The Law Society – Eviction notice extension comments

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Tenants in England facing eviction have been granted a notice period extension from three months to six in new government legislation.

This will apply to notices being served to both private and social tenancies from 29 August and until March 2021.

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Landlords can relax: rental market robust before and post lockdown

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There are lots of news stories about what’s happening in the property market – mostly with the aim of ‘talking it down’ or, of course, having a go at the so called ‘evil landlords’!

However, nothing could be further from the truth based on the latest information from the long running and in-depth Quarter Two Belvoir Index.

The index tracks rents in two ways. It looks at rental changes for Belvoir offices which have been trading since 2008, giving a like for like comparison on rents over time. We then secure individual feedback from franchise owners, which means that as an existing or new to letting landlord, you can find out what’s actually happening in your individual area, not just ‘on average’.

Knowing which area is oversupplied with one bed flats, and which is undersupplied is crucial for landlords both now and in the future. Without local knowledge about the rental market, it’s easy to make expensive mistakes which can mean your investment doesn’t deliver. Having the right information can mean you survive bad markets and can make the most of the good ones.

What’s the latest trends from the Belvoir Index? In the main there are three key trends to be aware of, but they don’t apply to every area, so it’s important to check out what’s happening in your local area too:-

1. House rentals – demand high, supply mainly low

a. Just over 26% of offices reported static house rents versus Q2 19

b. 66% of offices recorded increased rents compared to the previous year

c. 7% of offices reported falling house rents for Q2 20

2. Flat rents – demand static, slight oversupply in some areas

a. 40% of offices reported unchanged rents for flats versus Q2 19

b. Just under 43% of offices saw increased rents compared to the previous year

c. And just over 16% of offices reported falling rents during Q2 20

3. HMOs – tough market, oversupplied in many areas

The reality in the rental market is that when demand is high and supply low, if wages allow, rents can rise. When demand is lower than supply, the trick is to make sure you don’t have any voids and you can do this by ensuring your property is rented out at a great rate and in the best condition, as they are always the ones that survive.

What’s the ‘general view’ of the rental market according to Belvoir? Firstly the good news is for landlords letting through Belvoir, to date, rent collection has been very successful, with no more offices than pre-Covid experiencing rent arrears and, as a result, the number of evictions, usually very low anyway, has remained so.

Across the UK, as usual, rents are going up, down and staying the same, depending on the type and location of the property.

Despite the general trend of flat rents being static to falling, there are lots of offices which buck the trend including:-

Scotland Dundee Nick Horan of Dundee reported increased rents for houses due to high demand, and also for flats, with one and two beds remaining the most popular. Tenant demand also increased across the board. Nick expects both rents and demand to rise over the coming quarter due to a shortage of one/two bed flats and three/four bed houses.

Paisley According to Denise Rhodes, both rents and demand increased across the board for Q2 2020 and this trend is likely to continue over the coming quarter. Paisley has a shortage of all types and sizes of property to rent.

For a detailed rental report on Moray, please read the full report.

Wales Swansea For Q2 2020, Ben Davies confirmed an increase in rents and demand across the board, with this trend likely to continue over the next quarter. Swansea is currently experiencing a shortage of one bed flats and an oversupply of two bed flats.

Northern Ireland Newtownards According to Trevor Burns, rents and demand increased for all properties during Q2 2020 and confirmed that unless supply increases, rents will continue to go up. Demand for all properties is also likely to increase during the next quarter. The office has a shortage of all sizes and types of property.

England

South East

Milton Keynes Steve Tunney from Belvoir Milton Keynes has a wealth of lettings experience in this area having just completed 20 years of letting properties under the Belvoir brand. His view this quarter is that there has been a slight increase in rents of around 5% with tenant demand also increasing for all properties. Over the next quarter he expects rents to remain stable

for all properties with demand increasing. The Milton Keynes office is experiencing a shortage of one and two bed properties and an oversupply of three and four bed houses.

