25% of holiday let guests don’t tell the landlord about damage

admin    Uncategorized     agents

While the rise of holiday lets in the UK has met the growing boom in staycations and led to impressive yields for landlords, there is an issue over damage caused by guests.

According to one insurer, one in ten (11%) holidaymakers have accidentally caused damage to a UK holiday home

View Full Article: 25% of holiday let guests don’t tell the landlord about damage

Manchester landlords given last chance to comment on licensing expansion

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Hundreds of landlords are being asked for their views on plans to stretch selective licensing across eight new areas in five Manchester wards.

The council gave the go-ahead for the scheme to cover 1,122 properties earlier this summer and has now launched the consultation running until 14th December.

If agreed, the expanded scheme could come into effect in spring 2023, covering: Moss Side: Claremont Road/Great Western St, Levenshulme: Matthews Lane, Longsight: The Royals, Cheetham – Esmond/Avondale, Cheetham: Heywood St/Cheetham Hill Road, Rusholme: Birch Lane, Rusholme: Laindon/Dickenson and Cheetham: flats over shops: Cheetham Hill Road.

Landlords fined

It points to the success of its first scheme in Crumpsall which recently ended, where 372 properties were licensed and landlords were fined £36,000 for housing offences.

Councillor Gavin White (pictured, below), executive member for housing and development, says it’s seeing the real positive impact of selective licensing. 

“We firmly believe that everyone living in Manchester deserves a decent home to live in and as our private rented sector grows, landlord licensing gives us a way of making sure that our residents can sleep easy knowing their property is safe,” he adds.

“Of course, we know that the vast majority of landlords do manage their properties to a good standard – but for those that don’t, our message is that it’s unacceptable to take advantage of your tenants and we will do what we can to hold them to account. There is no place for rogue landlords in our city.” 

Selective licensing currently covers Moss Side, Moston, Old Moat, The Ladders – Gorton and Abbey Hey, Hyde Road – Gorton and Abbey Hey, Trinity, and Ben Street area – Clayton and Openshaw.

Read more: Do I need a licence for my property?

View Full Article: Manchester landlords given last chance to comment on licensing expansion

Claims service urges student tenants to check their property is licenced

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Student renters are being encouraged to check their homes are licensed by using a new free advice and support service.

Very Wise Student, launched by online claims management firm Veriwise, points to a recent tribunal case where S C Osney Management was ordered to repay £84,877 in rent for failing to get an HMO licence for the 242-room Student Castle in Oxford.

Following a case brought by 44 tenants, the firm had to return more than a third of the money paid by students during the time the property was unlicensed.

Very Wise Student founder Ajay Jagota (pictured) believes that although this company was found to have not deliberately failed to get a licence, it’s highly unlikely it is the only landlord to be operating without the necessary paperwork.

“For most students, the legal status of their accommodation is the last thing on their mind, but not only are things like gas and safety certificates literally a matter of life and death, but they could also be in line for compensation or rent refunds if their landlords haven’t fulfilled their legal obligations,” he says.

Read more stories about about rent repayment orders.

“The problem is that most students don’t have the legal know-how to uphold their rights, or the resources to lawyer up. That’s why we created our free service to make sure they get the help and support they need.”

Very Wise Student offers a free pre-move-in student accommodation safety check of a rental property’s gas, fire and electricity safety compliance. It can also help students with tax advice, including student loans, part-time work and council tax. Its free counselling helpline offers students support with academic pressures, personal problems and money worries.

Guide: How to rent repayment orders work?

View Full Article: Claims service urges student tenants to check their property is licenced

Government ‘names and shames’ first freeholder over fire safety failings

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The government has used new legal powers to hold a freeholder to account for failing to fix their building’s fire safety defects.

Grey GR, owners of the 15-storey Vista tower block in Stevenage (pictured), has been given 21 days to commit to remediating defects or face court action, following two years of delays for more than 100 residents living in the tower.

The freeholder is one of the first to be named and shamed by the newly created Recovery Strategy Unit, set up to identify and pursue firms which repeatedly refuse to fix buildings.

Leaseholders of Vista Tower have been handed bills of up to £200,000 each and are unable to sell, despite unsafe cladding being identified on the building more than two years ago.

While it was registered with the Building Safety Fund in 2020, the funding agreement is yet to be signed, meaning the government cannot release any money.

Put on hold

Levelling Up Secretary Simon Clarke (pictured) says the lives of residents have been put on hold while they wait for Grey GR to remediate unsafe cladding. 

“Enough is enough,” adds Clarke. “This legal action should act as a warning to the rest of industry’s outliers – big and small. Step up, follow your peers and make safe the buildings you own or legal action will be taken against you.”

There are at least 23 other buildings registered with the Building Safety Fund that have been unable to progress due to unnecessary delays.

The department is examining these cases and is also considering issuing an application for a Remediation Contribution Order against other companies associated with Grey GR including Railways Pension Trustee Company Limited (RailPen) and Railtrust Holdings Limited (Railtrust).

Find out more about building safety.

View Full Article: Government ‘names and shames’ first freeholder over fire safety failings

Do I have to take my gate down?

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Hello, The access to the front of my property is through a neighbour’s garden. It is an agreed width – 12 ft.

We own the boundary.

The properties are at the end of a cul de sac

View Full Article: Do I have to take my gate down?

Can my freeholder charge me VAT on purchasing a parking space?

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Hello, I have a leasehold flat that I bought 4 years go, it’s about 50 years old, above shops.

I thought I had parking allocated as there is parking which we’ve been using, and we were told parking was included

View Full Article: Can my freeholder charge me VAT on purchasing a parking space?

