BLOG: Should landlords switch on to electric vehicle charging points?

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Electric vehicle charging expert Matthew Gibbons (main picture) explores the pros and cons of installing the different equipment at rental properties.

Rented properties with EV charge points are a rare thing, so installing one makes a home more desirable, increases demand and means landlords can charge a premium rent. Research shows that 76% of homes with an EV charger increase in value when compared to the local average.

Demand for EV charging opportunities will only grow over the coming years, so it’s an effective way to futureproof the property.

Capacity

But before deciding to install an EV charge point, landlords must determine whether the electrical capacity of their property can support the additional load of an EV charger, particularly if multiple charge points are being installed.

If the installation requires cabling or other elements to be placed in or on another person’s property, all parties must agree to the work through legally binding arrangements. This is often the case if private parking is in an area away from the property and this land is not owned by the landlord.

On-street parking causes the most concern, as charge points cannot be installed on public land if they are for private use.

A solution to this is installing the charge point on the outside of the property, allowing the tenant to run a covered cable across the pavement to charge their vehicle.

For properties with off-street parking that is not dedicated to private bays, a wall-mounted charge point can be installed.

Costs

There are additional installation costs associated with installing a charge point further from the property’s main energy supply, and without private parking it can be difficult to stop others from parking in front of the charge point and in the spaces around it.

Most blocks of flats have a private car park with dedicated bays for each household, making them the ideal location for EV charge points.

If an entire building is owned by one landlord, some may choose to install one charge point for every individual household or every parking bay, but another option is to install communal charge points to be shared between the tenants.

Once charge points are installed, a landlord should decide how they want to manage them. ​​Most manufacturers offer a smartphone app that connects to the charge point. All power used is added to the property’s electricity bill, leaving the management of the charge point to the tenants.

HMO properties

Another method, which is most beneficial for communal charge points at a block but also for HMOs, is a rental app such as CoCharger.

The landlord creates a ‘host’ account and registers the charge point to the app. Tenants of the property then create a ‘chargee’ account, which can be linked to the host. The landlord sets a price per hour for the use of the charge point and tenants can book the charge point using the app.

Grants

The Office of Zero Emission Vehicles provides a grant for landlords who install EV charge points at their properties. This grant can cover up to 75% of the cost to buy and install a charge point, with a £350 limit.

Landlords can apply for up to 200 grants for their residential properties per financial year, and these installations can be for one property alone, or across several properties.

The grant only applies to properties with clearly defined private parking spaces, and the works must be carried out with an OZEV-approved installer using an OZEV-approved charge point model.

Servicing

Once EV charge points are installed at a rental property, landlords must service a charge point every 12 months to ensure that it works correctly. Landlords should also review their current insurance policies to ensure that charger-related liabilities are covered.

Finally, the rental agreement for the property should be updated to include relevant information, rules and regulations regarding the charge point while tenants should also be made aware of their responsibilities.

Most difficulties around installing an EV charge point can be overcome, and the adoption of greener transportation is vital for the country’s net zero goals.

Matthew Gibbons is MD of Plug&Drive.

View Full Article: BLOG: Should landlords switch on to electric vehicle charging points?

Are there certain areas worth investing in following Government’s Levelling Up plans?

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In the Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced a raft of measures that the Government intends to help ‘level up’ the UK.  Specifically, they’re pledging to prioritise:

• Employment: boosting labour supply
• Education: providing everyone with the skills and support they need
• Enterprise: providing the right conditions for businesses to succeed

When investment is made into the infrastructure and economy of an area, it attracts businesses and creates employment opportunities, which can, but not always, boost the demand for housing. And, if this generates more wealth and the desirability of an area increase, that can drive up prices and rents and create new property investment opportunities. For property owners and landlords, it’s well worth being aware of which areas are being targeted for government and institutional investment. The earlier in the process you can take advantage of property investment opportunities, the better your medium to long-term returns could be – both in terms of equity growth and rental profits.

