MPs quote NRLA policy proposals during Covid-19 inquiry evidence session

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NRLA policy proposals were quoted by MPs during a virtual oral evidence session of the Housing, Communities and Local Government select committee yesterday. The committee heard evidence virtually from Luke Hall MP, the Minister responsible for tackling homelessness, as part of the inquiry on the impact of Covid-19 on the PRS and homelessness. During the […]

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‘This is what your evictions extension plan could mean for landlords, Mr Starmer’

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Landlord Action claims any extension to the three-month evictions ban would have a catastrophic effect on an already desperate situation for many landlords stuck with non-paying tenants.

Thousands of landlords are
stuck with tenants who haven’t paid rent for months and who could be living
rent-free in their properties until at least September.

Those with pre Covid-19
possession cases could be forced to cover more than a year’s worth of rent if
the courts can’t resume existing cases from 25th June, according to Landlord
Action – after the Labour Party suggested an extension to the ban on evictions
from three to six months.

Landlord Action says of 25,000 cases stuck in the legal system, 10,000 are from private landlords. With more than 500 live possession claims with the courts, founder Paul Shamplina is being contacted daily by landlords who’d launched eviction proceedings against tenants for non-payment of rent before the ban and now face financial collapse.

“Existing possession claims should be treated separately to any tenancy issues that arise as a result of Covid-19,” he says.

“Cases
where rent arrears had already built up for months and landlords had sought
action prior to the pandemic should be prioritised, as these landlords will be
taking the biggest financial hit.”

Landlord David Walters’ tenant owes him £12,000 but her refusal to leave or pay means he can’t return from abroad to his London flat.

The tenant was consistently
late paying rent so was given two months’ notice last June. David raised court
action in October when she refused to leave, and then sought a baliff’s order which should have happened in April, but the
lockdown meant no further action could be taken for 90 days.

“I’m
in a desperate situation as I have no home to return to in the UK,” he says.
“I’ve no idea when this situation can be resolved. Even when the central London
court reopens there will be a huge backlog of cases.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – ‘This is what your evictions extension plan could mean for landlords, Mr Starmer’ | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: Scottish government to allow University students to exit tenancies early

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Scotland is first to solve the ongoing problems between corporate landlords and students over rent waivers and is to pass emergency legislation to give existing and new tenants the right to quit contracts early.

Scotland is to introduce emergency legislation to give students living in both purpose-built private rented apartment blocks and halls of residence the right to give just seven days’ notice to quit a tenancy.

The new regulations, which are subject to approval by the country’s parliament, will cover existing tenancies while those starting new ones will have to give 28 days’ notice while the temporary legislation is in force.

These measures are designed to protect both existing tenants who have been told to ‘go home’ by their universities, and student renters who are considering a tenancy for the next semester, but who are not sure if their campus will be re-opening in time.

The measures will only allow early exits from tenancies for Coronavirus-related reasons and will prevent students exiting contracts just because they’ve decided not to go to university, for example.

Today’s announcement is in stark contrast to England, where the government recently said it had no plans to intervene in the student rental market, as LandlordZONE reported on 28^th April.

“During this time of great uncertainty and financial hardship for many, these proposals would relieve a significant extra financial burden on students,” says Michael Russell, the Scottish government’s Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, Europe and External Affairs.

“Introducing a 28-day notice period for contracts entered into during the lifetime of this Act recognises the uncertainly around the impact of ongoing lockdown measures, as well as providing the same rights as for those students renting in the mainstream private rented sector.”

The new legislation is within Scotland’s latest Coronavirus specific bill, which was published yesterday afternoon.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Scottish government to allow University students to exit tenancies early | LandlordZONE.

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Will it get the green light? Croydon Council approves bid to continue huge licensing scheme

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The London borough operates one of the largest selective licensing schemes in the UK with over 36,000 properties not included within its area, which is now set to continue for another five years.

Croydon last night gave the green light to renewing its landlord licensing scheme for another five years, LandlordZONE can reveal.

After being approved by the council cabinet, the plan will now go to the Secretary of State. It includes an improved support service for landlords and tenants in the London borough, including a tenants’ welcome pack and template documents so it’s easier to do inspections and safety checks.

