Surely there must be a more tax efficient way?

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In a nutshell; my wife and I own a trading company which produces profits of circa £200,000 a year. We each draw a salary of £12,500 based on advice from our accountants (which is tax free). We then declare £37,500 each of dividends

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Work harder to solve the housing crisis

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A recent IPSOS Mori survey for the Chartered Institute of Housing has shown the public don’t think their politicians are working hard enough to solve the housing crisis.

Renters are particularly concerned with the survey showing:

–

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Must I tell the Local Authority?

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Penultimate sale completed just over a week ago. I am no longer providing social, educational and interest free loan services; the Gov’t can do it now. A muted hooraaah.

Being the belt and braces type, I follow up all loose ends.

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Don’t worry Boris – Fergus will give you a home

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You need not worry Boris, because if you are Evicted from No 10 after the end of October when you have a general election Fergus will give you a home, but only on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy in leafy Ashford on Park Farm!

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Landlords in the Doldrums since Section 21 ban announced

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Landlord confidence in their own lettings business has reached a record low, according to research* by the NLA. In their survey for Q2 2019, only 29% of landlords said their business expectations for the next three months were good or very good

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Government Corrects Form 6A, again!

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Section 21 Notice:

With all the legal changes in the PRS that have been
implemented recently, the knock on effect can become too complex for most of
us, and it seems for the lawmakers too.

The changes have necessitated several changes to notices and
the “How to Rent Guide�, which landlords must now provide to their tenants.

The Section 21 notice (Form 6A) is an important notice which
must be correct at the time of service, otherwise it could be deemed an invalid
notice and landlords would be obliged to start the notice period over again –
two months plus is a long time to lose.

So when the government (MHCLG) updated the Form 6A the
errors in it were flagged up by an article written by lawyer Giles Peaker writing
for the Nearly Legal blog.

Nearly Legal writes:

“After this post (and some substantial behind the scenes
contacts from others), MHCLG have acknowledged that the amended Form 6A that
had been put up on the gov.uk site should indeed not have been put up.

“The form 6A has been replaced with the version in the May
2019 the Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (England)
(Amendment) Regulations 2019 (or rather that version has been re-instated).

“The form 6A on gov.uk is again safe to use. There is a note
on the page, as follows (which is slightly confusing, as the 8 August ‘update’
was the amended form, which it now appears was apparently uploaded silently on
30 July.)

“So there we are. Both the ‘How to Rent guide and Form 6A snafus have been corrected. It really shouldn’t be down to eagle eyed watchers like Rich Greenhill and David Smith to have to spot these things, though.�

The National Landlords’ Association write:

“This replication was spotted by NLA staff, who alerted MHCLG to the error. This has now been corrected…” 

Meera Chindooroy, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at
the NLA, says: 

“It’s of vital importance to all landlords that government
departments get forms such as this right. Incorrect forms may impact on
landlords’ ability to regain possession of their properties, regardless of
who is at fault. 

“We advise all landlords to ensure they serve the correct,
up-to-date documents as and when they are obligated to do so. MHCLG needs to
work with landlords to ensure they can do this.â€� 

So anyone down who downloaded Form 6A recently should check that they have the latest corrected version.

See all the relevant property related forms here

How to Rent Guide

LandlordZONE Forum post

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Government Corrects Form 6A, again! | LandlordZONE.

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Landlords – what would YOU like to see in a training course?

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One of the main concerns landlords have is keeping up with the myriad new laws and regulations that keep coming out. Not to mention getting a grip on the laws we already have!

I am in the process of developing a major new training course to help landlords with this. 

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Subsidence and the impact on your landlord insurance policy

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Landlords’ Insurance:

Subsidence is often somewhat over looked as a property issue,
but its impact should not be underestimated. Increases in temperature during
the summer months pose a significant problem for some properties, resulting in
costly damage as a result of subsidence. Claims related to subsidence are
increasing, so now more than ever it is important that, as a landlord, you
understand and are adequately prepared for problems related to subsidence in
your property.

What is subsidence?

Subsidence is a form of ground movement that impacts and
undermines the structural integrity of your property. It is caused when earth
beneath a building moves downwards, which in turn reduces the strength of the
property’s foundations. As a result the property becomes unstable and can begin
to crack and sink.

What are the causes
of subsidence?

