Let for 2 to 3 days a time – Does it need HMO licence?

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We have an 8 bedroom (7 en-suite) property that we let via booking.com to guests. Most guests only stay for 2-3 days and no more than a week.

We have been told that the property does not qualify as an HMO as it only offers temporary occupancy to guest.

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Labour plans would challenge buy-to-let investors and second-home owners…

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General Election:

Part of Labour’s
bid to be elected on 12^th December is a raft of tax
raising measures aimed at buy-to-let landlords and second home
owners.

Jeremy Corbyn’s
Labour party manifesto launch last week outlined a number of issues
which will be of concern to landlords.

What is Labour
proposing:

• Rent controls
  would be introduced, providing a cap on rent increases during the
  course of tenancies, most likely to the level of inflation. This in
  itself may not be such a bad thing for landlords as most landlords
  rarely have their rents keep pace with inflation, giving them a
  legitimate reason to increase regularly. However, cities where
  demand for rentals is highest would be given additional powers to
  bring in even tougher rent controls.

• With more
  landlords considering switching to short-term holiday rentals
  following the removal of the mortgage interest allowance on
  long-term letting, this avenue could be closed to most landlords,
  with an extra tax on holiday homes of an average of £3,200 a year
  each. Labour’s levy on holiday homes and second homes, it is
  estimated, will raise £560m a year, based on a 200pc hike on top of
  council tax, hitting around 425,000 properties. The Liberal
  Democrats have said they would adopt a similar policy.

• Open ended, as
  opposed to fixed term tenancies, would become the norm. Along with
  the abolition of the assured shorthold tenancy (AST) and removal of
  the no-fault section 21 eviction process, this would considerably
  strengthen tenants’ security of tenure, making it difficult, if
  not impossible in some cases, for landlords to end residential
  tenancies.

• The
  Conservatives have also confirmed that the section 21 possession
  process is to be brought to an end, replaced by a beefed-up
  alternative, the section 8 court based possession process.

• Labour plan to
  bring in a universal licensing scheme for landlords, with what it
  calls “tougher sanctions” for any property professional breaking
  the rules on minimum safety standards.

• Renters unions
  would become the norm if Labour were elected, funded by government
  to protect tenants legal rights, which it says would allow tenants
  to “organise and defend their rights”.

• Labour has
  previously recommended the scrapping of council tax for tenants.
  This would be replaced by a “progressive property tax”, based
  the value of the home and paid for by the landlord owner.

• The party has
  also announced plans to allow tenants to buy their homes from
  landlords at below market rates, though this suggested appears to
  have been shelved for now – it’s not mentioned in the
  manifesto.

• On a more
  positive note for landlords with benefit tenants, Labour would end
  the freeze on Local Housing Allowance (LHA) and would realign LHA to
  the 30th percentile of local rents. They would also pay the housing
  element of Universal Credit directly to landlords, which landlords
  would welcome, though it has said Universal Credit system could be
  scrapped.

• Landlords would
  be prevented from excluding any tenant applicant who is receipt of
  housing benefits.

• Right to Rent
  checks would be scrapped if Labour are elected.

• Labour have
  pledged to equalise capital gains with income tax income, which
  would mean a considerable hike in capital gains tax for most people.

• Income tax
  would increase for anyone declaring an income above £80,000 per
  year.

• Labour plan to
  end the Right to Buy council houses for residents, and to build
  150,000 council and social homes annually, with 100,000 of these
  built by councils for social rent.

• Following on
  from the Grenfell inquiry, a £1 billion Fire Safety Fund will be
  launched to fit sprinklers and other fire safety measures in all
  high-rise council and housing association tower blocks.

• All high rise
  residential tower blocks will have the dangerous Grenfell-style
  cladding removed and replaced with safe materials.

• Mandatory
  building standards and guidance are to be introduced, inspected and
  enforced by fully trained Fire and Rescue Service fire safety
  officers.

• Local
  authorities will be given new powers to control Airbnb style
  short-term lets.

• Leasehold
  reforms will be introduced, ending the sale of new leasehold
  properties, abolishing unfair fees and conditions in existing
  leaseholds, and leaseholders will be given the right to buy their
  freehold “at a price they can afford.”

• Most homes in
  the UK would be upgraded to the highest energy efficiency standards,
  though no indication as yet by Labour as to how that will be done.

• All new homes
  will need to reach zero-carbon emissions standards, achieved by
  using new new technology such as heat pumps, solar hot water and
  hydrogen gas, with new investments to be made in district heat
  networks using waste heat.

The Labour Party Manifesto

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Labour plans would devastate rented housing market

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Plans for rent controls, open-ended tenancies and property MOTs could close down the PRS, the RLA has warned. Labour has pledged to put bad landlords out of business with new charter of renters’ rights. However, the RLA believes changes would drive thousands of landlords out of the sector, leading to a massive shortage of properties […]

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Conservatives vow to strengthen landlords’ rights

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A vow to strengthen landlords’ rights has been made in the Conservative manifesto, released today. The Tories have committed to abolishing Section 21, but said good landlords would see possession rights strengthened. It also talks about the idea of a ‘lifetime deposit’ – an idea first mooted by the RLA ahead of the 2017 election. […]

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FREE CASH FOR CHRISTMAS

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Lettingsupermarket.com have been running Reloc8 Uk’s fantastic incentive scheme for 12 months this month, and to celebrate the massive success we have added even more benefits for landlords with eligible properties.

This scheme is ideal with winter and Christmas coming up

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The Big Question – do you allow tenants with pets?

