Government will not legislate over ‘No DSS’ issue, confirms minister

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The government has confirmed that it will not introduce legislation to prevent landlords rejecting prospective tenants if they are in receipt of Universal Credit.

Housing minister Christopher made the comments during a parliamentary Q&A session, in response to a challenge from Liberal Democrat acting leader Edward Davey (pictured) asking whether the government intended to legislate over the issue.

Although Pincher repeated the oft-made government line that ‘blanket bans’ on tenants in receipt of benefits ‘has no place in a modern housing market’, he said: “We have no plans at present to introduce legislation on this issue but are committed to bringing forward a Renters Reform Bill in due course, to deliver a better deal for renters and a fairer and more effective rental market.

“We strongly encourage landlords and agents to look at all potential and existing tenants claiming housing benefit on an individual basis, and have worked with the sector to find ways to prevent the practice of ‘No DSS’.”

Although Pincher mentioned recent commitments by portals Rightmove and Zoopla to remove ‘No DSS’ and other phrases from lettings adverts, the minister made no reference to Shelter’s recent claimed landmark ruling on the matter.

A judge at York County Court last month found that the ‘No DSS’ practice unfairly discriminated against a single mum-of-two with a disability, on the grounds of sex and disability under the Equality Act.

The woman had been turned down by a letting agent who refused to rent her any properties because of its long-standing policy of not accepting housing benefit tenants.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Government will not legislate over ‘No DSS’ issue, confirms minister | LandlordZONE.

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David Smith is the new Legal Counsel for the NRLA

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Former RLA policy director David Smith has been announced as legal counsel for the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA). David is a partner at JMW Solicitors in London, specialising in landlord and tenant and property litigation in the residential sector.

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Landlords ARE being penalised by lenders for taking mortgage holidays

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Warnings published on LandlordZONE in April that advised landlords to be wary of taking a mortgage holiday are turning out to be true.

Mortgage broker Daniel Lee, principal of Legacy Financial Consultants, told landlords to ‘think very carefully’ before taking a payment holiday, particularly if they then were to carry on receiving rent from their tenants.

But reports in national newspapers this week now show that landlords who took either mortgage holidays or applied for bounce-back loans are being marked down as a greater lending risk by mortgage lenders such as Paragon and The Mortgage Works.

Vanessa Warwick, the cofounder of Property Tribes, told The Times: “Covid has exposed weak business models, and taking a loan is signalling to lenders that you did not have a robust business.”

Daniel Lee says: “I’ve seen this problem gathering momentum over the past couple of weeks.

“Interestingly enough, it’s the bigger portfolio landlords who have been rejected by lenders after taking a mortgage holiday – I think some saw this as a way to build up a buffer zone to hedge against their tenants not being able to pay their rent in the future.

“But this was a dangerous approach – I’ve had a portfolio landlords get into this kind of trouble and interestingly it’s the ones who took the payment holidays but continued to collect the rent who have had the most difficulties.

“We’ve got to look at this from a lenders’ point of view – if a landlord doesn’t have the spare funds to cover a void period for a few months and has to go to the government for help, should they really be in this market in the first place?”.

Read our original article containing the warning.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlords ARE being penalised by lenders for taking mortgage holidays | LandlordZONE.

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Buying without planning permission or building certificate?

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Hi All – I am in the middle of buying a house and the solicitors’ checks came back with a note that there are no documents (planning permission or building certificates) for the following:
1) conversion of the old side garage into a bathroom and utility room (the side extension)
2) Rear conservatory

Both were done back in 2004.

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Welsh government increases eviction notice from 3 to 6 months

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The Welsh government has announced a temporary increase in the notice period for eviction in private rented and housing association accommodation in Wales. The change means that unless a tenant is being evicted on the grounds of anti-social behaviour, they will be entitled to six months’ notice instead of three.

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Rishi’s moment of madness? Chancellor considers charging business rates to landlords

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Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering introducing a new ‘Capital Values Tax’ to replace the business rates system, official documents show.

The proposed new levy would shift the burden from the tenant to the landlord, seeing the owners of non-domestic properties having to pay a new tax based on the value of their property instead.

In a Business Rates Review recently published by HM Treasury, the new tax is described as “a recurrent property tax based on capital values”. A consultation on the measures is now open but due to close on 18th September.

