NEW: Coalition slams Scots Government over rent cap and evictions freeze

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Landlords have heavily criticised the Scottish government’s decision to implement its evictions freeze and rent cap without a proper consultation.

The measures, which were widely criticised earlier this year for being rushed through, are now being fought by a coalition of organisations from across the UK’s private rented sector.

These are the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL), the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), PropertyMark and Scottish Land and Estates (SLE).

Individual landlords are being asked to back the campaign by donating to an online crowdfunding page to fund a previously announced judicial review of the Scottish Government’s policies. It aims to raise £10,000 and is currently at £2,600.

This will seek to prevent the measures being extended beyond the legal cut-off date of 20^th September 2023.

Criticism has come from other quarters other than landlords including leading build-to-rent figure Paul Stallan who has called the measures “a blunt instrument” which is “proving to be damaging” to investment.

The Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland has similarly warned that the rent cap will “undermine tenants’ housing outcomes”, by restricting the supply of homes available to rent.  

Deeply worrying

“Renters across Scotland are being hit by policies which undermine the supply of the very homes they need,” says Ben Beadle (pictured), Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association.

“It is deeply worrying that such damaging and short-sighted policies can be developed without proper consultation with stakeholders.

“I urge all those wanting sensible policy that works for both renters and responsible landlords to support the campaign.”

John Blackwood (pictured), Chief Executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL), adds: “Our job is to stand up for our members and to represent their views.

“Over the years we have been able to do that in a constructive manner with the Scottish Government and, as a result, have secured changes which have improved the private rented sector in Scotland.

“However, arbitrary rent freezes and eviction bans discriminate against private landlords, reduce investment and harm both landlords and tenants, while making it harder to solve Scotland’s housing crisis.”

“With pressure being placed on landlords by governments throughout the UK, now more than ever, landlords all over the country need to work together in ensuring our voice is heard.”             

View Full Article: NEW: Coalition slams Scots Government over rent cap and evictions freeze

Tory think-tank and Shelter push for three-year tenancies for PRS

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The government should introduce three-year tenancies to protect tenants from uncertainty and rising rents, according to a liberal conservative think tank report.

The Bright Blue group has teamed up with Shelter to publish, ‘Home advantage: a new centre-right vision for housing’ which is billed as a radical vision for modern conservative housing policy, and a blueprint for policymakers.

It includes thought pieces from Conservative MPs, academics and charity bosses such as  James Cowling (pictured), founder of campaign group Next Generation Tories, who calls for a cultural shift in the perception of the relationship between landlords and tenants.

“Too often, the prevailing view is that that the tenant’s role is to provide a passive income to their landlords…this worldview robs renters of a sense of belonging,” he explains.

Go further

Cowling praises the Renters’ Reform Bill but calls for the government to go further. He says: “Extending the standard length of a contract for up to three years would help prevent people from being forced to regularly move and protect against rents being frequently jacked up.”

He adds: “Government must also look more closely at measures to protect renters against the failure of local councils, particularly in inner London.”

Other suggestions in the report include building an extra 90,000 social homes a year, creating a genuine, reformed Community Right to Buy and encouraging the government to release unused brownfield sites directly to local authorities.

Broken

In the foreword, Housing Minister Michael Gove (pictured) says everyone agrees that the current housing model is broken.

“That change is necessary is undeniable. We are bringing about change – and we are determined to see it through,” adds Gove, who says that while he doesn’t necessarily share the authors’ views on housing, some of which doesn’t reflect government policy, “they make an extremely valuable and timely contribution to the debate”.

Download the pamphlet.

View Full Article: Tory think-tank and Shelter push for three-year tenancies for PRS

‘Letting agents must help landlords navigate looming renting reforms’

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Evictions expert Paul Shamplina has warned landlords and letting agents that the looming Renters’ Reform Act will present major challenges for the private rented sector as a wall of new red tape arrives.

