Thousands of landlords affected by sale of struggling digital lettings agency

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Thousands of landlords whose properties are managed by a leading online letting platform are to see their property management firm change hands after Howsy revealed it is to be acquired by a major high street lettings agency.

Launched in 2016 originally as No Agent but later changing to Howsy, the platform proved popular with landlords seeking a fixed-price property management fee.

It raised millions from investors of all sizes including, most recently, £800,000 raised last year and £1.4 million in government funding the year before.

But the company’s push to break even and make a profit was based, many commentators have claimed, on economies of scale that were hard to achieve and consequently, it recently turned to investor loans to keep on track. Nevertheless, most recently it announced it had achieved over 7,000 properties under management.

Howsy will continue as a going concern under its new owner with all employees retained. The purchase will be approved within two weeks.

30p a share

Shareholders, from small crowdfunders to large institutional investors, will be the main losers in the deal which will see them receive ‘at most’ 30p per share.

In a letter to shareholders sent yesterday, founder and CEO Calum Brennan has thanked them for their ‘support and belief in our mission’.

“But I am writing to you today to inform you that Howsy, its directors and its majority shareholders have agreed for the group to be acquired by a leading estate agency chain,” he says.

“This has not been an easy process or decision, but the Board believes that this acquisition is in the best interest of the business as a whole.

“This acquisition became the number one route for the board to pursue due to the speed at which the buyer could move.”

Letting agency figure Asaf Navot, founder of HomeMade, says: “Howsy tried to make a difference in an industry requiring a modern approach for customers.

“Our thoughts are with the customers and staff affected by it and we’re here to support anyone impacted by the latest news.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Thousands of landlords affected by sale of struggling digital lettings agency | LandlordZONE.

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NRLA slams Ministers for ‘lazy’ belief that ‘tycoon’ landlords can afford cladding costs

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The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has slammed the government for making “lazy and false assumptions” about individual landlords being property tycoons when addressing the cladding scandal.

It follows comments made by Housing Secretary Michael Gove who told the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee that he did not want to support those who already had “significant means” to pay for remedial action themselves.

He reiterated that private landlords who rent out more than one leasehold property will not be covered by the government’s commitment that no leaseholder should have to pay to replace dangerous cladding. However, Gove admitted the government’s plans are not perfect.

His comments mean that while multi-millionaires owning and living in a single luxury penthouse would be covered by the government’s plans, landlords renting out more than one property for a pension would not be, according to the NRLA.

It says that, according to the government’s own data, 94% of private landlords rent property as an individual, with 44% becoming a landlord to contribute to their pension.

NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle believes Michael Gove’s previous comments about ending the scandal of leaseholders paying to remove dangerous cladding now ring hollow. “This is not about who does and does not have the means to pay,” says Beadle.

Fairness

“It is about fairness. No leaseholder, irrespective of how many properties they own, should be expected to foot the bill for dangerous and illegal cladding installed by someone else.”

He adds: “The government needs to wake up to an injustice of its own making and make amends now.”

Conservative Peer Lord Naseby has tabled an amendment to the Building Safety Bill to ensure that all leaseholders are treated equally, irrespective of how many properties they own.

In addition, a parliamentary motion tabled by Conservative MP Sir Peter Bottomley, which calls for buy-to-let landlords and owner-occupier leaseholders to be treated the same, has secured cross-party support including from Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green MPs.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – NRLA slams Ministers for ‘lazy’ belief that ‘tycoon’ landlords can afford cladding costs | LandlordZONE.

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Only 54% of non-portfolio landlords aware of EPC requirements for 2025

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Buy to let portfolio landlords are more likely to be aware of the government’s proposed EPC requirements than non-portfolio landlords, according to new research by Landbay.

From 2025, all rental properties with new tenancies must have an EPC rating of at least C and for existing tenants

View Full Article: Only 54% of non-portfolio landlords aware of EPC requirements for 2025

Property market supply falls by 21%

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The number of properties listed with estate agents has fallen by an average of 21% in the last year.

