LATEST: Renting platform launches that offers landlords ‘contact-less’ rentals during Coronavirus

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Developer of PlanetRent predicts that although there will be a significant surge in rental demand after the lockdown eases, tenants and landlords will continue to observe social distancing.

An online service has launched that promises to help landlords rent and manage properties without the need for face-to-face contact with tenants during the Coronavirus crisis.

Called PlanetRent, its development has been fast-tracked by its backer, property management giant The Ringley Group, which has spent £2 million and four years getting the service ready.

The company claims the automated and cloud-based service will save landlords and agents time, money and hassle. It also enables tenants to be offered tenants rent reductions automatically through substitute contracts or rent addendums.

PlanetRent connects agents, landlords, tenants, contractors, accountants and any site staff through their own separate portals to access the information they need, enabling them to transact from the comfort and safety of their home.

For tenants, this includes a How to Rent booklet, deposit protection scheme details, as well as EPC and gas safety certificates. Contract renewals are finalised with three clicks, and the system prompts tenants to see if they want to renew, and automatically markets properties and triggers move-out checks if they choose to vacate.

Also, PlanetRent gives self-managing landlords direct access to Rightmove and Zoopla as well as the ability to easily create their own website to showcase their properties.

“Our platform also enables landlords to comply with the current government guidance on Right to Rent, as tenants upload their identity documents to our portal which landlords can then check online, rather than eye balling them in person,” Mary-Anne Bowring (pictured), MD of The Ringley Group tells LandlordZONE.

PlanetRent is available on a pay-as-you go basis rather than a subscription and landlords with larger portfolios pay £10 per tenancy contract while those with smaller ones pay £20.

Read more stories about The Ringley Group.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Renting platform launches that offers landlords ‘contact-less’ rentals during Coronavirus | LandlordZONE.

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MPs ask landlords: What do you think of Corovinus housing show so far? Here’s one answer

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The parliamentary housing select committee has decided to find out what YOU think of the government’s handling of the Coronavirus crisis from a housing perspective. Here one expert gives his view.

MPs have asked landlords,
tenants and suppliers to the private rental market to tell them how well the
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has handled the
Coronavirus crisis.

Tim Frome, Legal Director of Landlord Action, has submitted his views to the consultation under way. He largely praises the MHCLG’s handling of the crisis and the speed of its response to the day-to-day challenges thrown up by COVID-19.

But he also tells MPs that there are several areas where minister should have, and will need to, have sorted problems out.

This
includes both now and in the future as the pandemic plays out within the
private rented market.

He
says:

• Make it clear to tenants that the ‘mortgage holiday’ offered to some landlords does not mean tenants are automatically due a corresponding ‘rent holiday’.
• Ensure tenants understand the recent changes to evictions and other measures have not cancelled tenancies; many, including thousands of student renters, have assumed it is acceptable to walk away from rental contracts without consequence.

“We are aware that some of the commercial student accommodation providers have gone above and beyond in assisting tenants by confirming they would end the tenancies early if the tenants so requested,” Frome points out.

• Deposits are likely to become a problem as tenants default on rent, but landlords use this money to help make up the shortfall. This means there will little money left to dilapidations and the end of tenancy.
• If the tenants have not been paying the rent it is unlikely they have been paying for other services such as council tax and utilities so there will be a knock-on effect to keeping these tenants in the properties.
• Lastly, Frome says the government needs to take action to help manage the huge backlog in eviction hearings in the courts that will have built up during the crisis. The best way to do this would be to freeze or ‘stay’ proceedings until the backlog is cleared, he urges.

Visit the committee’s parliamentary page to have YOUR say.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – MPs ask landlords: What do you think of Corovinus housing show so far? Here’s one answer | LandlordZONE.

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UK Landlords – Want to Retire Abroad?

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– Why Would A Property Investor Leave The UK?

– How Can Moving Abroad Help Someone Withdraw Money From their portfolio?

– What Are The Rules For Someone Who Still Has Ties to the UK?

–

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Fancy that! Landlady inserts £10 NHS nurse rental offer into HMO planning application

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Planners in Winchester have received the unusual submission from a portfolio landlord, but it’s not clear if the offer of very low rent will continue after the crisis.

An Eastleigh landlord hopes to have her HMO planning application fast-tracked so she can house key workers during the crisis at a knock-down rent.

Jasvinder Sohal has applied to Winchester Council for change of use to the house in Fox Lane in the city (pictured) and hopes it can process her application more quickly.

She’s already paid for extensive renovations
and expects it to be ready in early May.

Sohal, whose family operates a substantial property portfolio in the area, says: “I bought 68 Fox Lane when it was uninhabitable with a view to renovate and let it out to a family. Due to the proximity of the property to Winchester hospital, I would now like to help NHS key workers to find a place to live while they deal with the current pandemic we are facing, for a nominal rent of only £10 a week for the next six months.” 

The landlady says she has already been contacted by a nurse asking for help with finding somewhere to live near a hospital. 

She says although
a council official has told her that going through the process of applying for
change of use from C3 to C4 usually takes eight weeks, she hopes her
application can be prioritised so it can be dealt with more quickly.

Adds Sohal: “The maximum number of tenants the property could house is four altogether. By helping four NHS key workers to find somewhere to stay over these crucial weeks and months, I hope I will be doing my bit to help.”

Planners and councillors are still processing the application.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Fancy that! Landlady inserts £10 NHS nurse rental offer into HMO planning application | LandlordZONE.

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Washing Machine Recall

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Whirlpool have again recalled some makes and models of Hotpoint/ Indesit/whirlpool washing machines and have added further models to the list of recalls.

