Time to create a Renting Minister, leading build-to-rent figure tells Boris

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Leading build-to-rent portal LovetoRent says a new ‘minister for renting’ would improve tenants’ conditions and raise landlords’ game.

Founder and CEO Anne-Marie Brown (pictured, above) believes that it’s currently overseen by the same housing minister – with a focus on increasing rates of home-ownership – this can be to the detriment of the rented market.

In a letter to Boris Johnson, she and other build-to-rent players including Arcadis, Folio and Hera, explain that the formal appointment would oversee and raise standards for millions of people currently in rental accommodation, much of which is not fit for purpose.

“It would enforce standards on landlords who do not comply and encourage and play a part in the growing build-to-rent sector which has the ability to improve lives for the future,” says Brown.

Rental dominance

They point out that build-to-rent is soon expected to be worth £550 billion, while the percentage of the population living in private rented accommodation is projected to rise to just under 40% by 2025, overtaking owner-occupiers for the first time.

“As the number of people renting rises and the profile of renters changes, with more families and older people choosing to rent, we need to refocus the agenda, placing more emphasis on improving conditions for renters, including holding landlords to account for poor performance, and promoting longer more secure tenancies,” says Brown.

Richard Jones, head of residential and regeneration at planning and design giant Arcadis, adds: “The Government should recognise that providing appropriate places to live should be their focus with the growing rental market being a key element, not just home ownership.”

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Covid Stories: How the pandemic has changed everything for 1,400 eastern landlords

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Members of the Norwich-based Eastern Landlords Association (ELA) have ended up doing repairs and even building work themselves after struggling to get materials and qualified tradespeople during the pandemic.

Chairman Charles Clarke (pictured) has had to do some of his own property maintenance this year while another director has ended up working on a planned extension himself because there was no one available.

“We need more skilled people,” he tells LandlordZONE. “Covid has made a bad situation much worse, while there’s also the problem of tenants isolating because landlords still need to get repairs done or send gas repair people into properties.”

Rent difficulties

He reckons up to 40% of the ELA’s 1,400 members have been affected by tenants in difficulty paying rent, and while many have come to an agreement about payment terms, others are frustrated about the evictions ban.

Its helpline currently gets three or four members a week contacting it for help and advice, often about arrears or evictions. “One member is dealing with a tenant who hasn’t paid rent for nearly two years,” says Clarke.

“You do hear some plausible excuses but there’s definitely a climate of young people living today and paying tomorrow which makes the situation worse. It’s a very difficult time as you don’t know which of your tenants will get into financial difficulty.”

Student caution

Another Covid-related change he’s seen is that landlords are more cautious when it comes to student lets and now ask for a guarantor when they might not have bothered before.

He admits that this year has left some members feeling despondent, while there’s a general mood of resignation.

Adds Clarke: “The Government has done nothing to help landlords, on the back of ending mortgage tax relief and absorbing extra costs from safety checks it feels like they’re trying to get money out of us in any way possible, despite the fact we’re fulfilling a social need. Some members are now selling up because of all the hassle.”

The ELA includes landlords with properties in Norfolk, Suffolk and East Anglia.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Covid Stories: How the pandemic has changed everything for 1,400 eastern landlords | LandlordZONE.

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Latest tier restrictions are a pretty blatant attack on less wealthy areas of the country

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Research by estate agent, Barrows and Forrester, has revealed the average cost of buying a home across the current Covid tier rankings.  The government revealed which tiers each part of England would be placed in at the back end of last week

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LATEST: Landlords call for national conciliation service for evictions

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Landlords have called on the Ministers to introduce a new ‘conciliation service’ as the government prepares to legislate banning Section 21 notice evictions within its Renters’ Reform Bill.

This major change to the way landlords can move to evict tenants will see ‘no fault’ evictions removed from the statute and instead a modified Section 8 notice process introduced.

“The plans outline clear and comprehensive grounds upon which landlords should be able to regain possession of their properties,” the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) says. “This includes cases of tenant rent arrears, anti-social behaviour and situations where landlords want to sell a property.”

But the NRLA is urging the government to consider, where possession notices are challenged, a publicly-funded conciliation service, similar to the employment dispute body, ACAS.

Disagreements

This would seek to resolve disagreements between landlords and tenants without the stress and costs associated with going to court.

“Whilst more serious cases, such as those related to criminal activity by a tenant, would need to go straight to court, most could be considered by the conciliation service,” the NRLA proposes.

“This would help the tenant and landlord to reach an agreement to keep the tenancy going or bring it to an end in a way that works for both parties.

“Where landlords fail to abide by the terms of the agreement, they would be banned from being able to re-possess the property using the same ground for six months. Where renters did so, the case would be fast tracked through the courts.”

Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, “We hope that ministers will accept our proposals and act on them soon.”

Several mediation services already exist, including most recently one set up by the Property Redress Scheme.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Landlords call for national conciliation service for evictions | LandlordZONE.

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Calls on government for a new landlord and tenant conciliation service

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Private landlords are calling on the Government to establish a new landlord and tenant conciliation service as part of its planned changes to the private rented sector.

The call, being made by the National Residential Landlords Association, comes as it publishes its proposals for the Renters’ Reform Bill.

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mydeposits and Ome launch new sentiment survey

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Next week, government authorised deposit scheme mydeposits and their partners, deposit replacement scheme Ome, are launching the first in a series of quarterly surveys to reveal rental market sentiment.

It has undoubtedly been a period of uncertainty for those living and working within the rental sector. The coronavirus pandemic, legislative changes, job losses, pay cuts, eviction bans, and movement restrictions have all taken their toll on the industry; so mydeposits and Ome have joined together to better understand and explore current public sentiment in the sector as 2020 comes to a close.

Government authorised deposit scheme, mydeposits, part of the Hamilton Fraser family, has been protecting tenants’ deposits since 2007 and has been committed to raising industry standards from the outset. Whilst newcomer, Ome, was launched amid a diversifying rental sector in early 2020, in order to offer renters greater choice and flexibility when it comes to their deposit options.

Aimed at garnering information from a wide range of stakeholders within the rental market, the results of the survey will be used to inform future decisions for both brands.

The first of these joint quarterly surveys will be launched online on 7 December 2020 and will run until 22 December, with the results being shared in January 2021.

Agents, landlords and tenants who participate in the survey will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win one of two £50 John Lewis gift cards.

Matthew Hooker, Co-founder of Ome(pictured), comments: “We are delighted to join forces with our partner, mydeposits, to launch the first of many joint surveys.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and its ramifications, this year has been tough for everyone in the rental sector.

At Ome, we place a lot of value on public opinion and we wanted to hear the thoughts and voices of those within the rental market.

This survey is aimed at tenants, landlords and agents and we want to know how they might have been affected by this year’s events. By collating this information, we hope to be able to tailor and enhance our services and, to improve our customers’ experience looking towards 2021.

We hope to reach landlords, agents and tenants from far and wide to gather some interesting and insightful results to share with you in the new year.

Follow @OmeHQ on Twitter to stay up to date with all our updates and to complete the survey and enter the competition when it goes live.”

Suzy Hershman, Head of Dispute Resolution at mydeposits (left), adds: “This joint survey by mydeposits and Ome will hopefully be the first of many which aim to get a deeper understanding into a wide range of perspectives on the private rented sector.

This year has been full of uncertainty for landlords and tenants alike due to COVID-19 with ever-changing changing legislation and widespread pay cuts, furlough and unemployment. It will be really interesting to learn more about how everyone has been affected and how they feel about the changes within the sector as a whole.”

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Contract with a Housing Association – Just where is the info?

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I am in the process of leasing my property with a Housing Association (HA) who will be using it as a 6 x single person HMO. I have lots of questions!

Do they themselves have a regulatory body that oversee them?

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New Code of Practice for fair rent reviews in Scottish agriculture

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Farm rent reviews can be tricky and they are often acrimonious, so this new code of practice from Scotland’s tenant farming commissioner Bob McIntosh has be largely welcomed as it tackles the thorny issues involved.

The Scottish Land Commission says the new rent review code of practice is designed to help tenants and landlords reach agreement as quickly and economically as possible in a transparent and objective way; it steers landlords away from taking a “take it or leave it” approach.

Codes of practice such as this one are intended to encourage and promote good practice in the conduct of landlord/tenant relationships and they try to cover all the main sticking points, including such issues as late payment of rent, sporting rights and agreeing and recording tenant’s improvements.

Taking into account the latest legislation, this code will provide a framework for the procedures and proscribed behaviours which will form the basis for constructive dialogue and a consistent and transparent approach to negotiations. Landlords and tenants, and their appointed agents, will be expected to abide by the codes – even though they are not legally binding – as they have been produced in consultation with all the main representative organisations.

The code sets out the key principles that should support a rent review; if you like its a simple checklist for the relevant factors involved and that should be considered, and also those that can be safely disregarded; it offers guidelines on how to initiate and conduct a rent review; outlines a suggested timetable for negotiations; and gives details on the sources of evidence that should be used to support a review.

The code also has suggestions on how to resolve disagreements and disputes between the parties and how to go about making a complaint if the code is breached.

Mr McIntosh from the Scottish Land Commission says that the aim of a rent review is to determine the rent at which the holding might reasonably be expected to be let in the open market by a willing landlord to a willing tenant after taking account of or disregarding certain factors.

