BREAKING: Leicester lockdown does not prevent home moves, ministry confirms

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The government has confirmed that the health protection regulations published this afternoon to regulate the Leicester lockdown do not prevent people moving home.

A senior civil servant from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has written to property industry leaders to reassure them that the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Leicester) Regulations 2020 make it clear that “there will be no additional restrictions placed on moving home”.

For example, while gatherings of two or more people are now banned in Leicester as they were nationally at one point during the lockdown, people moving home are exempt.

“People in Leicester will still be allowed to leave home to move and also to leave home to facilitate a house move,” the statement says.

It goes on to confirm that both agents and landlords will be able to continue to support people when they move home as long as they take all the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of infection.

The guidance from MHCLG is important because, as well as giving guidance to home movers, landlords and agents in the city, it suggests that future ‘flare up’ lockdowns regulations will also continue to allow homes moves.

Housing minister Christopher Pincher recently revealed why housing is being given special treatment, saying the industry as a whole employed 2.3 million people from carpenters to those who put up To Rent boards outside properties and everything in between.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: Leicester lockdown does not prevent home moves, ministry confirms | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: BREAKING: Leicester lockdown does not prevent home moves, ministry confirms

Upfront cost of renting a property outside London rises by up to 24%

admin    Uncategorized     agents

A scarcity of rental properties has pushed up the initial cost of securing a home by as much as 24% in some parts of the country – despite the tenant fees ban.

According to rental deposit replacement scheme Ome, while the cap seems to have had the desired effect, with the initial cost of renting in England down 2% year-on-year, some areas have bucked the trend.

Corby (pictured) has seen the cost of securing a rental deposit rise by 24% since this time last year, while Exeter and Charnwood have also seen a jump of 23%. 

Oxford, Newcastle-under-Lyme, South and West Oxfordshire, Chiltern, Liverpool, Doncaster, Rushcliffe, Haringey and Bristol have also seen a double-digit increase.  

Ome looked at the current initial cost of securing a rental home since the tenant fee ban was introduced last June – based on one month’s rent plus a deposit of five weeks’ rent – and found that tenants are now paying £1,897 upfront; £843 for their first month’s rent, plus a deposit of £1,054 at five weeks’ rent.

While in London, tenants are paying 5% less compared to last year, those in the South West are facing costs up 4%.

Kingston upon Hull is the cheapest place to secure a rental property with an initial outlay of £986, while York is the best place for tenant affordability, as costs have dropped by 18%.

Ome Co-founder Matthew Hooker says: “There’s no doubt that the tenant fee ban has had an impact on the affordability of renting. However, while some have seen the cost of securing a rental property drop, tenants in many parts of the national rental market have still seen sharp increases.

“This increase will have been driven mainly by a reduction of rental accommodation to meet demand as many buy-to-let landlords reconsider their investments due to a string of Government changes to the sector.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Upfront cost of renting a property outside London rises by up to 24% | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Upfront cost of renting a property outside London rises by up to 24%

DON’T TALK TO THE COUNCIL!!!

admin    Uncategorized     agents

A new Landlord: hounded, bullied, harassed and falsely accused of breaking the law – until we put the bullies and the idiots in their place. Unjustified Enforcement yet again!

Read this true story. Every landlord needs to know the council is wrong a lot of the time and will destroy you the Landlord –

The post DON’T TALK TO THE COUNCIL!!! appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: DON’T TALK TO THE COUNCIL!!!

High Street Commercial landlords put on a brave face as retail shops re-open

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Hammerson & British Land say they are still hopeful for a “retail rebound” despite struggling with third quarter rent issues, managing to collect just 16% and 36% respectively of the rents due to them for the third quarter 2020.

With the coronavirus crisis coming on top of many already struggling retail stores, many High Street or shopping centre located tenants are struggling to survive faced with the inexorable rise of online sales and home deliveries,

Despite this, and the shopping centre giant Intu’s fall into administration last week, the companies say they are confident that their rent collection rates will improve.

In an update this week British Land confirmed that 64 per cent (or 894) of stores across its centres in England have now opened and have witnessed a sales surge 91% above the first week of reopening.

