Renters Reform White Paper – Full details published

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The fairer private rented sector white paper has been published today (16 June 2022).

Section 21 evictions will be outlawed. The Government’s claim is that more than a fifth of private renters who moved in 2019 and 2020 did not end their tenancy by choice

View Full Article: Renters Reform White Paper – Full details published

The detail to follow must retain the confidence of responsible landlords

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Responding to the publication today of the Government’s White Paper on reform of the private rented sector, Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said:

“Whilst headline commitments to strengthening possession grounds, speedier court processes and mediation are helpful

View Full Article: The detail to follow must retain the confidence of responsible landlords

Rented sector faces ‘biggest shake-up in decades’ as homes move to heat pumps

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The next decade will see the biggest shake-up of the heating sector in living memory as the country’s homes switch to heat pumps, says the sector’s trade body.

To achieve the planned phase-out of new fossil fuel boilers by the mid-2030s and to meet the government’s target of 600,000 heat pumps being installed annually by 2028, the Heat Pump Association is calling for a strong partnership between industry and government.

Its report, Transforming Britain’s Heating – A Pathway to Heat Pumps, suggests that policies could include making homes heat pump-ready by requiring room-by-room heat loss calculations and by hydraulic balancing and recalibrating existing boiler systems to lower flow temperatures to a maximum of 55 deg C.

Landlords soon face making decisions about whether to fork out for retrofit works if government proposals that new tenancies will have to reach an EPC band C by 2025 get the go-ahead.

In the meantime, recent reports show that ground source heat pump installation costs can add up to an eyewatering £35,000, and are incompatible with most homes.

Higher costs

The association says it recognises that the installed cost of heat pump systems is higher than replacing a fossil fuel boiler alone, but believes that as volumes increase, costs are likely to come down.

It adds that while subsidies offsetting upfront costs through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the zero-rated VAT currently play an important role, some form of extra subsidy will be needed until the transition is complete.

Chair Phil Hurley (main picture) says: “Significant investments in UK manufacturing and installer training have already been made in response to some of the signals government has given so far. Further clarity of the policy framework will unlock the remaining investor confidence needed to finish the job.”

The document also sets out some of the ideas for how the partnership can work to support a new generation of apprentices in becoming part of the government’s 2030 target for 480,000 high-skilled jobs.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Rented sector faces ‘biggest shake-up in decades’ as homes move to heat pumps | LandlordZONE.

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REVEALED: Details of historic ‘new deal’ for tenants and landlords published by Government

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Key details of the Government’s radical renting reform White Paper have been released this morning by Michael Gove, full details of which are due to be published when his housing minister Eddie Hughes addresses parliament later this morning.

In a statement embargoed for midnight, Gove’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) promises the ‘biggest shake-up of the rented sector for 30 years’ targeted at the 21% of private rented sector tenants who ‘currently live in unfit homes’.

Following today’s announcement, which has an eye on the next election, the PM’s levelling-up agenda and the cost of living crisis, DLUHC says it proposes to introduce its Renters Reform Bill before March next year.

The radical proposals, the full nitty-gritty of which are to come, include:

• Outlawing ‘blanket bans’ by agents or landlords on renting to families with children or those in receipt of benefits;
• For the first time, ending the use of arbitrary rent review clauses, restricting tribunals from hiking up rent and enabling tenants to be repaid rent for non-decent homes. This will make sure tenants can take their landlord to court to seek repayment of rent if their homes are of an unacceptable standard
• Making it easier for tenants to have pets in their homes by giving all tenants the right to request a pet in their house, which the landlord must consider and cannot ‘unreasonably refuse’.
• All tenants to be moved onto a single system of periodic tenancies, meaning they can leave poor quality housing without remaining liable for the rent or move more easily when their circumstances change. A tenancy will only end if a tenant ends or a landlord has a valid reason, defined in law. 
• Doubling notice periods for rent increases and giving tenants stronger powers to challenge them if they are unjustified
• Giving councils stronger powers to tackle the worst offenders, backed by enforcement pilots, and increasing fines for serious offences.

But the White Paper will also include some measures designed to placate landlords, including (as previously announced):

• A new Private Renters’ Ombudsman to enable disputes between private renters and landlords to be settled quickly, at low cost, and without going to court
• Ensuring responsible landlords can gain possession of their properties efficiently from anti-social tenants and can sell their properties when they need to. 
• Introducing a new property portal that will provide a single front door to help landlords to understand, and comply with, their responsibilities as well as giving councils and tenants the information they need to tackle rogue operators.

