Tax on gifted sale of site to daughter?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

My wife and I are in our 70’s and our property has a sizeable garden which we want to split to allow our daughter and partner to build their own property. We will be gifting the property to them which at this stage does not have planning permission

The post Tax on gifted sale of site to daughter? appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Tax on gifted sale of site to daughter?

Shelter CEO is confused about the reasons for evictions

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Polly Neate took part in the Tonight programme last week called Britain’s Property Crisis. Click Here to see episode.

She said, just about 5 and a half minutes into the programme “At Shelter we see, every day

The post Shelter CEO is confused about the reasons for evictions appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Shelter CEO is confused about the reasons for evictions

What would you do?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

We have 3 properties. The landlord owns the freehold and estate agency below our 3 flats. We are the only people who own flats in this block. His wife runs a letting agency. She rented the 3 flats out for us

The post What would you do? appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: What would you do?

Study – standards in British rental properties rapidly improving

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Housing Conditions:

A study* carried out into the British rental market by AXA Insurance shows that standards are beginning to improve, but safety is still an issue.

Since 2014, the government has been implementing a whole raft of new legislation aimed at UK landlords and the standards in their rental properties. The amount of new regulations introduced by the UK Parliament and devolved governments aimed at improving the lot of tenants has been unprecedented.

Some interesting statistics on the English rental housing sector produced by the latest available English Housing Survey reveal that:

• 5m households are in PRS. That’s 20% of all households. Up from 12% in 2006
• 24% of private renters receive housing benefit, but only 5% had their full rent covered by HB
• 74% were working
• Households in the PRS spend around 35% of their income on rent. 45% in London, 32% excluding London
• 71% found it “fairlyâ€� or “veryâ€� easy to pay their rent which falls to 41% in London
• 9% of private renters had been in arrears in the last year, compared to 25% of social renters
• Average weekly rent is £184 overall: £300 in London, £153 outside London
• 66% of private renters have no savings. Of the 1/3 who do, 41% of them were under £5,000
• The average tenancy length 4.3 years
• 82% of tenants were satisfied with accommodation. 10% dissatisfied, compared to 13% of social renters
• Of those who had repairs carried out in last 12 months, 18% were dissatisfied with how it was done. Compared to 22% of social renters
• Of tenancies that were brought to an end, 73% were because the tenant wanted it to. 11% were ended by the landlord. Only 2% left because of rent increase
• Of those 11% ended by LL, 63% were because the landlord wanted to sell or use the property (but could be skewed)

Government measures starting to take effect

The rental market insurer AXA has been tracking progress over the past four years, and its findings paint a rather positive picture with “significant leaps forward in landlords’ professional standards, but safety is still compromised in too many rentals, it says.

“Despite a broadly improving picture, the private rental sector still has catching up to do on important areas like fire and gas safety. Every rental property requires an annual gas safety inspection – but just 58 per cent have had this check in the past 12 months.

“Four in ten tenants, meanwhile, say they do not have smoke alarms installed, despite landlords being legally required to fit them on each floor of a property. This is still a marked improvement on 2014, prior to the rule being introduced, when six in ten tenants lacked them.

Landlords providing these essentials – 2018 compared to 2014

• A written Tenancy Agreement – 81 per cent (up from 73 per cent)
• EPC (provided) – 33 per cent (up from 19 per cent)
• Current gas safety certificate – 58 per cent (up from 30 per cent)
• Inventory of contents – 41 per cent (up from 36 per cent)
• Smoke alarms (on each floor) – 59 per cent (up from 42 per cent)
• Carbon monoxide alarms – 34 per cent (up from 27 per cent)

Two other requirements that UK landlords must provide to tenants are an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), and (in England and Wales) the Government’s ‘How to Rent’ Guide, informing them of their rights and responsibilities.

As yet, only one-third of tenants say they have seen the EPC (up from 19 per cent in 2014), and just 15 per cent of those eligible say they have received the Government’s mandatory guide.

