Will it happen again? 31% fewer private renters moved during lockdown months

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New tenancies fell by a third during lockdown according to new research by Ome, which has warned landlords and letting agents that a second wave of the pandemic could have a similar effect.

Using data from Government-approved deposit protection scheme mydeposits, it reveals that in the three-month period from March to May, 61,972 new tenancies were protected compared with the same period in 2019 which saw 81,055 new tenancies protected – a 31% drop.

The Coronavirus restrictions regulations were published on 26th March, stating that, ‘during the emergency period, no person may leave the place where they are living without reasonable excuse’. This meant that from the end of March, moving home was prohibited for many, and limits weren’t relaxed again until 18th May.

Ome co-founder Matthew Hooker (left) says that as we head into what looks like a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to reflect and learn from the initial spring period when the rental sector wasn’t immune from having to adapt to unprecedented changes.

“We now know far more about the virus and its wider impact on society and the economy than we did at first, however there is still likely to be a significant period of uncertainty and flexibility required for landlords, agents and their tenants,” says Hooker.

“We’d therefore urge tenants and landlords to start making contingency plans together for the winter just in ce the virus rears its head again over the festive period.”      

Visit the Ome website.

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Citizens advice calling for tenant loans and grants in tiers 2 and 3

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Citizens Advice is reporting on a series of gaps in protections in England that do not align with the coronavirus lockdown tiers and that in some areas, particularly rent and council tax, the lack of broad national protections could see people at risk of falling behind on vital bills.

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ONS UK House Price Index for August 2020 up 0.7%

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The office for National Statistics has released the UK House Price Index summary for August 2020 showing the average price of a property in the UK was now £239,196 reflecting an annual increase of 2.5% and a monthly increase for August of 0.7%

At the individual country level

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Landlords: please change your minds on pets, says friend of man who took his life after being refused

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The best friend of John Chadwick, who took his own life after being separated from his pets while being rehomed, is calling on landlords to be more accommodating when considering tenants with dogs and cats.

Dee Bonett has been campaigning for a change in the law since his death in 2017 and helped persuade Maidstone Council to allow homeless people to take pets with them into emergency accommodation.

In August, the borough went a step further by introducing a 12-month pilot scheme allowing those in emergency accommodation to refuse an offer of permanent accommodation if it doesn’t take pets.

And MP Andrew Rosindell mentioned John’s story in his speech in the Commons last week when launching the Dogs and Domestic Animals (Accommodation and Protection) Bill, which aims to give tenants the right to live with their pet – provided they can prove they are responsible and caring, with conditions including that owners pass the test of responsible ownership.

Dogs and cat

John was evicted from his home in Maidstone after his landlord decided to sell the property, so had to give up his dogs Theo and Tinkerbell and cat Gizmo as he wasn’t able to take the pets into temporary accommodation at a bed and breakfast.

He was also told he wouldn’t be allowed to take them into permanent accommodation offered by the council. Ten days later John sent a text message to friends saying he no longer wished to be alive before taking his own life.

At the inquest, the coroner said the loss of his animals was a key factor in this decision.

Dee started a petition to encourage more positive pet policies on change.org in 2017 which has more than 17,000 signatures and hopes this Bill will encourage other local councils to study their policies on pets.

She tells LandlordZONE: “I know that not every landlord is an animal lover but there’s no evidence to suggest that pets cause more damage than children. I’m optimistic that this Bill will create change – I don’t want to see a tragedy like this happening again.”

The Bill gets its second reading on 29^th January.

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Capital appreciation covering the costs of running a property

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Research from GetAgent.co.uk has found that nearly half of all properties pay for themselves when it comes to the average annual cost of upkeep and the increase in capital appreciation.

GetAgent.co.uk looked at each local authority in England and the total current upkeep costs of a property on an annual basis

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Absent freeholder since purchase in 2011 suddenly appears?

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I own a 1st floor top flat that I purchased in 2011 for renting purposes. The property is leasehold however there is no service charge or ground rent payable. The freeholder has been absent since I purchased the property and I have no contact details.

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Record £20,000 fine for shocking rogue landlord who ignored council for TWO DECADES

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A landlord has been put on the rogue landlord database after a council’s two-decade long campaign urging him to raise standards at his two HMOs proved unsuccessful.

The Banbury landlord, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was fined £20,000 for 54 problems discovered at the properties including a collapsing ceiling, fire safety breaches, and an abandoned car, during unannounced inspections by Cherwell Council’s housing standards team.

The gardens of both HMOs were overgrown, with blocked drains and contained piles of household and construction waste; at one property a car had been left unattended for four years despite repeated requests to remove it.

Inside, a poorly designed shower was causing the windowsill to rot and ceiling below to collapse, while broken windows and defective fire doors were found at the other house.

The council says the issues were detrimental to the quality of life for both occupants and neighbours and will slap a banning order on the landlord if he reoffends.

Councillor John Donaldson (left), lead member for housing, says it’s the highest fine it has ever imposed on a landlord.

“Over the last 20 years we have tried many informal and formal ways of trying to get this individual to bring their properties up to scratch,” says Donaldson.

“The sheer number of officer hours devoted to this is a big part of why the penalties now meted out have to be this severe.

“This is a very firm warning to any other rogue landlords out there that cutting corners will end up costing them in the end.”

Since Cherwell started issuing rogue landlords with fines in 2018, it has handed out more than £43,000 in penalties. In the summer, it announced that law-abiding landlords could save up to £600 for paying to get HMO licences on time.

Read more about rogue landlords.

