LATEST: Help solve shortfall in rented homes with disabled facilities, landlords told

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The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has called for greater cooperation between landlords and local authorities to resolve the urgent need for more adapted private rented accommodation. 

It wants councils to give landlords more information about disabled facilities grants and says while 14.8% of people with disabilities live in the private rented sector, only 8% of these grants go to private renters.

NRLA research found 79% of landlords had no knowledge of the grants but that after finding out more, 68% were more willing to adapt their properties.  

The NRLA believes local government should take the lead on the increasingly important issue by taking practical action now, before the UK’s adaptation challenges become even more acute. 

According to Social Market Foundation research, the number of private rented sector households headed by someone aged 65+ is set to double by 2046. 

Tenancy options

The NRLA’s new report – Adapting the Private Rented Sector – explains that it would be in everyone’s interest for responsible tenants to have longer tenancies and for landlords to outline their willingness to provide a variety of tenancy options.

“It is our experience that landlords would be keen to facilitate such tenants, which would be to the benefit of disabled, older and vulnerable tenants looking for stability in the PRS.”

Meera Chindooroy, NRLA deputy director, campaigns, public affairs & policy, says there has been a lack of engagement with landlords on the issue. She adds: “The acute problems facing those with accessibility needs requires urgent attention and it is imperative that steps are taken now to ensure that a challenge doesn’t become a crisis for the sector.” 

The NRLA has now launched its new guidance to support landlords in better managing tenant requests for home adaptations.

This explains: “A common concern and misunderstanding is that adaptations look institutional and medical, affecting how desirable the property is for renters. In fact, adaptations can be carried out in an ‘inclusive’, attractive, contemporary way and can be a positive feature, including increasing the potential marketability.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Help solve shortfall in rented homes with disabled facilities, landlords told | LandlordZONE.

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TOM’S VIEW: Covid has changed where people want to live and work

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As the work from home or office debate continues, many bosses are scratching their heads, wondering how they will entice workers back to their offices, and the outcome will have knock on effects for both commercial and residential landlords.

Commercial landlords are still pondering on how the pandemic and its after effects will affect the demand for commercial space. We’ve already seen its dramatic affect on retail space, with home deliveries driving many retailers on-line, some giving up on their high street presence entirely.

For residential landlords, there will almost certainly be change: change in demand patterns both in the type of properties required and the changes in demand across locations.

Although some business leaders with large offices and thousands of office-based employees have come out stating they will revert back to normal working, Goldman Sachs is one example, it would seem that by far the majority have accepted that work patterns will never be the same again.

Many of these are already working on their spaces, preparing them for a return to the office that will be much different from before. For example, in many offices the big desk will be gone forever, with break-out spaces, conference and meeting spaces, training facilities and even sleeping pods becoming the new norm for the office.

Tom Roberts of L&G Investment Management says that people might not need such big desks, but require more spaces to be able to breakout and collaborate.

Pandemic acceleration

“For me the concept that you go to work to get your head down, is something that will change quite significantly in the coming years, and again be accelerated by the pandemic,” he adds.

“When you need to talk to people and have meetings, that’s when you need to be in the office for that interaction where you can share ideas. So I think there will be a flexible approach going forward and many employees will adopt it.

“If you are facing one of those days to write and various sets of numbers to go through, the reality, in my opinion, is that you are better doing that at home, providing you have the space and the environment to do so, where you can get your head down and concentrate without distraction.”

Of course, this style of working will not suite everyone or every type of occupation, but there’s a significant number that will be in this category, and that last point Mr Roberts makes has big implications for residential landlords in the future.

Providing suitable space becomes an issue. Working on the kitchen table or in a bedroom is no longer an option for long-term comfortable living. Separate and peaceful workspaces, free from family background sounds, whether this is a completely separate study/office in the property or a garage / garden shed office, will become major attractions for many renters.

The changes will also have implications for where rental properties are located. If people are in the offices for just two or three days per week, then longer commutes become acceptable. 