Housing secretary Michael Gove says: “For too long many private renters have been at the mercy of unscrupulous landlords who fail to repair homes and let families live in damp, unsafe and cold properties, with the threat of unfair ‘no fault’ evictions orders hanging over them. 

“Our New Deal for renters will help to end this injustice by improving the rights and conditions for millions of renters as we level up across the country and deliver on the people’s priorities.”

What does everyone think so far?

Ben Beadle (pictured), Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, which has been busy lobbying the government on many aspects of the White Paper including court reform and evictions, says: “Whilst headline commitments to strengthening possession grounds, speedier court processes and mediation are helpful, the detail to follow must retain the confidence of responsible landlords, as well as improving tenants’ rights.

“We will be analysing the Government’s plans carefully to ensure they meet this test. A failure to do so will exacerbate the housing crisis at a time when renters are struggling to find the homes they need.

“The eventual legislation needs to recognise that government actions have led to a shortage of supply in the sector at a time of record demand. It is causing landlords to leave the sector and driving up rents when people can least afford it.”

Polly Neate (pictured), Chief Executive of Shelter, says: “The Renters’ Reform Bill is a gamechanger for England’s 11 million private renters. Scrapping unfair evictions will level the playing field. For the first time in a long time, tenants will be able to stand up to bad behaviour instead of living in fear. 

“This White Paper promises people safety and security in their home, and it makes clear that landlords need to play by the rules. Gone will be the days of families being uprooted and children forced to move school after being slapped with a Section 21 no-fault eviction for no good reason.”

Nathan Emerson (pictured), CEO of Propertymark says: “After waiting three years to see exactly what this reform will look like, we’ve now got a set of proposals titled ‘The Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper’. But there are some elements that don’t appear to be so.

“How is it fair that a tenant can simply end a tenancy at a time of their choosing, but an agent or landlord has to present a valid reason that is defined in law?

“Now we have the detail of what’s being proposed, we will be closely scrutinising it and working with Ministers to help them understand how on a practical level it will impact our letting agents members and their landlords.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – REVEALED: Details of historic ‘new deal’ for tenants and landlords published by Government | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: REVEALED: Details of historic ‘new deal’ for tenants and landlords published by Government

Don’t let red-tape drive out good landlords

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A leading taxation advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg, warns today, there’s a distinct danger of turning the steady flow of landlords leaving the industry into a flood, if new relations due soon, and too much red tape, become overbearing for responsible buy-to-let landlords.

With the long-awaited draft Rental Reform Act, due to be published this week, the upgraded Bill under Michael Gove it is said will represent a “new deal for renters”.

Last month Boris Johnson announced that his government would “improve lives of millions of renters” and although these plans have been a long time coming, it seems they are finally to see the light of day in detail.

Things have changed says the government

The government argues that the private rented sector (PRS) has seen “significant shifts” over the past few decades with issues of quality, stability and affordability regularly highlighted in the media. The new proposals, re-announced in the Queen’s Speech last month, says the government, represent a long overdue change needed to bring the renter’s experience into the 21^st Century.

A Renter’s Reform Bill

The Rental Reform Bill, first proposed under Teresa May in April 2019, is aimed at removing some of the insecurities tenants experience while renting in the private sector in England, but the Covid pandemic got in the way.

Announcing the plans, Mrs May said at the time:

“Everyone in the private sector has the right to feel secure in their home, settled in their community and able to plan for the future with confidence.

“But millions of responsible tenants could still be uprooted by their landlord with little notice, and often little justification.

“This is wrong – and today we’re acting by preventing these unfair evictions. Landlords will still be able to end tenancies when they have legitimate reasons to do so, but they will no longer be able to unexpectedly evict families with only eight weeks’ notice.”

The Rental Reform Bill re-introduced

Included in the Queen’s Speech in May 2022, Prince Charles read out that a Bill would be brought forward, promising “to strengthen the rights of tenants”, affecting landlords and will likely change things for 4.4 million private renters in England.

What are the likely changes?

We don’t know the full details of Michael Gove’s revisions to this Bill until they are announced this week, but rumours of giving tenants the legal right to have pets in rentals and the removal of the no-fault (no reason given) evictions are increasing landlords’ anxiety levels.

The main target for the reforms it seems is the long touted abolition of section 21 no-fault evictions.

Removing the section 21 clause from the Housing Act 1988, it is argued, will give more security for tenants in the PRS, giving tenants the power to challenge landlords who fail to maintain and repair, and who impose unfair rent increases, without the fear of a retaliatory eviction.

There will be among other things a drive to improve rental home living standards, using the Decent Homes Standard to be extended to the private rented sector for the first time, designed to give all renters the right to a safe and warm home.