Mr McIntosh says:

“The new code offers a series of practical steps to follow, to ensure rent reviews are evidence-based and conducted fairly to reach an outcome that’s reasonable to both parties.

“If rent reviews are not handled appropriately they can become a source of dispute and disagreement, and can even permanently sour the relationship between landlord and tenant.

“At the end of the day, the aim is to determine the rent at which the holding might reasonably be expected to be let in the open market by a willing landlord to a willing tenant after taking account of certain factors.”

The code has been welcomed by NFU Scotland, but the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association (STFA) thinks it stops short of it’s desire of a revitalised review system incorporated into the Land Reform Act, with the intention to replace the market driven formula for determining rents with one based on the productive capacity of the farm.

STFA chairman Christopher Nicholson has said:

“We are very disappointed the Scottish Government decided not to proceed with implementing changes to the rent test.

“We remain adamant that continuing with the status quo cannot be an option.

“We welcome Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewing’s commitment to continuing with the quest to redesign a new rent test and Bob McIntosh’s new code of practice which not only details the rent review process to be followed, but also emphasises key principles in rent negotiations which are so often conveniently forgotten, especially by landlords’ agents.”

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Khan warns of Right to Rent ‘car crash’ unless government acts

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Europeans living in the UK could face discrimination from landlords unless the Government funds advice and outreach services, warns London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

European citizens have until 30th June 2021 to apply to the EU settlement scheme, but Khan fears once tougher immigration rules come in from 1st January there will still be huge uncertainty.

He blames a lack of clarity from ministers who haven’t explained how someone already resident in the UK will be able to prove their right to live, rent and work here without having obtained status by 31^st December.

Khan believes many older and more vulnerable Europeans don’t know how to access or prove their eligibility for their right to rent.

A survey has shown that while 603,000 European Londoners don’t have five years’ continuous residence and need to convert their temporary pre-settled status to settled status in the coming years, the majority don’t know when and how to do this. 

Time running out

The Mayor says with a month to go until the end of the transition period, time is running out for European Londoners.

He tells them: “Make sure that you and all your eligible family and friends have applied to the settlement scheme before Christmas. If not, I fear you could be a victim of discrimination – from a landlord, a potential employer or anyone else who fails to distinguish between your rights and those of people arriving under the tougher immigration rules starting from January.”

The new Right to Rent online checking service – launched last week – involves a prospective tenant giving permission to the landlord to view their Home Office immigration record by providing a ‘share code’ and has long been criticised for causing headaches for landlords.

Latest Home Office figures show that there were 60,300 outstanding applications for the EU settlement scheme being processed in London, showing the importance of submitting applications well in advance of the deadline.

Read more about latest Right to Rent changes.

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LATEST: Green Homes Grants dogged by weak landlord demand, teething troubles and scarce tradespeople

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An investigation by LandlordZONE into the Green Homes Grant has highlighted clear teething problems at the scheme as its struggles to recruit enough approved tradespeople, who are already busy, tech glitches within the official website and so far only 6,000 applications from landlords for vouchers.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) tells LandlordZONE that it’s had 47,000 applications for vouchers, with more issued daily, including landlords. At launch it was announced that 600,000 vouchers were available – therefore there has only been an 8% pick-up so far.

Too complex

Some landlords and home-owners have been told by double-glazing fitters that the scheme is too complex and costly in the busy run-up to Christmas, leaving them with a voucher but no workmen.

Under the £2 billion scheme, they can claim up to two-thirds of a property’s green refurbishment cost with a ceiling of £5,000 per rented home.

But all tradespeople must register with TrustMark and while there were 1,000 registered installers just before it launched, only another 200 have registered since then.

Teething troubles

Retrofit Academy Chief executive David Pierpoint says teething troubles due to software glitches on the Government site means property owners haven’t always been connected to the right tradespeople.

“The grant was launched in haste so it’s no surprise that there are gremlins in the system,” he tells LandlordZONE. “There also aren’t enough installers with the right accreditation, but this is really worth having.”

In the meantime, Pierpoint (pictured) urges landlords to be patient and points to the recent announcement of a year-long extension that gives them until 31^st March 2022 to get the work done.

“It would be worth them using some of the grant to get professional advice on the retrofit and get a plan in place before doing the work,” he adds.

Substantial capacity

A spokesman at the BEIS insists that more suppliers are registering every day, including many national businesses with substantial capacity to carry out work across the country. 

He adds: “We are actively working with TrustMark providers and certification bodies to support installers to get certified as quickly as possible. This includes streamlining certification processes where possible and halving the costs of accreditation for some PAS standards.”

Apply for a grant voucher.
Read more advice about the Green Homes Grant.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Green Homes Grants dogged by weak landlord demand, teething troubles and scarce tradespeople | LandlordZONE.

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