Investment Zones

The Government has identified eight ‘Investment Zones’ in England:

• The proposed East Midlands Mayoral Combined County Authority
• Greater Manchester Mayoral Combined Authority
• Liverpool City Region Mayoral Combined Authority
• The proposed North East Mayoral Combined Authority
• South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
• Tees Valley Mayoral Combined Authority
• West Midlands Mayoral Combined Authority
• West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.

Each of these will have access to £80m worth of ‘interventions’ over five years.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is also working with the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to establish how Investment Zones will be delivered in the rest of the UK.

These plans are to work out how to ‘create’ the Canary Wharf’s of the future, so if they go ahead, they could make a huge difference to the local areas chosen. However, these are very long-term projects.  As such, it could be the investment payback could take a decade or more and indeed, with a general election in 2024, Investment Zones may change or never get off the ground, so it’s important to keep up with local news of what’s happening in these areas.

Levelling Up Regions

Over the next three years, more than £400m will be invested into the 20 regions considered most in need of levelling up.

The 20 areas are: City of Kingston upon Hull, Sandwell, Mansfield, Middlesbrough, Blackburn with Darwen, Hastings, Torbay, Tendring, Stoke-on-Trent, Boston, Redcar and Cleveland, Wakefield, Oldham, Rother, Torridge, Walsall, Doncaster, South Tyneside, Rochdale, and Bassetlaw.

These projects are likely to be much smaller, but if well targeted, they could deliver an extra boost to prices and rents in the immediate vicinity of the places that are being regenerated.

Regeneration projects

More than £400m has been allocated to specific regeneration projects, the majority of which are in the North of England and the Midlands. They include:

• A research campus in the Liverpool City region
• Transforming Bootle town centre
• A new community hub in Stockport
• £20m each for Sandwell, Redcar and Cleveland, Blackburn with Darwen, Wolverhampton, Rotherham and North-East Lincolnshire

 
To find out about specific plans for your area – or an area you might be considering investing in – you can visit the local council planning department, which will have details on infrastructure changes and any new commercial and residential building.

To find out more specifically about how the supply and demand of property is likely to change and which local areas might best suit your own letting plans, contact your nearest Leaders branch and one of our team will be very happy to help.

View Full Article: Are there certain areas worth investing in following Government’s Levelling Up plans?

Tax return information in a matter of seconds

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Preparing your annual tax information for your accountant can be a very time-consuming exercise! Alphaletz has just released a new update to help landlords get the information they need in a matter of seconds.

It’s in a format that makes it extremely easy for accountants

View Full Article: Tax return information in a matter of seconds

Periodic tenancies will ‘decimate’ the student rental sector, warns NRLA

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The NRLA says Government measures to abolish Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) will ‘decimate’ the student housing sector if they go ahead unchanged.

Featured within the Renters (Reform) Bill, this will see ASTs replaced with more flexible open-ended ‘periodic tenancies’ which in effect will enable tenants to quit their properties at any point after giving two months’ notice.

While this may give renters in the general rental market more flexibility, it is likely to cause chaos in the student housing sector.

It relies on striking a balance between students signing up to live a property for a year and allowing them to move out once their exams are over, an arrangement that’s factored into their rent.

But the Government’s plans for open-ended periodic tenancies with two-month notice periods will have several disruptive effects on the student market including, as LandlordZONE reported back in August last year, that landlords will find it harder to offer students ‘guaranteed’ room in houses for the next academic year until the incumbent tenants give notice.

Uncertainty

Periodic tenancies will also bring more uncertainty for landlords because, if a student decides to quit a property half-way through a semester, finding a replacement will be difficult, it is claimed.

For these reasons landlords have been calling on the government to amend the reform bill to give student landlords ‘special dispensation’ in the same way operators of corporate Purpose Build Student Accommodation have.

“As it stands the Bill will decimate the student housing market,” says Ben Beadle (pictured), Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association.

“Plans for open ended tenancies mean landlords will have no certainty about properties to rent being available at the start of each academic year.

