LATEST: No help for landlords left stranded by evictions ban, minister confirms

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The government has confirmed that it will not offer any additional financial help to landlords who had repossessions in progress prior to the Covid evictions ban and who are now ‘in limbo’ through no fault of their own.

As LandlordZONE has reported in recent months, there are thousands of landlords who were in the process of evicting tenants for non-payment of rent or anti-social behaviour but who were unwittingly caught out by the government’s sudden evictions ban on March 18th.

Baroness Altmann yesterday quizzed the government’s Minister of State for housing in the Lords, Lord Greenhalgh, on what plans the government  has to support landlords who, through no fault of their own, face months of financial stress as their tenants continue to avoid paying their rent.

Many who had issued Section 21 or Section 8 notices just prior to March 18^th are unlikely to secure a tenant’s eviction until November as the three-month waiting period kicks in and they await the hearings backlog to be cleared.

Greenhalgh avoided answering her question directly, instead pointing out the government’s support of tenants through the furlough system, the beefed-up Universal Credit system including a higher Local Housing Allowance, and the ongoing ‘mortgage holiday’ arranged for landlords via lenders.

“Landlords should contact their lender at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss if the payment holiday is a suitable option for them,” he said.

Sustain tenancies

Paul Shamplina of Landlord Action, says that in the vast majority of cases landlords and tenants are working hard to sustain tenancies wherever possible.

“It is vital, however, that as courts begin to hear repossession cases again, that they prioritise the most urgent. This includes cases of anti-social behaviour, those where rent arrears were building pre-COVID and cases which were started, but then paused, prior to lockdown,” he says.

“To support this landlords have a vital role to play in telling their MPs about the impact the repossessions ban is having as well as highlighting the ways in which they are supporting their tenants through the current crisis.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: No help for landlords left stranded by evictions ban, minister confirms | LandlordZONE.

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2nd BTL 2 bed Vs 3 bed?

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Hi all! Just hoping for a little advice or even a ‘what you would do not his situation’ approach.

I’m a relatively new landlord and getting my second property, so I have zero experience with decisions like this.

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Out of Town Office Space is in strong Demand

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Agents are seeing an increase in inquiries for out-of-town offices which have adequate car parking and social distancing space within.

Covid-19 is forcing a re-think on the ways people will continue to work in office environments when city centre offices present several difficulties: getting to work on mass public transport, and hundreds or even thousands of staff in high rise blocks where lifts have very limited capacity.

Currently, most office staff are homeworking or working flexibly, with a small core team working in the office. But as things start to move towards normality, and teams need to meet face to face, at least occasionally, the prospect of an out-of-town or regional office becomes more attractive.

If this becomes a trend it will certainly please those landlords who have vacant out-of-town office space, and it will create much sought after demand in what has been a lean time for this type of space of late.

Jonathan Ratcliffe from Office Agency Offices.co.uk says:

“I wouldn’t say people are deserting cities, but what we are seeing is a clear short-term spike in interest in office sites with car parking and smaller private office suites, it’ll be interesting to see if this continues into the medium-term”.

The Post-Covid office market is likely to be quite different to what it was before, depending how long the precautions need to go on. City centres are like ghost towns right now, with not just empty office buildings, but empty sandwich bars, cafes, restaurants, trains, trams and tubes.

Most service industries have adapted well to home and flexible working and are content to allow their staff to continue this flexibility, depending on individual circumstances. For example, at-risk families and those who need to use public transport will be accommodated. It is likely that an element of this may become permanent, but there will still be a need for teams to come together, so a smaller out-of-town office could be just the right solution for some companies.

Out-of-town sites are usually on the outskirts of a town with good transport links, they often enjoy more green space and are ideal for those who can drive to work.

Mr Ratcliffe explains:

“City centres are usually extremely poor for car parking, so if you are travelling by car to work, as we all are currently, you want to a direct commute and a car parking space. People are actively avoiding other people on public transport. Car parking is the key feature tenants are asking for now.”

There is almost certainly going to be a reduction in the demand for large physical office space in town and city centres. Several CEOs of large corporations have already indicated that they will be having a serious re-think about housing thousand of staff in city centre Leviathan offices in the future.

Technology has taken on a new significance, so travel, regionally, nationally and internationally is likely to be in for a huge reduction as people get familiar with the technology of remote working and digital communication. Consequently, the availability of Megabit Broadband will in future be a major determinant of the suitability of out-of-town office space.

Mr Radcliffe cites Manchester as an example, having plenty of choice of city centre office spaces, but it’s the options on the outskirts where the current demand lies, he says. Areas such as Old Trafford and Salford Quays, which both enjoy superb transport links, cheaper desk prices and more open space were the “go-to” areas over the past month.

Conor Shields the Area Manager for IWG plc in Manchester says:

“We’ve closed out June with a record-breaking month for: number of tours, number of enquiries and the number of deals signed for Regus Manchester Trafford Park and Regus Salford Quays Digital World. What we do know is the market is back, businesses are leaning towards more flexible working solutions now more than ever”

In Newcastle, recruitment firm NRG has signed an out of town lease at the Quorum Office Park located 4 miles from Newcastle City Centre, with great transport links to the A1 and A19.

Therese Liddle, CEO at NRG explains,

“The City Centre was a great place for NRG for many years but as we grow and offer clients more agile solutions identified even before the Covid19 crisis a shift in the way businesses recruit. The NEON building perfectly complements our brand and vision, allowing us to drive our business forward and facilitate our next phase of growth, while giving our teams a brilliant vibrant place to work.”

Large corporates are also looking outside of City centres, with trends such as “Hub-and-Spoke” – a city centre HQ with supporting flexible hubs in the suburbs, demonstrating a trend away from busy cities turbo-charged by the Covid panic.