City exodus

Overnight stays in the cities, where workers are commuting long distances, will have implications for transport authorities, hotel operators, and Airbnb style short-let landlords.  At the same time, the exodus from the cities to the suburbs, and even the rural countryside, will affect the demand patterns for rental property.

Commuter belts around our major cities could easily double in size as workers adapt to longer commutes and long-term hybrid working, allowing millions to dramatically change their lifestyles from city living to everyone’s dream of the rural idyll.

Commuting to a big city just two or three days a week will make it feasible to live on the coast, near the lakes, near other national parks, without adding overmuch to the hours already spent on the roads in a car or on the public transport commute.

Landlords need to think very carefully about how these likely trends will pan out in reality when considering new investments, or adapting their current properties to home-friendly working.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – TOM’S VIEW: Covid has changed where people want to live and work | LandlordZONE.

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Landlords, lettings and deposits – expert advice from Hamilton Fraser Podcast – Landlords, agents and tenants survey the sector (2021)

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Eddie Hooker, CEO of Hamilton Fraser, Paul Shamplina, Founder of Landlord Action. Special guests Matt Hooker and Nick Hamatsos, Co-founders of deposit replacement membership scheme, Ome

Hamilton Fraser’s Property Podcast, ‘Landlords, lettings and deposits’ returns for the first episode of the year. Each episode offers landlords expert property advice on key industry topics across the private rented sector.

A year on from their first appearance on the podcast, Eddie Hooker, CEO of award winning Hamilton Fraser Total Landlord Insurance and Paul Shamplina, Founder of Landlord Action and Brand Ambassador at Hamilton Fraser, are joined by Matt Hooker and Nick Hamatsos, Co-founders of deposit replacement membership scheme, Ome. They explain the trials and tribulations of launching a new product during a global pandemic, and how landlords, agents and tenants are responding to a new deposit model in the market.

Matt and Nick also discuss the incredible insights gained from over 14,200 landlords, agents and tenants throughout the UK in the recently released co-branded private rented sector sentiment survey between Ome and traditional deposit protection scheme, mydeposits. Investigating topics such as self-management, landlord/tenant relationships, government support and perceived rental value, amongst other questions, the responses paint a largely positive picture for the future of the sector.

Eddie, Paul, Matt and Nick also give their opinions on what further private rented sector innovation could look like, and how this would impact landlords, agents and their tenants.

This year Eddie’s closing question encourages guests to delve deeper into what the future holds for the buy to let sector and asks, ‘What is unusual in the PRS now that will be commonplace by 2030?’ Their thought-provoking answers help to remind us that with a new year come new opportunities.

Don’t forget to listen out for brand new episodes of Hamilton Fraser’s Property Podcast with new special industry guests every episode!

Missed the previous podcasts in the series? Don’t worry, you can catch up with industry news here!

Previous guests include:

• Daniel Lee, Mortgage Broker at Total Landlord Mortgages
• Steve Bowen, Mediator at the Property Redress Scheme and experienced landlord
• Jonathan Schuman, established portfolio landlord and Owner of Magnet Properties
• Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA)
• Matt Hooker and Nick Hamatsos, Co-Founders of Ome, a new breed of deposit replacement scheme
• Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the Property Redress Scheme
• Kate Faulkner, market analyst, commentator and co-author of ‘The Landlord’s Friend’
• Tessa Shepperson, residential property lawyer and Managing Director of Landlord Law

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlords, lettings and deposits – expert advice from Hamilton Fraser Podcast – Landlords, agents and tenants survey the sector (2021) | LandlordZONE.

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BREAKING: Ministry of Justice consults on increasing some court fees for landlords

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The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is planning to increase the fees it charges landlords to obtain warrants in order to evict, both for county courts and the High Court.

Warrants are the legal permission required for a landlord to physically evict a tenant after a Section 21 or Section 8 notice has been granted by a court.

These additional fees are to be put through a consultation and are part of an across-the-board increase in court costs after a five-year pause in rises.

Landlords will now have to pay £130 for each county court warrant of possession, which is the legal paperwork needed to begin a bailiff eviction, up from £121.