In January 2021, estate agents across England and Wales had an average of 33 properties on their books. This included both available properties and those sold subject to contract.

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SDLT on Private Purchase of two properties to be combined to one?

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We have a portfolio of properties rented out and are buying 2 attached cottages to make 1 private residence (the cottages are on separate deeds being purchased from the same seller). We are selling our main residence to fund the purchase.

View Full Article: SDLT on Private Purchase of two properties to be combined to one?

LandlordZONE parent firm Hamilton Fraser acquired by insurance intermediary giant

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Hamilton Fraser, the parent company of LandlordZONE, has been acquired by the UK’s largest independent insurance intermediary group Global Risk Partners (GRP).

The deal, which is for an undisclosed sum, is subject to regulatory approval by the CMA.

Borehamwood-based Hamilton Fraser, as well as being a leading supplier of insurance products and services to landlords and letting agents, operates three of the UK’s government-approved private rented sector schemes.

These are myDeposits, the Property Redress Scheme and Client Money Protect as well as leading evictions firm Landlord Action.

All of the group’s staff will move over to become GRP employees as will its senior team including CEO Eddie Hooker, who founded Hamilton Fraser in 1996 with Simon Fox and David Jacobs and remains a significant shareholder.

Digital future

“Hamilton Fraser is joining forces with a like-minded business in GRP, which like us has seen the future of insurance and realised it will become increasingly digital which is particularly true within the property sector,” says Hooker (pictured).

“I’m confident they are the best custodians for our business, our people and our loyal clients as we embark on the next exciting stage of our development.”

Stephen Ross, GRP’s head of M&A, who says he was impressed with the “sheer quality of the Hamilton Fraser business, which has an outstanding track record of success in its chosen niches and is a superb fit for GRP”.

“Hamilton Fraser is a high-class brokerage with a strong commitment to digital innovation and customer-centricity, built on a deep understanding of the specialist markets in which they operate.”

Hamilton Fraser will continue to trade under its existing brands and will sit within GRP’s high-growth digital division headed by Steve Anson, its COO.

GRP is one of the largest independent insurance intermediaries in the UK and itself was acquired via a majority shareholding by global private investment firm Searchlight Capital Partners in 2020.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LandlordZONE parent firm Hamilton Fraser acquired by insurance intermediary giant | LandlordZONE.

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The Last Chance To Get Your Deal Funded

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Have you got a property project that requires funding?

Are you looking for a business partner or an Angel Investor to make that deal happen?

Here is your last chance to apply to Property Elevator to get just that.

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EXCLUSIVE: Landlords accuse big council of ‘bulldozing’ through licensing schemes

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Landlords in Ealing are dismayed that two controversial licensing schemes have been “bulldozed” through without properly engaging them in the consultation process.

Many opposed the HMO licensing scheme and renewed selective licensing scheme which were rubber-stamped in December after a public consultation and come into force on 1st April.

Last summer, they complained of being kept in the dark about the council’s proposals which they also criticised for being ‘cobbled together’ and lacking detail or justification.

Peter Littlewood, of landlord campaigning group iHowz, says the authority made no attempt to communicate with them, or local landlords. 

He tells LandlordZONE: “We invited Ealing to several meetings, we asked them for comments, to justify the new scheme, and to show us what should be a public report on the success, or other, of the previous scheme.

“To all these we had no response, not even an acknowledgement they had received the emails.”

Money maker

Adds Littlewood: “The scheme has been introduced to earn the council money, with property conditions being a firm afterthought. They appear to be determined to bulldoze this through.”

However, a council spokesman insists: “The council has an ongoing publicity campaign to ensure all key stakeholders are made aware of the new schemes.”

The HMO licensing fee is £1,100 per HMO plus £50 for each habitable room, with the first payment of 30% payable on application to cover the costs of processing the application form.

If the application is refused, this first payment won’t be refunded. The new selective licencing fee is £750, with an initial payment of £225 taken at application.

