Onward report riddled with errors

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A new think tank is fundamentally wrong in its analysis of private rented housing – and the number of buy-to-let mortgages is falling, not rising. In its first report, focussed on housing, the Conservative supporting Onward, claims that at the end of 2017 buy-to-let lending was above the 2007 peak. In fact new buy-to-let lending […]

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Lib Dem response

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This is the response to my email from Ed Davey MP regarding the property tax petition issue. I signed the petition some weeks ago and the government rejected it.

Dear Tony,

Thank you for your email regarding mortgage interest relief and stamp duty surcharge

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Financial pressure on landlords is harming the PRS not improving it!

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In a report published 25th June, property expert Kate Faulkner has claimed that while legislation has been introduced to improve the private rented sector (PRS), it is not being properly communicated to landlords, agents and tenants.

Writing in her seventh report funded by the TDS Charitable Foundation

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15% of tenants bend the tenancy rules

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Tenancy Rules:

According to a detailed study* by Direct Line Landlord Insurance around 15% of tenants fail to keep their tenancy agreement covenants – they break the rules they’ve agreed to.

Failing to pay rent on time, smoking in the property and keeping a pet are the three most frequently broken rules highlighted by the study.

In the case of one-in-11 tenants (9%) their landlord never gave them a tenancy agreement – they are living contract-free!

While the majority (65%) of tenants have stuck to the rules, says Direct Line, 15% claim to have broken the terms and conditions of their rental agreement, while a further 9% claim that they don’t have a contract at all.

Over one in ten tenants (11%), claimed that they were unsure as to whether they had actually broken any of the rules in their contract or not, presumable they never read it.

The rules tenants breach range from failing to pay the rent on time or at all (25%) to failing to regularly check the smoke or carbon monoxide alarm (10%).

Other common broken rules include smoking (21%), keeping a pet (18%) and damaging or making alterations to the property (17%).

The most common sanctions that landlords can apply for breaking tenancy rules include:

• Losing some or all of the deposit (52%),
• Having to pay for any damages (22%)
• In some extreme cases tenants were even evicted H(4%).

However, more than one in five (21%) tenants say that the landlord never found out about their tenancy agreement breaches.

Nick Breton, Head of Direct Line for Business has some advice for tenants:

“The relationship a tenant has with their landlord can be crucial in the smooth running of a rented property. It is therefore of utmost importance for tenants to keep in touch with their landlords should anything arise that may be in breach of their rental agreement.

“Many landlords may be accommodating of requests to have a pet or to make changes to the property, but it is always safest to ask before doing anything to ensure that you are not breaking your contract in the process.

“Tenants who break the rules of their contract can face anything from the loss of their deposit to eviction, so for peace of mind, landlords should ensure they have a watertight legal contract in place to fall back on should anything happen to their property.�

And advice for landlords:

Direct Line for Business outlines here its top tips for landlords to ensure that tenants stick to the rules of their contract:

• Be clear from the outset: Ensure that your adverts clearly state any rules that you feel strongly about – for example looking for non-smoking or pet-free tenants only.
• Have it agreed in writing: It is imperative to have a written tenancy agreement for your tenants. Not only will they be legally required to pay rent, but it will also clearly outline what is and what isn’t allowed in the property. It’s a good idea to go through all of the clauses and penalties with the tenants before they sign the agreement to ensure that they are clear on the rules of the tenancy.
• Maintain dialogue with your tenants: You are within your rights to make scheduled visits to your property to ensure it is being maintained to a level that was agreed in the contract. This will also ensure that tenants look after your property, and dissuade them from breaking the rules too much.
• Don’t go overboard: Try not to make too many rules. Keep it simple. Establish a trusting, positive relationship with the tenant as they’ll be even more likely to stick to the rules.
• Accept that you may need to be flexible: If you have good tenants in your property for a length of time who make a request to get a pet, you may want to consider a compromise. Keeping the value of your property is one thing, but this may be offset by the time and cost of finding new tenants if it becomes a deal breaker.

*Direct Line for Businesses’ research conducted between 19th and 22nd August 2016 by Opinium Research amongst a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults, of which 938 (47%) rent their properties from a private landlord. Opinium Research is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – 15% of tenants bend the tenancy rules | LandlordZONE.

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16.9% gross yearly ROI predicted on this development in Leeds

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On a purchase price of £100,245, a deposit of £25,061 is required based on a 75% mortgage.  This translates into a return of £353 per month after mortgage costs, which translates into a fabulous gross return on deposit monies of 16.9%.