Those using the quicker High Court route who wish to seal a write of control will be charged £71, up from £66.

These measures, along with the other increases in fees, are expected to raise between £11 and £17 million a year for Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).

Possession fees freeze

But landlords will be relieved to know that the more substantial possession claim fees, which range from £325 to £480 depending on the type and manner of eviction, are to remain the same.

“The proposal is limited to fees which are under-recovering compared to the estimated cost of the service and to fees which are enhanced, meaning they can legally be set above the cost of service,” the MoJ consultation says.

Responses to the consultation are required by the 17^th May and can be submitted via an online survey using the link above, via email or by post to: Fees Policy Team, Ministry of Justice, 102 Petty France, London SW1H 9AJ.

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Membership Renewal – Why would I?

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Today I received a renewal reminder from NRLA. Although it is true, when I was a new Landlord I found the original NLA useful and supportive, I do not feel they represent the Landlords any longer. Where is their voice for us?

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Free Lockdown Learning – 10 tips for dealing with telephone and video hearings

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Our next webinar is with housing barrister Robert Brown.

In this webinar, Robert will be looking at ten tips for landlords for dealing with telephone and video hearings.

Bearing in mind that failure to license properties can result in very severe penalties.

The post Free Lockdown Learning – 10 tips for dealing with telephone and video hearings appeared first on Property118.

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EXCLUSIVE: First modular rented homes built at pioneering pilot site

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The first new modular rented homes backed by the government’s housing agency Homes England have been craned into place in the UK’s next new town.

Global housebuilder Sekisui House has joined forces with the agency’s property developer Urban Splash to supply 406 Modern Method of Construction (MMC) town houses at Northstowe near Cambridge.

The homes are created in an East Midlands factory before being driven to the site where they are assembled in only a few days.

Each takes about 67% less energy to construct compared with traditional builds and contain energy-saving features such as high-quality insulation, super energy-efficient windows and LED lighting, hot water cylinder with integrated airforce heat pump and clean, emission-free electric heating.

Andrew Cross (pictured below), project lead for house by Urban Splash at Northstowe, says: “By the time the homes arrive on-site for finishing touches a lot of the major groundworks and messy work has been completed.

“The homes are also delivered in batches of around six to nine homes, so we can also complete a street scene much quicker for when homeowners start to arrive and occupy their new home.”

The new ‘urban village’ will offer a mix of homes for sale and rent, from two and three-storey town houses to starter homes, mansion house apartments and later living facilities, and should be completed by the end of 2021.

Homes England aims to support smaller housebuilders and developers adopt MMC to increase the pace of construction, improve quality and energy efficiency and create a more diverse housing sector.

Inholm is one of a number of sites that will form part of its study into the performance of different types of MMC construction technologies.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – EXCLUSIVE: First modular rented homes built at pioneering pilot site | LandlordZONE.

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Appalling rogue landlord with shameful track record sentenced AGAIN!

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A rogue landlord who’s served time in prison for harassing tenants has been convicted of risking more tenants’ lives in three substandard and dangerous HMOs.

Despite this Nilendu Das, of Carter Knowle Avenue, Sheffield, has been given just a community order to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £7,000 in fines and court costs after admitting six offences.

The court heard these put tenants at serious harm from fire and exposed them to substandard and dangerous conditions at their homes in Sackville Road (pictured), Neill Road and Cemetery Avenue.

Previous prison sentence

Das has previously been jailed for tenant harassment, failure to comply with improvement notices and poor management of an HMO. He also has health and safety convictions – leading many local landlords to wonder how low a landlord needs to go before being banned from the sector.

Sheffield Magistrates’ Court heard that housing officers investigating complaints between December 2018 and March 2020 uncovered conditions related to gross neglect and hazards caused by disrepair.

They found inadequate fire detection and heating systems, damaged fire doors, serious damp, unsafe electrics (pictured) including bypassed electricity meters and rat infestations – all of which left occupants vulnerable to serious risk of harm from fire and infection.

