Low-tech solution cuts high fire risks and costs

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Letter Box Seal:

The GDPR regulations, an EU directive on data protection, now incorporated into our Data Protection Act 2018, has many implications for landlords and letting agents: handling personal data when letting properties such as application forms, tenancy agreements, tenant referencing, payment bank and credit card details, etc.

This even extends to the rental property itself, as indicated below. Personal mail is personal data and any letters arriving at a property after a tenant has vacated is personal to the tenant. Experienced landlords will know that mail keeps arriving for previous tenants months, even years after they have left, even when they have re-directed their mail. Also, an open letter box represents a fire risk when paper builds-up inside a vacant property.

Property security specialists, VPS have come up with a rather innovative solution which is now been implemented by local councils, both to minimise fire risk in vacant properties and comply with the GDPR – letterbox seals are helping local authorities and housing organisations comply with the GDPR, save costs and improve fire safety, according to the company. This approach is recommended for private landlords as well.

With the new GDPR rules in force, councils and housing organisations are required by law to demonstrate that any excess mail delivered to vacant properties is removed & disposed of in a confidential manner.  Many insurance policies insist that combustible materials are removed to maintain the fire regulation compliance of vacant sites.

Many makeshift seals have been used to overcome these problems, but now a purpose-built letterbox seal prevents the accumulation of post, helping local councils save money and comply with their obligations.

The property management specialist, VPS, who introduced the custom-made kits last month, have had them cut from steel, and already installed them in over 500 vacant properties.

Dave Butcher, VPS’ North West Operations Manager says:

“When we saw how some of our clients were sealing up letterboxes, with bits of mesh, wood, nails and so on, we designed a letterbox seal that is a well-made, easy to install, strong piece of kit that prevents combustible materials building up inside an empty property.

“There are almost 20 deliberate fires started a day across the UK, and empty properties are a prime target. With November 5^th approaching, there’s an added risk of fireworks being shoved through letterboxes too.

The clear reduction in fire risk together with the savings made from not having to certificate the disposal of post delivered to comply with GDPR regulations, this simple piece of kit is an easy choice. Plus, it looks a whole lot better than slapping a piece of wood or steel mesh across the old letterbox.’

Even though VPS, who have specialised in vacant property protection for nearly three decades, and are known for their hi-tech security solutions, sometimes the simplest ideas work best they say.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Low-tech solution cuts high fire risks and costs | LandlordZONE.

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Shelter’s harassment of letting agents is futile, so why are they doing it?

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Shelter’s campaign against letting agents started with an attempt to establish a legal principle in an action against a single-branch agency. lhttps://www.property118.com/shelters-campaign-rosie-likely-succeed-got-court/

The campaign was expanded under the new CEO, Polly Neate, and the Director of Communications

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Buy-to-let still healthy & re-mortgaging hits all-time high

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BTL Mortgages:

The proportion of buy-to-let (BTL) re-mortgaging hit a record high in Q3 2018. More landlords were looking to secure cheaper deals in order to offset their extra costs and tax changes, in an attempt to maximise their profits, though the tax up of new BTL mortgages is down.

The Financial Advisor Confidence Tracking (FACT) index produced quarterly by Paragon Mortgages has been tracking financial adviser sentiment since 1995, based on the number of mortgages introduced to borrowers over the previous quarter.

The index score is calculated as a percentage of a baseline figure and adjusted to account for the volume of business which advisers expect to complete over the following quarter. 54% of respondents to this survey are from directly authorised firms under the FCA’s mortgage regulations and 43% are from appointed representative firms.

The FACT index rating covering all mortgages for Q3 2018 was 102.0, up slightly on the previous quarter.

In the buy-to-let market, intermediaries report that re-mortgaging has increased sharply, up from 49% in Q2 to an all-time high of 57%.

The proportion of landlords re-mortgaging first outstripped those seeking funds for portfolio expansion back in 2015 following announcement of landlord tax changes in the Summer Budget.

Since then, re-mortgaging has continued to rise almost inexorably and today six out of ten intermediaries say the main reason landlords are re-mortgaging is to secure a better interest rate.

