Hero Landlord of the Week #1: Max Rayner

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Each week we are highlighting landlords who are going the extra mile for their tenants during this challenging time for everyone involved in the private rental market.

This week Meet Max Rayne, 26. He set up Hemel Hempstead based Stuart Clinton Property with his business partner Alex Baker three years ago and it now operates 20 properties across the South of England and the Midlands, specialising in high-end HMO accommodation.

Max says he and Alex recognised that a lot of
tenants are going through a stressful period during the crisis but who are also
hearing that landlords are getting ‘automatic mortgage holidays’, even if that
isn’t true, and assuming they will also get a rent holiday.

Max says his company is working with tenants who
are facing financial hardship on a case-by-case basis and deciding whether to
either defer their rent or help them come up with a payment plan.

But he also says the company wants to let all its
tenants know that they aren’t forgotten. So it recently decided to send all of
its HMO tenants a ‘survival’ pack which included a personal cleaning kit for their
properties (which are usually cleaned by contractors but not during the pandemic)
plus anti-bacterial spray, cloths and gloves as well as a chocolate selection, a
crate of beer and a card urging them to get in touch if they are struggling.

And during the early days of the pandemic when
many shops ran out of toilet roll, Max worked with one of his letting agencies
to provide tenants with loo roll if they were running low. The stock had been bought
off a pub which no longer needed it after shutting up shop following the lockdown.

“Our strategy when doing up properties, and when
managing them, is to always think of the tenants first – would we live here and
how would we like to be treated. That’s what has driven our actions during the crisis,”
says Max.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Hero Landlord of the Week #1: Max Rayner | LandlordZONE.

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MP’s letter urging landlords to waive student rents for the rest of the year gets a frosty reception

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Warwickshire MP Matt Western has urged private landlords to let students off their rent for this academic year and possibly the next, and also return deposits, angering many landlords who feel politicians have abandoned them during the crisis.

Landlords in Warwickshire are less than impressed after a local MP wrote a letter on House of Commons letterhead urging them to let student tenants off paying rent for this academic year and the next. The missive also urges them to return rental deposits and waive any rent arrears created by the crisis.

Labour MP Matt Western who represents the Warwick and Leamington constituency has signed the letter alongside Tiana Holgate, the local NUS representative.

The letter says it has been sent out in the name of ‘thousands’ of students within the constituency who have ‘huge concerns, like many others, about how they are going to make ends meet’.

Western also argues that students should be considered for special treatment because many are unable to work in their spare time or during the holidays because most are employed in industries that have been closed down by the pandemic such as bars, restaurants and other hospitality businesses.

Rent payments

“Students are now facing upcoming rent payments for properties they are not living in, and which many will not be able to afford,” the letter says.

“We firmly believe students should not be penalised financially for abiding by Government advice. Warwick University students living on campus have been released from their halls of residence contracts. It is only fair that all students are given the same right.”

Western and Holgate point out that private landlords should help because the government has given them mortgage payment holidays, while students have not so far received any specific financial help during the Coronavirus crisis.

The letter is aligned with Labour policy on rental payment waivers, which the party recently said should be made compulsory during the three months of the crisis.

Landlords who were sent the letter have turned to social media, describing it as a ‘joke’, ‘nonsense’ and pointing out that the payment holiday scheme does not help those without mortgages, and that almost all of the government business support schemes miss out landlords, who are classed as self-employed.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – MP’s letter urging landlords to waive student rents for the rest of the year gets a frosty reception | LandlordZONE.

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Today in politics: rent referral and Universal Credit

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We look at a case study from Shelter outlining the challenges faced by tenants who have lost their jobs as a result of coronavirus and news that the DWP is allowing people with existing Government Gateway accounts to  use them to access Universal Credit. Shelter shares tenants’ story Shelter has shared a case study of tenants who have […]

The post Today in politics: rent referral and Universal Credit appeared first on RLA Campaigns and News Centre.

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Coventry make tenants homeless with new licensing scheme

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A ‘be careful what you wish for’ consequence of the new licensing scheme which has been introduced by Coventry City Council commencing May 4th – against government guidance – has already started a cascade of tenants being served eviction notices as a direct result.

The post Coventry make tenants homeless with new licensing scheme appeared first on Property118.

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Landlords as Victims, never considered?

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Below is a letter I have sent to the  Victims Commissioner

Dear  Dame Vera Baird,

All the landlords who seek services such as mine are victims of Tenants who abuse Civil contracts, many on a habitual basis

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Coronavirus: Supporting your tenants affected by dementia

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Living with dementia at any time brings everyday challenges for the person and those around them. Coronavirus is making daily life much harder: 700,000 people with dementia are likely to be self-isolating in their homes, making it harder for them to access food, medication or social interaction. Alice Billin of the Alzheimer’s Society outlines what […]

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LATEST: Online petition demanding that tenants are let off rent reaches 70,000 signatures

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Started by a student in Belfast who claims it is unfair to charge tenants rent when campus studying has been suspended, the petition has garnered increasing support after the BBC and Guardian newspaper gave it coverage.

An online petition calling for students to be let off paying
rent this term has been signed by more than 70,000 people.

With universities closing their doors, it asks all
landlords to suspend rent payments for students who have had to return home.

Queens University student Jamie Finnegan in Belfast started
the change.org petition and believes it’s unfair for students to pay hundreds of
pounds a month for a room they’re not using, when most already face other bills
every month.

