Beware of Bats

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Beware of bats this Halloween as over the winter months bats hibernate to stay out of the cold weather and residential buildings, in particular, present an ideal warm roosting site for female bats to rear their young.

Scotland is home to nine species of bats and all have European protection.

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New Building Safety Regulator

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Dame Judith Hackitt has been named as the government adviser on the new Building Safety Regulator, which will have the power to apply criminal sanctions to those breaking the new rules.

A respected expert in building safety, Dame Judith Hackitt will provide independent advice to the government on how best to establish the powerful new Regulator.

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Access to electrical cupboard withheld?

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I have a few apartments. The electrical meters etc. are communal and outside in a cupboard. The management agent refuses to let me have keys. I have asked many times.

So, the inevitable happens. Out of hours, my pregnant tenant loses power.

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Tackling problem tenants – act quickly to secure the right outcome

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Evictions:

2019 has been a
testing year for landlords, with consultation on the abolition of
Section 21 legislation, the “rogue landlords” database and
extensive media attention on assured tenancy. The focus has very much
remained on tenant rights, while, conversely, landlord rights appear
to be taking a back seat. Add to the mix Labour’s unhelpful and
inflammatory proposals around the sale of rental properties to
tenants at sub-market rents and the result is an unpleasant
environment for landlords.

When it comes to
dealing with problem tenants, we regularly handle cases whereby
landlords have failed to act quickly enough. In recent months, this
has worsened – thanks to media demonisation of landlords, some are
wary of evicting tenants that cause damage, fail to pay rent or break
their tenancy agreement for fear of being criticised.

Instead, they
attempt to salvage the situation, at best kicking the can down the
road and at worst exacerbating tensions.

Rent arrears are
usually the first visible warning sign, yet we are finding that
landlords continue to delay before taking action. We recently helped
a landlord whose tenant racked up arrears of circa £29,000 – along
with very significant damage.

The faster action is
taken, the sooner you will regain control of your property.

Issuing a Section 8
notice is the most effective route to secure the eviction of a
problem tenant, although it’s important to be clear on the
situations that do and don’t warrant eviction. The most common
issues are rent arrears, damage and nuisance behaviour, however
circumstances do vary. On occasion, we see cases where several issues
coexist, creating a major headache for the landlord and making speedy
action even more vital to avoid repair costs racking up.

This month alone,
we’ve seen a variety of Section 8 cases, with tenants arrested for
anti-social behaviour, GBH and domestic violence, through to rent
arrears and more unusual cases, such as large sports equipment being
erected on public right of way outside the property.

There are many
scenarios that warrant the lawful eviction of a tenant, including
repeated failure to pay rent on time, neglect or damage of the
property, nuisance behaviour, use of the property for illegal or
immoral purposes, receipt of a criminal conviction, or unauthorised
pets living within the property.

Once landlords make
the decision to seek the legal eviction of a tenant, it’s vital to
avoid mistakes – some of which could have significant repercussions
and could derail the case. Communicating with a tenant is a good
example – while for some, particularly younger landlords, it will
seem natural to use social media to contact a tenant, Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter should always be off limits. A letter should be
the first port of call, followed by an email if that should fail. It
isn’t unheard of for a landlord to be accused of harassment where
care hasn’t been taken to limit communication to acceptable
channels.

A thorough record of
events, along with photographs, is important – it will prove
invaluable should court intervention be required. Paperwork and
records should also be stored carefully to avoid cases encountering
issues due to missing documents. In the past, we have helped
landlords and agents when cases have gone awry due to paperwork not
being in order – the last thing a landlord needs is to end up back at
square one.

Once a Section 8
notice has been issued, notice period for tenants can range from as
little as 24 hours, to as much as 2 months – the notice period will
depend largely on the reason for the eviction and those living at the
property.

It’s important to
seek legal advice to ensure that eviction of problem tenants is
achieved as swiftly as possible, which will help to prevent
additional damage to the property and limit stress as much as
possible.

Despite the media
depiction of landlords, the law does have the teeth to protect
landlords where tenancy agreements are broken – the key to achieving
the right outcome is acting quickly. Don’t delay and wait for the
problem to worsen.

By Sim Sekhon, MD of LegalforLandlords

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Tackling problem tenants – act quickly to secure the right outcome | LandlordZONE.

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Rent controls dry up supply and hurt tenants

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Rent controls hurt tenants by drying up the supply of homes to rent and in some cases increasing rents according to new research published today. With the Mayor of London calling for the power to introduce rent controls across the capital

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Rent controls hurt tenants says new research

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Rent controls hurt tenants by drying up the supply of homes to rent and in some cases increasing rents according to new research published today. With the Mayor of London calling for the power to introduce rent controls across the capital, an analysis of existing research by the Residential Landlords Association on the impact of […]

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Paying for the Postcode

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It costs an average of £245,128 to buy a house in the UK; but how much of that is actually spent on the house itself, from bricks to baths, and how much is generated just from the location?

Research from comparethemarket.com indicates which regions are the most expensive in terms of the location alone

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A day in court with Shelter and the council’s impartiality?

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After a section 8 possession hearing, we got the possession granted and before court shelter approached us, but we declined to speak to them. Shelter also confirmed that the tenant was receiving housing through Universal Credit, but not paying us the landlord.

