Landlord Reactions To The 2017 Autumn Budget

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The key headlines affecting UK landlords are:-

RESTRICTIONS ON FINANCE COST RELIEF

Disappointingly, there where no amendments suggested to the legislation which restricts finance cost relief for private landlords under Section 24 of the Finance (No.2) Act 2015

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Over 300 Councillors in 40 boroughs are Landlords!

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More than 1 in 7 Councillors in the boroughs with the highest levels of privately rented homes are landlords themselves.

This is more than ironic considering the attitude local authorities have to the PRS and landlords with many stories of councils telling tenants not to move out until they are physically evicted regardless of the costs and stress caused.

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Commercial property webinar Q&A Part 2

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On 19th October we hosted a webinar on commercial property, we had over 170 people attend. We’ve compiled the second part of the Q&A for you here.

If CRAR has taken place with control of goods on premises and rent still not paid and goods worth less then what do you do? 

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Need to evict? Check these off first

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S21 Tenant Evictions:

The decision to evict a tenant is not an easy one – even for seemingly clear cut cases such as non-payment of rent or severe damage to a property will see you facing a lengthy court process. Plus, you’re going to face scrutiny yourself to ensure you’ve complied with your legal responsibilities. If you’re considering evicting your tenant and the tenancy began or was renewed after October 2015, make sure you’ve done the following before issuing proceedings.

Here, www.Upad.co.uk provide a checklist for landlords to make sure that their eviction process is successful given the new rules introduced from 1^st October 2015.

Protected the deposit?

If you take a deposit, by law you must protect it with one of three approved government schemes. But that’s not all; once it’s protected you need to ensure you’ve sent your tenant, plus any third party (such as a family member) who has contributed to the deposit, the Deposit Certificate and the Prescribed Information. Failure to do so is a breach of the regulations and you could find yourself not only paying the full deposit back to the tenant but potentially an additional 1-3 times the deposit amount. You won’t be able to serve an eviction notice until you’ve protected a deposit and if you protect it late, you’re still liable to pay out.

Provided an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate)?

This is one bureaucratic rule you’ll wish you followed if you want to gain possession of your property back. An EPC gives an indication of the energy efficiency of a property and estimated fuel costs for the year. This needs to be given to tenants before they move in, and available should they request it earlier, in order for them to make an informed decision about whether to rent the property. If you don’t provide an EPC to the tenant, you won’t be able to serve notice until you do.

Provided the ‘How to Rent’ guide?

This guide outlines what documents should be provided, what the landlord is responsible for and guidance on behaving in accordance with the tenancy agreement among other things. It’s not enough just to send the tenant a link to the gov.uk site though, you need to either print a copy or email an attachment (best to get a read receipt or reply from the tenant to confirm they’ve received it though). Also, be wary that this guide has already been updated twice, so give the most up-to-date version to your tenants to be on the safe side.

Provided a Gas Safety Certificate?

By law, you must give tenants a hard copy of the Gas Safety Certificate before they move in. A gas safety check is required every year by a Gas Safe registered engineer and the certificate needs to be given to the tenant within 28 days if they’re staying on. Otherwise, you’ll give a copy of the new certificate to your new tenants before they move in. You’ll need to keep records for 2 years. If you don’t carry out a check or fail to provide the certificate, you won’t be able to serve notice.

Taken action on a reported repair?

New rules on handling repairs were brought in to tackle retaliatory evictions: a situation where rather than dealing with a complaint about the condition of a property, the tenant is served a Section 21 notice by the landlord. Under the new rules, you must provide an ‘adequate response’ within 14 days of a tenant making a complaint otherwise the tenant can go to their local authority who in turn, can serve a formal notice under the HHSRS which will limit you serving a notice.

Not served the notice during the first 4 months of the tenancy?

Before October 2015, you could technically serve a Section 21 notice on a tenant along with the tenancy agreement, which would mean the tenancy is only for the initial fixed term and then you will get possession of your property back.