For more detailed reports from offices in the South East, including: Thanet, Chelmsford, Rochester, Newbury, Brighton and Hove, Luton, Watford, Tunbridge Wells and Tadley, please read the full report.

South West

Gloucester According to Anthony Stick, all rents have increased together with demand for flats and houses but decreased for HMOs. Rents and demand for all properties is expected to continue increasing over the next quarter, with the exception of room rents which are likely to decrease. They are currently experiencing a shortage of two and three bed properties and an oversupply of room rents.

For more detailed reports from offices in the South West, including: Christchurch, Aldershot and Devizes, please read the full report.

Midlands

Stoke on Trent A popular area for landlords who let outside of where they live, Ramona Hirschi reported static rents for flats but increasing for all houses during Q2 2020, whilst tenant demand remained unchanged for flats, increased for houses and fell for HMOs. Over the next quarter, demand and rents for flats are expected to remain static, increase for houses and demand for room rents decreasing. The office is experiencing a shortage of three to five bed houses with an oversupply of all flats and room rents.

Shrewsbury Paul Wallace-Tarry recorded an increase in rents and demand across the board for Q2 2020 and this trend is predicted to continue over the next quarter. Shrewsbury is currently experiencing a shortage of all types and size of property to rent.

Cheltenham For Q2 2020, Neil West confirmed increased rents for all properties with demand for flats and houses remaining unchanged but falling for HMOs. Both rents and tenant demand are predicted to remain static during Q3 2020. Cheltenham has a shortage of most types and size of property.

Long Eaton and Beeston For Q2 2020, Francesca Barlow-Goodall confirmed that rents and demand for all properties

increased and this trend is likely to continue over the coming quarter. All property types and sizes are in short supply due to the speed properties are being let.

For more detailed reports from offices in the Midlands, including: Nottingham, Melton Mowbray, Newark, Telford, Rugby, Leamington Spa, Stafford and Stone, please read the full report.

Yorkshire

Skipton For Q2 2020, Daniel Johnson reported rental rises for houses and flats due the increased demand, with the exception of HMOs, where demand fell. Over the coming quarter, rents and demand are expected to increase for flats and houses but remain unchanged for room rents. They currently have a shortage of one through to four bed properties.

For a detailed report from the Harrogate office, please read the full report.

North East

Tynedale John Redden of Tynedale has reported steady but small increase in rents across the board as properties have become available for rent during Q2 2020. A few landlords have increased rents on periodic tenancies between 2% and 4%. Demand increased for houses but they are small numbers, however there appears to be a trend building to look for property with some outside space. Demand fell for flats. Rents are expected to increase across the board during Q3 2020, whilst demand for houses is likely to increase but decrease for flats. Tynedale is experiencing a shortage of two to four bed houses.

For a detailed report from the Newcastle-upon-Tyne office, please read the full report.

North West

Bolton According to Mike Stuttard, all property rents and tenant demand increased during Q2 2020. However, rents and demand are expected to remain stable over the next quarter. They are currently experiencing a shortage of all houses, whilst two bed flats are in abundance.

For more detailed reports from offices in the North West, including: Chester and Warrington, please read the full report.

What are Belvoir forecasting for Q3 rents in 2020 Each office that gives a detailed report on their rental market explains what happens to

rents currently but also gives a forecast of what they expect to happen to rents in Quarter Three.

In the main, the majority of Belvoir agents predict:-

1. Rising rents for houses

2. Flats rents are likely to remain static, with some rising

3. Room rents are predicted to remain static to falling

If rents are expected to rise in your area, then it doesn’t necessarily mean you can increase rents as this relies on tenants securing higher wages, which during this time is unlikely, however if supply is short, this may be possible.

If rents are expected to be static to falling, then it’s worth renting your property at a good rate to ensure you don’t suffer any voids going into Christmas, and remember, it’s better to rent for six months at £700 than lose £1,000 over two months hoping to achieve £750 a month.

For expert, honest, local advice on the rental market and help getting into buy to let or with what to do with your existing portfolio, do talk to your local Belvoir experts.

To read our rental index and receive it every quarter please sign up here.

