Legal test case: Jarvis v Evans & Evans – validity of section 8 notice

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This case relates to properties in Wales and whether a section 8 notice is valid, served when the landlord was not licensed under section 7 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014.

The cased dates back to 2019 but has since received an appeal court decision, July 2020.

The question was: must a landlord be licensed to serve a notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (“the 1988 Act”)? If he must, is a notice served by an unlicensed landlord null and void?

In recent years, Welsh and English law have diverged in some important respects and in particular for private rented housing. The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 passed by the National Assembly for Wales (“the Assembly”) includes provision for the regulation of landlords and their agents which has no parallel in England.

Among other things, the Welsh regime requires landlords to be registered in respect of any dwelling let under a “domestic tenancy” and to be licensed to carry out either lettings activities or property management activities for dwellings the subject of “domestic tenancies”.

In Jarvis v Evans the periodic tenants (Mr & Mrs Evans) were in arrears with their rent which led to the landlord servicing notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. The subsequent hearing came before District Judge Pratt in the County Court at Haverfordwest on 24 June 2019 at which the judge made out a possession order.

Appealing the District Judge’s decision, Mr and Mrs Evans asserted that Mr Jarvis “was not licensed or registered at the time that he served the section 8 notice he relied upon” and that it “must follow that service of the same was ineffective”.

The appeal was heard by Her Honour Judge Garland-Thomas, sitting in the County Court at Swansea, on 20 August 2019. Giving judgment the same day she allowed the Evans’ appeal, noting that while Mr Jarvis was a director of his company that was already licensed, Mr Jarvis himself was not registered or licensed when the section 8 notice was served. He had not been registered himself as landlord of the property in his own name until July 2019, after the notice had been served.

Judge Garland-Thomas therefore held that the section 8 notice was ineffective, stating:

“I am satisfied … that a Section 8 notice is a notice within Section 7 of the [2014] Act. The [2014] Act was brought into effect or more particularly, these sections of the Act were brought into effect to protect tenants from landlords who were unregistered and unlicensed and it seems to me that there is no reason why Section 8 should not come within that Act…”

The County Court judgement was overturned because the second judge determined that the section 8 notice was invalid. This she argued was because the landlord was not registered under the Rent Smart Wales registration scheme. Although the landlord had in fact completed the required training under the scheme, and had obtained a licence, unfortunately for him this was all in his company’s name. This clashed with the fact that the property and the tenancy were in the landlord’s own name.

This is a case which relates specifically to Wales and the licensing regime there, but it does have implications further afield, i.e. for England.

With the various forms of licensing applicable in England and the various sets of prescribed information which must be served on residential tenants, it leaves many loopholes under which a landlord or her agent can be challenged if anything has been missed when setting up or managing a tenancy.

Secondly, the point about ownership and the tenancy agreement being in alignment with the notice should not be missed.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Legal test case: Jarvis v Evans & Evans – validity of section 8 notice | LandlordZONE.

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EXCLUSIVE: We review new landlord ‘Parasite’ book before it’s published

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Being a landlord is both about heart-wrenching, bank account emptying lows and the joys of being your own boss, free from office huddles and long commutes, isn’t it?

But does this, along with the daily grind of property and tenant management really make for any more than an amusing blog or good pub anecdotes?

One landlord, who wants to remain anonymous under the alias The Secret Landlord, has decided to test the water on this front and has written a considerable tome called Parasite? The Secret Diary of a Landlord as an e-book to be published on Amazon next month.

She’s called ‘SL’ in the book and appears to have a long-suffering partner unimpressed by her 24/7 landlording hi jinks, and says she came to the industry via the ‘accidental’ route. And now she wants to tell her story.

A pre-publication review copy has made its way to the LandlordZONE offices.

To someone who has no experience of the private rental sector, the £4.99 book will be a shocking revelation as a cast of bailiffs, tenants, estate agents, council officers, squatters and police officers both light up and darken her doorways.

But to any landlord who has operated in the more budget end of the PRS, much of this book will be familiar.

The Secret Landlord endures selling a property at auction, dealing with dopey tenants (all of which are given colours rather than names, to avoid libel action), solving extreme and often disgusting property management issues, being ripped off by chancer tenants and fending off complaints about damp.

Financial nirvana?

All in all, she has realised too late that being a professional landlord isn’t the lifestyle and financial nirvana the ‘property educator’ courses often promise.

The book is in a ‘daily diary’ format covering approximately a year, although in reality it’s several decades of drama boiled down to 12 months.

But it’s really a tale of lost innocence. She frequently comments that renting out homes has decimated her trust in the human race, helped her develop rhinocerically thick skin and slowly whittled away at her ability to give anyone favours.

“Before being a landlord I was a nice person and I trusted people but instead I now realise you can’t show any weakness,” she says.
It’s a sentiment most landlords will recognise.

Pre-order it here.

Read more landlord books on Amazon

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – EXCLUSIVE: We review new landlord ‘Parasite’ book before it’s published | LandlordZONE.

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Claim up to £5,000 with the Green Homes Grant

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A few weeks back we announced news of the government’s Green Homes Grant and how our partners at Smartstone Energy Solutions are helping landlords through the process to ensure you receive your maximum entitlement.

We have received a huge response from landlords so far

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BREAKING: Green Homes Grant opens for applications from landlords

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Landlords can now take advantage of the new Green Home Energy Grant scheme to get discounted home improvements.

Under Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s scheme, which opens for online applications today, homeowners including landlords can apply for a voucher to help install eco-friendly energy measures and the Government will stump up at least two-thirds of the bill – up to £5,000.

Improvements could include insulating a house to reduce energy use or low-carbon heating to lower the amount of carbon dioxide produced.

The voucher will need to be redeemed and improvements completed by 31st March 2021.