Now, you cannot serve the notice during the first 4 months of the tenancy. So if you want to end a 12 month tenancy, you must give at least 2 month’s notice starting from the 4^thmonth of the tenancy. Plus, a Section 21 notice is now only valid for 6 months from the date of service and you’ll need to start court proceedings within that time.

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Undervalue sale of property repossession

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I had a property sold by my lender for what I believe was undervalued.

It comprised of a house converted with consent into 4 x 2 bed flats producing £5200 per month on ASTs.

The lender kept the property for 1.5 yrs systematically vacating each flat thus reducing income.

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Retaliatory Eviction and the Deregulation Act 2015

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This act was introduced, as although most tenants are happy with their accommodation, there are still some who have what might be termed rouge or criminal landlords who repeatedly fail to carry out basic repairs.

This legislation was introduced to protect these tenants from eviction by their landlord after requesting repairs.

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Ex tenant still using our address

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Can anyone advise on how to stop an ex-tenant using our address?

We evicted him 8 months ago for non-payment of rent. He owes us over £10,000.

Obviously we weren’t able to get a forwarding address from him.

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Serving a Section 21 on tenant while house is uninhabitable

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This is about a tenant who claims a a Section 21 notice constitutes illegal eviction because he can’t return to the property during rebuilding work.

I made a mutual agreement with my AST tenant to vacate my house temporarily for 3-4 months during rebuilding in lieu of rent

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Borders inspectorate calls for Evidence on Right to Rent

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Checking Immigrants:

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) is calling on the industry for evidence to help with their evaluation exercise on the tenant’s Right to Rent scheme.

The inspector has already invited stakeholders, landlord and agent representative bodies, including  those bodies that took part in the Home Office Landlords Consultative Panel to contribute.

ICIBI are now asking for evidence from wider stakeholders on:

• The initial introduction of Right to Rent.
• Evidence from the Rollout of Phase 1 (in Birmingham, Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley and Wolverhampton) and how this informed the development of the scheme.
• Right to Rent sanctions.
• Issuance of civil penalties, criminal prosecutions and removals measures by Home Office enforcement and casework teams.
• Joint working and data-sharing between the Home Office and other government departments, agencies and other bodies.

In ARLA Propertymark’s response they are highlighting key issues with the scheme including whether the scheme is achieving its core aims in relation to rogue landlords and illegal tenants.

They are also concerned about the time and resources that professional agents have to use to complete checks within the context of an impending ban on letting agent fees.

They are highlighting to the inspector the issues that need to be addressed in order to ensure that the scheme does not fail to meet its objectives including the quality of example identification shown in the user guidance and the robustness of some forms of accepted identification specified in List A, Group 2.

ICIBI need to understand, say ARLA Propertymark, that the limited scope of the helpline is an issue as it does not meet the needs of agents and landlords who are frequently looking for advice on spotting forgeries and deciding whether individual items of identification correspond to generic items on the list i.e. “other travel documents endorsed to show that the holder is allowed to stay in the UK”.

ARLA Propertymark says:

“Where agents have had to use the Landlord Checking service for tenants without documentation, we are pleased that checks are being carried out quickly but have raised issues with the quality of the documentation received.

“In our response we are highlighting the ineffectiveness of legislation which fails to be supported by appropriate levels of enforcement. Many members are simply sceptical of the impact on rogue landlords delivering substandard accommodation because of a fundamental lack of enforcement activity.”

This new elevation study follows a previous one conducted 6 months after the scheme’s introduction – see here

Code of practice on illegal immigrants and private rented accommodation here

ARLA Code of Practice for Letting Agents – here

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Agent responsible for PMQs UC eviction letter meeting PM’s Policy Board Chairman and Shadow Housing Minister

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I am the agent responsible for the letter warning my tenants of the impending Universal Credit that was coupled with their s.21 notice and a reminder that if rent is not paid on time then I will have no option but to evict

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