Updated COVID-19 Government guidance for landlords and tenants

admin    Uncategorized     agents

This guidance has now been updated as of 1st June and provides advice to landlords and tenants on the provisions in the Coronavirus Act 2020, and further advice for landlords, tenants and local authorities more broadly about their rights and responsibilities during the COVID-19 outbreak.

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Think carefully before keeping university campuses closed, warns property industry leader

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As students and landlords continue their Mexican stand-off over rent waivers, David Cox says a far tougher battle looms if universities continue to keep lecture halls closed.

David Cox, the Chief Executive of ARLA Propertymark, has sought to distance himself from his comments made to The Daily Telegraph that student landlords could see the sector ‘disappearing for up to 12 months’.

Cox tells LandlordZONE that the comments were taken out of context and that he was talking only about a ‘worst case scenario’.

But he is worried what will happen if campuses are still closed for the start of the next semester and is calling on university Vice Chancellors to think carefully before banning students from their campuses once more, and to consider the damage that it could do to many city economies and their private rental markets.

“Manchester, for example, has 100,000 students at five universities so telling students to stay away would have unimaginable consequences for the pubs, bars, restaurants and shops that rely on them,” says Cox.

“I can understand that large lecture halls are probably a no-no at the moment, but I think that seminars can be conducted safely if social distancing is observed.”

The battle between landlords and students over rents due for the most recent semester continues with several rent strikes under way in Bristol and London, but a much greater battle looms in September/October when the new educational year begins.

Frustration

Cox says that unless the government passes a specific law closing universities, he can’t see the ‘frustration of contract’ argument mooted by the CMA last week standing up to scrutiny.

Instead,  students will have to persuade landlords to release them from their contracts if universities keep their campuses shut.

“The Propertymark position on student tenancies due to start in September is that they have already been signed, the deposits have been paid and the contracts remain in place.

“Many students have nailed down their student accommodation by January or February so most tenancies are already signed, sealed and delivered.

“We don’t agree with the ‘frustration of contract’ position; the house is habitable, they have a legal interest in the property, they can move in, but it’s not a frustration of contract. Only a law closing universities would fulfil that.”

But Cox is confident it won’t come to this – lockdown is easing, shops are opening again, people are being allowed to gather in groups again, and by September or October universities are likely to be open again.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Think carefully before keeping university campuses closed, warns property industry leader | LandlordZONE.

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Small Claim win but how do I get the money owed?

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I won the claim against a tenant who did a bunk leaving arrears and damage. Although she didn’t turn up to the last hearing, the court awarded me the figure I was chasing for.

Do I need to await for something official from the court to say I can now progress getting back the money?

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Tenant paid for repair herself at extortionate price?

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I have a tenant who had a leak from  the toilet cistern. She found a plumber herself who repaired the leak without telling the agent or myself as the landlord.

The repair cost an extortion£276!

When the agent later questioned their own plumber on the cost of the repair carried out they quoted a maximum of £85.

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Developer proves councils CAN be challenged successfully over HMO plan rejections

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Bob Panesar’s plan to enlarge an HMO in Worcester was rejected by both local and national planning decision makers, but his subsequent appeal looks set to succeed.

A plucky developer in Worcester who took on the local council for rejecting his HMO extension plans looks set to win his planning battle.

Councillors threw out developer Bob Panesar’s application for a side and rear extension to the HMO in Bozward Street (pictured) last February to create a sixth bedroom, but he successfully gained a lawful development certificate and has now submitted another planning application.

These certificates can confirm that planning
permission isn’t required and prove to both
the local authority and future buyers that the project was legal.

Gavin Dick,
local authority policy officer at the National Residential Landlords
Association, says that while planning officers can approve a scheme, planning
committees are politically motivated and can refuse it – often just because
it’s an HMO. Getting a lawful development certificate can be a way of
challenging that rejection.

Dick tells LandlordZONE: “If it doesn’t contravene planning rules then it can go ahead. But it’s a good idea to thoroughly understand the planning rules in your area before you make applications to make sure there isn’t an article four direction with specific restrictions, because it’s an expensive process.” 

Parking fears

Worcester City
Council’s planning committee and the Government’s planning inspectorate had both
rejected the application over parking and congestion fears; the report said allowing the extra room in the
HMO would make parking worse on the street.

However, at a
city council planning committee meeting earlier this year, council planners said
the authority’s hands were tied over providing the lawful development
certificate. Panesar’s application states that the proposed extension would
fall within its permitted development rights, which includes certain types of
work that don’t need planning permission.

A council
spokesman tells LandlordZONE this is the first issue of its kind that it’s had
in relation to an HMO. He says: “Councillor Alan Amos has now called the
current application in for determination by the planning committee. No
recommendation on the application has been made to date.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Developer proves councils CAN be challenged successfully over HMO plan rejections | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: Landlords warned that tenant fees ban goes live IN FULL on Monday morning

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Key organisations urge landlords to check they are compliant with the Tenant Fees Act which applies to all tenancies regardless of their start date from midnight on the 1st June.

Landlords and agents are being reminded that the year-long transition period that the government gave them to prepare for the tenant fees ban ends on Monday, and that they should check carefully that they are compliant.

The fees ban legislation went live on 1^st June last year, but only applied to tenancies started after that date, and renewals. But from next week onwards it will also apply to all tenancies, regardless of when they started.

Landlords and their agents will not be able to charge any of their tenants prohibited fees including for check-ins and check-outs, referencing, viewings, inventories, securing guarantors and property cleaning.

David Cox, Chief Executive of ARLA Propertymark, warns that any prohibited ‘advance fees’ that were charged before the fees ban and were carried through until now must be returned.