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It’s an emotive subject for landlords and tenants: pets in rental properties.  Research has shown permission to keep pets is the number one perk a tenant would pay more rent for – ahead of benefits such as high-speed internet and parking spaces. And last year Labour mooted plans that would force all landlords to accept […]

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Landlords ‘gutted’ as Johnson confirms ‘no-fault’ evictions to be banned…

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Section 21:

Landlords will find
it more difficult to regain possession of their rental properties in
future as the Tories confirm their commitment to removing the Assured
Shorthold Tenancy (AST). Labour has already committed to a similar
move.

The AST was
introduced when Margaret Thatcher de-regulated the private rented
sector (PRS) with the 1988 Housing Act, introducing the concept of a
time limited tenancy where residential landlords could regain
possession at the end of an agreed tenancy term, if they so wished,
without needing to give a reason.

By confirming the
withdrawal of the legislation, The Conservatives hope the move will
appeal to a growing army of young renters, and in particular those
with families, as renting has become more common.

The current Section 21 process would be replaced with a beefed-up section 8 system, where landlords must a prove in court a beach of contract, against a specific set of grounds for eviction.

Homelessness
charities and some politicians have been campaigning for years to
change the rules, following similar moves in Scotland and the
Republic of Ireland. The original Tory initiative to remove Section
21 was announced under Theresa May’s Government, but now it seems
Boris Johnson has confirmed that this will be carried through, to the
dismay of many landlords.

Landlords are concerned that given the uncertainty surrounding their ability to remove bad tenants under such a regime, their businesses will become untenable and they will be inclined to sell-up. This, landlord groups maintain, will lead to a shortage of properties to rent and higher rents.

Section 8 is an
adversarial court based system, unlike Section 21 were possession
orders can be obtained without going to court, and landlords argue
that with an already overloaded county court system, evictions will
become protracted and expensive.

David Smith, of the
Residential Landlords Association, told The Daily Telegraph:

“While any new
system should protect tenants from the minority of landlords who
abuse the current rights, it is important that good landlords can be
confident that in circumstances such as tenant rent arrears or
anti-social behaviour they can swiftly and easily regain possession
of their property.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlords ‘gutted’ as Johnson confirms ‘no-fault’ evictions to be banned… | LandlordZONE.

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Labour manifesto would leave tenants worse off

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Rent controls and plans for open-ended tenancies have been included in the Labour Party manifesto, out today. The RLA is concerned that some of the proposals included in the manifesto, such as longer tenancies, would hurt tenants if nothing is done to encourage and support good landlords to stay in the market long-term. The association […]

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Buy-to-Let repossessions rise says UK Finance

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Mortgages:

Home repossessions
have risen generally in Q3 2019, but there’s been an even more
dramatic increase in repossessions in the buy-to-let market.

UK Finance has
reported that home repossession jumped by 19% when compared to the
same period last year, but the equivalent figure for buy-to-let is
40%, involving around 800 properties.

The mortgage
industry trade association points out, however, that the figures
involved are still well below levels seen following the credit crunch
years, between 2009 and 2014. Describing these figures as a “slight
increase” it goes on to explain that this is “partly the result
of a backlog of historic cases which are being processed in line with
the latest regulatory requirements.”

According to UK
Finance overall arrears have fallen slightly, but serious arrears
have risen by 9 per cent. It is estimated that around one-third of
landlords plan to sell at least one property over the next 12 months.

Following an FCA
regulatory review a couple of years ago, the rules were changed on
how lenders have to calculate what a borrower owes when a buy-to-let
mortgage falls into arrears. UK Finance says this has led to
wholesale reviews of a large number of cases on an individual basis.
However, repossession applications are only instigated when “all
other options have been exhausted.” This could account for the
backlog which it now says has distorted the overall picture.

It shows though how
some buy-to-let landlords are struggling balancing their finances,
especially those who are highly geared with mortgage finance. Next
year the phased-in reduction in mortgage interest relief will be
fully implemented adding even more tension into the equation.

David Smith, policy
director at the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), has said:

“Repossessions for
mortgage arrears take place for many different reasons.

“Mortgage interest
relief changes, which are now almost fully implemented, the
increasing cost of regulation and the ever increasing time to
repossess a property are all major factors.’

“Since most
repossessions of this kind lead to tenants being evicted it is vital
that the next government actively supports the majority of landlords
doing a good job to provide the homes to rent the country needs.

“If we want to
develop long-term tenancy models we need also to support landlords to
stay in the market long term.”

Mark Pilling
managing director at Spicerhaart Corporate Sales told
MortgageStrategy.co.uk:

“Arrears remain
low, but with weak retail performance and worsening economic data,
it’s difficult to imagine this being sustained long into the new
year. The mortgage possessions figures are concerning. UK Finance are
right to point out that this stems in part from historic cases but it
is nonetheless a significant jump.”

David Smith added
further:

“We warned the
government that the tax increases they have imposed on landlords
would be counter-productive and these figures show how right we were.

“All they are
achieving is driving landlords to leave the market, damaging
investment and making it more difficult for tenants to find somewhere
suitable to live.

“Whoever is in
government following the election needs to completely change the
approach and start to support good landlords to encourage them to
invest to meet the rising demand for rented housing.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Buy-to-Let repossessions rise says UK Finance | LandlordZONE.

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Lifetime deposit plan welcomed

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Conservative plans to introduce lifetime deposits – an idea first mooted by the RLA – has been welcomed. The Conservatives made the announcement on ‘Lifetime Rental Deposits’ in an overnight press briefing. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told journalists: “The costs of deposits make it harder to move. We are going to fix that. “We will end […]

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