Lichfield Council need more private homes and offering Landlords up to 6 months rent in advance

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Lichfield District Council in Staffordshire are offering landlords up to six months rent in advance if they lease one or more homes to Spring housing association in a bid to help people who are sleeping rough or at risk of becoming homeless.

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£50 or the reasonable costs?

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A recent Tribunal between estate agent Ludlow Thompson v Tenant has ruled that a charge of £393.54 to cover costs of changing the tenant was unreasonable. According to the Tenant Fees Act 2019 (TFA) a fee can be charged where a tenant wants to leave early and replace themselves with an alternative tenant.

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One bad apple?

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I know this is an issue that every landlord encounters at some point, unfortunately, it’s now my turn to deal with this.

I have a flat in a purpose-built block of 6, containing 5 rentals and 1 owner-occupied all nicely kept

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UK’s most expensive ever HMO licensing scheme to launch in London

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Lambeth Council has launched a new additional licensing scheme that will see the borough’s private landlords paying the highest per bedroom HMO fees in the country.

Under the current licensing scheme, landlords pay an application fee of £289 per bedroom for a five-year licence, equating to £1,156, but according to London Property Licensing (LPL) the authority has now hiked its fees by 75% to £506 per bedroom so that licensing a four-bedroom HMO will set them back £2,024.

The new scheme, which comes into force on 9^th December, will cover about 5,000 HMOs, including house and flat shares, bedsits, and some buildings converted into flats. Famous areas of the capital will be covered including Brixton (pictured), The Oval, Crystal Palace and Waterloo.

Smaller house and flat shares will now need a licence if they are occupied by three or more people forming more than one household.

Discount

Accredited landlords get a 20% discount under the new fee structure, and there’s a 50% discount for registered charities. LPL says a recent council email advised landlords that the standard fee had been lowered as a result of the consultation and a reduced fee of £116 per bedroom could apply if all discounts were used. Lambeth expects to generate £10 million income over the next five years,

Kamma Data says Lambeth’s fees put it at the top of the licensing table, followed by Glasgow City, Moray and Waltham Forest, while the average standard fee in the UK is £708.

CEO Orla Shields (pictured) says even a two-bed flat, if a couple and a friend move in, will usually qualify for licensing, so it’s vital that both landlords and agents stay ahead of legislation.

She tells LandlordZONE: “With fees this high the onus will be on Lambeth Council to provide value for money and effective policing of the scheme.”

The council’s consultation prompted 417 people to respond; 81% of landlords and agents were against the idea, but it was backed by two-thirds of residents.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – UK’s most expensive ever HMO licensing scheme to launch in London | LandlordZONE.

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‘Happy birthday buy-to-let – it’s been a 25-year long roller-coaster ride’

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You may not realise it, but the buy-to-let landlord sector as we know it today is now 25 years old.

It was kicked off on September 24, 1996, at a famous meeting between a handful of lenders, brokers and property industry trade representatives at the RAC Club on London’s Pall Mall, where it was agreed that a new kind of mortgage would be launched.

“It took a while for these mortgages to take off, and the period of real growth in this market was from 2000 onwards,” says Eddie Hooker, Chief Executive of Hamilton Fraser (pictured), which was established just a few days after the RAC meeting.

Hooker remembers how at the time the concept of being a landlord was a niche, minority activity but that tax changes brought in by then Chancellor Gordon Brown were instrumental in changing that.

Gordon Brown

“The surge in landlord numbers was, I believe, not so much down to the mortgages but Gordon Brown changing the UK’s pension rules in 2006 to allow retirees to draw-down tax-free lump sums from their pensions, and also use SIPPs to invest directly in holiday home and buy-to-let properties,” he says.

Hamilton Fraser capitalised on the growth and, along with other pioneers such as Homelet and Alan Boswell, helped serve a burgeoning demand for renting-specific insurance.

“Simon Fox and myself set up HF in 1996 and one of our earliest clients was the Small Landlords Association which had about 3,000 landlords as members and we became their exclusive provider of landlord insurance,” says Hooker

“That’s where our Total Landlord insurance policy came about, via the SLA which, in 2002 became the National Landlords Association (and later the NRLA) as more and more people became landlords and wanted somewhere to turn to for advice and solutions.

In those days people had to buy a household insurance policy and go through a normal mortgage process to let a property – and hope no one asked any questions.

Take cover

“We were giving cover that normal household policies couldn’t offer like property owners’ liability cover in case their tenant hurt themselves, and malicious damage caused by the tenant.

“We were one of the pioneers of the original landlord and buildings insurance which later became known as buy-to-let insurance in the early 2000s.”

Other innovations came along too including rent guarantee insurance, which at the time was a really bespoke insurance pioneered by Homelet and LetSure, now operating under the Barbon umbrella. 