Of course, these are essential documents to be provided if the landlords is to be able to provide a valid section 21 notice, so many landlords are placing themselves in a precarious position should they have trouble and need to evict.

The recent legislation introduced by government has considerably increased pressure on landlords to raise their game. But AXA finds there is still little awareness among tenants of their basic rights and entitlements:

• 75 per cent of tenants surveyed did not know that their landlord is legally required to ensure a minimum energy rating for the property under the recently effective (April 2018) MEES regulations.
• 89 per cent of landlords placed the responsibility to keep chimneys swept on the tenant when in fact it is a landlord’s responsibility.
• AXA found that given their survey replies, it estimates around 150,000 rental properties nationwide are illegally failing to meet minimum Energy Standards – EPC minimum of E energy rating.
• However, 70 per cent of rental properties now fall into the A-C bands for energy performance, but ‘cold hazard’ is still rated the number one health risk associated with living in private rented accommodation.
• 50 per cent of tenants surveyed said they felt their rental property negatively impacts their health, most citing cold, damp or out-of-date heating systems.

An Improving Situation

This latest survey however gives a rather up-beat picture, with change taking place; landlords are upgrading their properties at a rapid rate, with figures jumping on smart meters in particular.

Energy-saving features in rental properties

• All windows double-glazed – 78 per cent (up from 73 per cent)
• Smart meters installed – 26 per cent (up from 14 per cent)
• Roof insulation – 34 per cent (up from 32 per cent)
• Solar panels – 2 per cent (up from 1 per cent)

Gareth Howell, Managing Director, AXA Insurance, says:

“Landlords are getting more professional, and we are seeing standards rise in British rentals, driven by legislation and desire of landlords themselves.

“We know that many start out as ‘accidentals’, and there is a big learning curve for them at the start, particularly as legislation changes so often.

“We find that both landlords and their tenants lag behind, so public awareness campaigns are vital to correct myths and promote new rules and standards. Gas and fire safety should be the priorities here: our research suggests that millions of properties are not compliant with today’s laws.�

*Figures are based on a survey of 2,000 UK tenants conducted in August 2018 by AXA Insurance.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Study – standards in British rental properties rapidly improving | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Study – standards in British rental properties rapidly improving

UKAR/Mortgage Express moving the goalposts!

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Thoughts and any advice please ref UKAR/Mortgage Express.

I have 18 Mortgages with them all around 10 years old. (out of a portfolio of approx 70) I asked them in March this year if I could sell a property without them using their right to consolidate.

The post UKAR/Mortgage Express moving the goalposts! appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: UKAR/Mortgage Express moving the goalposts!

Some of the best BTL market analysis graphs seen

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Shawbrook Bank have released their 2018 Buy to Let report and it contains some of the most succinct analysis and graphs of the current BTL market and Tax regime for Landlords seen.

Click Here to download the full report.

The post Some of the best BTL market analysis graphs seen appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Some of the best BTL market analysis graphs seen

The Condensation Conundrum

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Viewpoint by Tom Entwistle

As winter approaches outside temperatures drop and the perennial landlord’s problem of winter condensation and black mould rear their ugly heads again.

The question is, how do you know if this is caused by the building or the tenant, or is it a combination of the two?

Dampness or condensation symptoms are very similar but the cures are very different, and to the uninitiated applying the wrong methods can be both expensive and ineffective.

When tenants start to complain about “damp� to their letting agents and landlords, you need to have some answers.

What’s more, condensation and damp have a bearing on evictions and in particular the issue of the so called Section 21 “revenge eviction” which landlords need to be well award of.

• What causes condensation?
• Is it the same as dampness?
• Why is it that some tenants have condensation problems while others don’t, even in the same property?
• Why is it that condensation problems are more prevalent in rented properties?
• Why are older properties affected more than modern ones?
• What effective measures can be taken to solve this problem?
• What can landlords do if they are taken to court over this or when rent arrears tenants claim in court they don’t pay because of dampness?