A National landlord register

A national landlord register is proposed, similar the one in operation in Scotland, and the Bill is to create a new ombudsman for renters, independent agencies designed to deal with complaints against landlords – similar to the one in operation for letting agents – without the need to go to court.

A website designed to help tenants keep track of their landlord’s performance, and to hold them to account, was also included in the draft legislation.

Heather Powell, head of property and construction at Blick Rothenberg said:

“Renters need rights to ensure rogue landlords are required to provide safe, secure homes but it is critical the responsible landlords are not driven away from the sector”.

Her warning is in response to announcements on the Bill made by government so far, revolving around issues about radically improving renters’ rights, indications that scare many landlords who have put their life savings into providing buy-to-let type rental accommodation.

Blick Rothenberg is arguing that on the one key issue, the abolition of section 21, any new Rental Reform Act must ensure that buy-to-let landlords “have the right to repossess their properties when their situation changes, with appropriate notice to tenants.”

It is critical that on this one key issue any change does not result in responsible landlords being driven away from the sector, warns Heather Powell.

Falling rental property numbers

Recent figures produced by Propertymark in June (2022) show that the number of rental homes available to tenants have fallen in the UK, with only half the number of properties available to rent in March 2022 as at the same time in 2019.

Worryingly, over 80 per cent of landlords who are no longer active in the rental market have put their properties up for sale, prompting Ms Powell to warn of the critical danger that the Bill could “reduce the supply of good, safe rental properties” still further.

“Any reduction in the number of homes to rent is bad news for the UK economy as affordable accommodation is essential if employers are going to fill the 1.295mn job vacancies reported at the end of March 2022,” says Ms Powell

Some landlords have already been motivated to sell by a long series of tax reforms and increasingly onerous regulations. More recently, the urgent need to bring their properties up to standard to meet stringent energy efficiency standards is also taking its toll.

Further, Blick Rothenberg warns, pledges by the Labour party to increase tax on unearned income (buy-to-let investments are classed as unearned income by (HMRC) would have yet another devastating impact on the rental market.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Don’t let red-tape drive out good landlords | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Don’t let red-tape drive out good landlords

LSA warns landlords: Recession is coming

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Recession is looming around the corner. It’s an unavoidable topic, and smart landlords are reacting fast. A report by Propertymark found a massive spike in landlords getting out of the rental industry and that 53% of buy-to-let properties sold in March 2022 left the private rented sector (PRS) completely. Landlord Sales Agency, a company which has grown to be one of the UK’s most trusted property portfolio sales companies warned that landlords could no longer avoid a decision they needed to start making now: sell before the recession and cost of living crisis hits prices and sales.

There’s no doubt that the time to act is now, and the sooner the better. Landlords cashing in now will not only get the highest price for their property portfolios, they’ll also avoid the legislation changes that will inevitably make holding onto a portfolio a huge financial drain. Experts are suggesting that even selling part of your buy-to-let property portfolio is a wise decision – “it’s the highest release of equity you’ll get for another 7 years, and you’ll need it to weather the storm,” advised David Coughlin, CEO of Landlord Sales Agency.

It’s precisely this trusted advice that has made Landlord Sales Agency specialists in selling rental property. Owned by two private landlords, who themselves have both successfully sold their buy-to-let properties and cashed in, they know exactly what to do to help other landlords. What’s more, they’re passionately on the side of landlords, with first-hand experience of getting landlords the most money possible out of their assets. They’re also extremely sensitive to tenant needs, ensuring that they sell the properties without landlords having to evict tenants at all, and with minimal landlord involvement. “Unlike other companies, we have a list of buyers who will buy your properties without having to evict tenants. This dramatically cuts down the time it takes to sell, plus means that you can continue collecting rent all the way up until the actual sale. For those properties that require evictions, we personally help your tenants relocate, or help them financially to find a new place. We understand how to navigate those relationships, so you don’t have to worry, even with tenants that have been in situ for years. We know exactly what to do to help them. Leave it to us.”  They’ll take it all off your hands, and get you the highest price for your portfolios in less than 21 days. “We sell entire property portfolios, or partial portfolios in bulk in one go.

We’ve got an extensive list of over 30,000 private buyers and relationships with the top property buying companies. Most of our portfolios sell within a week.”

With strong relationships with established property industry giants such as LandlordZONE and Property118, it’s clear they’ve got the approval of the landlord community. “We’re about delivering speed, efficiency, and exceptional customer service. That’s what landlords need. With a recession just around the corner, we don’t have time to waste, and we need a company we can trust. I couldn’t find one out there, so I created my own, with a mission to help other landlords” said Landlord Sales Agency’s CEO, David Coughlin.