Housing act

But the next tranche of big changes for the sector came in the early noughties with the 2004 Housing Act and the introduction of tenancy deposit protection which linked with ASTs and the ability to use Section 21 evictions. 

“I am proud to say that HF was at the centre of that big PRS reform in the mid noughties – without us and TDS and Barbon, I don’t think the sector would have been professionalised in the way it has,” says Hooker.

“I like to think that Hamilton Fraser has offered transparency, revolution and education to the sector to make it better for landlords and tenants.

“We have longevity and experience in the market and a real drive to try and help the landlord community be more respected.

“Looking forward, we will still have a big role to play in the sector including lifetime deposits, landlord redress, the regulation of estate agents and also referencing and identity checking.

“I think we’ve got a very good future ahead of us because we know what’s coming down the track and we’re preparing and guiding and helping government formulate that.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – ‘Happy birthday buy-to-let – it’s been a 25-year long roller-coaster ride’ | LandlordZONE.

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CEO of Landlord Sales Agency explains why there’s just three months left to sell your property portfolios and HMOs at record high prices before Christmas

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Over the last few months, landlords across the country have been contacting us at The Landlord Sales Agency to sell their HMO’s and portfolios, and there’s good reason. This last two years since the lockdown, house prices shot up to market highs that happen only once every 7 years

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BBC: Covid eviction rules allowed ‘terrible tenants to stay put’ costing landlords thousands

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The BBC has claimed that the Covid possession restrictions due to end  tomorrow have enabled a lot of ‘terrible tenants who otherwise might have been evicted to stay put’.

Its Radio 4 You and Yours programme featured a landlord called Graham who is now owed £13,000 in rent arrears after his tenant reduced and then delayed her rent payments as soon as the more relaxed approach to evictions was introduced by the government 18 months ago.

He related the psychological stress of not knowing whether he was going to get any income at all as his tenant refused to communicate about her arrears.

The most troubling of the Covid measures in England was to require landlords and letting agent to give six months’ notice before issuing an eviction notice, with exceptions only given for extreme rent arrears and anti-social behaviour.

This six-month rule will now revert to the pre-Covid two months’ notice, something evictions expert Paul Shamplina, who was interviewed during the Your and Yours programme, reckons will prompt a surge of new eviction attempts by landlords in the coming weeks.

Evictions surge

He told the programme, which also interviewed a tenant facing eviction over £1,000 rent arrears, that evictions were already up by 43% year-on-year at his firm Landlord Action.

Shamplina also told the programme that many landlords had worked with tenants and offered either rent deferrals or reductions.

“Evicting a tenant should be a measure of last resort – a good tenant rarely turns into a bad one overnight,” said Shamplina.
But he said that, during his 30 years working with landlords and letting agents, he’s never seen rent arrears levels as high as they are at the moment.

“We have one case where a landlord is owed £144,000 in rent arrears, and many of our landlord clients are owed 12 months’ rent arrears with little prospect of getting that money back,” he added.

“Smaller portfolio landlords can’t be tenant ‘banks’ forever; at some point they have to cut their losses and find a new person who can pay the rent.”

Peter Tutton from debt charity StepChange (pictured) was also on the programme, said that his organisation had not seen the spike in rent arrears that other organisations predicted, but that nevertheless there is huge financial pressure on many households, the 200,000 at risk of losing their homes.

Listen to the programme.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BBC: Covid eviction rules allowed ‘terrible tenants to stay put’ costing landlords thousands | LandlordZONE.

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INTERVEW: ‘Amateur landlords leaving is a chance to professionalise the sector’

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An ambivalent government and increasing red tape are prompting landlords to sell up – but the result could be a more professional sector, according to property expert and TV presenter Richard Blanco (pictured).

He points to the stamp duty holiday as another cause for the exodus but believes frustration around local authorities’ sweeping powers and the hoops that landlords must jump through is sometimes the final straw.

“Bewildering legislation including Article 4 directions and more licensing schemes are driving us bonkers,” he tells LandlordZONE.

“Councils go through the charade of consultation, and landlords either get angry or are just resigned to it. I’ve given up trying to campaign against them.”

Blanco says he has learned to be pragmatic and that while regulations have piled up, as a professional landlord, he just carries on as normal.

Professional landlords

“Maybe if some of the landlords who own one or two properties, the accidental landlords, leave the market it will leave more territory for the professional landlords,” he suggests.

The NRLA regional rep, who has a large portfolio across London, says while politicians don’t seem to care about landlords, the current government is neither helpful or unhelpful, and he’s hopeful new Housing Secretary Michael Gove might be less enthusiastic about pushing through the promised Renters’ Reform Bill.

However, Blanco insists he doesn’t want to be too gloomy and reckons many landlords are sitting on lots of capital growth; he’s holding onto his stock and starting to pay down some debt and advises that with rising house prices, savvy landlords need to time their purchases – and that now is not a great time to buy.