I’ve had many years dealing with these problems in residential as well as commercial properties and in that time I’ve begun to develop a good understanding of this tricky problem and how to deal with it – in this article I will attempt to answer these questions and provide some solutions.

Despite many articles I’ve seen written on the subject, it’s not generally very well understood.

There’s a lot of misunderstanding around it, and even some so called “experts� get it wrong.

Mention damp and black mould, and we’ve all seen those nasty pictures in print and in the television documentaries, and immediately the landlord is denounced; he or she becomes the pariah figure who is condemning tenants to live in appalling health-threatening conditions.

Yes, it’s true that some properties have such serious defects that they are prone to damp and condensation and their owners need to put them right.

But far more common is a situation where the root-cause of the problem is the way the tenants are living, or sometimes it’s a combination of that and inadequacies with the property.

The problems landlords have is that tenants, the general public, environmental health officers (EHO), solicitors and judges in court, very often just don’t understand the difference between damp and condensation, their root causes, and who is really at fault.

What causes condensation?

Tenants often report dampness in a property when in fact the black mould on the walls and musty smells on clothes are caused by condensation.

Condensation occurs when warm moisture laden air meets a cold surface. Typical is when steamy air from cooking, washing and drying clothes rises up to the top of the house and meets a cold surface; easily visible as water droplets on window pains and tiles, but less so when the moisture meets cold wall paper, plastered walls, carpets and clothes in wardrobes in unheated rooms. Then it is invisible, quickly absorbed into these materials and results in that cold musty smell and mould spores.

So, there are two main causes of condensation:

1 – Too much steam and moisture laden air that rises through the house rather than being vented outside at source; usually from the kitchen or bathroom, or typically when clothes are left to dry on radiators.

2 – A house with rooms that are far too cold.

Ventilation

When steam is produced it should be vented out of the house in the room where it is produced, by opening windows, using permanent vents or extractor fans, and closing doors to prevent it circulating round the house.

The problem is that opening windows in winter is not something people want to do as it cools the room, and providing permanent air vents does the same thing. I’ve seen many vents purposely blocked with rags by occupants.

It does not help that the modern house, with all our draft proofing measures, unlike the old days with chimney ventilation, becomes a hermetically sealed box, so even new houses suffer some condensation.

Rooms too Cold

It’s always the coldest rooms where condensation happens and black mould appears, usually tops of walls in bedrooms which receive the least heating.

Very often it’s simply a matter of not providing enough heat in the house, either to save money, because the occupants can’t afford to heat, or because the heating system is not up to it.

When the house is poorly insulated, as in many older properties without cavity walls, heating is expensive because a lot of it is being wasted. Then, lack of heat leads to colder and colder moisture absorbing walls and more and more condensation. It becomes a vicious cycle.

Tenanted properties are particularly prone as most tenants are trying to economise; out all day they have little or no heating, then in the evening they blast the place with steam from cooking and washing.

A really well insulated and heated house will rarely suffer much condensation because everything including carpets, wall paper and clothes in wardrobes are all nice and warm and will not absorb moisture, even when some steam is generated.

Interstitial Condensation

A technical term used to describe what happens when condensation remains a problem for a long time. The cold walls absorb more and more moisture which penetrates deep into the walls; the wall paper, plaster and masonry, and even timber, which will eventually lead to dry rot. The moisture is so deep it will take months to dry the building out, even when more than adequate heating is applied.

Likewise mould spores will develop on surfaces which eventually become toxic (causing a real health hazard) and are hard to eradicate.

So, once these conditions have been allowed to develop they can be very difficult to reverse; they do a lot of damage to the fabric of the building and they are a serious health issue for occupants and anyone attempting to clean up.