The benefits of this new proposed tax are claimed to be the fact that it would be more stable, more predictable and less harmful to economic growth than the current system.

Bombshell

The move would obviously be a bombshell for commercial landlords, with the business rates currently being paid by their tenants effectively becoming part of their tax bill.

The consultation document states: “The government will need to strike the right balance between continuing to raise the revenue necessary to fund essential public services and supporting the economic recovery.

“Therefore, the government is again seeking views on the case for the introduction of alternative taxes to either replace or complement the business rates system.”

Referring specifically to the proposed Capital Values Tax, the document continues: “This change in the liability for the tax, from occupant to owner, is put forward as a significant benefit of a capital values tax in that this would ensure that the incidence of the tax falls directly on the property owner, rather than indirectly as with the business rates system.”

Read our taxation guide for landlords.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Rishi’s moment of madness? Chancellor considers charging business rates to landlords | LandlordZONE.

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Live in half a house and rent the other half as an HMO?

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I have 2 properties I share ownership of and both of which are run as HMO’s. It does take more work and I have become something of a social worker, but as a business, it definitely has its good points re yield even with a small turnover of tenants.

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Incorporating into our Ltd co and Higher Stamp Duty refund?

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Hi, We are looking at incorporating our buy to let property (purchased in 2016 as our primary residence and has been let out since 2019) into our Ltd company (set up in March 2020).

The house we currently live in was purchased in Nov 2019 at a higher stamp duty and I was wondering if we would be able to claim the higher stamp duty back if we sold our buy to let property to our limited company.

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Landlords face renewed Airbnb clampdown by Scottish government

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The Scottish Government is set to resume its plan to crackdown on short-term Airbnb rentals following a temporary halt to the proposed new regulations due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Housing Minister Kevin Stewart has announced that the new rules will now be fast-tracked to ensure they are in place by next summer to help ease the pressure on Scotland’s housing market.

The new licencing scheme aims to regulate the short-term let sector which is being blamed for contributing to a housing crisis in Scottish cities.

In Edinburgh in particular, a surge in Airbnb listings has led to a significant reduction in the availability of homes for rent.

Having paused the implementation of the licencing proposals due to the pandemic, the Scottish Government will now fast-track the new regulations with a view to them being in place before Holyrood is dissolved for the 2021 election.

In a letter to the Local Government Committee, Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “Having paused work on the regulation of short-term lets to deal with the pandemic, we have now resumed our work on the measures that I announced on 8 January.”

The letter continues: “We aim to lay the regulations giving local authorities powers to license short-term lets and introduce control areas in December so that they can be in force by spring 2021. As part of preparation to do this, we will be engaging stakeholders on our detailed proposals in autumn.

“The delay caused by Covid-19 necessitates that this will be a shorter period of engagement than originally planned but we will make sure that the process is effective in refining our proposals and finalising the statutory instruments.”

Read more about Airbnb and Scotland.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlords face renewed Airbnb clampdown by Scottish government | LandlordZONE.

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MyDeposits wins second term running Jersey’s tenancy deposits protection scheme

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Following a competitive tender process, mydeposits has been reappointed as the approved administrator for Jersey’s tenancy deposit protection scheme.

After originally secured the contract in November 2015 when the scheme first launched, mydeposits will now continue to act as the administrator for Jersey’s tenancy deposit scheme.

The reappointment will take effect from 31 October this year, lasting for a maximum of five years.

Jersey’s Minister for Children and Housing, Senator Sam Mézec, comments: “I am pleased to extend the agreement with mydesposits for a second time.

“The scheme provides an effective way to manage deposits and to resolve any disputes between landlords and tenants. I will continue working to improve standards in Jersey’s rental sector and I am confident that mydeposits Jersey will be a key partner in this work.”

Eddie Hooker, the CEO of mydeposits, adds: “This extension is a testament to the hard work and commitment the team has put in over the past few years.

“This decision by the Minister will enable us to continue investing in the scheme and enhancing the service we provide to our customers in Jersey.

“We are passionate about raising standards across the rental sector in Jersey and supporting landlords and tenants to adopt good practice in the handling of deposit money. We will continue to work closely with the Government of Jersey to support them in their valuable work.”

Read more about Jersey.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – MyDeposits wins second term running Jersey’s tenancy deposits protection scheme | LandlordZONE.

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