“With hundreds of people being told not to come back to
work due to the pandemic, students are going to be left financially unstable
and unable to pay for their rent, regardless if they are living there or not,”
he says. 

Finnegan believes that student accommodation providers
should realise that their cancellation policies don’t cover scenarios such as the unforeseen pandemic.

He adds: “It’s categorically unfair and
greedy to charge students for rent if they are unable to live in their accommodation.”

While some large student accommodation companies and university-run halls of residence are now giving students the option to terminate their contracts early without financial penalty, small private landlords are now being pressured to follow suit.

Early release

The National
Union of Students has demanded that every
landlord should offer students a no-penalty early release from tenancy
contracts for the current and next academic year.

It wants an end to all
evictions during the crisis, with rent subsidies, reductions or waivers for six
months for those impacted by Coronavirus, and no rent increases for the next 12
months.

Around the country, hundreds of
university students have also signed up to a rent strike, including those
renting off-campus at the University of Warwick.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Online petition demanding that tenants are let off rent reaches 70,000 signatures | LandlordZONE.

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Council puts pressure on landlords to pay licensing fees despite Ministers’ advice to ‘go easy’

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Nottingham Council says that although it will listen to landlords whose tenants are not keeping up with their rent, non-payment of fees will put licensing applications at risk.

Nottingham Council is threatening
to turn down selective licenses if payments miss the deadline – despite
Government advice to go easy on landlords.

Property owners in the city have
been emailed during the crisis saying they’re still required to make payments,
even though some have reported drops in their income as tenants struggle to pay
their rent.

It costs £890 for non-accredited
landlords and £670 for those with accreditation, payable in two instalments.

A council email tells landlords:
“You are now required to make the second part of your licence fee payment. There
may be additional payments which have been added to your second payment. All
fees should be paid within 14 days. If you do not pay the second part of your
licence, the council may review its decision to grant a licence and re-issue a
draft refusal.”

The current Coronavirus guidance for local authorities tells councils to ‘take individual landlords’ circumstances into account where licence fee payments may have been delayed due to the current situation.’

Difficulty paying

However, the council says it’s
encouraging landlords to get in touch with them if they are having difficulty
paying.

Councillor Linda Woodings, portfolio holder for planning, housing and heritage, says: “We are aware that some landlords will be having a tough time, with the loss of rental income and other financial difficulties. We are listening and would encourage them to contact us if this is affecting them and their ability to make an application.”

The National Residential
Landlords Association wants Nottingham Council
to take a pragmatic approach and suspend licence fees given the current financial
pressures. Policy manager John Stewart tells LandlordZONE: “Every cost a
landlord faces makes it more difficult for them to be as flexible as possible
when tenants are struggling.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Council puts pressure on landlords to pay licensing fees despite Ministers’ advice to ‘go easy’ | LandlordZONE.

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Today in politics: Coronavirus, mortgage deferrals, building safety and licensing

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New figures from Shelter suggest almost a quarter of tenants will see income fall as a result of coronavirus. At the same a broker has raised concerns about the number or landlords asking for mortgage deferrals. Elsewhere MHCLG has published its latest data on building safety and Coventry Council announced it will not postpone the […]

The post Today in politics: Coronavirus, mortgage deferrals, building safety and licensing appeared first on RLA Campaigns and News Centre.

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Landlord to evict his tenants over £1,000 cost of licensing property as HMO

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In an unusual case which is likely to be the first of its kind made public in the UK, a Coventry landlord has said he cannot afford the licensing fees for the city’s recently-expanded HMO scheme and intends to evict his tenants via a Section 21.

A landlord in Coventry has warned his tenants that they will soon face eviction proceedings even though they have done nothing wrong.

The tenants involved have blamed the threatened eviction on the city’s decision to proceed with its expanded HMO licensing scheme due to go live on May 1^st and said the landlord cannot afford the fees.

“It’s just a normal family house but under the new regulations our landlords will have to install a fire escape, complete a full electrical survey among other things, all of which will cost him a lot of money,” says lead tenant Meghan Whitehouse.

“Hopefully, [the council] will realise the real life and immediate consequences of their legislation and reconsider. Show some humanity, I beg you on behalf of everyone I this situation.”

As LandlordZONE reported yesterday, the NRLA has heavily criticised the city’s council for not pausing the introduction of the scheme despite the Coronavirus outbreak.

In reply, councillor Tariq Khan told us that the scheme was designed to protect tenants and included safeguards to prevent tenants being evicted during the pandemic.

This has backfired for the three 20-somethings involved – Meghan Whitehouse, partner Edward Woodrough and friend Bradley Baker (pictured above).

They have been told by their property’s letting agency, Red Bricks, that because their landlord faced fees and other costs of £1,000 or more to licence the property and bring it up to HMO standard, he had been decided to serve them with a Section 21 6A notice on May 1^st, the day the new scheme started in order to withdraw the property from the market.

This will give them three months’ to find a new home under the amended eviction regulations currently in force during the crisis.

The tenants seem unaware that, because of the legal backlog likely when the UK’s magistrate courts start hearing property cases again, it could take several more months for a possession hearing to be granted.

Red Bricks told local media that it is to apply for a temporary exemption notice to help the tenants to stay in the property in the meantime until a solution can be found.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlord to evict his tenants over £1,000 cost of licensing property as HMO | LandlordZONE.

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