“The Bill will also mean rental periods will only ever be one month at a time. As a result, students will be unable to pay rents to cover a term at a time, in line with their student loan payments.

“Major changes will be needed if the Government wants a viable student housing market.”

Read more: Ultimate guide to student properties.

View Full Article: Periodic tenancies will ‘decimate’ the student rental sector, warns NRLA

Daily Telegraph wants to speak to landlords who are facing problems remortgaging

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Are you a landlord who is facing difficulties remortgaging? Then, Alexa Phillips, the personal finance reporter for the Telegraph would like to speak with you.

Alexa would like to ask Property118 readers about:

• How are banks assessing your affordability?

View Full Article: Daily Telegraph wants to speak to landlords who are facing problems remortgaging

Investor squeeze sees off-plan sales plummet

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Off-plan sales for new homes have continued to plummet as property investors avoid buying, research reveals.

Real estate firm Hamptons says that just 34% of new homes in England and Wales were sold in advance of completion last year.

View Full Article: Investor squeeze sees off-plan sales plummet

Renters Reform Bill and Anti-Social Behaviour

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The Government is trumpeting that the Renters Reform Bill will help landlords deal with anti-social behaviour. A number of commentators have been taken in by this spin. Ben Beadle of NRLA has said: “We welcome the government’s pledge to ensure landlords can swiftly recover properties from anti-social tenants and those failing to pay their rent.”

When you actually read the draft Bill the legislative change proposed is a tiny mouse of a thing

View Full Article: Renters Reform Bill and Anti-Social Behaviour

Suburban landlords to see bonus as more renters commute into London

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Better transport links to the capital have boosted the number of Londoner commuters happy to spend time on the tube or bus.

Renters are living further away from the office than they did seven years ago because this doesn’t necessarily equate to longer journey times due to improvements such as the new Elizabeth Line, resulting in a larger ‘commutable London’, according to Foxtons.

It reports that in 2016, 27% of Londoners were working in central London but living in outer London boroughs, while this figure rose to 39% in 2022.

A shift in the requirements from both buyers and renters for increased space to live and work has influenced their move to outer boroughs.

Foxtons has also seen the return of Londoners who moved out during the pandemic. In 2020, for every one renter moving into London, 1.1 renters moved out, compared with just 0.7 renters moving out of London for every new renter moving into London last year.

Fewer people

In the rental market, Foxtons found that fewer people want to share in large households. Properties with three or more renters comprised just 11% of new lets in 2022, down from 15% in 2019. Those who do share are looking for extra space, 11% more on average compared to 2019.

Lettings MD Gareth Atkins (pictured) says: “London never stands still, and the continual expansion of its transport network means that new areas are opening up opportunities to homeowners, renters and landlords.

“Locations along the route of the Elizabeth line, for example, are increasingly popular and are benefitting from London’s latest addition to its extensive rail network.”

View Full Article: Suburban landlords to see bonus as more renters commute into London

‘FEELING THE SQUEEZE’: Third of tenants spending half their salary on rent

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More than one in three tenants in the UK spend at least half their salary on rent, according to new data from flat-share site SpareRoom.

Its poll of 11,000 private renters reveals that 81% spend more than 30% of their take-home pay on rent, leaving them ‘rent burdened’, meaning they are likely to have difficulties affording essentials such as food, transport and medical care because rent is eating up their disposable income.

The data also shows that there has been a shift in what is considered reasonable; between 2019 to 2021, the percentage of renters who classified their rent as unaffordable was about one in three, but now 54% deem their rent to be unaffordable.

Women are feeling the strain more than their male counterparts, says SpareRoom, with 85% spending more than 30% of their salary on rent each month, compared to 77% of men.

Larger proportions

Unsurprisingly, the data shows that tenants in London, the South East and South West are spending a larger proportion of their take-home pay on rent than other regions.

In the capital, 86% of renters pay more than 30% of their salary on rent, followed by 83% in the South West and 82% in the South East.