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Erection agency report increased letting activity

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National board erection specialists Agency Express are reporting a pick up in pace for the UK lettings market in May.

Month on month figures in the Agency Express lettings report show an increase of new listing ‘to let’

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How to sell your buy-to-let property

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Buy-to-Let:

Selling a buy-to-let property can be tricky. Your typical high street agent isn’t an investment property expert, and the average online property platform is more concerned with selling residential property between owner-occupiers. Neither of these is ideal for the landlord who sees property as a business and wants to sell to a like-minded investor.

So what is the solution? yieldit has the answer!

With access to more than 80,000 pre-qualified investors, yieldit is the smartest way to sell your buy-to-let property. Where a traditional agent will wait for a buyer to fall into their lap, yieldit works directly with investors from more than 100 countries who are ready and waiting to view your property, and are serious about expanding their portfolios.

Not only this, but the yieldit team will take your property to exhibitions, seminars and shows around the world, from London to Johannesburg to Shanghai to Hong Kong. By proactively marketing your property in this manner we increase the number of potential buyers and aim to speed up the sale significantly.

By specialising in tenanted properties we appeal directly to the business sense of buyers. Properties which are already generating and income and have low void periods are always popular with investors, no matter where in the world they are from.

And of course, whilst we specialise in selling from investor to investor, we will also advertise your property on Rightmove and Zoopla like any other agent, so you still have the option to sell your buy-to-let to any interested party.

However, finding a buyer is only the first step; the actual process of selling is often a real faff with traditional agents. At yieldit, we take a different approach. To try and avoid fall-throughs, we do not consider your property “under offer� or “SSTC� until the buyer has paid a reservation deposit to try and ensure their commitment from the start.

Once the deposit has been paid, the expert yieldit sales progression team take over to chase through contracts and deal with solicitors. By doing this, yieldit puts in the hard yards and ensures that the process of selling your buy-to-let property is as painless as possible.

And the best part? The yieldit process is no sale, no fee. You won’t pay a penny until the sale completes and there are no hidden fees whatsoever.

For more information and to get your free property valuation, please click here and enquire today!

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – How to sell your buy-to-let property | LandlordZONE.

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What information is it reasonable for a freeholder to demand?

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For the first time ever (I have been renting out flats since 1984) I have a situation where a freeholder is choosing to enforce the clause in the lease which demands knowledge of the underletting.

Whilst there is no doubt whatsoever that they have a legal (if not

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Today’s Bank of England Base Rate HOLD Decision

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Bank Rate:

The Bank of England today decides to leave interest rates on hold, but the bank’s chief economist votes for a rise. The Monetary policy committee’s vote is split!

The Bank’s chief economist Andy Haldane voted to raise borrowing costs to 0.75%, along with fellow committee members Ian McCafferty and Michael Saunders. But they were outvoted by the remaining six members of the MPC who all voted to leave rates on hold for now.

Angus Stewart, Chief Executive of Property Master, the digital start up that uses algorithms to match the requirements of individual landlords against the entire buy-to-let mortgage market, said of today’s Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee decision not to raise the base rate:

“Today’s decision by the Monetary Policy Committee to hold rates will not come as a surprise to many.  Given a raft of weak economic data over the past few weeks plus the continued uncertainty over Brexit, most commentators were expecting a rate rise to wait until later in the year.

Mr Stewart continued:

“Our recent June Mortgage Tracker which follows rates and fees from 18 of the largest lenders in the buy-to-let market showed that the cost of popular buy-to-let fixed rates deals has continued to fall since the start of the year.

“Five-year fixed rate mortgages have been particularly competitively priced with the monthly cost of borrowing a typical amount of £150,000 falling between £10 and £22 compared to the cost if the loan had been taken out in January.

“Today’s news, however, does not necessarily mean such competitive rates are here to stay.  A base rate rise is certainly on the cards at some point so landlords who are looking to borrow or refinance may need to move very fast indeed.�

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Today’s Bank of England Base Rate HOLD Decision | LandlordZONE.

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Bank of England vote only 6-3 keeping base rate at 0.5%

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The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its monthly only voted by a majority of 6-3 to maintain Bank Rate at 0.5%.

The Hawks voting for an increase to 0.75% were Andy Haldane, Michael Saunders and the outgoing MPC member Ian McCafferty.

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