Tenant deceased – permitted occupier not paying rent?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Hello, I have recently been notified that the tenant on the agreement has passed away following no rental payments. His son (who is over the age of 21) was a permitted occupier, is refusing to agree a new tenancy and is not paying rent.

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S21 notice/Rent arrears/repossession order?

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Hello, I have a question: My tenant is in rent arrears by 6 months and those arrears now stand at £9,600. I have served the tenant a S21 notice followed by a repossession order.

The council pays the tenant £1,875/month towards the rent.

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Unexpected bounce in UK’s February house prices

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The UK’s house prices showed an unexpected increase of 1.1% in February from January’s price, says Halifax.

The bank highlights that a typical property costs £285,476 – up from January’s average price of £282,360.

However, the rate of annual price growth has slowed in all regions with an annual rise of 2.1%.

View Full Article: Unexpected bounce in UK’s February house prices

Why Might UK Landlords Consider a Partnership?

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UK landlords may consider a Partnership structure for a number of reasons, including:

1. Cost: It might be prohibitively expensive to sell properties to a Limited Company for tax planning purposes, especially if HMRC wouldn’t regard them to be qualified as Business Partnership for at least three years.

View Full Article: Why Might UK Landlords Consider a Partnership?

Do I have to renew EPC?

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Hello, Can someone please help? I am in my 70’s and only let two properties, I’m not an experienced landlord.

I have had a tenant in a property for 7 years and never put the rent up in all that time.

View Full Article: Do I have to renew EPC?

City launches consultation on ‘eye watering’ new fees for HMOs

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Nottingham has revealed it will charge non-accredited, less compliant HMO landlords an eye-watering £1,993 fee to join its proposed additional licensing scheme – a £273 increase on the current scheme’s fee.

Accredited landlords will pay £1,118 – up from £990 – in a city already used to having to fork out big bucks for a licence; according to the HMO Hub website, Nottingham’s mandatory HMO scheme is one of the most expensive outside London, at £1,330 for a standard application.

The authority explains that this ‘less compliant’ fee covers any additional monitoring, inspections and enforcement that might be needed, basing the figure on covering staffing levels to deal with 5,300 applications.

Nottingham Council insists that its current additional scheme has had a positive impact on HMOs, including tackling problems with waste management and anti-social behaviour.

The current additional scheme, covering parts of central Nottingham, will soon come to an end and the council hopes to introduce a new citywide scheme, which would run for five years from January 2024.

However, landlords in the city will be voicing their concerns during the current month-long consultation.

Concerned

An NRLA spokesman tells LandlordZONE that it is concerned about plans to increase licensing fees across the board.

“Quite frankly the council’s licensing schemes have become a de facto tax on much needed rented housing rather than an effective tool to root out rogue and criminal landlords,” he adds.

“Given the council will be able to access details of landlords and properties on the planned national property portal and in light of plans for a decent homes standard for the sector, licencing schemes of this kind are completely redundant and should be scrapped.”

Lambeth holds the dubious honour of having the most expensive additional licensing scheme in the UK, where landlords pay £2,024 to license a four-bedroom HMO.

Read the consultation details in full.

View Full Article: City launches consultation on ‘eye watering’ new fees for HMOs

Landlord fined after tenants spend Xmas and NY without water or decent heating

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An experienced landlord who left a family with a baby without water or adequate heating in their rented property over Christmas and New Year has been fined.

Anthony Wardrop, 79, of The Parade, Hartlepool, had denied a charge of failing to comply with an Improvement Notice served in January 2022 but was found guilty when he appeared at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court

Wardrop, acting on behalf of Sedgedene Estates, who’s also a director of a used car firm, was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £580 in costs for failing to carry out work to make the property in Westmoreland Street safe.

Water supply

The court heard the landlord had failed to ensure a constant water supply was provided to the rented property. This had left the family, including a baby and two older children, without water or adequate heating over Christmas and New Year in 2021.

The Improvement Notice, issued by Darlington Council’s private sector housing officers, also ordered him to carry out basic duties in the property such as providing gas and electricity safety certificates, ensuring the property had adequate heating and was free from damp and mould.

Wardrop had delayed carrying out works inside the property for several months which only started after investigations for the prosecution began, despite continued efforts by the council to help him.

Councillor Mike Renton (pictured), cabinet member for stronger communities, says: “The owner of this property failed to carry out the basic responsibilities required of him as a landlord, leaving a young family without water or adequate heating which is simply not acceptable.

“This prosecution sends out a very clear message that we will take strong action against any landlord who doesn’t ensure the safety of their tenants.”

Read more about improvement notices.

View Full Article: Landlord fined after tenants spend Xmas and NY without water or decent heating

Evidence from solicitors?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Hello, I have a tenant who has contacted a solicitor regarding the condition of the flat’s drainage problem, mould, damp and mice infestation.

I received a letter from her solicitor just after Christmas regarding the problems she says she has.

View Full Article: Evidence from solicitors?

Flagship government campaign empowers social tenants to complain

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A new government campaign will urge social housing tenants to complain about substandard housing as part of its flagship ‘Make it right’ campaign.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove is urging tenants to make their voices heard by complaining to their landlord before escalating an issue to the Housing Ombudsman if they are unhappy with the landlord’s final response.

View Full Article: Flagship government campaign empowers social tenants to complain

Fire test certificate needed?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Hello, I let a 5 bed semi detached. The house is over 2 floors, ground and first. I have radio controlled fire safety fitted in the hall and landing.

My local authority is asking for a fire test safety certificate.

View Full Article: Fire test certificate needed?