Speaking to a group of Belvoir business owners Shamplina – who is also Director for Partnerships for Total Landlord Insurance  – said landlords will need agents to manage their properties “more soon than ever before”.

The TV star also highlighted recent research that shows 72% of landlords think it’s become more difficult to be a landlord recently.

“Any landlord who thinks self-managing a property is going to get easier in the coming months is completely wrong,” he said.

“Agents need to understand that they are fast becoming compliance officers for the landlord clients whose properties they fully manage. 

“I’m getting more agents then ever before contact me about this and when I’m speaking at PRS events of course I re-enforce the need that landlords need agents to fully manage for them’

“Landlords are looking to agents to protect them and their properties from the flurry of new legislation coming down the road, some of which will come with fines attached for non-compliance.”

Reforms

This includes halving the number of non-decent rented homes by 2020; abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions; preventing rent increases more than once a year; introducing a single ombudsman to cover both agents and landlords and introducing a ‘portal’ to register landlord properties.

Others include preventing landlords and agents from operating blanket bans on renting to families or those with pets.

On a more positive note, agents and landlords will be able to more easily evict anti-social tenants from properties, reportedly in under two weeks.

“Also, remember that other things keep landlords awake at night other than Government policy including rent defaults, how they will pay for property maintenance costs and repairs and losing income from empty properties or voids, but the massive rise in interest rates for some has been the straw that broke then camel’s back,” he added.

View Full Article: ‘Letting agents must help landlords navigate looming renting reforms’

Meet the Property118 and Cotswold Barristers team at the Property Investor Show

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Property118 and Cotswold Barristers including Mark Alexander, founder of Property118, and Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers will be attending the Property Investor Show at London ExCeL on 21st and 22nd April 2023. You can find us on stand 362.

View Full Article: Meet the Property118 and Cotswold Barristers team at the Property Investor Show

Mortgage broker sets up £50 million fund to help landlords upgrade EPCs

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A BTL mortgage provider has pledged to invest £50 million in a fund to help landlords enhance their property’s energy efficiency.

OneSavingsBank will channel the cash through its recently launched Landlords’ Leaders Forum into initiatives including the launch of new products to support landlords with refurbishing their properties, redesigning the underwriting process, and partnering with tax specialists to provide advice and guidance on tax planning for part-time landlords looking to professionalise.

Its Landlord Leaders community also aims to bring brokers, landlords and other industry members together.

It follows the relaunch of its energy efficiency refurbishment buy-to-let product range through the group’s Precise Mortgages brand, aimed at landlords looking to make improvements to their properties, with an additional incentive for upgrades that improve the energy efficiency rating.

EPC minimum

The group reveals that 40% of its properties have an EPC of C or better, 45% have an EPC of D, and 13% have an EPC of E with negligible percentages in F or G. More than 90% of the properties supporting the group’s loan portfolios have the potential to have at least an EPC rating of C.

The lender says there is room for support and improvement and its research shows that landlords are looking to the state to step up, with many wanting a national government-backed fund to finance changes (32%) and more clarity from government (31%).

Jon Hall, (pictured) group MD for mortgages & savings, says the shift to a more environmentally friendly housing stock won’t be fixed by single products with green labels or by one-off property improvements.

He adds: “The solutions to the challenges ahead lie in a holistic, cross-industry approach, focused on improving the lived experiences of tenants and the impact the housing has on both society and the environment.”

Read more about EPCs.

View Full Article: Mortgage broker sets up £50 million fund to help landlords upgrade EPCs

Daily Telegraph wants to speak to landlords converting their rental property into a holiday let

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Are you a landlord who has recently converted or is planning on converting their rental property to a holiday let or Airbnb? Then, Alexa Phillips, the personal finance reporter, for the Telegraph would like to speak with you.

Alexa would like to speak to Property118 readers about:

• When did you make the change from a rental property to a holiday let and why?