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BBC Inside Out uncovers opportunistic tenants subletting via Airbnb

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On Monday 28 October at 7.30pm, BBC Inside Out (London*) will highlight the growing number of people making a business out of their tenancy via short-term rental platforms, without their landlords’ permission. The show covers the story of a landlord who ended up £10,000 out of pocket after his tenants ‘professionally’ sublet his property in Bloomsbury on Airbnb.

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Three more agents expelled from TPO

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Agent
Registration:

Three agents were
expelled from The Property Ombudsman Scheme (TPO) in October after
owing their landlords substantial amounts of money.

With fines totalling
just short of £20,000, the three letting agents were expelled from
the Scheme and fined.

The three were based
in Essex, Kent and North London and as members of TPO, the agents are
obliged to comply with the awards made by the Ombudsman, which all
three agents failed to do.

Landlords in
Winchmore Hill area of London (N21) are being warned that a local
estate and letting agent Assetgrove Prime Sales & Lettings Ltd
(trading as Assetgrove Prime) has been expelled from The Property
Ombudsman (TPO) scheme owing a landlord £1,820.50.

A landlord made a
complaint to The Property Ombudsman after claiming that the agent
failed to pass on the last month’s rent and failed to compensate him
for a new cooker which was missing at the end of the tenancy.

The landlord was
also dissatisfied that when he raised the issue with Assetgrove
Prime, as the employee he had been dealing with stopped responding,
the agent denied that the tenancy was anything to do with them and
said it should be directed towards the employee who actually worked
for another agency.

Landlords, tenants,
house buyers and sellers in Strood, Kent, are being warned that a
local estate agent Chambers Estates Kent Ltd, (trading as Chambers
Estates) has also been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO)
scheme.

A complaint was
brought to TPO by a landlord who said Chambers Estates owed him three
months’ rent which had been paid by the tenant but not passed on.
The statements provided showed that rent was collected by the agent
but not paid over to the landlord. The agency agreement was clear
that monies should be paid over within a month of receipt.

The agent did not
respond to the original complaint submitted by the landlord nor a
subsequent letter sent by a solicitor. The Ombudsman supported the
complaint and awarded the landlord £2,376 for rent income due and a
further £400 for connected aggravation and complaint handling
failures.

Chambers Estates
failed to pay the award and The Ombudsman referred the agent to the
scheme’s independent Compliance Committee, which ruled the firm
should be expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme. Chambers
Estates is not currently registered with a redress scheme, which is a
requirement of every sales and letting agent in order to trade
legally.

Trading Standards
have been informed of the expulsion. Chambers also do no not appear
to be a member of a Client Money Protection scheme, also a legal
requirement, and do not have any professional memberships. The agent
does still have properties listed with OnTheMarket, however, these
are outdated.

Buyers, sellers,
tenants and landlords in Ilford, Essex, are being warned that a local
estate and letting agent Kingsman Property Limited (trading as
Kingsman Property) has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman
(TPO) scheme owing a landlord £14,921.23.

A landlord made a
complaint to The Property Ombudsman after claiming that the agent
failed to pass on rent owed to him, which had been paid by the
tenant.

The landlord had
entered into a Guaranteed Rental Income Scheme with Kingsman Property
which was meant to ensure that the landlord received the rent every
month. The agent also confirmed that they would obtain a multiple
occupation (HMO) licence as it was their intention to rent the
property to more than two tenants. The landlord received the rent for
a period of eight months, but Kingsman Property then stopped paying
the rent, resulting in the landlord dis-instructing them. At the
time, the agent owed the landlord more than £12,000 in rent.

Unfortunately, by
the time the landlord brought the matter to The Property Ombudsman,
it transpired that the agent had gone into administration, therefore
it was highly unlikely that any award that was made would be
recovered, but the landlord asked TPO to proceed anyway.

The Ombudsman
concluded that several aspects of the service that Kingsman Property
had provided fell considerably short of the standard of service
expected under TPO’s Codes of Practice. This included the failure
to ensure that the property complied with current HMO regulations,
the failure to register some of the deposits that they received and
the failure to pay the rent as agreed. The Ombudsman made an award of
£14,921.23, which included the rent that had not been paid
(£12,421.23), the deposit (£1,000) as well as an award (£1,500)
for the avoidable aggravation and distress caused.

Kingsman Property
failed to pay the award and the Ombudsman referred the agent to the
scheme’s independent Compliance Committee, which ruled the firm
should be expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme.

Kingsman Property is
not currently registered with a redress scheme, which is a
requirement of every sales and letting agent in order to trade
legally. Trading standards have been informed about Kingsman
Property’s expulsion. They also do no not appear to be a member of
a Client Money Protection scheme, also a legal requirement, do not
have any professional memberships or advertise on the any of the main
property portals, Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket.

Every sales and
lettings agent in England is required to register with a
Government-approved redress scheme, which enables consumers to have
their complaint reviewed independently in the event of a dispute
arising that the consumer is unable to resolve with the agent
directly.

An agreement
between the two Government-approved redress schemes (The Property
Ombudsman and The Property Redress Scheme, means Kingsman Property
Ltd will not be able to register for any form of redress until the
award is paid. Redress registration is required for the agents to
trade legally.

A full list of
Client Money Protection schemes, is: Money Shield, Client Money
Protect, NALS Client Money Protection, Propertymark, RICS, UKALA
Client Money Protection

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Three more agents expelled from TPO | LandlordZONE.

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