BREAKING: This is how viewings can be completed now that the rental market is up and running again

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Department of Housing published its definitive list of guidance and rules for landlords or letting agents who want to rent out a property now that home moves are permitted once more.

The government has issued more detailed guidance to landlords after it was revealed yesterday that the private rental market could re-open for business today.

Its guidance stresses that tenants’ safety should be letting agents’ and landlords’ priority, and gives advice on to help them safely let empty properties or properties that tenants have agreed to vacate for a few hours while viewings take place.

“While broader measures to protect tenants during the coronavirus outbreak remain in place, letting agents and landlords should endeavour to avoid ending tenancies where the tenant wants and is able to stay,” the government says.

Ministers have also released an eight-point checklist for landlords and letting agents to consider before renting a property. These are:

• Private landlords and letting agents should not conduct viewings in properties where tenants are symptomatic or self-isolating, or where it has been determined that they are clinically extremely vulnerable and are shielding.
• In other cases, where viewings can proceed, they should be conducted in line with Coronavirus guidance – including keeping two metres’ distance during viewings, providing hand washing facilities to those visiting a property and keeping doors and windows open.
• If possible, necessary repairs, gas and electrical safety checks should be conducted in the period between a property being vacated and a new tenant moving in. If this is not possible and visits are needed to an occupied property, this should be done by appointment with measures put in place to ensure physical contact is minimised, for example with residents staying in another room during the visit.
• Landlords should make every effort to abide by gas and electrical safety requirements, which continue to be of great importance for tenants’ safety. This may be more difficult due to restrictions associated with the coronavirus outbreak, for example where a tenant has coronavirus symptoms, is self-isolating or shielding. Under such circumstances, provided the landlord can demonstrate they have taken reasonable steps to comply, they would not be in breach. See further Health and Safety Executive guidance on how to deal with specific circumstances. Letting agents may also want to consider obtaining landlord and tenant consent for inventory clerk appointments to also occur before a tenant moves in or after a tenant moves out during vacant periods if possible.
• Letting agents and landlords should take steps to ensure any properties are prepared ready for new tenants, this may include cleaning to minimise any potential spread of the virus in line with government advice.
• Letting agents and landlords should consider how best to conduct tenancy check-ins for new tenancies agreed while broader measures remain in place, taking care to follow government advice on social distancing to minimise possible spread of coronavirus.
• Letting agents and landlords are reminded of the temporary COVID-19 measures that adjust right to rent checks, temporarily allowing these checks to be conducted remotely. Lettings agents and landlords should consider other areas where in person payments, referencing or checks can be conducted remotely instead and take further advice if required.

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Government safety advice for moving home during Coronavirus emergency

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The government has amended the coronavirus regulations to make clear that people who wish to move home can do so. The guidance provides important public health information to ensure that moving home and key activities around this, such as viewing property

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Housing market reopens from today

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The government has relaxed emergency Covid-19 rules to allow the housing market to reopen. From today anyone in England can move home if they follow new guidance published by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick.

With immediate effect Estate and Letting agent offices can open

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Landlords ARE helping tenants in trouble and Generation Rent research is wrong, says NRLA

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Association chief Ben Beadle says claims that two thirds of landlords who have been asked by tenants for financial help have rejected them are wide of the mark.

The UK’s largest landlord association has
rejected claims by Generation Rent that two thirds of landlords are refusing to
help tenants struggling financially during the lockdown.

This claim by the campaign group has been made this morning but has prompted the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) to quickly reject the claim, saying that its survey of landlords paints a starkly different picture.

NRLA Chief Executive Ben Beadle says 90% of some 4,500 landlords it canvassed recently who had received a request from their tenant for help had granted it.

This included agreeing a rent reduction, deferral or waiver while others had released tenants early from their contracts and given them refunds on service charges.

Of the landlords surveyed, 44 per cent had been asked for help by at least one tenant.

“While many tenants have been able to continue paying their rents in full and on time, in accordance with Government advice, we recognise the strain that many others are under at this difficult time,” says Beadle.

“That is why it is good news that, as our research shows, nearly all the landlords approached for help by their tenants are responding positively.