It would appear that landlords view re-mortgaging as a key part of their strategy to lower costs and help mitigate the impact of higher taxation. But proportion of first-time landlords business fell to 10% and landlords looking for mortgages for portfolio expansion was down from 23% to 19% of the total.

Six out of ten landlords say that they re-mortgaged is to secure a better interest rate, and overall BTL represented 19% of intermediary business during Q3, the remainder from owner-occupiers.

John Heron, managing director of Mortgages at Paragon, had said:

“Landlords are investing less in the Private Rented Sector which, in time, is going to make it more difficult for tenants to find a property at a rent they can afford. This is clearly a response to the increase in costs that landlords face following changes to stamp duty and tax relief on finance costs.

“It’s no surprise therefore to see that landlords are taking the opportunity to reduce their mortgage finance costs as one part of their strategy to mitigate the impact of higher taxation.

“Tax bills due in January 2019 will include the first phase impact from the withdrawal of mortgage interest tax relief and landlords are preparing carefully for the next stages ahead.�

Paragon FACT INDEX Q3 2018

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90 days left to file your 2017 to 2018 tax return

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Tax Return:

Don’t let that nagging thought that your tax return needs doing, spoil your Christmas. Get yourself organised and get it done before Christmas and tucking in to that Christmas dinner will be a whole lot more relaxing.

Taxpayers can complete their Self-Assessment Income Tax Return for the previous tax year from as early as the 6^th of April, but many choose to wait until after Christmas to complete it. This often leads to a last minute panic because important information may be missing, and accountants will be at their busiest – in fact some charge more for January tax work.

So try to avoid that last minute tax return rush by completing your 2017 to 2018 Self Assessment tax return early. With the 2018 Budget still fresh in our minds, why not get the paperwork out and get down to doing you 2017-18 computations.

HMRC says, Last year, more than 11 million HMRC tax customers completed a 2016 to 2017 Self Assessment tax return, with 10.7 million completing on time. There were 4,852,744 customers who filed in January 2018 (44.8% of the total), and 758,707 on 31 January, the deadline day.

With around 90 days left to go before the 2017 to 2018 Self Assessment deadline on 31 January 2019, taxpayers can complete their tax return in advance, find out how much tax they need to pay, and pay the money owed by the deadline – taking away the stress from around the holiday period.

Mel Stride, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, says:

“Last year, more than 11 million taxpayers completed their Self Assessment tax returns, collectively bringing in a record £32.7 billion in revenue. Revenue that has gone on to fund our vital public services.

“Self-employed workers and small businesses make up a significant proportion of our Self Assessment tax returns and the government is committed to supporting them and reducing the administrative burden they may face. The Personal Tax Account, for example, allows you to file your return and manage your tax affairs online, quickly and simply, whenever you want.�

Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, says:

“The deadline for completing Self Assessment tax returns may be 100 days away, yet many of us wait until January to start the process. Time flies once the festive period is underway, yet the ‘niggle’ to file your tax return remains.

“We want to help people get their tax returns right – starting the process early and giving yourself time to gather all the information you need will help avoid the last minute, stressful rush to complete it on time. Let’s beat that niggle.�

Tax is automatically deducted from the majority of UK taxpayers’ wages, pensions or savings. For people or businesses where tax is not automatically deducted, or when they may have earned additional untaxed income, and this includes rental income, they are required to complete a Self Assessment tax return each year.

Last year, a record 93% of customers did their return online and HMRC provides lots of support for people who need to do their tax return. There are films and webinars which show each stage of the process, with special guidance for different types of people.

Help is also available on the Self Assessment section on GOV.UK or from the Self Assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310.

The deadline for paper tax returns is 31 October 2018, and the deadline for online tax returns and paying any tax owed is 31 January 2019. If customers miss the deadline, they can face a minimum £100 penalty for late submissions.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – 90 days left to file your 2017 to 2018 tax return | LandlordZONE.

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9 years and still fighting

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Anybody had a Buy to let Mortgage with Chelsea Building Society? Between Circa on or around 2009 you are likely to have been over charged in interest.

If you have been repossessed around this time then you need to check your figures.

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Rights of access issues pre-completion?