Both Hammerson and British Land have put out statements this week to reassure investors, reporting that footfall climbs and sales were encouraging for their English retail tenants, after the store restrictions were lifted for non-essentials from June 15.

Hammerson owner of the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham and Brent Cross in north London says it is confident that it’s rent collection rates will continue to improve ‘materially’ as they renegotiate their lease agreements with individual store owners. They have managed to secure a “breathing space” from lenders, and they say they have also accessed the Government’s coronavirus support scheme to shore up its finances.

British Land, owners of the Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield and office buildings in London, also say they are optimistic that rent collection rates will improve over the coming weeks as they continue to renegotiate their agreements with their tenants.

‘We expect the best-located open-air retail parks to perform an important role in retailers’ reopening strategies, and this was reflected in positive like-for-like sales for out-of-town stores open in England versus the same week last year,’ says British Land.

The group had more success collecting rents from office building tenants, with a collection rate of nearly 90% during the quarter.

However, it has had to write off around £5 million worth of rents due from smaller retailers and it is in discussions with larger retailers over a move to monthly rent periods, re-scheduling overdue rent payments and discussing variations to lease terms.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – High Street Commercial landlords put on a brave face as retail shops re-open | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: High Street Commercial landlords put on a brave face as retail shops re-open

Leading industry organisations give landlords and tenants guidance on rent arrears negotiations

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Six of the UK’s leading property industry organisations have clubbed together to offer landlords and tenants advice on how to overcome the looming rent arrears crisis following the Covid pandemic.

These are the National Residential Landlords Association, Chartered Institute of Housing, Property Redress Scheme, My Deposits, the Tenancy Deposit Scheme and ARLA Propertymark.

This includes rent suspensions, reductions and deferrals guidance as well as a plethora of other strategies to help tenants through the crisis, which has been published online.

Called Arrears Management and Coronavirus, it offers both the sides in rent arrears negotiations practical advice on which options are available to them.

It also includes advice and guidance on how landlords can apply to have Universal Credit payments made directly to them, and for a mortgage holiday if their tenants are one of the 10% who, so far, have been unable to pay their rent since the pandemic kicked off.

THe guidance also urges landlords to offer tenants information on where to get financial help if they are struggling to pay their household bills, including their rent.  

In a joint statement, the six organisations tsay:

“COVID-19 has posed significant challenges for both tenants and landlords. As a group we are committed to doing everything possible to sustain tenancies both through and beyond this period of crisis.

“The guidance being launched today has an important role to play in achieving this and we encourage all tenants and landlords to work through it together in a spirit of positive co-operation.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Leading industry organisations give landlords and tenants guidance on rent arrears negotiations | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Leading industry organisations give landlords and tenants guidance on rent arrears negotiations

PRS organisations combine to offer tenant support advice

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Amidst concerns about the impact that the virus has had on tenant finances, the NRLA, Chartered Institute of Housing, Property Redress Scheme, My Deposits, Tenancy Deposit Scheme and ARLA Propertymark are launching guidance offering practical ways in which landlords and tenants can work to address arrears that might be building as a result of the pandemic.

The post PRS organisations combine to offer tenant support advice appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: PRS organisations combine to offer tenant support advice

Landlords offered ‘pay as you go’ access to major property portals without need for agent

admin    Uncategorized     agents

A lettings platform is claiming to the latest and only the second ever to offer landlords the ability to advertise their properties on Zoopla and Rightmove directly without the need for a letting agency.

The first was OpenRent, but now PlanetRent has joined the fray offering to manage landlords’ property marketing needs including the creation of a bespoke website, although it although offers its service to letting agents as well.

Services like this have been controversial in the past – it is only recently that the major portals have been accepting hybrid services like OpenRent and PlanetRent, helped by the fragmentation of the estate agency sector into different models.

When most agents were traditional high street operations, unrest among agents forced the portals to eject non-standard players.

For example, NoAgent was persuaded to change its name to Howsy after an agent outcry.

PlanetRent has told LandlordZONE it has clearance from the portals to offer its landlords direct access for their properties to Zoopla’s and Rightmove’s listings on a pay-as-you-go basis.

PlanetRent, which is free to download and use, also enables landlords to create their own website to advertise their properties on, with real-time reporting and updates on when offers are made.

