Landlords are in ‘last chance saloon’ to buy properties before Rishi’s stamp duty deadline

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Nearly half of all buy-to-let mortgage lenders say they will be unable to get new transaction across the line by the 31^st March stamp duty deadline, landlords have been warned.

The research, by a leading mortgage broker, reveals that even the lenders still capable of doing deals in this sort of time frame may well struggle to hit the deadline if solicitors or local authorities drag their feet.

“Typically, a landlord would want about 100 days to complete a purchase,” says Jeni Browne, director of Mortgages for Business.

“Clearly, landlords don’t have that sort of time on their hands anymore and I’d urge them to do everything they can to push through a new buy-to-let purchase before the stamp duty holiday ends.”

At the moment, although landlords still have to pay the additional 3% stamp duty levied on ‘second home’ property purchases, like all other home buyers they do not have to pay any ‘standard’ stamp duty on the value of the home they buy under £500,000.

Gutted

“I think most landlords would be completely gutted to miss the deadline simply because the lender they’d chosen couldn’t turn their transaction around in time,” says Browne (pictured, below)

“With volumes so high, many lender’s service levels have slipped – it’s taking some of the big players 10 minutes just to pick up a sales call while others are taking 35 working days just to undertake their processing. 

“It’s therefore absolutely critical that landlords speak to a specialist broker who can ensure they not only get a competitive deal but that they also get one that has a realistic chance of going through before the deadline runs out. 

“Frankly, it’s absolutely to the wire, even with the right lender.”

A parliamentary debate is due on the stamp duty deadline on Monday.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlords are in ‘last chance saloon’ to buy properties before Rishi’s stamp duty deadline | LandlordZONE.

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New pet friendly standard government tenancy agreement

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The government has released its latest standard model tenancy agreement to cater for responsible tenants with well-behaved pets. Under the new Model Tenancy Agreement, announced by Housing Minister Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP, landlords will no longer be able to issue blanket bans on pets.

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Developer Exit Finance when your lender is unhelpful

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During the current Covid-19 pandemic, we have received an increased number of enquiries regarding refinancing existing development finance. These have mainly been brought about by overruns either in terms of cost or time and their current lender not being helpful.

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Expanding renters’ union Acorn warns ‘errant landlords’ to expect action

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Renters’ group Acorn has promised to set up more branches in England and Wales this year to tackle social inequality and challenge errant landlords.

It currently has 25 branches and groups and has plans to expand, a spokesman tells LandlordZONE: “We are certainly hoping to have more up and running soon and throughout the year, definitely – however we wouldn’t be able to give specifics as it is up to our members to get together collectively and set up groups.”

Founded in Bristol in 2014, Acorn’s newest branch – in north London’s Haringey – has scored a win against a landlord after setting up last week.

Its first direct action, which targeted a landlord who had neglected to clear toxic mould in a tenant’s flat, involved picketers who gathered outside Homelink Edmonton to present demands on behalf of the Acorn member.

Letter of demand

Although Homelink doesn’t manage the property itself, the Acorn spokesman says: “We wrote a letter of demands to the estate agent – after they had ignored our prior attempts to make contact to resolve the situation without direct action – and, after some negotiation with the manager, they agreed.”

Homelink confirmed that after speaking with the landlord, a damp specialist had been appointed who would install a professional ventilation system to solve the condensation issue, while the landlord would also organise cleaners and decorators if needed.

The union has vowed to keep up pressure on the landlord to ensure that all repairs are carried out swiftly and the spokesman adds: “It’s a spectacular start and a delicious taste of what’s to come in our community.”

Read more about Acorn.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Expanding renters’ union Acorn warns ‘errant landlords’ to expect action | LandlordZONE.

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Taxation of 7 months rent in advance?

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I have a problem – it sounds like a nice problem. My agent has got me a short term let for 7 months and the tenant wants to pay 7 months rent in advance. The problem is that this tax year I am a 40% taxpayer

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Sheffield, Bristol and Brum have the best landlords in the UK, online ratings show

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Sheffield boasts the best landlords in the UK while Derby and Hull share the dubious honour of having the worst, according to a new survey which studied the 20 most populated cities.

Researchers at Clear It Waste created a points-based index using landlord ratings on Yell, Marksoutoftenancy.com and Google as well as monthly search volumes per city, to work out that Sheffield had the highest level of tenant satisfaction – a total of 358 out of 400 – along with high average landlord ratings (91/100) and low searches for landlord issues.

Bristol and Birmingham came joint second, with landlords scoring 295 out of 400.

Clear It Waste says that with an average of 84/100 points on Yell in Birmingham and 95/100 on Google for Bristol, these cities are great contenders for anyone looking to move.

Despite London being known for its rogue landlords and expensive yet small properties, the capital came fourth for tenant satisfaction and scored a respectable 284 points.

Bottom of the pile

At the bottom of the pile, Derby and Hull scored just 58 out of 400. Average tenancy ratings of 4/10, Derby’s average Google rating of 3.66/5 and Hull’s Yell rating of 3.48/5 all contributed to their poor scores.

Newcastle is also a hotspot for landlord issues, scoring just 110 points overall, as the city suffers from bad Google reviews (16/100) and a high number of monthly searches for landlord problems, according to the study. Other cities with significant landlord issues include Southampton – 116/400, Cardiff – 126/400 and Belfast – 158/400.