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Is it possible to proceed with exchange and completion on a property, by signing a disclaimer for your solicitor and lender, if there are outstanding rights of access issues with the new property?

I am buying the property

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The 22 Year Old Who Purchased A Block Of 24 Flats

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I recently came across a Facebook post showing a picture of Alistair Trippett, a 22 year old from Stoke-on-Trent who recently completed a purchased of a block of 24 flats.

Intrigued by how he managed to pull off a deal of this nature at such a young age

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10 free places for Property118 readers to meet Mark Smith (Cotswold Barristers) 13th November

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Our Hon. Legal Counsel, Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers will be presenting an overview of several landlords tax strategies at the J6 Property Professionals & Investors meet on the 13th of November 2018 in Slough.

We have very kindly been offered 10 Free places for first time attenders to the J6 event for Property118 readers on a first come first served basis.

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Banks are Preventing Renting to Benefit Claimants

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Mortgage Lending:

The Residential Landlord’s Association (RLA) says Urgent action is needed to tackle discrimination against benefit claimants because buy-to-let mortgage providers are refusing loans.

Northern Ireland landlord Helena McAleer has had the mortgage on her rental property revoked because she is renting to a benefit claimant.

After contacting her bank, Natwest, she was told that the value of her property had increased and that there was a potential that she could release equity from the house. But after further discussions with the bank, she was told that she was no longer eligible for her buy-to-let mortgage from Natwest as it was the bank’s policy not to allow rentals to benefit claimants.

The bank’s buy-to-let eligibility criteria notes:

“We will not consider multiple tenancies, Homes of Multiple Occupancy, bedsits, DSS tenants or ‘Related Person’ tenancies.â€�

Following this experience with her bank, Ms McAleer has since started a campaign on Facebook in which she writes:

“I was beyond disgusted by the statement. Actually more than that I cried my eyes out for hours, how could a bank, a person at a bank make the decision that I had to kick someone out of their home simply because of their circumstances, because fundamentally that’s what they are asking me to do.�

Ms McAleer has also started a petition calling for measures to tackle such practices which clearly discriminate against benefit and Universal Credit claimants.

Research carried out by the Residential Landlords Association’s (RLA) mortgage consultants, 3mc, last year found that 66 per cent of lenders representing approximately 90 per cent of the buy-to-let market do not allow properties to be rented out to those in receipt of housing benefit. This includes TSB, Virgin and the Natwest.

In a letter being sent to the Treasury Minister responsible for banking, John Glen MP, the RLA is calling for:

• The Government to use the influence it has in those banks in which it currently has shares to end such discriminatory practices.
• The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), working with the Bank of England, to undertake a full investigation into the extent of this problem and prepare plans to end it. The RLA believes such practices breach a number of principles within the FCA’s ‘Treating Customers Fairly’ agenda.
• The Equalities and Human Rights Commission to undertake a review of whether such practices breach equalities law.

David Smith, Policy Director for the RLA said:

“With growing numbers of benefit claimants now relying on the private rented sector, it is shameful that many lenders are preventing landlords renting property to some of the most vulnerable in society with little or no justification.

“The Banks have had long enough to get their house in order. It is now time to take firm action to stop such unjust practices.�

Natwest’s lending criteria website can be accessed here  – It states under the buy-to-let eligibility criteria: “We will not consider multiple tenancies, Homes of Multiple Occupancy, bedsits, DSS tenants or ‘Related Person’ tenancies.â€�

Ms McAleer’s Facebook campaign page can be accessed here  – The petition is available here

Details of the research prepared for the RLA on lenders preventing landlords renting to benefit claimants can be accessed here

Details of the Financial Conduct Authority’s ‘Treating Customers Fairly’ regime can be accessed here

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Proposals to add shared occupancy test to Rent-A-Room relief to be scrapped

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This summer, HM Treasury proposed a new “shared occupancy test� for those renting their spare rooms to continue to qualify for the annual £7,500 rent-a-room tax relief. This was due to be included in the 2018-2019 Finance Bill and would have brought an end to rent-a-room relief for those who rented out a single room whilst they were absent or from renting out entire properties whilst away from home.

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