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Property Pioneers: Meet the landlord who’s built his own property management app

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A landlord from Beaconsfield in Hertfordshire has today launched a self-financed property management app for portfolio landlords.

Richard Jackson, who owns and manages 17 properties, has launched AlphaLetz after several years of development which followed his inability to find a smartphone app for his size of portfolio.

The 55-year old former tech company worker says today’s launch is at a important juncture for landlords, who are facing rising letting agency costs and both financial and time-management squeezes from the taxman and burgeoning regulations.

“I think Covid is helping our cause too because people are looking at new ways to do business online and are getting fed up of using Excel spreadsheets and Quickbooks or whatever to run their properties,” he tells LandlordZONE.

“Our app puts all that in one place including rent payments, financials, regulatory updates, tenancy update notifications and documentation.”

There are many smartphone apps available to landlords, but Jacksons claims his experiences as an SME landlord gives his cloud-based platform the edge.

Thick and thin

“I have been a landlord for nearly 20 years so I’ve really been through the thick and thin of it,” he says.

“During the early years it was easy to manage properties, but as the portfolio grew and especially recently as the red tape has increased, I found it more difficult to do it manually – particularly doing tax returns.”

Jackson, who has now been a professional landlord since leaving the corporate world 18 months ago, initially built a prototype for his own use and then, by word of mouth, other landlords asked to get involved. He’s now spent a year developing the app with their input.

The app has been financed initially by Jackson and a landlord friend, although several investors have now come on board to fund its launch.

The service starts at £5 a month for up to two properties, £10 for three properties and then £1 a month for each additional one including a month’s free trial – the app’s ‘sweetspot’ is landlords with approximately four or five properties.

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Legal Issues – signing an agreement as a deed

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A tenancy agreement is just like any other contract, so as soon as both tenant and landlord have signed the agreement, it becomes a legally binding contract. However, contracts can also be made orally, but proof the contract actually exists can then become an issue – the famous Samuel Goldwyn quote applies here: “A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on”!

This article is based on English law and is not a definitive interpretation of the law, every case is different and only a court can decide; always seek expert advice before acting or not.

In practice, if proof were ever needed of the existence of an oral contract, it emanates from the actions of the parties, i.e: tenancy agreed and keys handed over, tenant moves in, rent received by landlord – contract exists.

Some contracts are required by law to be in writing. For example, contracts for the sale of land (conveyances of legal title) or to provide a guarantee, so there are two types of written contract under English law: (1) simple contracts, which can be made orally and do not need to be signed and witnessed as a deed, and (2) deeds.

Property conveyances must be in writing and signed as a deed by law, as must property leases for more than 3 years – s 52(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925. The lease agreement must make it clear that it is intended to be a deed, (2) that it is validly executed as a deed by signature and witnessed, and (3) it is delivered as a deed – served on or handed to the other party.

Most ASTs of course are for less than three years, so a simple contract either orally, or advisedly in writing, will do. They do not need a witness, though there’s no harm in having one and some would insist on it and for good reason, to prevent tenants from denying it’s their signature.

Under a simple contract each party has to provide “consideration” for it to be valid. Consideration, is the price paid by each party usually for the provision of goods or services by one party and the provision of value (usually money) by the other – landlord provides a roof over the tenant’s head, the tenant provides rent.

Agreements by deed do not require consideration in order for them to be legally binding. So, for example, an interest free loan between family members would need to be drafted in the form of a deed or it is likely to be unenforceable due to lack of consideration from one party.

In any UK jurisdiction an agreement need only be “signed as a deed and delivered” to be a deed. It simply requires those words and the signature of the person making the deed. The signature should be on the document itself in a space provided and the full name of the signatory along with a witness.

There is nothing to stop a simple contract being signed as a deed if you wish, and indeed there are some advantages as above.

Another difference between the two types of agreement is that a simple contract has a statutory limitation period (for taking legal action) of six years, whereas for deeds its twelve years.

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EXCLUSIVE: ‘I will answer landlord worries over Pets Bill’, MP tells LandlordZONE reader

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MP Andrew Rosindell has replied to a landlord who wrote to him outlining his worries over the proposed Dogs and Domestic Animals (Accommodation and Protection) Bill.

As we reported last Thursday, Rosindell gained cross-party support for his parliamentary bill, which will receive its second reading in January.

The Conservative MP for Romford (pictured) has now confirmed that when the full details of the Bill are published, landlords should rest easy that it will not introduce an ‘unconditional right’ to keep a pet.

Instead, it will require various checks to be completed that will ensure pet owners are responsible and that pets are well-trained.

“It also will include measures to ensure that pets are suitable for the type of accommodation,” he says.

“I am currently in the process of drafting the final bill, which I believe will address many of the issues that you have raised.”

Landlord dialogue

Rosindell has confirmed that he is in dialogue with the National Residential Landlords Associations, as well as other landlords, to discuss their concerns and ‘will do everything I can to ensure they are addressed’.

“While I understand your concerns, I do believe that we must put an end to these unconditional “no pet” clauses which have caused such pain and heartache to so many people,” he told landlord Fred Cowler.

Cowler says he is no ‘pet hater’ but, although he appreciates Rosindell’s dialogue, the Bill could promote a ‘no-win situation for all concerned’. 

“Pet requests by tenants should be judged on a case by case basis in my opinion, and I will fight for my right to choose,” he told LandlordsZONE.

“[If it does become law], I would want guarantees in place that damage and extra costs would and could be covered by the tenant.”

Read more about the Bill.
VOTE IN OUR POLL to let legislators know your views on pets.

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