SpareRoom director Matt Hutchinson (pictured) says: “With over 80% of the UK already rent burdened, and over a third spending over half of their salary on rent, people are really feeling the squeeze, and rising rents will only cause yet more affordability issues for those renting in the UK.

“It’s crucial the government understands the severity of this situation and starts to help, or this housing crisis will become a housing disaster.”

Read more: Rents rise again in April.

View Full Article: ‘FEELING THE SQUEEZE’: Third of tenants spending half their salary on rent

UPDATED – Dilapidations in Commercial Property

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Dilapidations or disrepair often result in disputes between landlord and tenant. The only way to avoid that is to thoroughly document the condition of the property at the commencement and end of the tenancy.

Most commercial leases required the tenant to maintain the property and to undertake any necessary repairs. Under what’s known as a full repairing and insuring (FRI) lease, this normally includes interior and non-structural repairs and where the property is self contained, it may include structural repairs as well.

If the tenant fails to keep the property to its pre-let condition, usually referred to as “tenantable condition”, the landlord can make a claim by issuing a Schedule of Dilapidations to the tenant. This outlines the work required to return the property to its pre-let state.

Key Points

• Dilapidations claims can be substantial, so tenants should fully understand their obligations before entering into the lease.
• Tenants should have the building surveyed for pre-existing defects before signing a lease and these should be incorporated into a schedule of condition.
• Landlords should ensure that a schedule of condition is drawn up at commencement and incorporated into the lease so both parties can agree to this.
• Final schedules of dilapidations are usually prepared by a chartered surveyor at lease termination.

Dilapidations – Commercial Leases

Dilapidations is a term used when referring to the condition of a commercial property during the term of the tenancy or when the lease ends. It means the same as disrepair and is tied in with the repairing and decoration obligations in the lease agreement.

Dilapidations and schedules of dilapidations have serious financial implications for commercial (business) tenants and well as landlords, so they both should ensure that they fully understand these implications and take steps at the outset to minimise misunderstandings before signing a commercial lease.

Full Repairing and Insuring Lease

It is of particular relevance to landlords and tenants where the property has been let under the terms of a standard commercial Full Repairing and Insuring (FRI) lease where the tenant is responsible for repairs, both internal and external, sometimes including the structure of the building. The FRI lease is the norm rather than the exception in commercial property rentals particularly with longer lease, for example in excess of 5 years.

In the case of multi-occupied buildings external and structural repairs such as periodic painting and roof repairs are usually carried out by the landlord and charged to the tenant through the annual service charge.

Tenants, in their eagerness to start trading are often negligent when it comes to dilapidations and agree to leases, even short-term leases, which have full repairing and redecoration obligations, and they fail to record the ingoing condition of the property.

Landlords and tenants should always make sure that leases for commercial properties include a thorough schedule of condition, ideally supported by photographic evidence.

Initial Building Survey

Before taking on lease obligations tenants should consider commissioning an in-going building survey carried out by a chartered building surveyor. Through this exercise the surveyor will produce a schedule of condition to be incorporated into the lease document.

At the end of a lease the tenant is almost always obliged to leave the property in a good state of repair and decoration, and this would in most cases be a better state than it is actually in at the lease end.

Tenants often fail to appreciate this obligation and don’t allow for this extra cost. Even when they have recognised their obligations, their budgeting is often far from adequate.

Landlords and tenants with a dilapidations claim need to be aware that there are statutory limits to the amount that the landlord can claim from the tenant.

The provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 can lead to certain tactics being employed in the dilapidations process and the time to analyse these tactics is several months (at least 6 months) before the lease comes to an end.

Thinking ahead in this way means that any necessary works can be planned or negotiations conducted which could considerably reduce the landlord’s claim.

Schedules & Tactics

The landlord may serve a Schedule of Dilapidations on the tenant at different stages of the tenancy:

1. A schedule served during the fixed term of a lease is known as an interim schedule.
2. A schedule served within the last three years of the term is a terminal schedule.
3. A schedule served at or after the end of a lease term is a final schedule of dilapidations.