Croydon
council consulted residents, landlords, letting agents, community groups and
the public, and found most support for the most comprehensive scheme, which
covered the whole borough, targeting antisocial behaviour in six wards in the
south and poor housing conditions in 22 wards, mainly in the north and centre.

The council
launched its borough-wide scheme in 2015 which now covers more than 36,400
properties but is due to end in September.

The existing
scheme has inspected over 13,000 properties, served more than 1,000 enforcement
notices, issued 75 prohibition orders, and fined or prosecuted over 40
landlords.

Councillor Alison Butler (pictured), deputy leader and cabinet member for homes and Gateway services, says:“Over the last five years our landlord licensing scheme has raised living conditions for thousands of private tenants across the borough, but we want to do more.

“With a rise
in private lettings, these proposals are all about working with landlords and
tenants to further improve the standard of rented homes in Croydon while
tackling antisocial behaviour.”

The standard
cost for a five-year licence remains £750, with some discounts available
including a £350 fee for current licence holders.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Will it get the green light? Croydon Council approves bid to continue huge licensing scheme | LandlordZONE.

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Stepping up further and offering a free basic single or joint Will

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For many years, Property118 and H D Consultants have worked very closely together. The Team at H D Consultants has provided experienced, qualified and fully insured mortgage, life cover and estate planning advice.

At this time, whilst more and more people are worried about their current jobs and businesses

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LATEST: Ombudsman reveals shock case of cash payment hidden from landlord by agent

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TPO has ordered the agent to return the cash, which was paid by a council as an incentive to give one of its tenants a home within the landlords’ property.

A letting agent who kept a £2,500 council ‘tenant finder’ sweetener hidden from a landlord has been ordered to hand the cash back by The Property Ombudsman (TPO), one example of a rising number of complaints by landlords against agents revealed in its annual report.

The landlord
had instructed the agent on a full management basis who then suggested it try
using the incentive scheme run by the council – but failed to mention anything
about the payment.

When the
landlord complained, the agent replied, “the claim of dishonesty will continue
to fall upon deaf ears”.

TPO has ruled that the incentive payment formed part of the tenant’s offer to rent the property and that agents must not make ‘secret profits’.

It said: “If such a sum is to be charged (or kept), then failure to tell a landlord about this could constitute a misleading action or omission likely to affect their transactional decision and could therefore be an offence under the CPRs (Consumer Protection for Unfair Trading Regulations).”

Complaints

The way agents
dealt with complaints was again in the top three causes of complaints for
lettings, according to the Property
Ombudsman’s annual report.

Management, communication and record keeping, and tenancy agreements, inventories and deposits
were also cited by complainants, 50% of whom were landlords.

The report reveals that TPO dealt with 2,518 complaints relating to lettings – up 2% on the previous year – making the biggest award of £17,644. Last year, 67% of complaints were supported by the Ombudsman, which made an average award of £635.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Ombudsman reveals shock case of cash payment hidden from landlord by agent | LandlordZONE.

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Landlords facing a year’s worth of rent arrears if eviction ban is extended

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Leading Landlord and Tenant Solicitors firm, Landlord Action, says that any extension to the ban on evictions, as called for by Labour, could cause financial ruin to landlords who already had possession cases for rent arrears going through the courts prior to the ban. 

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EVICTIONS: Decision on Pre-Action Protocols imminent as Minister flags up ‘need for speed’

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As the end of the evictions ban looms, housing minister Luke Hall tells MPs that he realises a decision on how to force landlords to work with financially struggling tenants rather than evict them is needed soon.

Housing minister Luke Hall has confirmed that the government will soon publish its plans for Pre-Action Protocols, which will require landlords to work with their tenants and agree payment plans together, rather than going to court.

This significant change to the evictions process is designed to prevent a tsunami of repossession proceedings hitting the courts after they reopen to eviction hearings, at the earliest in early June.

Hall told member of the parliamentary select committee for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government that he and his fellow ministers were considering two options.

One is to use existing civil procedures and the other for the government to enact a change to the 1988 Housing Act and make it law. There are already dozen of Pre-Action Protocols covering a variety of industries including residential mortgages and travel and personal injury claims.