View Full Article: Daily Telegraph wants to speak to landlords converting their rental property into a holiday let

Tories shack up with Shelter

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Top Conservative MPs and an independent think tank for ‘liberal conservatism’ have teamed up with homeless charity Shelter to offer a ‘radical new vision’ for fixing the UK’s housing crisis.

The Bright Blue think tank has published a collection of 16 essays in its new book

View Full Article: Tories shack up with Shelter

WARNING: Long-term Airbnb lets ARE same as traditional ASTs, rules judge

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An Airbnb landlord faces a £102,000 court bill after a judge ruled that his long-term let was effectively an AST which gave protection to the guests he had harassed.

Talha Abbasi let out his £3,435-a-month Maida Vale flat in November 2021 to Countess Christine Bolza and Count Niki Bolza, reports the Daily Mail.

They developed cash flow problems in the lead-up to the collapse of their property development company Niboco Ltd and started falling behind on their rent four months later.

Countess Bolza told Mayor’s and City County Court (main picutre) that Abbasi had repeatedly chased them for payment of the outstanding sums and left them without power, heating, and internet connection for 19 days.

They sued Abbasi for harassment and breach of lease, arguing that he had disturbed their right to quiet enjoyment.

Denied

Abbasi denied the allegations and claimed the flat was only rented out to the couple on the basis of an Airbnb holiday rental, which conferred limited tenants’ rights.

But the judge ruled that the lease had gone beyond a standard Airbnb holiday let and was effectively an assured shorthold tenancy with extensive protection for tenants’ rights.

The landlord had reported the countess to Westminster City Council’s environmental health department over claims that she and her family were living in a property that was unfit for human occupation.

The judge accepted this was part of Abbasi’s campaign to drive them out of the flat and ordered him to pay £12,924 compensation plus £90,000 to cover their legal costs.

Darrel Kwong, owner at DWK Consultancy, says: “The moral of the story is, be careful who you put in an Airbnb, as you could end up with an AST, and it’s highly likely you would have done zero compliance if you needed to get possession under a Section 21.”

Picture credit: Google Streetview

Read more about Airbnb lettings.

View Full Article: WARNING: Long-term Airbnb lets ARE same as traditional ASTs, rules judge

Rents begin to rise again

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Landlords are seeing that rents on new tenancies are beginning to rise again after a brief dip in January, a rental index reveals.

The findings from Homelet show that the average rent for a new tenancy in March was £1,184 per month.

View Full Article: Rents begin to rise again

BREAKING: ‘London landlord and agent fines on track to hit record high this year’

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This year London is on track to see the highest level of fines levied against rogue landlords and letting agents, it has been revealed as more and more councils begin operating licencing schemes.

Geospatial compliance platform Kamma says it expects to see a 50% increase in enforcement and a doubling of fines this year compared to 2022.

It predicts this will include total fines levied increasing from £1 million to £2 million and a total fines to date – since it began collecting data – of £8.6 million, boosted by a £500,000 jump in penalties during the first three months of this year alone.

During March, Camden council topped the council enforcement list in terms of the number of cases brought forward, followed closely by Newham and Waltham Forest. The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham still has the highest average value of fines per case at £19,800.

Eight new licensing schemes have launched so far this year, with at least five more planned to start in the coming quarter.

Record

Kamma’s CEO Orla Shields (pictured) says: “Every month, Kamma reports a new record increase in fines and enforcement seen in the private rented sector, and the start of 2023 is no different.

“This month we published a Licensing report that summarises all the trends seen in the PRS, including property licensing, enforcement, and licensing fines within the last three months.”

Although the increase in enforcement and fines is significant it’s likely to be just part of the picture. Kamma’s data is taken from the Mayor of London’s rogue landlords checking database but does not include fines issued by courts and Tribunals that aren’t referred it.

Read more: Legislation for landlords - everything you need to know.

View Full Article: BREAKING: ‘London landlord and agent fines on track to hit record high this year’