An interim or terminal schedule will specify both the disrepair alleged by the landlord and the remedial works which the landlord requires the tenant to undertake. This gives the tenants the opportunity to arranged to have the necessary repairs completed itself, as opposed to having the landlord do this, and receiving a large bill.

The difference with a final schedule is that whilst it contains the same alleged breaches of covenant and details of remedial work required, here the tenant will not have an option to carry out the works itself since his right of occupation has ceased.

With final schedule therefore the remedy for the landlord is to claim for damages which will cover the cost of remedial works, AND loss of rent, service charges, rates, professional fees and VAT for any period during which the property is off the lettings market.

The Schedule of Dilapidations:

The Schedule of Dilapidations is simply a listing of all outstanding repair, maintenance and decoration items which a landlord (or more likely its surveyor) has determined have arisen under the terms of the lease being the tenant’s repair and maintenance obligations.

The tenant is obliged to carry out the remedial works listed in the schedule or pay to the landlord damages which equate to the cost to the landlord of carrying out the works.

Schedules of Dilapidations are often the cause of disputes between landlords and tenants, the result of which may mean court action. A court will ultimately decide upon what is relevant and what is not in the Schedule of Dilapidations but going to court increases the costs considerably, usually for both parties. It is far better to avoid litigation and reach a mutual settlement.

Statutory Relief for the Tenant

With an interim schedule, the tenant may obtain relief from forfeiture proceedings (eviction) under the Leasehold Property Repairs Act 1938. This is providing the original term of the lease exceeds 7 years, of which 3 or more years must remain un-expired.

In some situations the tenant may be entitled to relief. In the case of a final schedule and corresponding claim for damages, the tenant may be protected by Section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927. This is with the proviso that:

1. The landlord cannot recover damages exceeding a sum by which the value of the landlord’s investment is reduced by the tenant’s breach of covenant.
2. Where a landlord intends to demolish the building or carry out structural alterations such that the tenant’s breaches of covenant to repair become irrelevant, then if the tenant can prove his case absolutely, no damages will be recoverable by the landlord.

How can the Tenant Limit his Dilapidations Liability?

There are some practical steps that tenants can take to limit dilapidations liability. For example, in initial negotiations for a new lease, particularly with short leases, the tenant may insist that the repairing liability be restricted to leaving the building in no worse condition than at the start of the lease, as an alternative to accepting full liability.

The word repair in a lease sometimes includes a liability to renew, for example, where a roof was so dilapidated that renewal was the only practical option. So, to limit any repairing liability a Chartered Building Surveyor should be instructed by the tenant to produce a Schedule of Condition, recording the state of decoration and any pre-existing items of disrepair.

These precautions as also very relevant on assignment where a new tenant takes on the obligations of an existing tenant. Here alterations and disrepair must also be considered carefully by the tenant considering the purchase (assignment) of another tenant’s lease.

If breaches and alterations are identified prior to the purchase of the lease, the tenant may be in a position to negotiate for a reverse premium from the outgoing tenant.

Professional Help in Dilapidations Matters

Landlords and Tenants will almost certainly need professional help, ideally from a chartered surveyor when dealing with these matters particularly if there is likely to be a dispute.

In the case of the landlord, schedules must be accurate and able to stand legal scrutiny.

In the case of the tenant, the advisor acting needs to determine:

1. Is the schedule of dilapidations accurate?

2. Is the standard of repair required by the schedule justified?

3. Are there any appropriate statutory reliefs which may be applied?

4. Should the tenant organise the repairs and if so under what times scales, or would it be preferable to pay damages?

Pre-Action Protocol

The Civil Procedure Rules – Pre-Action Protocol – covers all civil disputes including dilapidations claims and covers pre-action behaviour in cases not covered by a specific protocol.

The Pre-Action Protocol for Claims for Damages in Relation to the Physical State of Commercial Property at Termination of a Tenancy (the ‘Dilapidations Protocol’

View Full Article: UPDATED – Dilapidations in Commercial Property