Alphaletz is our Official Technology Platform Partner

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The move comes as Alphaletz, the technology platform, continues to grow and work closely with the online property giant, forming strong relationships and helping bring innovative Property Management Software to Landlord’s
attention globally.

Following the announcement, Alphaletz’ CEO Richard Jackson said

“We are absolutely delighted to have been chosen by LandlordZONE to be their only authorised technology partner.

We have admired the work Paul Shamplina and the team have been doing with Landlords for a long time. We love all the brands in the group and started working together about a year ago with some email campaigns and joint videos.

Since then we have found our messaging is very closely aligned, and by working together, our joint offerings will resonate very effectively across the thousands of Landlords that use Alphaletz every day.

We are delighted to be recognised and chosen by LandlordZONE.

Users love the Alphaletz ease of use and powerful features.

It’s helping make it an easy decision for landlords to give up the spreadsheets and move to the Cloud with access from anywhere including our mobile app.

With thousands of landlords actively using Alphaletz daily, we are very excited about this new relationship and how we can take the partnership to a whole new level to further improve the lives of landlords, property managers and letting agents everywhere.”

Paul Shamplina, Chief Commercial Officer of LandlordZONE and the wider HF family says,

“We are delighted Alphaletz are our Official Technology Platform Partner. 

Assisting landlords with saving time, becoming more efficient, more compliant and running their property businesses in a profitable way is a real asset. With Richard being an experienced landlord, he understands the needs of what landlords need in their every day life of running a portfolio.”

Alphaletz is a fast growing Property Management Software solution, recently voted in the Top 50 PropTech companies in the UK.

More importantly, Alphaletz is on a total mission to help Landlords grow their property businesses hassle free, adding value by saving time and money.

Users are experiencing time savings of around 75% and an ROI of just a few
months after subscribing to the platform.

Alphaletz offers its users a free lifetime trial on their first property and it’s absolutely perfect for both HMO and single let Landlords.

Try Alphaletz free today by clicking this link and discover what the buzz is all about. (https://app.alphaletz.com/app/login/signup)

View Full Article: Alphaletz is our Official Technology Platform Partner

Meet Mark Smith (Barrister-At-Law) Landlord tax planning strategies – PPN Bournemouth

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Our Hon. Legal Counsel, Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers, will be presenting in person an overview of several landlord tax strategies at the Progressive Property Network Bournemouth meeting Thursday 20th October.

Ocean Beach Hotel &

View Full Article: Meet Mark Smith (Barrister-At-Law) Landlord tax planning strategies – PPN Bournemouth

Don’t be fooled by scheme’s generous time frame, landlords warned

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Leicester’s new selective licensing scheme has been criticised for confusing landlords by offering them an 18-month lead-in time.

The five-year scheme starts on Monday (10^th October) when they have up to 18 months to apply for a licence before the council issues a £200 penalty fee – however, tenants could pursue landlords for Rent Repayment Orders from 11^th October.

Landlord group EMPO reckons it’s a perverse situation and that a lack of sufficiently qualified staff could be behind it. “The council have said they won’t pursue landlords during that time, but if you didn’t apply, your tenant could hit you with a Rent Repayment Order,” business development manager Giles Inman tells LandlordZONE. 

Civil penalty

“It’s also interesting that they are only offering a fine instead of a civil penalty, which will be music to the ears of the criminal landlord fraternity.”

David Smith (right), property solicitor at JMW, agrees that the council’s position isn’t helpful. “They should be much clearer, by saying if you don’t apply you will be committing an offence,” he tells LandlordZONE. “By giving landlords a grace period where they won’t be prosecuted, that doesn’t mean landlords don’t have an obligation. My advice would be to make an application.”

Small HMOs

The licensing scheme will impact 8,853 properties in the wards of Stoneygate (East Cluster), Westcotes, Fosse, Braunstone Park & Rowley Fields (West Cluster) and Saffron (South Cluster). The council is also including small HMOs pending the implementation of its proposed additional licensing scheme.

The £1,090 fee – the highest in the Midlands – will have a huge impact on increasing rents and homelessness in Leicester, adds Inman. “Thrown into the pot is the worst cost of living crisis in living memory, with sky high energy prices. This is not the time to be heaping more costs on landlords and tenants.”

LandlordZONE has approached Leicester Council for a comment.

View Full Article: Don’t be fooled by scheme’s generous time frame, landlords warned

Warm Beds scheme takes the heat out of tenants’ energy bill stress

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An industry expert has teamed up with firefighters to support vulnerable tenants and homeowners through the energy crisis.

Tenancy mediator Julie Ford is working with Bedfordshire fire service to deliver the new Warm Beds project that will see volunteers visit people across the county to give them energy-saving advice and help them access funding to pay fuel bills.

Fuel poverty

Through her company Gothard Rowe, Ford has helped hundreds of landlords and letting agents whose tenants are in rent arrears to access grants, legacies and trusts to pay towards the rent debt. “Fuel poverty is something very close to my heart, having had my own experience of choosing between eating and heating at a time when I was relying on benefits,” she says.

The Warm Beds project is getting referrals from the current Safer homes scheme which sees local fire fighters and volunteers attend properties to assess fire safety, check and fit smoke alarms as well as set up ‘risk markers’ for emergency call centre operators about access issues. 

Meter readings

Ford and the team will provide support on a range of issues such as how to read and submit meter readings, giving energy-saving tips, signposting grants and adding them to the priority service register for their suppliers.

“We’re going to see people choose between paying bills and paying rent,” she tells LandlordZONE, “so landlords all over the UK could be proactive and give tenants a fact sheet with useful advice and numbers to call.”

Warm Beds is looking for volunteers to sign up and for local businesses to get involved in the project by contacting advice@gothardrowe.com

View Full Article: Warm Beds scheme takes the heat out of tenants’ energy bill stress