Property Investors Awards Commercial Property Conversion of the Year

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Taking a farm building that had fallen into disrepair and turning it into a stunning double barn conversion shows that Hunnings Homes has gone above and beyond to win Commercial Property Conversion of the Year at the Property Investors Awards.

View Full Article: Property Investors Awards Commercial Property Conversion of the Year

Borrowing for UK Buy to Let as an expat?

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Hi all, I am in the process of moving abroad. My income from overseas would be considerably larger and I was planning to invest it into Buy to Let in the UK.

The broker I usually speak to practically said it would not be possible as an expat with income abroad to get funding for BTL purchase back in the UK.

View Full Article: Borrowing for UK Buy to Let as an expat?

Regulator exposes neglected safety checks in Birmingham City Council properties

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Birmingham City Council, the largest council housing landlord in the country, has come under fire for failing to meet regulatory standards and adequately maintain its homes.

The Regulator of Social Housing has revealed that the council, responsible for managing 60,000 properties

View Full Article: Regulator exposes neglected safety checks in Birmingham City Council properties

Leading pets and PRS figures warn ‘much work needed’ to make reform bill workable

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A group of leading figures representing animal charities, pet owners and property managers have warned that much work will be needed in the coming months to make the Renters (Reform) Bill acceptable to landlords and tenants.

The group, which has largely welcomed the bill, tells LandlordZONE that it must balance the needs of both sides and establish the circumstances under which landlords can refuse a pet under its new ‘statutory presumption in favour of acceptance’.

But as the legislation passes through parliament, guidance will have to be worked out because, as the bill stands, other than leasehold or freehold restrictions on animals, landlords will have to give a ‘valid reason’ why they wish to refuse a pet.

This could include their own allergies to pet hair, for example, or a pet not being suitable for a property.

“It’s about providing landlords with a set of tools to help them make a fair and reasonable decision about why their property is or is not suitable for a pet,” says Scott Fryer of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

Heidi Shackell (pictured), CEO of The Lettings Hub, says the bill is also vague about how referencing and insurance will work and, for example, “if a pet fails referencing and the tenant or landlord cannot secure an insurance policy, will this be good enough reason to refuse a pet?”.

She also says the legislation may prove hard to police because if a landlord or agent has several tenants chasing a home and one of them has a pet (and is not picked), how could it be proved that they’ve been ‘refused’ the tenancy?

Nevertheless, landlords will have to be careful when advertiseing their rental properties, as will letting agents.

“We need to get portals like Rightmove engaged with the issue of pets because it’s no good having ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to them within listings – once the bill gains Royal Assent, ‘no’ (due to property decisions) or ‘pets considered’, will become the accepted options” suggets Jen Berezai (pictured), founder of Advocats.

It is claimed that Ministers are also looking at ways to encourage property leaseholders and freeholders to be more pet friendly by making it easier and cheaper to alter a building’s terms and conditions to allow them.

Pet issues

“Our research shows that a significant proportion of the ‘pet issues’ landlords have particularly in cities are due to leaseholder or superior landlord rules on pet ownership within buildings, with approximately 37% of all rental dwelling being leasehold properties,” says Fryer.

Did you know? Rightmove recently revealed that the percentage of all its listings advertised as ‘pet friendly’ has dropped from 7% to 4%.

Elizabeth Ormerod of the Society for Companion Animal Studies, added: “Pets are good for human wellbeing, and we know from our research that people who are brought up alongside them see many health and psychological benefits from animal companionship.”

A final area of discussion was whether the new measures within the bill, and particularly the six weeks given to landlords and agents to refuse/agree if asked to accept a pet, will apply only to existing tenancies or new ones.

Several people within the group said they understand it will initially only be for existing tenancies, not new ones, although this has yet to be confirmed officially. If applied to new tenancies, the group said, then the six-week waiting period would be ‘unworkable’.

Who are the experts?