Unfit to live in

One property was in such a poor state they served a prohibition order, declaring it unfit to live in.

When officers returned the following month, they discovered tenants had been allowed to continue living there and that the necessary work hadn’t been done.

As well as the fines and costs, Das was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a requirement that he completes 150 hours of unpaid work.

Councillor Paul Wood (pictured), cabinet member for neighbourhoods and community safety, says: “Mr Das shows a blatant disregard for the law and in doing so, puts the lives of his tenants at risk. We have given him very reasonable timescales to complete work but these have been ignored, leaving us no other choice than to pursue action through the courts.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Appalling rogue landlord with shameful track record sentenced AGAIN! | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: Liverpool green lights huge HMO licensing expansion plan

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Liverpool City Council has clamped down on HMO conversions as it launches a new assault on the private rented sector.

Under a new Article 4 direction, any size home in the city centre will need planning permission to be converted into an HMO from 17^th June.

Currently, only conversions of family houses into seven bedrooms and above need planning permission.

During the past decade, Liverpool has seen a big rise in HMOs which the council believes threaten the housing offer in the city for families and cause parking, anti-social behaviour and waste collection issues in some neighbourhoods.

The new direction applies to Anfield, Central, Greenbank, Kensington And Fairfield, Picton, Princess Park, Riverside, Tuebrook And Stoneycroft and Wavertree.

This isn’t the first time the council has gone down this route; in 2018, it implemented a similar direction in the Dales area of Greenbank Ward, in south Liverpool.

Selective push

It’s now preparing a new application for its selective licensing scheme after Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick thwarted its attempts early last year to renew the controversial scheme until 2025.

It decided not to launch a judicial review and instead came up with a new bid that covers about 80% of the 55,000 privately rented properties in 16 of the city’s 30 wards.

Councillor Barry Kushner (pictured), cabinet member for housing, says: “Changing the planning rules by introducing controls under Article 4 will not just protect the wellbeing of the people who live in these communities, it will also help protect the balance of our housing offer – which, in some areas, is close to a dangerous tipping point of being dominated by one-bedroom bedsits.”

Kushner adds that it also listened to landlords who were concerned about the effect on ongoing conversions during the pandemic and decided to extend the period before the direction takes effect in June.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Liverpool green lights huge HMO licensing expansion plan | LandlordZONE.

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BREAKING: EPCs and Green Homes Grant savaged by MPs in official report

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A key parliamentary committee has published a blistering criticism of the government’s attempts to de-carbonise England’s homes including its three million rented properties, and called for a  major overhaul of the EPC ratings system.

The Environment Audit Committee does not mince it words with the 75-page report and is all the more powerful because the committee has a majority of Conservative MPs making up its ranks.

The report says the government’s actions to decarbonise the UK’s 29 million homes have stalled and that Ministers have ‘seriously underestimated’ how much decarbonising them will cost and needs to ‘get a grip now before it is too late’.

It also criticises the already much-maligned Green Homes Grant, which the MPs say has been poorly implemented and beset by administrative problems and delay, including leaving many builders out of pocket.

The government has also underestimated the huge retrofit skills gap in the UK which has left many landlords waiting months for quotes or work to start, the report adds.

Piecemeal and not delivering

“While there are some welcome new policies such as the Home Upgrade Grant, overall policy is piecemeal and not delivering at the scale or pace required,” it says.

“It is also not coherent with policy costs disproportionately added to electricity bills, which is hampering the adoption of low carbon heating options such as heat pumps and support schemes such as the Energy Company Obligation, which only supports the upgrade of one energy efficiency measure at a time.

The document also criticises EPCs for being too inaccurate and calls for more meaningful detail to published within them, and for EPCs to be replaced by a building renovation passport for both home owners and landlords.

It also notes that the current EPC regime unfairly forces landlords to pay for all the upgrade work that ultimately benefits tenants not the property’s owner, and that enforcement of EPC regulations is poor.

Read the report in full.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: EPCs and Green Homes Grant savaged by MPs in official report | LandlordZONE.

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