The voucher covers costs for labour, materials and VAT, and work must be completed by a TrustMark-registered installer who is also registered for the scheme.

Once they’ve provided a quote and the work is approved, a voucher is issued.

The Green Homes Grant counts towards the total state aid allowed over a three-year period; landlords will need to check that they don’t exceed the £200,000 threshold.

E or under

Most private rented properties need a minimum Energy Performance Certificate rating of E under the minimum energy efficiency standard; when applying for a voucher for their rented property, landlords will need to either provide proof that they’ve met this standard or proof of an exemption.

Ben Dyer, CEO of mobile-based billing firm Powered Now, says it’s a great boost for small businesses. “According to the Treasury, this scheme is set to support up to 100,000 jobs while helping the nation cut carbon emissions, delivering a win-win for all,” says Dyer.

“At a time like this, tradespeople need as much support as possible and by kickstarting home improvements this is almost certainly set to help.”

Apply: www.gov.uk/apply-green-homes-grant

Read more about the Green Homes Grant.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: Green Homes Grant opens for applications from landlords | LandlordZONE.

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Council tax rates across the country and the least expensive is Westminster!

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New research from Coulters Property looks at Band D council tax prices around the UK to reveal the UK’s highest paying council tax areas. Click here

It shows just how much it varies across the country with some homeowners at the top end paying £1,300 more than those at the bottom.

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Annual House Price growth up to 5%

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The Nationwide House Price Index has now been released for September indicating annual price growth accelerating to 5.0% in September, the highest rate since 2016

Prices rose 0.9% month-on-month, after taking account of seasonal factors and most regions saw a pickup in house price growth rates in Quarter 3 this year.

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Will it ever stop? NW council is latest to reveal selective licensing plans

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Tameside Council outside Manchester is the latest to launch a bid to introduce a selective licensing scheme which would see all private rented properties within the borough require licencing.

The announcement follows neighbour Manchester Council’s announcement two weeks ago that it intends to vastly expand its selective licensing scheme and Liverpool’s second attempt to introduce one after being rejected by the Housing secretary earlier this year.

Tameside as had a mandatory HMO licensing scheme in place since October 2018. In 2019 it reported that 63 properties had HMO licenses and that the total number in the borough had increased from 160 in 2017 to 245.

Council leader Brenda Warrington says: “The coronavirus pandemic has shown that we need to do more.

“We intend to push forward with our plans to introduce a selective licensing scheme for the private rented sector.”

The plans appear to be at an early stage – attempts by LandlordZONE to find out more details about its selective licensing plans have so far been ignored.

But Tameside also plans to work closely with landlords to prevent evictions related to coronavirus-related arrears, while helping tenants come up with a repayment plan to repay the debt within two years.

Warrington says landlords who take part in the scheme will also be able to access funding from the Government’s Green Homes Grant to improve the quality and energy efficiency of their properties.

She also says Tameside’s homelessness service has done incredible work in the past few years in helping the homeless or those at risk of homelessness.

And she believes poor quality and overcrowded housing is also a key factor in vulnerability to infection, with groups like ethnic minorities, young people and migrant workers particularly at risk.

Tameside includes the town of Ashton-under-Lyne as well as Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Longdendale, Mossley and Stalybridge.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Will it ever stop? NW council is latest to reveal selective licensing plans | LandlordZONE.

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Takeover signs revive UK quoted property company stocks

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Share prices in London office property companies were boosted by an average of 10% after it was revealed that US private equity group, KKR took a 5.35% in Great Portland Estates.

Some of Britain’s biggest property companies were boosted to the tune of collectively £800m after speculation that takeovers could ensure.

Britain’s biggest property companies have had their net asset values smashed as they navigate a most torrid time through the Coronavirus pandemic. Predictions of more home working for office staff and a shift in retail to more online business for home deliveries had put the jitters up existing shareholders, who have been selling in recent months.

But some of the world’s biggest private equity groups smell value at these levels, based on their expectations that the office market will eventually recover as the pandemic recedes and office workers drift back.

Other investors include Brookfield the Canadian investment house, having quietly built a 9.2% stake in the FTSE100 listed British Land, and South African money is continuing to find a safer home in the UK with the country’s Lighthouse Capital increasing its stake in shopping centre owner Hammerson, from 17.1% to 19.1%.

Mike Pew, stock analyst at Jeffries told The Times newspaper:

“Deep discounts to net asset value are attracting stake building in REITs”

REIT status confers substantial tax benefits for investment companies. REITs are essentially companies or groups of companies that manage a portfolio of real estate to earn profits for shareholders, and their special tax status means that they pay no corporation tax on the profits of their rental business, but they need to comply with a number of conditions set out in tax law:

• they must pay out 90% of their property income to shareholders every year.
• dividends are treated as property income to the investor, and are taxed accordingly.
• dividends are subject to a withholding tax at basic rate income tax, except for certain classes of investors including charities, UK companies, and pension funds who can register to receive gross rather than net payments.
• shares in REITs can be held in ISAs and Child Trust Funds (CTFs), and the managers of these can receive gross distributions, making these highly tax efficient.
• REITs investments must be primarily in property, rather than in development or other non-property related activities.
• As REITs are all listed companies, investments in them are generally easily traded.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Takeover signs revive UK quoted property company stocks | LandlordZONE.

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13% of properties sell for over asking price

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The NAEA Propertymark August report has indicated after the stimulus of the Stamp Duty holiday 13% of properties sold for more than the original asking price. This is the highest percentage in nearly 5 years. However, 53% of properties still sold below asking price.

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Homelessness Reduction Act review puiblished

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Nearly a quarter of a million households who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless have been helped to keep their home or into longer-term accommodation, by the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA).  The Review of the act has been published 25th September 2020.

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