Dampness

Dampness is different to condensation and has different causes which are invariably defects in the building and most definitely a landlord issue. These are not difficult to spot and eliminate: a leaking roof, gutters and downspouts, rising damp in the lower parts of ground floor walls and floors in basements, or a leaking water pipe. All these will create a localised problem and will appear different to condensation and mould.

Older properties and insulation

Many rental properties fall into the older category and are without cavity walls and modern insulation standards. The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) gives an indication of this when a tenant enters into a tenancy.

The Government has announced changes to the Energy Bill to include a new law introducing a legal minimum energy efficiency standards for homes rented from landlords from 2018. They have also announced the introduction of measures from 2016, to allow councils and tenants to demand energy efficiency measures from landlords.

This means that one-in-ten buy-to-let homes will be unlettable in four years’ time unless their landlords take steps to improve their property’s energy efficiency.

Tenants will also be able to demand improvements to insulation from 2016, when landlords will not be able to refuse tenants’ “reasonable” requests for energy efficiency measures.

The legislation states that landlords must not let out properties with the two lowest energy efficiency ratings, F and G, after April 2018 at the latest. According to a recent English Housing Survey, 11.4pc of homes in the private rented sector were rated F or G in 2011.

The flagship government-backed loan scheme, The Green Deal, to help people give their homes green makeovers has been “disappointing”, the UK energy and climate change secretary has conceded.

This, it appears, is because the funding is expensive relative to other ways of doing this, and in general landlords are advised to make their own arrangements for bringing their properties up to modern insulation standards before these legal deadlines come in and make the letting illegal.

Revenge Evictions

Revenge or retaliatory evictions have been in the news recently, and although it appears many of the claims that landlords evict tenants just because they complain of the need for repairs have been exaggerated, nevertheless it is an issue.

It has resulted in the Coalition Government supporting a private member’s Bill to be introduced by Sarah Teather, though an adverse response from landlording bodies has now prompted a Government short enquiry.

Her proposal is that the use of section 21 should be limited when environmental health officers (EHO) deem the property to have serious defects and health and safety hazards, damp, condensation and mould being one of these.

Really bad conditions are largely confined to a small proportion of rogue landlords who for the want of a better term, let slums.

But all good landlords ought to be concerned about the proposals because damp, condensation and mould is so difficult to pin down to a cause – it can just as easily be the tenant as much as the building and landlord.

The concern is that if not handled very carefully, this proposed change will adversely affect ALL landlords as it will bring in a fundamental change in the tenant-landlord balance in housing tenure law.

Currently two restrictions are imposed on the section 21 process: licencing and deposit rules. For both of these the landlord is still in control – follow the rules and they retain control, that’s fair enough. Sarah Teather’s change will take the control out of the landlord’s hands and give this to the judgement of Environmental Health Officers (EHO) and the courts.

This has the potential to cause serious issues for ALL landlords because:

• (1) EHO judgements are sometimes suspect,
• (2) Convincing a judge on repair issues is challenging to say the least,
• (3) Both these services are seriously under resourced and currently cause long delays – add this extra workload, which could to be substantial, and chaos will inevitably ensue,
• (4) Gaining access to rented property to remedy defects is often very difficult for landlords,
• (5) The process is wide-open to abuse by those tenants who wish to avoid eviction by “creatingâ€� defects of their own.

By way of example: a recent case cited in the Letting Update Journal (Oct 2014) was of a tenant who refused to ventilate even though the radiators were covered in wet drying clothes. The property was covered in black mould even though it had been free of condensation problems with previous tenants. The tenant violently refused to follow advice and brought in the local authority Environment Health Officer.

After the inspection the EHO came up with a long list of modifications and “improvements� that the property needed, even though it had been fully refurbished before this tenancy, which included moving radiators, building a new internal wall and replacing a large bay window.

On appeal it seems the report was modified with more emphasis placed on the tenant’s responsibility in the issue, but nevertheless it illustrates the difficulties landlords will face with inexperienced EHOs, as this lady clearly was, if Sarah Teather’s rule becomes law.