A number of different factors can all contribute to
subsidence. The main causes of subsidence include:

• Hot and dry weather causing soil shrinkage
• Vegetation growing too close to the property –
  roots can disrupt the foundations and also draw water out from the soil
• Defective drainage can soften the ground under
  your property and cause soil to be washed away
• Natural decomposition of the soil reducing its
  volume

How to identify
subsidence in your property

Most people worry about cracks being a sign of subsidence,
and whilst they are, cracks on their own can also be as a result of settlement,
whereby a building moves under its own weight in its first few years and are often
no real cause for concern. However, there a few key tell-tale signs you should
look for that point towards subsidence and should be addressed quickly.

Warning signs
include:

• Diagonal cracks that increase in width the
  further away they are from the ground
• Cracking that is visible on the outside as well
  as inside of the property, that are at least 3mm wide and can be as thick as a
  10p coin
• Cracks in brick and plasterwork surrounding
  windows, doorframes and adjoining parts of the property, such as extensions
• Wrinkled wall paper at wall and ceiling joins
• Windows and doors that no longer open and close
  properly due to misshapen frames

It is really important that landlords contact their landlord insurance provider in the event that subsidence is discovered, or suspected, at the property. A comprehensive insurance policy will help to provide adequate support and guidance on how to manage this issue. Subsidence is a costly issue to fix and so early identification and treatment is important to mitigate issues for the landlord. In the first instance insurers will dispatch a surveyor to your property to identify the extent of the issue and to identify the cause of subsidence.

Subsidence requires careful monitoring over long periods of
time and often relies on specialist support to resolve.  Landlords should
note that, as a result of this, insurance claims related to subsidence can take
longer to resolve depending on the severity of damage and so early
identification and prevention are key for getting the issue resolved as quickly
as possible with minimal disruption for the landlord and their tenants.

Is subsidence really
becoming more common?

Recent research conducted by Hamilton Fraser Total Landlord Insurance, has analysed around 5,000 claims over a 10-year period to assess recurring patterns and statistics surrounding property claims, including subsidence. This useful information can help to advise landlords on how to best protect their property.

For example, Hamilton Fraser found that subsidence claims
have been increasing since 2014, resulting in a 24 per cent increase year on
year. In addition, unsurprisingly seasonality plays a significant role in the
number of subsidence claims, with steady claims throughout the year that begin
to dovetail in December. Heading into this year subsidence is on an upward
trajectory, after dipping around 2015-17.

Read the full 10 years of property claims report for more detailed analysis.

Can you prevent
subsidence?

Depending on the property’s circumstances, it may not always
be possible to completely prevent subsidence occurring. However, there are a
number of factors you can control which can help to reduce the risks of
subsidence.

For example:

• Avoid planting vegetation close to your property or any surrounding buildings
• Seek the advice of a surveyor or tree specialist about the impact any mature trees close to your property have, or potentially will have, on your property. Having these large trees lopped can help to minimise the risk of subsidence, however you will need to seek permission from your neighbours, or the council, to undertake this work if the tree is not on your personal property
• Make sure that you prune trees and shrubs to stop large scale water absorption Always check and maintain drains and pipework; this includes checking for blocked or leaking pipework and guttering which may have become clogged with dirt and leaves over time
• Make sure you always carry out property inspections to quickly identify any issues in the property, including subsidence. Prevention is always better than cure so spotting any issues associated with subsidence early can really make all the difference.
• Hamilton Fraser understands that issues with your property can leave you financially out of pocket as well as causing turmoil for you and your tenants. With this in mind Hamilton Fraser’s Total Landlord Insurance Premier Policy includes subsidence cover as standard, meaning should the worst happen your property is protected.

Find out more about Hamilton Fraser Total Landlord Insurance and subsidence.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Subsidence and the impact on your landlord insurance policy | LandlordZONE.

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Stock-on-Trent escapes for now

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All councils that wish to introduce Selective Licensing schemes that cover more than 20% of the area or 20% of the privately rented homes must first seek permission from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG). Stoke-on-Trent have recently had their application refused by MHCLG for a scheme that would cover 3000 properties in 154 street in 14 zones costing £500 for a five year licence per property.

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Form 6A now corrected

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MHCLG have finally as of yesterday updated and corrected the wording of the Section 21 official document 6A seeking possession. This is after articles written by Giles Peaker  in Nearly legal along with behind the scenes communication. Click here to view his article.

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