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Friday 4th September: Important Property Market update

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Property 118 are delighted you invite you to join us online tomorrow (Friday 4th September) for a virtual property exhibition, organised by the property investors network, featuring 10 property industry experts.

This will be a full day of online property training

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Angela Davey is first new ARLA President from Wales

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Angela Davey, who was Head of Lettings and Property Management at Peter Alan in Wales, succeeds Phil Keddie as the new ARLA Propertymark President.

Angela raised the profile of ARLA Propertymark in Wales by advising the government on housing policy and consulting for Rent Smart Wales on training for landlords and agents.

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Ben Beadle: Landlords MUST talk to their local MPs about funding for tenants, justice for landlords

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While our research shows that the vast majority of tenants have been able to pay their rent as usual, sadly, through no fault of the tenant, some have struggled.

It is therefore heartening that, our research also shows that most landlords and tenants have been able to reach agreements about how to manage arrears and sustain tenancies.

But we should not be under any illusions about the impact that the ban on repossessions has had and is having on the sector.

We have made representations to the Prime Minister. He will be in no doubt how strongly we feel we have been let down and we are lobbying MPs and Peers to hit home the message.

To back this up and put the Government under pressure to act, we need the help of landlords across the country. It’s vital individual landlords make their voices and stories heard.

That is why I am asking you to urgently email or write to your MP, or arrange to have a chat with them at their virtual surgery, or a physical one if they are holding them. We need MPs to see for themselves the difficulties being caused by the Government’s failures to support the market properly. The NRLA has prepared comprehensive resources to support you in doing so on our website.

Access to justice

Landlords have been left powerless to tackle anti-social behaviour by tenants, blighting the lives of fellow tenants and neighbours alike.

Tenancies cannot be drawn to a close where doing so would help those suffering domestic abuse to find safety away from the perpetrator.

No action can be taken against those tenants whose rent arears have nothing whatsoever to do with COVID. This includes those who are abusing the current stay on possessions and deliberately not paying their rent, even if they have the means to do so.

And those who have rented their homes out whilst working elsewhere, such as those in the military, continue to be locked out of their own homes.

To make matters worse, the Government announced that, apart from some circumstances, landlords must give six months’ notice to tenants where they need to reclaim possession of their property. Added to that the declaration that cases related to rent arrears would only be treated as a priority by the courts when tenants had built over a year’s worth of rent debt and we can begin to see clearly the devastating impact that the Government’s confusing, last minute announcements on 21^st August have had.

Whilst we have since had welcome clarity about notice periods in certain circumstances, our message to Government never the less remains clear – justice needs to be delivered and the courts need to begin hearing repossession cases from 20^th September. There can be no more excuses for not doing so.

Funding to sustain tenancies

Just as important is the need for a financial package to pay off arrears built due to COVID and help sustain tenancies wherever possible. The vast majority of landlords are individuals, renting out just one or two properties, many for a pension. They cannot afford the prospect of going without rent or having reduced rents indefinitely. Neither should they be in a position of doing the Government’s job of subsiding tenants.

That is why we need interest-free, government-guaranteed hardship loans for tenants in England to pay off COVID-related arrears as the NRLA has successfully campaigned for in Wales. These need to be paid directly to the landlord.

Where tenants refuse to seek a loan, or where they might not be best suited to them, income support is needed for landlords to cover income lost as a result of coronavirus.

On 22^nd July the Housing Minister, Christopher Pincher told the House of Commons: “The end of the pause on possession proceedings on 23 August is another important step towards more normal life resuming and to ensuring all people—landlords and tenants—have access to justice.” He was right. It is therefore time that the Government delivered funding for renters and justice for landlords.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Ben Beadle: Landlords MUST talk to their local MPs about funding for tenants, justice for landlords | LandlordZONE.

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Parking lark: Is this the future of renting in the UK’s increasingly squeezed city centres?

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An unusual new housing development in Bristol is looking for ‘super tenants’ who’ll help to make others feel at home, both in their property and wider community.