Elizabeth Ormerod from the Society for Companion Animal Studies; Scott Fryer from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home; Dr Sandra Mcune from the University of Lincoln; Debbie Rook from the University of Northumbria Law School; Gilly Ferreira from the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The Lettings Hub CEO Heidi Shackell and Jen Berezai, founder of Advocats.

View Full Article: Leading pets and PRS figures warn ‘much work needed’ to make reform bill workable

Pets and property experts warn ‘work needed’ to make reform bill workable

admin    Uncategorized     agents

A group of leading figures representing animal charities, pet owners and property managers have warned that much work will be needed in the coming months to make the Renters (Reform) Bill acceptable to landlords and tenants.

The group, which has largely welcomed the bill, tells LandlordZONE that it must balance the needs of both sides and establish the circumstances under which landlords can refuse a pet under its new ‘statutory presumption in favour of acceptance’.

But as the legislation passes through parliament, guidance will have to be worked out because, as the bill stands, other than leasehold or freehold restrictions on animals, landlords will have to give a ‘valid reason’ why they wish to refuse a pet.

This could include their own allergies to pet hair, for example, or a pet not being suitable for a property.

“It’s about providing landlords with a set of tools to help them make a fair and reasonable decision about why their property is or is not suitable for a pet,” says Scott Fryer of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

Heidi Shackell (pictured), CEO of The Lettings Hub, says the bill is also vague about how referencing and insurance will work and, for example, “if a pet fails referencing and the tenant or landlord cannot secure an insurance policy, will this be good enough reason to refuse a pet?”.

She also says the legislation may prove hard to police because if a landlord or agent has several tenants chasing a home and one of them has a pet (and is not picked), how could it be proved that they’ve been ‘refused’ the tenancy?

Nevertheless, landlords will have to be careful when advertiseing their rental properties, as will letting agents.

“We need to get portals like Rightmove engaged with the issue of pets because it’s no good having ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to them within listings – once the bill gains Royal Assent, ‘no’ (due to property decisions) or ‘pets considered’, will become the accepted options” suggets Jen Berezai (pictured), founder of Advocats.

It is claimed that Ministers are also looking at ways to encourage property leaseholders and freeholders to be more pet friendly by making it easier and cheaper to alter a building’s terms and conditions to allow them.

Pet issues

“Our research shows that a significant proportion of the ‘pet issues’ landlords have particularly in cities are due to leaseholder or superior landlord rules on pet ownership within buildings, with approximately 37% of all rental dwelling being leasehold properties,” says Fryer.

Did you know? Rightmove recently revealed that the percentage of all its listings advertised as ‘pet friendly’ has dropped from 7% to 4%.

Elizabeth Ormerod of the Society for Companion Animal Studies, added: “Pets are good for human wellbeing, and we know from our research that people who are brought up alongside them see many health and psychological benefits from animal companionship.”

A final area of discussion was whether the new measures within the bill, and particularly the six weeks given to landlords and agents to refuse/agree if asked to accept a pet, will apply only to existing tenancies or new ones.

Several people within the group said they understand it will initially only be for existing tenancies, not new ones, although this has yet to be confirmed officially. If applied to new tenancies, the group said, then the six-week waiting period would be ‘unworkable’.

Who are the experts?

Elizabeth Ormerod from the Society for Companion Animal Studies; Scott Fryer from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home; Dr Sandra Mcune from the University of Lincoln; Debbie Rook from the University of Northumbria Law School; The Lettings Hub CEO Heidi Shackell and Jen Berezai, founder of Advocats.

View Full Article: Pets and property experts warn ‘work needed’ to make reform bill workable

COMMENT: Binning ‘no fault’ evictions will only help ‘nuisance tenants’ – claim

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A leading lawyer warns that by abolishing section 21 the government will be helping nuisance tenants at the expense of the weak and vulnerable.

Under the Renters (Reform) Bill, landlords will be able to evict for behaviours ‘capable of causing’ a nuisance or annoyance as opposed to behaviours ‘likely to cause’ a nuisance or annoyance.

Although the government says this means that a wider range of tenant behaviours can be considered in court, Ian Narbeth, solicitor at DMH Stallard, argues that this misses the point.

