The hybrid letting agency that’s bucking all trends

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In the midst of one of the UK’s largest online letting agencies closing its doors to new business and others losing money raised from Crowdfunding hand over first, LettingSupermarket.com are well and truly bucking the trend.

They successfully completed two crowdfunding campaigns in 2015 and 2016 and raised £375,000 of seed funding from 121 investors to help grow the business.

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Borough-wide licensing in Islington could lead to rent increases-RLA

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A borough-wide licensing scheme that has been proposed in Islington could lead to rent increases if it is introduced, the RLA has warned. Islington Council is proposing to introduce a borough-wide additional HMO licensing scheme, and a selective licensing scheme to cover all properties in the Finsbury Park ward not already covered by mandatory licensing. […]

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LLP or LTD for mixed age Joint Venture

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LLP or LTD Co.? We are a group of 4 individuals – all 40% tax payers looking to do a Commercial to Residential flip. Gross Development Value (GDV) £2.2M Net profit £450k (when the last of the 12 Residential units has sold!)

We will be borrowing from friends and family as well as the “banks”

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Watch out how you describe threatening tenants to the police

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I had cause to report the threatening behaviour of a male tenant to the Police. The tenant was British White in terms of appearance. I did not mention this and reported nothing about either his nationality or his appearance.

I then hear back from Kent Police that there were “racial undertones” in my reporting this tenant!

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RLA has published its own election manifesto…

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Landlords’
Vision:

With a general
election pending and the private rented sector (PRS) in crisis the
Residential Landlords Association has set-out a six-point manifesto
unveiling what it says is a “positive vision for the private rented
sector.”

Arguing that instead
of constant meddling, what the PRS needs is “a positive, ambitious
programme for the sector, which supports tenants and good landlords,
whilst at the same time rooting out the crooks who have no place in
the sector.”

The positive view of
the PRS is that 84 per cent of private tenants are satisfied with
their accommodation – a higher proportion than in the social sector –
and that private tenants stay for an average of four years plus. I
addition – despite misconceptions promulgated by the popular media –
88 per cent of private tenancies are ended by the tenant, says the
landlords’ association.

Its manifesto
stresses the importance of the private rented sector: “an important
source of housing for growing numbers of families with children,
older people, the homeless, students and young people who need to
swiftly access new work and educational opportunities.”

Key proposals
include:

• improving
  access to justice for tenants and landlords when things go wrong by
  developing a housing court,

• supporting
  vulnerable tenants by ending the Local Housing Allowance cap and
  ensuring councils have the resources to find, and
• rooting out
  criminal landlords using the wide range of powers they already have.

The RLA warns of
“noticeable rent rises as a result of the demand for private rented
housing outstripping supply”, and it calls on all parties involved
to boost supply by scrapping the Stamp Duty levy on additional
properties where landlords provide homes adding to the net supply of
housing.

Rent controls, the
RLA argues, should be rejected out of hand as they would serve only
to “dry up the supply of homes to rent”, and they would reduce
choice for tenants and thereby increasing rents overall.

David Smith, Policy
Director for the RLA, has said:

“For too long we
have let the actions of a minority of landlords who bring the sector
into disrepute dictate the debate around rented housing. Whilst we
must find and root out such people we cannot let it distract from the
positive news in the sector.

“The vast majority
of landlords and tenants enjoy good relations, with many tenants
staying long term in their rental properties.

“It is important
that we build upon this record, ensuring pro-growth policies to
ensure a sufficient supply of homes to rent, supporting vulnerable
tenants and ensuring tenants and landlords can access justice more
quickly if things do go wrong.

“We call on all
parties to accept our positive, pragmatic programme for the sector
and end the unnecessary scaremongering which is causing many tenants
to live in fear.”

The RLA’s election manifesto

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Welsh Housing Minister to speak at RLA Wales conference

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THE Welsh Housing Minister, Julie James AM, will address landlords, agents and property professionals at the Residential Landlord Association’s Future Renting Wales conference next month.

The third annual conference, in Cardiff, will be held at the city’s Jury’s Inn on November 28th offering landlords a valuable insight into the future of the private rented sector in Wales.

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Housing Minister to address RLA Wales conference

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The Welsh Housing Minister, Julie James AM will address landlords, agents and property professionals at the Residential Landlord Association’s Future Renting Wales conference next month. The third annual conference, in Cardiff, will be held at the city’s Jury’s Inn on November 28thoffering landlords a valuable insight into the future of the private rented sector in Wales. With the […]

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Grenfell: Phase One of inquiry report published

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The Phase One report of the Grenfell Tower fire inquiry has been published. The report states that the reason the fire spread so quickly to the whole building was due to Aluminum Composite Material (ACM) cladding. The Phase One report looked into established exactly what happened in the early hours of 14th June 2017, and […]

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RICS fine Countrywide £100,000 over client money security

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Yesterday the 30th October Countrywide Residential Lettings Nottingham faced a RICS Disciplinary Panel Hearing to defend the following charges:

“Between 2008 and 2018, the Firm transferred a sum of £10,093,866 of client funds, representing unclaimed and unidentified client balances that had not been claimed for six years or more

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New Electrical safety standards for England

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Electrical Safety:

ARLA propertymark
reminds us that the Commencement Order in Sections 122 and 123 of the
Housing and Planning Act 2016 (electrical safety standards) came into
force on 25 October 2019. This means that mandatory electrical safety
checks in the private rented sector in England regulations will be
implemented very soon.

The Housing and
Planning Act 2016, under Section 122, contains an enabling power to
allow the Secretary of State, through regulations, to impose duties
on private landlords ensuring that electrical safety standards are
met.

The frequency of checks and the qualifications for those electricians carrying them out, as well as penalties for breaches and an appeals process, are all likely to be specified soon.

However, with a general election now in progress it is likely to be the New Year before action is taken.

A working group of interested parties, including ARLA Propertymark, other industry representatives and landlord bodies, electrical and tenant bodies, have provided recommendations to government on the proposed requirements for electrical safety in the private rented sector (PRS).

Here is a summary of
the Electrical Safety Working Group recommendations provided by ARLA
Propertymark:

Recommendation 1:
Five yearly mandatory electrical installation checks should be set
out in secondary legislation.

Recommendation 2:
Visual checks of the safety of the electrical installation by
landlords at a change of tenancy should be encouraged as good
practice and set out in guidance.

Recommendation 3:
A report should be issued to the landlord which confirms that an EICR
has been completed along with confirmation that any remedial work
necessary has been undertaken satisfactorily. A copy should be issued
to the tenant at the beginning of the tenancy and should be made
available to local authorities on request.

Recommendation 4:
Landlord supplied electrical appliance testing and visual checks of
electrical appliances by landlords at a change of tenancy should be
encouraged as good practice and set out in guidance.

Recommendation 5:
The installation of Residual Current Devices (RCDs) by landlords
should be encouraged as good practice and set out in guidance.

Recommendation 6:
A Private Rented Sector electrical testing competent person’s
scheme should be set up which would be separate from existing
Building Regulations competent person’s scheme.

Recommendation 7:
DCLG should commission the Electrotechnical Assessment Specification
(EAS) management committee to consider the most effective method of
recognising ‘competent PRS testers’ to carry out electrical
inspections and tests.

Recommendation 8:
Legislative requirements should be phased in, beginning with new
tenancies, followed by all existing tenancies.

It is anticipated that the eventual regulations will follow closely these recommendations, so all PRS landlords should consider these and make plans to comply as soon as possible.

Electrical safety in the private rented sector

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