Landlord Sales Agency sell properties either in one go as a full portfolio or as single units, depending on your instruction. Unlike traditional estate agents, or other property buying companies, both methods are extremely fast. They work quickly to collect information about rent, tenant history, running costs and ensure all certificates are in place to guarantee the sale is not delayed. If any certificates are missing, they have a team of engineers, builders and experts who will get all the certificates and paperwork done for you. The stress is completely removed out of the sale, and seller involvement is kept to a minimum so you can relax knowing it’s in swift and extremely capable hands.

Furthermore, Landlord Sales Agency take their promise to ‘solve any landlord problem’ so seriously that, as a result of the number of enquiries they receive from landlords with cash flow problems, they can also use the equity tied into property to offer an interest free loan of up to £20,000 to be repaid on completion.

“We know what it’s like right now to be a landlord who is thinking of selling, and who wants to release cash. We’re so confident in what we do, we can afford to go the extra mile to really help landlords get through, and get the highest possible price for their property portfolio before the market drops.”

You’d think that for so much work, landlords would have to compromise on the sale price, but that’s not the case. “We typically achieve 80 – 90% of the market value, and for that we cover all the costs and take away all the hassle that comes with selling the portfolio. We’re completely transparent, so you know exactly what we’re making. You won’t get a higher price for the service, and any company promising you 100% market value is hiding a huge list of costs that are going to come after the sale. That’s not the case with us. It’s what makes us different.

We want to help, and we understand that now is the time for landlords to get out before the recession hits. It’s a crucial time, and we’re here to get the job done for you. We’ve found the solution for ourselves, it’s time to help you.”

If you want to exit the market before the predicted fall in property prices, talk to us today.

Contact us

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©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LSA warns landlords: Recession is coming | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: LSA warns landlords: Recession is coming

iHowz Green Paper on the Future of the PRS

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iHowz recently published their paper outlining proposals on the PRS in response to the Queen’s speech. With Michael Gove due to make an announcement on the government’s white paper, we wanted to highlight our proposals

Summary of Recommendations:

1.

View Full Article: iHowz Green Paper on the Future of the PRS

London council ‘pick up pace of enforcement’ as fines total £7.5m over past five years

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London councils continue to batter rogue landlords and letting agents with penalty fines, pushing the total handed out to £7.5 million during the last five years.

In May, the total had risen by £300,000 in less than four months, however, this has slowed since last November when geospatial technology firm Kamma reported that fines increased by more than £1 million in less than a year as councils picked up the pace of enforcement efforts post-lockdown.

The average fine imposed on landlords for all offences is now £4,233 and £4,440 for letting agents – figures which have only gone up by about £20 in the last year, according to Kamma.

It says that while more record fines are given to landlords and agents, there are still many smaller fines handed out which keeps the average at a similar rate compared to last year. 

Largest fines

The borough with the largest average fine rate is Hammersmith and Fulham with £19,800, while Camden tops the table for the highest number of cases brought since 2017 (418), followed by Newham (340) and Southwark (169).

Landlords and letting agents face fines of up to £30,000 for failing to comply with safety and licensing regulations, and additional fines of up to £5,000 per property for non-compliance with MEES regulations.

Property professionals need safeguarding tools in place to protect themselves and their customers from market and regulatory risks, says CEO Orla Shields (pictured), as the firm announces a new partnership with insurance brokers Mint Insurance. This aims to give its customers access to discounted offers on Kamma’s licensing compliance services and tools.

“We continue to seek out new partners that we know will further our mission and support us in helping agents reduce risks and increase regulatory compliance in the property sector,” adds Shields. “This partnership helps agents dramatically reduce their risks and does so in an operationally efficient way.”

Read more about fines in London.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – London council ‘pick up pace of enforcement’ as fines total £7.5m over past five years | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: London council ‘pick up pace of enforcement’ as fines total £7.5m over past five years

Disability Access Consultation

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Kemi Badenoch, Minister for Equalities and Levelling Up Communities, has released a consultation for regulations to make it a duty for landlords to respond to requests from disabled tenants wishing to make communal spaces outside their rental properties more accessible.

View Full Article: Disability Access Consultation

EPC exemptions after spending £10k?

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I understand that should we be unable to achieve an EPC rated at C on a rental property and I’m thinking of one property in particular where the last EPC was done in 2018 when it was given an E.

View Full Article: EPC exemptions after spending £10k?