents

London firm Chestertons tells LandordZONE that the system is causing major problems for agents, landlords and tenants and should be enforced by the government, not private citizens.

A leading letting agency has called for major reform of the contentious Right to Rent scheme.

Guy Gittins, managing director of
global firm Chestertons believes the Government – not landlords – should be
responsible for checking would-be tenants’ immigration status.

Says Gittins:
“We would like to see the responsibility for Right to Rents checks – the cost
of which is also passed on to tenants in the form of higher rent – removed from
landlords and their managing agents and handed over to the Home Office.”

Richard Davies, Chestertons’ head of lettings, tells LandlordZONE that Right to Rent can cause issues for new
tenancies, especially when two tenants arrive at different times and only one
of them is present for the start date of the tenancy.

“Additional paperwork needs to
be actioned to accommodate such scenarios,” he says. “This is something that we
often see, on a weekly basis.” 

He adds that last summer, nationals arriving
from the USA or Australia didn’t receive a stamp in their passport on arrival,
and entry was held digitally, however, agents were still checking for stamps. “It
took a whole month for us to be informed by the Home Office about the change.”

Currently,
any landlord found to have rented to someone who doesn’t have the required
immigration status will face a fine of up to £3,000 or a criminal sentence.

The Joint
Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) believes
the Right to Rent scheme should be scrapped immediately.

“This
sort of discrimination is caused by the government’s decision to turn private
individuals, including landlords…into border guards,” Chai Patel, legal policy director,
tells LandlordZONE.

“It’s
wrong that private individuals are being conscripted into immigration
enforcement in this way, and we welcome all those who join the campaign for the
‘hostile environment’ to be scrapped.”

Last year, it bought a case
against the Home Office in the High Court, which
agreed that Right to Rent causes racial discrimination. As
a result, the Government was forced to halt its plans to roll the scheme out to
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. After the Government appealed, it’s now
waiting to hear whether the Court of Appeal will rule in its favour.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Exclusive: leading letting agency calls for Right to Rent reform | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Exclusive: leading letting agency calls for Right to Rent reform