In my experience a large percentage of the time condensation is caused by the tenant: (1) saving on heating costs and living in a cold house, (2) not ventilating when washing and cooking, (3) drying clothes on radiators etc.

Try to convince tenants, some EHOs, some judges and the general public that this is not the landlord’s fault and you are met with pure cynicism and you really are up against a serious lack of knowledge and understanding on the issue.

I’ve seen this problem develop with tenants from all socio-economic groups, so it’s not confined to the bottom end of the letting market. But often you will never convince the tenant or the authorities of the real cause unless they are experienced or you can show that previous tenants in the property never had an issue with condensation.

My concern with the Bill is that there is a danger of introducing a process where good landlords just cannot get fair treatment; cannot easily resolve these situations quickly when it’s costing them money in repairs / rent payment disputes, and where, given time, landlords will simply realise that letting is just not worth the hassle.

Damp specialists

Beware the damp specialists who come into a condensation riddled property with their two pronged meter, showing you just how much dampness the wall contains. Of course it does, because the condensation has well and truly soaked in over time, but their suggested remedies will often be very expensive and ineffective.

Advice for your tenants:

The incidence of condensation can be reduced by:

• 1. Leaving background heating on all day in all rooms and generally making sure the house is adequately heated in cold weather. Insufficient heating is the main cause of condensation in rental properties.
• 2. Opening a window or using cooker and wall extractor fans when cooking and keeping lids on saucepans.
• 3. Leaving bathroom doors closed and the windows open after a bath or shower to clear steam.
• 4. Keeping the bathroom door closed when washing, bathing and having a bath or shower.
• 5. Never blocking air vents or airbricks.
• 6. Opening windows in all your rooms for a short period each day to allow some fresh air circulate.
• 7. Never drying wet clothes on radiators or storage heaters.
• 8. Never introducing portable LPG heaters – they produce 1.6 litres of water for every kg of gas burned.

Advice for landlords

• 1. Make sure the property is free from issues that can cause dampness – leaking roofs, gutters, down-pipes, rising damp, bridged damp courses, leaking pipes, blocked drains etc.
• 2. Make sure the property meets modern insulation standards – you will need to bring your property up to standard before 2018, so you may as well do it sooner rather than later and avoid problems with condensation.
• 3. Make sure the heating system is adequate for the property and is well maintained.
• 4. Consider fitting extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms and trickle vents in window frames. These vents can be of the automatic types which operate when humidity levels rise, but remember, people will block these up if they feel the cold.
• 5. Send a Condensation Letter (see our Documents Section) to your tenants advising them how to avoid this in the winter months.
• 6. In extreme cases think about supplying a dehumidifier which will remove moisture and dry out rooms.
• 7. Beware when cleaning black mould as the pours can be toxic and a major health hazard – seek professional advice from a cleaning specialist with the safety right equipment.
• 8. The ultimate cure when tenants won’t cooperate is a full house loft mounted air re circulation system with heat exchangers which provides a continuous flow of fresh, warm dry air throughout the building.

Advice for Disputes

Landlord-tenant disputes are unfortunate but an occupational hazard for all landlords. It’s also unfortunate that many tenancies start off really well and over time deteriorate into poor relationships for no particular reason apart from resentment creeping in, for one reason or another.  As Robin Williams said in the film Dead Poets Society, “…T’was always thus, and always thus shall be!�

Relations can get very strained and when a certain point is reached, persistent rent arrears and late payments, damage to the property, or anti-social behaviour, for example, it is not unreasonable for a private landlord to start eviction proceedings. Social landlords can afford to be and usually are much more tolerant of all of this; private landlords usually can’t afford it.

However, tenants will sometimes bring up issues in a defence against eviction. The defence can range from finding technical errors in the way the landlord has served notices, or completed court papers, to defects with the property, whether real or imagined, notified or not.