We would suggest that all landlords advise their tenants to do a quick check of their installed appliance following the outlined process below to see if it is one of the makes and models being re-called.

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Tenant Fees Act: one month to go until extension

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The Tenant Fees Act came into force in England last year, and on 1st June 2020, it will be extended to cover all existing tenancies. The law means that landlords and letting agents cannot charge fees other than rent, deposits, holding deposits and charges for defaulting on the contract – with additional restrictions on how much tenants […]

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Citizens Advice report ‘irresponsible’ say landlords

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Research out today by Citizens Advice suggesting that some 2.6 million private renters have missed a rent payment, or expect to do so, owing to coronavirus is potentially a long way wide of the mark and irresponsible say landlords. The charity appears to have extrapolated this figure from just 25 renters who said in a survey […]

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Landlord Hero of the Week #3: Romel Miah

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As the nation claps its NHS and other front line heroes, LandlordZONE highlights the landlords who are going the extra mile for their tenants during this challenging time for everyone involved in the private rental market.

London landlord Romel Miah literally has a lot on his plate. Not only is he a landlord and restauranteur, but he’s also been busy sending hundreds of meals to NHS frontline workers and dropping off groceries for house-bound neighbours.

And when one of his tenants fell ill with
Coronavirus earlier this month, Romel, from Mill Hill in London, immediately
offered to help, as the tenant – a former colleague and Nepalese national – has
no family in the UK.

Says Romel: “I immediately sent him a text
saying that I would help him however I could. I also told him he didn’t have to
worry about paying rent or bills.”

After two weeks on a ventilator, the tenant self-isolated
at home. “I dropped off shopping and meals from the restaurant for him as he
needed to keep away from the other tenants,” says Romel.

“I’ve also said not to worry about paying
rent for the next three months while he’s furloughed. To say he was grateful
was an understatement, especially as his current employer didn’t check up on
him or help out. I’m just glad he’s made a full recovery.”

Romel turned the property into an HMO five
years ago and has had the same five tenants since then. He’s proud of his good
relationship with the tenants as well as the customers at his restaurant and
takeaway who’ve partly helped to fund the initiative to make and send out hundreds
of meals to the NHS.

“We’re now preparing food for Muslim NHS staff who are fasting during Ramadan and have just sent 300 boxes to a hospital in Tottenham,” he says. “I’ve always been involved with charity, but this is the first time I’ve done anything on this scale. I just enjoy giving back to the community.”

Read more Hero of the Week interviews.

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LATEST: Commercial landlords negotiate with ministers over urgent rescue package

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Retail and office property owners claim rent totalling billions of pounds has either been deferred or not paid since the Coronavirus crisis began.

The British Property Federation is calling on
the Government to urgently come up with a rescue package for commercial
landlords.

It’s been in talks with housing ministers to work out a deal to help those landlords collectively facing billions of pounds in lost or deferred rents.The federation says retailers have paid only a third of their £2.5 billion rent bill on the March quarter day, which is Wednesday 25 March 2020 when most leases will require a tenant to pay the landlord the rent for the period from then until 23 June 2020.

Also, office tenants have paid about two-thirds of their £2.1 billion bill. The BPF expects rental payments to halve again in June when it fears the sector will see a mass non-payment of rent.

Rental support

The federation is suggesting a rental support scheme for the space that has been furloughed, just as staff have been; the Furloughed Space Grant Scheme would see the Government pay the fixed costs of businesses – on a sliding scale – that have experienced dramatic falls in turnover due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

It believes that by focusing support on occupiers this will then bring relief to landlords and their lenders.

Last week, the Government announced legislation to stop landlords using “aggressive tactics” to collect rent, including issuing statutory demands and winding-up orders.

But landlords, including listed companies, pension funds and private investors, say that even well-funded businesses are using the legislation as a licence to not pay rent.

BPF chief executive Melanie Leech says ministers should make it clear to all businesses that if they can pay their rent, they should do so. She adds: “Without rapid action on rents, we risk creating unnecessary unemployment and economic harm that will ripple across the economy for years to come.”

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220,000 landlords and 156,000 properties lost from rental market under Boris, Theresa and David

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Successive Conservative governments’ stated aim to kick accidental and amateur landlords out of the sector has been working almost too well, latest market data reveals.

Research by one of the UK’s best-known letting agencies has revealed the extent to which the government’s efforts to hammer the buy-to-let market has impacted landlords and stock levels.

Hamptons International says its research shows the sector has lost 220,000 landlords since 2012 and 156,000 private rental properties since 2017 as mortgage tax relief has been slowly reduced, the Stamp Duty surcharge introduced and both HMO and selective licensing has become more widespread.

“These and other tax changes were designed to eat into landlords’ profits, making it less likely that they would compete with first-time buyers for smaller properties,” says Aneisha Beveridge, Head of Research at Hamptons International.

The agency warns this is likely to accelerate as a promised tightening of the capital gains tax rules for landlords who have lived in their buy-to-let property at some point, which takes effect this month, becomes a reality.

Grappling for some positive news from its own data, Hamptons International says these recent government policies are forcing private landlords to ‘professionalise’ and portfolio sizes to swell to a ten-year high.

The percentage of landlords with more than one property has increased from 15% in 2011 to 30% today, lead by landlords in the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber.

Demand to rise

But Beveridge says that once the Coronavirus lockdown ends, demand for rented property will rise just as, ironically, the government’s effort to reduce stock bears fruit.

“Renting offers more flexibility than buying a home, so as uncertainty rises, so too does the demand for rental homes,” she says.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – 220,000 landlords and 156,000 properties lost from rental market under Boris, Theresa and David | LandlordZONE.

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