“The prime example of this is an advance check-out fee which will become a prohibited payment on Monday and will have to be returned whether the tenancy is ending or not,” he says.

Allowed fees

The only fees that can be charged are the rent, a deposit of no more than five weeks’ rent, a holding deposit of one week’s rent and up to £50 to vary a contract.

Other permitted fees include the costs of replacing a lost key, charges for the early termination of a contract, utilities and council tax costs (if charged separately for), and fees for late payment of rent albeit only after the payment has been outstanding for 14 days or more.

“Whilst most letting agents have stopped charging fees to tenants and we have received relatively few complaints to the Property

Fines

Redress Scheme (PRS) about this, now the ban applies to retrospective tenancies, if agents and landlords are not up to speed with the changes they risk penal sanctions under the law,” says Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the PRS.

“This
include a £5,000 fine rising to £30,000 and a prohibition on serving a Section
21 possession notice. 

“If a complaint is received by the PRS we will automatically instruct an agent to repay the fee and may well award additional compensation to a tenant.

“This however will not exempt an agent from a local authority prosecution for the breach and we may be obliged to report an agent to NTSELAT.”

Read more guidance about the fees ban.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Landlords warned that tenant fees ban goes live IN FULL on Monday morning | LandlordZONE.

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Covid-19 Code of practice for commercial landlords and tenants

admin    Uncategorized     agents

High street businesses and landlords are set to receive a new government code of practice providing improved clarity and reassurance over rent payments.

A working group has been established by the government with the commercial rental sector to develop a code which encourages fair and transparent discussions between landlords and tenants over rental payments during the coronavirus pandemic and guidance on rent arrears payments and treatment of sub-letter and suppliers.

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Sign up to an NRLA regional webinar this June

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The country may still be in lockdown, but the NRLA’s usual regional meetings are still taking place albeit virtually, through a series of regional webinars. Hosted by our regional representatives, the online webinars give landlords the chance to connect with landlords in their area during these unusual times, and hear the latest advice around managing […]

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BREAKING: ‘Coronavirus rent renegotiation code’ to be introduced for commercial landlords and tenants

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Government has set up a working group to nail down the code, which will apply during the pandemic and will help spread the financial burdens created by the crisis across the sector.

A code of practice that will encourage ‘fair and transparent’ rent payment discussions between commercial landlords and tenants has been announced by the government.

Yet to be issued, a working group has been established to hammer out the code following a consultation with industry bodies.

Once the new code is published, it will apply as long as the Coronavirus crisis continues.

The announcement coincides with separate news from lenders’ trade body UK Finance, which says its members will continue to support commercial landlords ahead of the second quarter rent payment deadline on June 25^th.

This is likely to trigger another wave of rent payment deferral requests from tenants, an issue that the new working group is to examine alongside how sub-letters and suppliers should be treated.

The government says the key aim of code will be to encourage all the players in the commercial property sector to shoulder the financial burden of the crisis.

“We expect all parties to come to the table so our high streets and town centres are in the best possible position to come back from these challenges,” says Housing secretary Robert Jenrick.

“We are giving clarity to landlords and tenants who are both facing equal pressures on their finances so they are all able to stabilise their finances and bounce back.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has also been involved in the decision to formulate the code, saying: “We continue to work with lenders to ensure flexible support is provided to commercial landlords, including payment holidays and restructuring facilities, and it is right that where landlords receive support, they extend this to their tenants.”

Read more about commercial property and the Coronavirus.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: ‘Coronavirus rent renegotiation code’ to be introduced for commercial landlords and tenants | LandlordZONE.

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Bridging lenders excited about future lending prospects

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Bridging lenders and their intermediaries are feeling positive, following the easing of recent restrictions due to covid-19

The specialist finance industry has been hit hard in recent
weeks and bridging lenders have had to halt any new business during the
coronavirus lockdown. With over 50 bridging lenders and hundreds of
intermediaries, the industry has seen very slow growth with hundreds of staff
been put on furlough and a limited funding due to no construction work, surveys
or auctions taking place.

However, with restrictions easing, the thousands of
households and property developers that use bridging finance each year will be
able to start purchasing properties and getting their businesses back on track.

“It has been a testing time for the bridging industry,”
explains Dan Kettle of Octagon Capital. “Our products
are often used as a quick way to buy properties and avoid mortgage chains, but
the lockdown has meant that almost all deals were put on hold and we could not
acquire any new business.”

“However, with restrictions easing, we are in a good
position to resume funding again. Many people and investors will be excited to
start building and buying property again and with mortgage lending even tighter
than before, we could see positive growth and a good Q4.”

During the 10-week lockdown period, bridging providers were
on tenterhooks over whether
they could offer mortgage holidays to their customers and what the
terms would be surrounding their agreements. Bridging finance is often used for
a maximum of 24 months, but with so many construction jobs halted, the chance
of these running their course could lead to the deals expiring and challenges
for customers in terms of repossession or refinancing.

Nicholas Wallwork of the Property Forum explained: “The vast
majority of building sites have come to a standstill. As a consequence, those
working against tight bridging loan finance repayment dates will struggle. The
property/project, if work does not restart very soon, would likely be worth
nowhere near their target value. As a consequence, they would not be able to
raise as much traditional finance as expected which would usually be used to
pay off the bridging loan. Indeed, when you also factor in the potential
reduction in property prices on the whole there could be a huge shortfall.”

However, with restrictions easing and the Prime Minister
looking to open all non-essential retail by 15^th June, there is more
confidence in the specialist finance and bridging industry and many will be
delighted to hear this news.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Bridging lenders excited about future lending prospects | LandlordZONE.

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