He adds: “For those of us running a professional business there’s lots to be optimistic about. We’ve still got low interest rates and they might not go up for another year.

“Rental prices and demand are recovering even in prime central London, and the worry that Brexit would affect the market doesn’t seem to have transpired, with people still arriving and looking for properties, such as those from Hong Kong and Afghanistan.”

Listen to the Richard Blanco Inside Property podcast.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – INTERVEW: ‘Amateur landlords leaving is a chance to professionalise the sector’ | LandlordZONE.

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How to save money and time when finding tenants

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Landlords who want to find tenants to rent their properties either end up spending large amounts of time, effort, or money – or all three.

But there are other options. So here are some choice tips for any landlord struggling to fill properties quickly and affordably.

Build an online presence

It may be tempting to just instruct a high street letting agency.

While this has proven beneficial time and time again it can also be expensive and, while one benefit is that agents can advertise properties both online and in their branch windows, it’s easy and inexpensive to achieve the same results yourself.

By utilising social media such as Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, you can attract and network new tenants without spending a penny.

Even starting a blog can work wonders for attracting tenants, who are much more likely to empathise with someone they know. Also, promoting yourself and your properties on social media is a great way to personalise your brand, making it more alluring and trustworthy.

It’s more intimidating to approach someone you know nothing about, after all. Also, being readily available via social media IM services means you’re less likely to miss out on prospective tenants! This benefit goes both ways, of course. For example, if someone responds to your property listing from a social media account, you can learn a little about them too.

For example, if someone responds from a blank profile with no name and information, it’s more likely to be a bot or fake account and therefore: a waste of time. If someone responds from a lively profile, it’s more likely to be genuine.

This can help massively to cut back on wasted time. You’ll be far less likely to entertain dummy offers and can focus on authentic hopeful tenants.

Align with an online platform

Clooper is one of several online platforms that come to mind. Clooper is a platform that connects landlords with prospective tenants. Clooper also automatically advertises your property on other platforms, such as Zoopla and Rightmove, for no additional charge.

You pay as you go, so if there are no prospective tenants, there is no fee!

Their developers have worked hard to match tenants from their existing tenant pool to your listings. Simply sign up, and let them do the rest. Clooper also allows you to keep your autonomy! You choose who to rent to, who to message, and are ultimately in charge throughout the process. Clooper is only there to help; to save you time and, of course, money.

Go paperless

As technology marches on, we march to keep up with it. Left-right and centre, successful businesses and brands are dropping the need for paper. However, being a landlord is a job that comes with its fair share of paperwork and responsibility. Efficiency is key to cut out excess time and focus on growth and attracting tenants. Paper checks are a big drag in this aspect.

You must keep them manually organised, ensure you don’t lose anything, worry about them getting lost in the post and more issues. Young professionals and students also may not be too keen on paper checks, preferring online, as they’ve grown up in a paperless world. This may result in you losing prospective clients.

It can be disconcerting to make payments online, however, as it does come with its risks if not done properly.

Fortunately, our previously mentioned partner Clooper could help, as they are one such platform that offers online payments. All payments are processed through a secure payment provider, meaning that your card or bank details, payments and backs transactions are processed with stringent security and care.

You can rest easy knowing your finances are in safe hands, all while saving time and keeping young clientele engaged by simply ditching paper.

Value your tenants

To summarise: attracting tenants is one thing, keeping them is another.

The most successful landlords do everything they can to supply tenants with what they need.

For example, if tenants have to constantly ask you to fix things in the property and you ignore them, you’re shooting yourself in both feet.

One, tenants will lose faith in you. Two, ignoring their concerns could lead to disasters, as with our earlier point about scheduling regular inspections. A tiny little water leak could be a mass of black mould if it is allowed to spread and fester. This could mean that these tenants would leave, and now you’re sitting with damaged empty property in your hands. Such a disaster would cost you time and money.

Satisfied tenants are also more likely to recommend you. If one of their friends is looking for a new home and you have one available, they could be directed to you by a loyal tenant.

A tenant that you trust can refer further trustworthy tenants, keeping your network fresh and full of reputable people. Uncaring and aloof landlords do not inspire loyalty.

Similarly, nightmare tenants don’t inspire reputable landlords to rent to them! Having a secure network of trusted individuals is greatly cost-effective in reducing your time spend networking for tenants and saving money running multiple advertisements for new tenants.

Contact Clooper today by leaving them a message here.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – How to save money and time when finding tenants | LandlordZONE.

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Annual house price growth remains in double figures

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The Nationwide House Price Index for September shows annual house price growth has eased back to 10.0%, from 11.0% in August with prices little changed month-on-month, after taking account of seasonal factors.

Wales and Northern Ireland were the strongest performing regions in the third quarter

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