Google data was used to find the average monthly search volumes per city for terms such as ‘landlord issues’ plus alternative terms including landlord problem(s), tenant solicitor, report landlord, landlord legal issue(s), landlord complaint(s) and bad landlord.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Sheffield, Bristol and Brum have the best landlords in the UK, online ratings show | LandlordZONE.

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BREAKING: New Model Tenancy to prevent ‘no pets’ blanket bans by landlords

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Housing Minister Christopher Pincher has launched an update to the Model Tenancy Agreement that when implemented will prevent landlords from issuing blanket ‘no pets’ bans.

Instead, consent for pets will be the default position, and landlords will have to object in writing within 28 days of a written pet request from a tenant and provide a good reason.

The new guidance appears to go further than Andrew Rosindell’s (pictured) proposed Dogs and Domestic Animals (Accommodation and Protection) Bill, which he told LandlordZONE last year would not make pets a ‘default right’ for tenants.

The housing ministry says that just 7% of private landlords advertise pet friendly properties, meaning many people struggle to find suitable homes.

In some cases, it claims, this has meant people have had to give up their pets all together.

Under the new agreement, rejections can only be made where there is good reason such as in smaller properties or flats where owning a pet could be impractical.

To ensure landlords are protected, tenants will continue to have a legal duty to repair or cover the cost of any damage to the property.

“We are a nation of animal lovers and over the last year more people than ever before have welcome pets into their lives and homes,” says Pincher.

Tiny fraction

“But it can’t be right that only a tiny fraction of landlords advertise pet friendly properties and in some cases people have had to give up their beloved pets in order to find somewhere to live.

“Through the changes to the tenancy agreement we are making today, we are bringing an end to the unfair blanket ban on pets introduced by some landlords.

“This strikes the right balance between helping more people find a home that’s right for them and their pet while ensuring landlords’ properties are safeguarded against inappropriate or badly behaved pets.”

The Model Tenancy Agreement is the government’s recommended contract for landlords.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: New Model Tenancy to prevent ‘no pets’ blanket bans by landlords | LandlordZONE.

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Landlords unable to respond to London council’s so called “consultation”

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Landlords you need to make your voice heard! You have only until February 11th to respond to the licensing proposals of the City of Westminster council. Except you can’t. The City of Westminster has some 52,700 rental properties constituting 43% of its total housing stock.

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‘Breathing space’ debt scheme is NOT a free ride for defaulting tenants, says leading lawyer

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The new ‘breathing space’ scheme aimed at helping out those with rent arrears isn’t a free ride for defaulting tenants, warns a leading law expert.

Debt Respite Scheme regulations – which launch on 4^th May to cover most debt including rent arrears – aim to give people in debt a better chance to stabilise their finances during a 60-day moratorium on interest, charges and enforcement action while they seek help.

David Smith (picture, above), partner in the commercial litigation team at JMW Solicitors, says a moratorium isn’t there to simply delay the inevitable.

Free ride

He adds: “This is not a free ride for defaulting tenants. A section 21 notice can still be served and enforced against a tenant subject to a moratorium and so can a section 8 notice citing grounds other than arrears of rent.”

However, although he has heard of some tenants calling agents to say that the regulations mean they can’t serve a notice for rent arrears, he doesn’t believe most will use it to simply delay debt proceedings.

Smith adds that the scheme implies a need to have some degree of reasonable belief that a tenant will be able to enter into such an agreement.

He says: “Many tenants will not be aware of this option, will never become aware of it, and even if they were, will have no reasonable means of paying their debts anyway and so would not be likely to get a breathing space.”

Smith says under the scheme, tenants must still continue to pay their rent for their main home – and if they don’t, the landlord can apply to the relevant debt advice organisation to cancel the moratorium. If this is declined, they can then apply to the courts to ask for the moratorium to be ended or to allow legal action for eviction on the grounds of arrears to progress.

Read more about the Breathing Space scheme.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – ‘Breathing space’ debt scheme is NOT a free ride for defaulting tenants, says leading lawyer | LandlordZONE.

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Land Registry clarifies charges for re-launched property research tool

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The Land Registry has confirmed that it will continue charging landlords £3 for researching title registers and plans on its new online service, after posting a confusing blog.

It had implied that users of its new Search for property details site could view ownership information for free, but when queried by LandlordZONE, it admitted that a title register and a title plan would continue to cost £3 each – and that it would clarify this information.

Its current Find a Property service – which many landlords find clunky and difficult to use – is being retired later this year and the new Search for land and property information site will take over.

In March, property ownership details will be added to the Search site so landlords can view the latest price paid for a property as well as the property description shown in the register and can identify if any restrictions or rights exist on the land.

Since its launch in March 2003, Find a property has returned millions of searches from people looking to find out who owns land and property or how much it was bought for, while Search for land and property information was launched in February 2020 and has already seen more than 750,000 searches made.

A Land Registry spokesman says: “This newer service is easy to use and will eventually give you information you need whether you’re researching house prices in advance of a move, looking for legal or ownership reasons or simply to satisfy your personal curiosity.

“You can find information such as property deeds, and the house price data uses the same price paid data set produced by HM Land Registry, that’s used by Zoopla and other property websites.”

More features such as customer accounts, map searching, digital register and title plan view will be added to the service this year.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Land Registry clarifies charges for re-launched property research tool | LandlordZONE.

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