Under the present system the landlord can be faced with a defence immediately before or during a court hearing when it’s too late to do anything about it. Claims of disrepair will usually mean a deferred trial date, sometimes 6 months hence, with a request for expert reports on the conditions.

The up-shot is a long and expensive legal process is in train where the loser pays all costs.

10 key tips for resolving disputes and winning your case

• 1 – When problems arise, such as rent arrears, damage to the property, introducing pets without permission etc., always contact the tenant quickly and discuss the problem.
• 2 – Always document these discussions and all contacts with a follow up letter outlining the details of the problem, how it is to be resolved and an agreed timescale for this.
• 3 – In the case of rent arrears send off a rent arrears letter (see the LandlordZONE® Documents section), a rent schedule and serve notices s21 and s8. Try to assist the tenant in overcoming the problem short-term by helping with Housing Benefit claims and re-scheduling rent payments.
• 4 – Try to get a reason for non-payment in writing from the tenant – this goes some way towards preventing late on “inventedâ€� reasons as a defence against eviction if it comes to that at a later date.
• 5 – In the case of repair issues, request access to the property for inspection and if possible have an independent expert (a builder for example) present and help you compile a report which can be compared to your ingoing inventory. Include photos if possible.
• 6 – In the case of condensation, evidence from previous tenants can be crucial. If they had a good experience, try to get documentary evidence from them. Think about a leaving questionnaire for all tenants.
• 7 – Inexpensive Temperature, Relative Humidity and Dew Points meters are now available which mean landlords can quickly check room conditions and provide evidence of this.
• 8 – Taking gas and electricity meter readings can be useful to determine the amount of energy the tenant has consumed since they entered. A quick calculation can provide evidence of the average weekly consumption and therefore the heating applied.
• 9 – Request access to carry out necessary repairs and get them completed as soon as possible.
• 10 – Landlords should do their utmost to resolve problems without court action as most landlords do. It’s obviously in the landlord’s interest to keep tenants in their properties as long as possible, so long as they pay rent and don’t do damage.

Documentary evidence is the key to winning any court action – judges will not take a landlord’s word against that of the tenant, so you must back-up your assertions with good solid evidence. This will be even more important in future if Sarah Teather’s Bill becomes law.

LandlordZONE® Documents

Private Rented Sector Energy Efficiency Regulations

Revenge Evictions – short enquiry

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – The Condensation Conundrum | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: The Condensation Conundrum

DIY restriction removal?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

My buying solicitor back in 2006 had the previous owners charge removed from the property.

However, I have found out it is still on the restrictions.

The now selling solicitors want to charge me £150 plus vat to remove it this old restriction from Land Registry.

The post DIY restriction removal? appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: DIY restriction removal?

Compare the Market Hatchet Job

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Comparethemarket.com commissioned a poll by Populus between 6-10 September 2018 based on only 1,000 UK adults who are also renters. It is not clear how the demographic of renters is made up and how they were contacted in the Press release.

The post Compare the Market Hatchet Job appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Compare the Market Hatchet Job

The Property Ombudsman Scheme expels 4 agents

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Redress Scheme:

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.

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme offers one of these schemes, an independent and impartial dispute resolution service to consumers who have been unable to resolve their disputes with a registered agent, and in the course of doing so TPO has recently imposed penalties on these four letting agents:

Camborne Properties Limited trading as Harper Brooks, a sales and lettings & management agent in Liverpool, has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme for the non-payment of awards.

TPO can confirm that they have received over 100 separate complaints from leaseholders regarding Harper Brooks who defaulted on making assured rent quarterly payments in 2017 that they were contractually obliged to do.

Most of the complainants have been investors from Asia buying from the developer to let to students prior to the development being completed. In one case, the leaseholder had bought a property, to be let as student accommodation from a developer who was targeting the build to let market.