The social housing project, being built on stilts above a car park in St George, consists of 11 ZEDpod apartments let and managed by Bristol Council – the first development of its kind in the city.

It aims to address Bristol’s housing crisis by providing housing specifically for young people and will act as transitional accommodation for tenants on low incomes or those making their first steps into independent living.

YMCA Bristol, one of several partners working on the project, is taking applications for four ‘community builders’ to move in when the site is ready in November.

Super tenants

These super tenants will be tasked with uniting residents and encouraging them to get involved in their community – although they won’t be paid and will still have to cover their own rent of £80 per week for a room in a two-bedroom flat.

ZED Pods reclaims urban areas with housing built above car parks and hard-standings where conventional construction won’t work; these low cost, modular homes can be erected in days, fully fitted for immediate occupation.

Two two-bedroom homes have been set aside for the four chosen tenants, who will live there in pairs for a minimum of two years. The developer says they’ll act as a catalyst in bringing together all of the residents in the new apartments by encouraging them to get involved in wider community life in St George.

It adds: “Building homes is one thing, but building community takes people with vision and commitment to make it happen. We hope that this new approach can be replicated in other places in the city and around the country.”

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Demanding funding for Renters and justice for Landlords

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COVID-19 has been a challenge for landlords and tenants, on a scale that no one could ever anticipate. Whilst our research shows that the vast majority of tenants have been able to pay their rent as usual, sadly, through no fault of the tenant

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Service charge payment difficulties?

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Has anyone had problems paying into what appears to be a ‘protected monies account’? Xenia Estate Services (formerly Fortis) have complained that they are not receiving the monthly service charge on my flat by the due date. Since April it’s been going into (I think) an HSBC Client Deposit Account and (presumably) Xenia transfer it to their bank account and then post it onto my account.

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SHOCKING report calls for action on illegal evictions, violence and scams against tenants

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A group of leading campaigning and regulatory figures have joined forces to recommend key measures for local and national government to adopt if the burgeoning problem of the ‘shadow’ private rented sector is to be tackled.

Their report, launched today at a virtual meeting attended by key figures from parliament, local authorities, enforcement bodies and campaigning groups, is seeking to combat the rising tide of illegal evictions, harassment, and abusive and threatening behaviour carried out by a growing criminal minority within the PRS.

“The current regulatory framework fails to deal with the kind of landlords who have no intention of complying with the law,” says one of its co-authors Julie Rugg (right).

“Too often we call these landlords ‘rogue’ but this doesn’t describe their activities adequately – they are criminals for whom this is a business model.”

Rugg says these landlords and often letting agents can be pigeonholed into several categories.

These include those ripping off tenants through rent-to-rent scams and illegal sub-letting; corporate corner-cutters; organised criminals who knowingly operate dangerous and over-crowded properties; lettings connected to sex trafficking and cannabis farms; and landlords who employ violence and intimidation.

Ben Reeve-Lewis, also a co-author of the report, says the nature of criminal landlords is changing rapidly as technology enables organised criminal landlords to become more difficult to identify and track.

“It’s not a few rotten apples as it used to be – it’s systematic organised illegal activity,” he says.

The report’s recommendations include:

• Make online renting portals like OpenRent and Airbnb more culpable for the property listings they publish and introduce property MOTs and unique identification numbers to help achieve this.
• Put a duty on police to stop illegal evictions.
• Create a fund to help authorities recruit more enforcement teams with the relevant skills – austerity has severely reduced this.
• Force authorities to adopt a multi-agency approach – too many criminal landlords take advantage of councils whose different enforcement arms don’t work together effectively.
• Amend housing legislation to introduce joint and several liability for housing offences to include the property owner and/or letting agent.
• Introduce a right to expert statutory advocacy for private renters faced with criminal behaviour by landlords.
• Ban Section 21 evictions.

During the launch Chris Norris of the NRLA, a lone representative of landlords at the event, said that local authorities must be given more money to tackle the shadow PRS and that relying entirely on the fees from licensing schemes was unfair on compliant landlords.