“With no direct support aside from a mortgage deferment, landlords are playing their part to avoid unnecessary anxiety for tenants and our figures show that the vast majority of tenants and landlords have a good relationship with each other.”

Read our latest Landlord Hero of the Week interview.

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Landlords offering widespread support to tenants

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Tenants’ rights group Generation Rent is wrong to claim the majority of landlords are failing to support tenants needing help during the Covid-19 pandemic. A yet to be published survey by the National Residential Landlords Association of over 4,500 landlords has found that 90 per cent of landlords who had received a request for support […]

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Generation rent is wrong and landlords are supporting tenants

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Generation Rent is wrong to claim that the majority of landlords are failing to support tenants needing help during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A yet to be published survey by the National Residential Landlords Association of over 4,500 landlords has found that 90% of landlords who had received a request for support from a tenant responded positively.

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Two thirds of landlords have rejected struggling tenants’ requests for rent relief

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Controversial claim is made by campaigning group Generation Rent, which says it’s based on survey of 1,542 renters. But the NRLA says it will publish its own data tomorrow morning on the same subject.

An ongoing information war between the National
Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) and Generation Rent over how significantly
the Coronavirus lockdown is affecting tenants has broken out again.

This follows the claim by Generation Rent that the
government’s strategy of relying on landlord compassion and asking both sides
to ‘work things out’ isn’t working.

Generation Rent says that its research shows that just under
a third of landlords who have been approached by struggling tenants have either
given them a rent reduction or deferral during the crisis.

This comes from a survey of 1,542 renters. It found that
868 (56%) of tenants had lost income since the lockdown started.

Of those, 38% had asked their landlord for a lower rent, 25%
were considering an approach to their landlord and 37% said they probably
wouldn’t ask them.

Of those who did, in 7% of cases the landlord offered a
lower rent that wasn’t repayable, 25% offered a rent deferral and 56% had asked
for the full rent to be paid. The remaining 12% were waiting to hear back.

Dan Wilson Craw, director of Generation Rent, says: “Some landlords are doing the right thing by reducing rents for tenants who have had their incomes slashed.

“But most tenants who have approached their landlord for
help are getting nothing – except more dread that they’ll be evicted. Relying
on landlords’ compassion isn’t working.” 

The NRLA is expected to publish a rebuttal in the
morning. Watch this space.

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Housing market to reopen

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Landlords can now hold viewings and allow tenants to move in and out of rental homes – provided they follow social distancing measures. The changes to the rules -­ amendments to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) regulations in England – means estate and letting agents’ offices can open; viewings are permitted; show homes can open; […]

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BREAKING: Rental market to reopen tomorrow after travel restrictions are lifted for landlords, tenants and agents

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Short but hugely important changes have been made to the key travel ban legislation this evening, amendments which are due to go live at midnight tonight.

The government has pushed through legislative changes
tonight that will see the rental market reopen tomorrow in England.

In an obscure update to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020, landlords will now be free to let their properties and tenants now have the green light to move home.

This bill has been – and continues to be – used to restrict travel during the Coronavirus crisis and includes a short list of exemptions such as travelling to a hospital and to buy food.

This list has now been joined by five new exemptions that enable members of the public to visit both sales or lettings agencies, developers’ sales offices and show homes; view properties for sale or rent; prepare properties prior to moving in; and move home.

Agents and landlords are also allowed to visit any rental property to get them ready for sale, which means appraisals, property valuations and photography.

The new travel exemptions also apply to the sales market,
and landlords will therefore be able to begin buying investment properties once
more too.

“It’s great news for consumers and the industry that the housing market is being opened up and people can let, rent, buy and sell properties again,” say David Cox, Chief Executive of ARLA Propertymark and Mark Hayward, Chief Executive of NAEA Propertymark in a joint statement.

“Safety of course will be paramount, and we would encourage everyone to ensure that they follow Government guidelines closely to protect others and themselves.”

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Bounce Back Loans for property businesses – Part 2

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Our last video on the Bounce Back Loan Scheme and how property businesses are eligible, has given rise to a lot of discussion on Property118 and elsewhere on social media.

In this video Andrew Roberts and I return to give an important update including:

–

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