“PlanetRent has been designed to save landlords and agents, time, money and hassle, by automating the majority of the lettings process,” says Mary-Anne Bowring, boss of the Ringley Group, the company behind PlanetRent.

“Now more than ever, landlords need to focus on the correct marketing strategies for their properties and we’re confident that PlanetRent has the perfect offering for landlords of all sizes.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlords offered ‘pay as you go’ access to major property portals without need for agent | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Landlords offered ‘pay as you go’ access to major property portals without need for agent

EXCLUSIVE: Airbnb’s long-awaited plan for landlord regulation in UK is latest Covid casualty

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Airbnb’s long-awaited ‘white paper’ of recommendations detailing its proposals for a simple statutory registration system for short-term rentals has been delayed until later this year.

The platform had been due to produce the proposals in June after holding a Host Registration Roadshow that started in February and included discussions with hosts, communities and politicians across the UK.

A spokesman tells LandlordZONE: “The roadshow was disrupted because of the lockdown but we will share the output with the Government and all interested stakeholders once complete.”

Although the Government has no plans to ban the use of residential property for short-term lets and has been reluctant to pass further legislation, the sector is waiting for an announcement.

Greater regulation

MPs are still studying a House of Commons Library briefing document discussing calls for greater regulation.

The document highlights a lack of taxation compliance by short-term landlords, the impact on local housing markets, and health and safety issues.

A recent incident in Denmark Hill, London, at an Airbnb property where a woman was stabbed during a large-scale fight at a party shows that short-term lets being used inappropriately remains a concern.

One resident told the local press that complaints to the landlord, Lambeth Council and police had not prevented the landlord from continuing to rent the property out via AirBnB, where large groups of 40 or more gathered and loud music was played.

Other complaints highlighted noise, lockdown restrictions being broken, and trespassing on neighbouring properties in the fortnight before the stabbing.

Read more about the roadshow.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – EXCLUSIVE: Airbnb’s long-awaited plan for landlord regulation in UK is latest Covid casualty | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: EXCLUSIVE: Airbnb’s long-awaited plan for landlord regulation in UK is latest Covid casualty

EXCLUSIVE: Success of pioneering Telford scheme shows licensing isn’t always the answer

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Both Telford & Wrekin Council and the area’s local landlord group agree that its model private rented property management scheme has successfully come down hard on bad landlords while raising standards.

The two-year-old scheme – Better Homes for All – has seen officers work with landlords and letting agents using an ‘educate, encourage and enforce’ approach and as a result, 250 HMOs are now licensed and it’s brought two prosecutions for poor HMO standards.

Its council has also chased up 97 referrals from its ‘Report a Rogue’ campaign and issued 425 enforcement notices to landlords, ordering them to bring their properties up to standard.

Telford & Wrekin was also the first council in the country to hand a banning order to a landlord; David Beattie pleaded guilty in 2017 to two charges relating to the unlawful eviction of a tenant and was also ordered to pay more than £7,000 in costs.

The Wrekin Landlord Association fought the introduction of a proposed selective licensing scheme three years ago, which it believed would have been too heavy-handed.

Agreed scheme

Chairman Bernie Lewis tells LandlordZONE that the subsequent scheme agreed between landlords and the council has worked much better.

“While selective licensing wasn’t needed, we recognised that the council had to get rid of the small number of rogue landlords. This scheme makes it easier to target them and the council is doing a good job, particularly by making an example with these high-profile cases.”

Councillor Richard Overton, cabinet member for enforcement, says: “We have achieved so much by working closely with landlords and letting agents.

“When we had to take action, we did. Whether it was an enforcement notice to bring about a repair or improvement, or the banning of a landlord, we will do whatever it takes to make sure we protect and care for our residents.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – EXCLUSIVE: Success of pioneering Telford scheme shows licensing isn’t always the answer | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: EXCLUSIVE: Success of pioneering Telford scheme shows licensing isn’t always the answer

Switching AST to which contract type for tenants with Ltd co?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

I currently have a really good tenant on an AST who would like to pay his rent through his limited company and register his company at the address. I have no problem with this so long as I get it right legally.

The post Switching AST to which contract type for tenants with Ltd co? appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Switching AST to which contract type for tenants with Ltd co?