“Lawyers may argue about the subtle change in wording, but most cases don’t get to court and by the time they do, the behaviour is serious and anti-social – not just capable of being so,” he explains. “Until now, landlords served section 21 notices on anti-social tenants and did not need to go to court.”

With the massive backlog in cases, it can be many months before cases are heard, witnesses may fear harassment by an aggressive neighbour or their family and friends, while landlords can give no guarantee of succeeding and witnesses will fear reprisals, especially if the eviction fails, adds Narbeth.

Troublemakers

“Instead of landlords dealing with the problem simply and confidentially, abolishing section 21 means troublemakers must have their day in court and many victims will choose to suffer in silence or else leave their homes rather than give evidence.

“The government will be helping nuisance tenants at the expense of the weak and vulnerable, which is the opposite of what it is claiming.”

Landlord Action’s Paul Shamplina has already warned that there could be more section 8 rent arrears cases, prompting a social housing crisis with many tenants struggling to be rehoused as a result of scrapping section 21, while the TDS charitable foundation says it might not provide the hoped-for feelings of security or encourage tenants to complain when rental homes are in short supply.

View Full Article: COMMENT: Binning ‘no fault’ evictions will only help ‘nuisance tenants’ – claim

Landlords selling up boosts supply of affordable homes

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Faced with rising mortgage rates and mounting costs, a wave of landlords is opting to sell their properties, leading to a surge in the availability of affordable homes, Zoopla reveals.

The housing platform says that 11% of homes currently listed for sale were previously rented out

View Full Article: Landlords selling up boosts supply of affordable homes

Binning ‘no fault’ evictions will not make tenants more secure, Government warned

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Removing Section 21 might not provide the hoped-for feelings of security and encourage tenants to complain when rental homes are in short supply, warns a housing charity.

The TDS charitable foundation’s poll of 2,000 private renters found that a lack of affordable accommodation influenced tenants’ willingness to escalate complaints and request energy efficiency upgrades. 

Its report – Living in the PRS in 2023 – explains: “There is a risk that even with the removal of Section 21, tenants will be reluctant to raise complaints and the new landlord ombudsman will receive a low number of complaints.

“We therefore invite the government to think more expansively about the range of factors that influence feelings of security and avoid assuming that tenancy law is the main or only driver of tenant behaviour.”

Most tenancies are ended by the tenant rather than the landlord, according to the charity, with only 12% of tenants who moved in the last 12 months doing so because the landlord asked them to leave.

changing needs

Moves in the rental sector are largely related to changing needs or preferences of occupants, such as wanting a larger or smaller home, or job-related reasons.

Read more: Will Section 8 be enough when Section 21 evictions go?

The findings reveal that while many tenants believe that the energy efficiency of their property could be improved, they are reluctant to do so in case the landlord increases the rent (38%) or asks them to leave (25%). However, 39% had requested improvements and of these, 74% were either happy or somewhat happy with the response.

Some of those moving in the last six months encountered problems that the Renters (Reform) Bill aims to address, such as reporting that the landlord/letting agent was unwilling to let to them due to their race, gender, or other personal characteristics (9%), or didn’t want to let to tenants with children (12%) or to tenants on benefits (5%).

Read the report in full.

View Full Article: Binning ‘no fault’ evictions will not make tenants more secure, Government warned

Call for London’s councils to get MORE landlord licensing powers

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In a call that will cause dismay among landlords in the capital, one organisation is urging for MORE devolved licensing powers to be handed to London’s councils.

A think tank called Centre for London has published a report entitled: ‘Licence to Let: How property licensing could better protect private renters’.

View Full Article: Call for London’s councils to get MORE landlord licensing powers

Tax Benefits of Malta Residency

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The tax benefits associated with retiring or otherwise relocating to Malta can be significant. This is something I know firsthand because my wife and I took that leap back in 2016.

Below is a very short summary of some of the tax benefits my wife and I have enjoyed whilst living in Malta.

View Full Article: Tax Benefits of Malta Residency