“City centres are in a quandary, we know once a vaccine has been developed and the fear has gone that they will once again thrive, but for now it’s all about cars and smaller private offices for those wanting to get back to work”, concludes Jonathan Ratcliffe.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Out of Town Office Space is in strong Demand | LandlordZONE.

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Are two rent increases within a year possible?

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I increased a rent of a few of my flats in March (pre covid nightmare!) but still to UNDER the LHA rate. Since then the LHA rate has been raised significantly, so can I raise the rent again still under the capped rate?

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Is this a Cunning Plan?

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I own a leasehold flat on a long lease. I have rented to the same tenant for 17 years. She wants to either let two bedrooms or grant licenses to two individuals to occupy those bedrooms. She resides in the third bedroom.

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Exclusive: Right to Rent storm looms as MPs agree landlords must check EU applicants

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MPs have voted not to exempt landlords from doing Right to Rent checks on EU nationals as the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination Bill passed its third reading in the Commons.

The Liberal Democrats tried unsuccessfully to insert an amendment to exempt landlords from doing the controversial checks on EEA and Swiss nationals after freedom of movement ends and a skills-based points-style immigration system kicks in.

Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine tabled the amendment which attempted to force Home Office Secretary Priti Patel to implement the findings of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review – including a review of all Hostile Environment policies.

She says: “Sadly, the Government rejected our amendments but we’ll keep fighting for a fairer system.”

Discrimination

Jardine had argued that the Right to Rent scheme should be the first part to immediately go as it caused landlords to discriminate on the basis of ethnicity when demanding proof from proposed tenants, and therefore breached their fundamental human rights.

Says Jardine: “The courts have found that the scheme causes racial discrimination in access to housing, yet appallingly Conservative Ministers are refusing to scrap it. We must make clear that racial discrimination has no place in our laws.”

She adds that the Government’s plans to end free movement risks creating a new Windrush Scandal for the millions of EU citizens already living in the UK, who are being forced to apply for ‘Settled Status’, yet the Home Office is refusing to provide physical proof of their rights even for those who get it.

Right to Rent checks will be difficult for landlords going forward as they will have to find proof of this settled status, however any landlord currently found to have rented to someone who doesn’t have the required immigration status will face a fine of up to £3,000 or a criminal sentence.

Meera Chindooroy, NRLA deputy director for campaigns, public affairs & policy, told LandlordZONE: “The NRLA continues to believe that landlords should not be treated as untrained border police. That said, landlords should continue to abide by the law, and we expect the Government to ensure they have all the support they need to carry out the Right to Rent checks in a fair and simple way.”

Read more about Right to Rent.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Exclusive: Right to Rent storm looms as MPs agree landlords must check EU applicants | LandlordZONE.

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Eviction ban to end 24th August

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A Government Minister confirmed that the eviction ban will end and courts will begin to hear possession cases from 24th August to the relief of many landlords in the PRS.

Responding to a series of parliamentary questions, Lord Greenhalgh

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Why are developers failing to raise private investors funds?

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6 things you need to know if you are serious about raising finance from private investors. Lets start with “What do private investors want to know?”

Whether you are looking to kick start your property journey or scale your property business

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Government confirms evictions ban WILL end on 23rd August

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The government has confirmed that the evictions ban is to end on the 23^rd August and that the courts will re-open for possession hearings the next day, Monday 24^th August.

This confirmation was made by Lord Greenhalgh (pictured) in the Lords today, and confirmed by a spokesperson from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to LandlordZONE.

The announcement will be a huge relief for the estimated 5,700 ‘in limbo’ cases that were granted hearings just before the ban, and the estimated 60,000 new notices that have been issued during the lockdown but have not been able to proceed.

Lord Greenhalgh’s comments were made in response to a question by Baroness Altmann, who had asked ‘what provisions are or will be in place to ensure that private landlords, who obtained a legal possession order prior to the suspension of evictions in March, are able to reclaim possession of their properties without further delay’.

Greenhalgh then stated that on 24^th August the “courts will begin to process possession cases again,” he said.

“This is an important step towards ending the lockdown and will protect landlords’ important right to regain their property.

“Work is underway with the judiciary, legal representatives and the advice sector on arrangements, including new rules, to ensure that judges have all the information necessary to make just decisions and that the most vulnerable tenants can get the help they need when possession cases resume.”

This last paragraph is a reference to the pre-action protocols that the governments has been working on in recent weeks that will required landlords to work much more closely with financially struggling tenants before a judge will allow a possession hearing to be granted.

“The Master of the Rolls, as head of civil justice, has convened a judiciary-led, cross-sector, task-and-finish working group to consider and to address so far as practicable matters affecting litigants and the courts when the present stay on possession proceedings is lifted. This group has the support of the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,” an MHCLG statement says.

“The focus of the group is on preparing the courts for the lifting of the suspension including how best to support parties, including vulnerable renters. The group will also include rules, guidance (including to private landlords as well as social landlords), the provision of information and the sharing of best practice.”

Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “The Minister’s comments provide greater certainty for the rental market.

“We continue to work hard with landlords and tenants to sustain tenancies wherever possible. In the vast majority of cases this is happening.

“It is vital however that swift action can be taken against those tenants committing anti-social behaviour or domestic violence.  We are calling also for priority to be given to cases where possession orders were granted prior to lockdown or where rent arrears have nothing to do with the COVID pandemic.”

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Use property to pay for private school fees?

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Hello, Consider the following scenario:

Person A has £100k to pay towards school fees over the next 5 years. Fees are 20k per year (6,700 x 3 terms). On the basis that Person A has the lump sum up front is there a model

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