Like most councils, Ealing doubtless won’t accept ignorance of its schemes as an excuse; in nearby Waltham Forest, a landlord was recently handed a £5,400 rent repayment order for not registering with a selective licensing scheme after a First Tier Property Tribunal rejected her defence that she didn’t know about it.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – EXCLUSIVE: Landlords accuse big council of ‘bulldozing’ through licensing schemes | LandlordZONE.

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Labour burns its bridges with landlords with call to speed up rent controls introduction

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Labour’s housing spokesman in Scotland has called on its government to bring in rent controls to stop landlords hiking up prices before their expected introduction in 2025.

The government is consulting on proposals for a new deal for tenants in the country, including a system of rent controls, setting up a regulator for the private rented sector, and creating a new housing standard covering all homes.

However, Labour MSP Mark Griffin fears the current target doesn’t come soon enough. Speaking to a local TV station, Griffin said: “There’s no need for it to be so late in the parliament because it just gives landlords the opportunity to ramp prices up before any cap comes in.

“We should be looking to do this now. We can see the cost of living going through the roof just now and people absolutely struggling to make ends meet.”

Overheating

Griffin suggests that the housing sector is overheating due to an increase in the number of people looking for a new home after two years of the pandemic.

“People are being charged more and more to buy a property or to rent a property so that’s why we think the government should step in,” he adds.

A proposal for rent controls was first made in MSP Pauline McNeill’s Fair Rents Bill in 2019, which the Scottish Association of Landlords believes could lead to higher and more frequent rent increases as well as a shortage in the supply of homes.

Labour Scotland’s pledge mirrors the party’s national policy as its website still stands by its 2019 private renters’ charter which promised to cap rents at inflation nationally, while Labour London mayor Sadiq Khan continues to campaign for similar powers. Elsewhere, Bristol is bidding to become the first UK city to have the power to cap rents.

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BREAKING: Trading Standards moves to regulate sales and lettings portal listings

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Property portal listings for rented and for-sale properties will soon be required by law to have mandatory information within them following the launch of a much-anticipated initiative from National Trading Standards.

Its Estate and Lettings Team (NTSELAT) has launched Phase 1 of a programme that will see some of the basics ‘required’ on portal listings including price or rent, size of deposit, council tax band or rate and fore sales properties, whether its leasehold, freehold or commonhold.

Phase I is to go live this month with agents required to be compliant by the end of May.

Later phases will be backed by legislation will make it compulsory for property listings to include utilities available within a property, non-standard features that could influence a transaction decision and more prosaic factors too including location.

The initiative is part of NTSELAT’s attempts to make renting and buying property more transparent and fairer for buyers and tenants, and earlier this month was rolled into the government’s ‘levelling-up’ White Paper announcement.

“These technical changes will prompt all players in the property market to do things a bit differently,” says NTSELAT Senior Manager James Munro (pictured).

“Vendors and agents may find that bringing conveyancers on board at the outset helps ensure all information is available for marketing, and issues with things like restrictive covenants or boundaries can be addressed earlier.

“For consumers, a better understanding of why certain information such as a property’s tenure is important will enable them to make informed decisions when they embark on a property search.”

A further two phases are being developed which will incorporate further material information such as restrictive covenants, flood risk and other specific factors that may impact certain properties.

Sean Hooker (pictured) Head of Redress at The Property Redress Scheme, said: “This is great news for the consumer and will lead a much more transparent and consistent way of introducing properties to the market.

“It will also give clarity and assurance to agents that they are doing the right thing, will set the ground rules on what is expected and avoid the consequences of not providing a good level of information. Fewer complaints, faster transactions, happier customers, what is not to like?”

Theresa Wallace, (pictured) Chair of The Lettings Industry Council, adds: “The material information project is a crucial piece of work to ensure that consumers looking at buying or renting property can make an informed decision earlier in the process.

“The objective is to provide consumers with more information prior to viewing a property. This will be a big change for the industry who have come together to support this initiative and The Lettings Industry Council felt it was important to be a part of a project that can have a real benefit for consumers.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: Trading Standards moves to regulate sales and lettings portal listings | LandlordZONE.

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