Having failed to meet their obligations under the agreement the Ombudsman supported this complaint. Harper Brooks were directed to pay the outstanding rent owed and an additional award was made for aggravation, distress and inconvenience. The total award was £9,900.

All complaints about this agent that have been reviewed by the Ombudsman have also been supported. The awards total just under £431,715.52 of which £419,079.96 was unpaid rent under the guaranteed rent agreements.

The Drake Lawson Limited trading as Alexander Reed, a sales and lettings agent in Isleworth, West London, has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme for the non-payment of three separate awards.

The Ombudsman supported three cases against Alexander Reed, one complaint from a tenant and the other two from landlords. In all cases, the Ombudsman was extremely critical of the agent for not co-operating with the investigation. There was no documentary evidence provided and therefore no proof that they had met their obligations under the TPO Code of Practice.

The Ombudsman referred the agent to the scheme’s independent Compliance Committee which recommended the firm should be expelled from TPO and registration for redress.

Wara Ltd. trading as Secret Property and Wara. Buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords in Halifax are being warned that a local sales and letting agent trading under two different names, Secret Property and Wara, has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme for failing to pay an award of £2,300.

This means the firm Wara Ltd. trading as Secret Property and Wara, is not registered with a redress scheme, which is a requirement of every sales and letting agent in order to trade legally. However, Secret Property’s website remains active, though inaccessible without signing up, and Wara’s website still has properties listed for sale.

The case, which led to the agent’s expulsion, was referred to The Property Ombudsman (TPO) when potential buyers of a property on the market with Secret Property were dissatisfied with the agent’s performance.

The buyers wished to reserve a property and paid a £2,000 deposit to the agent in March 2017.   They said they were assured by the agent that if for any reason they withdrew, the deposit would be refunded. However, the buyers did not receive any written acknowledgement of the deposit or the terms and conditions attached to the payment.  When they subsequently decided not to continue with the purchase and requested for the deposit to be returned, they did not receive a response from the agent, despite sending two letters of complaint via Royal Mail’s tracked and signed for delivery service.

Katrine Sporle, Property Ombudsman, said:

“If an agent facilitates a pre-contract deposit, they have an obligation to take into account specific instructions from sellers. Before a deposit is taken, the circumstances under which the deposit is held, refunded, forfeited or used towards the purchase, should be clearly stated in writing, agreed by and issued to the relevant parties.�

Middlesbrough, TeesSurveyors Lettings Ltd (TSL), has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme for failing to pay awards in two cases relating to non-payment and late payment of rent. The awards total £3,133.06.  This means TSL is not registered with a redress scheme, which is a requirement of every sales and letting agent in order to trade legally.

In one case TSL failed to pass rent over to a landlord, despite rent payments being paid promptly each month by the tenant, leaving a shortfall of £1,201.25. As well as the missing rent, the Ombudsman awarded £500 for avoidable aggravation in relation to the missing rent and a further £100 for failing to respond appropriately to the complainant’s enquiry about gas safety certification. The award total across two cases is of £3,133.06.

Gerry Fitzjohn, Non-Executive Director and Chair of TPO’s Finance Committee said:

“All members of TPO are obliged to comply with awards made by the Ombudsman as well as co-operate with investigations, which TSL has failed on both counts. Although some attempt was made to pay the awards, this has not been settled in full. As part of TPO’s role to provide better consumer protection, we feel it is important to raise awareness to cases such as these, in the event that TSL attempts to continue trading with any existing landlords and tenants who may be unaware of the company’s position.�

The Ombudsman’s Terms of Reference, Codes of Practice, Consumer Guides and other documents about the operation of the scheme are available on the TPO website (www.tpos.co.uk), together with previous annual and interim reports, case summaries, further explanation of governance arrangements and a full list of registered agents.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – The Property Ombudsman Scheme expels 4 agents | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: The Property Ombudsman Scheme expels 4 agents