Clive Betts (pictured), who chaired the Zoom virtual meeting, asked Hall (also pictured) whether he realised that a civil procedure approach would simply persuade landlords unwilling to enter negotiations with tenants to move directly to a Section 21 or Section 8 eviction.

Penalised

Hall replied that landlords who did this might not face a financial penalty for not playing the game, as they would if it became a legal requirement, but would instead be penalised by magistrates during the ensuing process for their lack of cooperation.

The minister revealed that although the government’s Pre-Action Protocol plans were still being scoped out and tested, there was a ‘need for speed’ and that his civil servants were already consulting on the plans with industry representatives, and the judiciary.

“Our plans for Pre-Action Protocols reflect how serious we are about landlords and tenants coming together and working out a sensible plan to prevent an eviction,” said Hall.

Last week Hall’s boss, the Secretary of State for MHCLG, told the same committee that he may consider extending the evictions ban into July and beyond.

Watch the session in full.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – EVICTIONS: Decision on Pre-Action Protocols imminent as Minister flags up ‘need for speed’ | LandlordZONE.

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Boris goes quiet on when home moves can restart as he launches three-stage plan

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After ministers hinted last week that viewings could restart if those involved adhered to strict safety rules, the government has now backtracked and makes no mention of moving home in its 60-page plan published today.

The government has this afternoon published its three-step plan to lift the Coronavirus lockdown which includes allowing golf and tennis to played and for some workers to return to work, from tomorrow onwards.

But landlords hoping the rental market could now return to a semblance of normality will be disappointed by Boris Johnson’s 60-page document which makes no mention of when people will be allowed to move home again or even when face-to-face viewings will be permitted.

This means tenants and landlords face a 20-day wait until June 1^st when, assuming the rate of infection and other indicators show Coronavirus coming under control, the next stage of the lockdown release will happen.

The current guidance is that no one should move home unless contractually obliged to do so, their home is not fit human habitation or they are a student moving back home after their university closed its campus.

Boris’s document is particularly disappointing because the government had, last week, given strong signals to several property industry groups that the rental market may be allowed to enjoy a partial revival.

This had been promised as long as landlords, tenants and letting agents followed strict rules and wore personal protective equipment when doing viewings, appraisals and both check-ins and outs as well as inventories.

Instead, the new plan reveals that it will be another 50+ days until more face-to-face businesses such as hairdressers and beauty salons are allowed to open on July 3rd, suggesting strongly that viewings and house moves will be given the green light at the same time.

Read the plan in full.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Boris goes quiet on when home moves can restart as he launches three-stage plan | LandlordZONE.

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Retail rent calculations must undergo shake-up after COVID-19, says Colliers

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Major property consultancy says landlords and retailers must move to a system where they share information on footfall and turnover so that rents to be calculated more fairly.

The retail property market must
move to a model where rent rises are based on footfall and turnover not
automatic increases, a leading property firm has said, if the sector is to survive
after the Coronavirus crisis.

This is backed up by new
research that shows 40% of landlords are now more likely to consider these
factors when setting a rent.

But approximately two-thirds
of landlords don’t have access to this data which would help them measure who’s
visiting their properties, where these shoppers come from, or the purpose of
their visit, according to Colliers International.

It believes landlords need
to share this information with retailers in return for sales data so both sides
can benefit – but another 40% of those surveyed said they wouldn’t want to do that.

Matthew Thompson, head of retail
strategy, says: “This unwillingness to share data between stakeholders needs to
be resolved if a new model for retail property leasing is to emerge from the
devastation of the pandemic.”

Colliers surveyed the
owners of more than 120m sq ft of UK retail property and found that 79% believe
the COVID-19 pandemic will bring permanent changes to how retail property is
leased. Thompson adds:

“The insights from this
survey demonstrate that the relationship between the landlords and occupiers of
retail property is changing irrevocably.

“The challenge now for both
sides of the equation is who can respond in a way that can sustain a
contractual relationship which is viable for all parties.

“It’s clear that we’re
going to move away from the old model of how shops have been rented out. In an
environment that can integrate masses of relevant datasets, more precision can
be brought to the pricing process and this will benefit both landlords and
retailers.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Retail rent calculations must undergo shake-up after COVID-19, says Colliers | LandlordZONE.

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