The Journeys in the Shadow Private Rented Sector report is jointly published by the University of York and Cambridge House Research and funded by Trust for London. It is backed by, among others, the Mayor of London, Generation Rent, Karen Buck MP, James Murray MP and the NRLA.

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Heat Pumps could deliver London Mayor’s environmental ambitions

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The new report from the Carbon Trust and commissioned by the Mayor of London concludes that a heat pump retrofit programme for residential and commercial buildings in London will have a critical role to play in meeting the capital’s net zero carbon emissions targets by 2030.

“The Mayor of London has set ambitious aims for London to be a net zero carbon city by 2030 and to have the best air quality of any major city. In addition, 28 London Boroughs have declared climate emergencies with over half of these committed to achieving net zero by 2030. The political will to deliver net zero carbon emissions in London has never been stronger,” says the report

Reducing emissions cause by heating buildings will be one of London’s biggest decarbonisation challenges. Natural gas, says the report, is currently used for most space and water heating and accounts for 37% of London’s greenhouse gas emissions and 22% of Nox emissions, whilst conventional electric heating also contributes significantly to CO2 emissions and increases the peak demand on local energy networks.

The report is intended to provide help and guidance for local authorities, social housing providers, private owners and landlords and also for builders and installers when considering a change of energy source, a heat pump retrofit often being a viable alternative.

Heat pumps are an efficient form of heating and have the potential to deliver CO2 savings of 60-70% compared to conventional electric heating and 55-65% compared to an A-rated gas

boiler. These savings are expected to increase further, as the grid decarbonises over the coming decades, towards 90-100% CO2 emissions reduction by 2050.

How does it work?

In simple terms, its a bit like domestic refrigerator in reverse: a compressor creates a small amount of higher temperature energy from the large amount of energy collected at a lower temperature. The actual process is a lot more complicated, using the ‘vapour compression cycle’ to harness energy available when vapour returns to liquid.

Heat pumps for central heating systems use the technology to extract energy from the outside air (air source) or from under the ground (ground source). These are low temperatures (below 10°C in winter) but there’s lots of energy when compared to absolute zero (-273°C).

Ground source or air source?

A heat pump has maximum efficiency when the temperature gap between the heat source and the heat demanded is minimised. A ground source heat pump is more efficient than air source because around two metres down the ground stays constant at around 10°C all year round, protected from temperature extremes. This heat there is mainly from the solar energy absorbed by the ground through the summer. Air source heat pumps are not as efficient, but they don’t need available ground and are cheaper to install.

There are a number of factors that can make heat pump retrofits challenging in urban settings and they will only work effectively where the buildings are highly energy efficient, i.e., very well insulated. High rise blocks pose problems as does noise pollution from the pump systems, especially with air source, however, there is a diverse range of solutions that exist to overcome a number of these challenges and new technology is becoming available all the time.

Undertaking energy efficiency upgrades combined with installing heat pump technology will likely require considerable initial investment in most cases but this will be offset by long-term reductions in energy bills.

Most buildings in London will likely require considerable initial investment and perhaps government support to move from oil, gas boilers or electric heating. However, this sort of transition can be phased in as buildings are refurbished over time.

Tom Delay, Chief Executive, the Carbon Trust, says:

“Buildings and heat have been identified by the Committee on Climate Change as key challenge areas for decarbonisation in the coming decades, and so the analysis and recommendations detailed in the report to promote low carbon solutions that are available now is very timely.

“As always, heat pumps are not a silver bullet solution, which is why we have provided a suite of policy recommendations, including investment in energy efficiency in buildings and flexibility in the energy system.”

Shirley Rodrigues, Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Greater London Authority, commented: “Retrofitting heat pumps and improving the energy efficiency of existing buildings are key to achieving the Mayor’s ambitious target for London to reach net zero carbon by 2030.

“Not only will retrofitting heat pumps help support jobs and skills vital to a green, fair and prosperous COVID-recovery, they also reduce energy bills if designed well. However, delivering this at the scale needed will require the Government to step up investment and implement strong supportive policies.”

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