Lockdown elearning: Unmissable offer on popular course

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The NRLA has teamed up with Landlord Law to offer a huge discount on one of our most popular eLearning courses, foundation fire safety. The eLearning course is designed to ensure landlords and agents understand which pieces of fire safety legislation relate to specific property types, and the practical steps that are required to protect […]

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EXCLUSIVE: Are wealthy tenants wriggling out of paying rent for their pied-a-terre homes during Coronavirus?

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LandlordZONE talks to a landlady who is facing financial problems after her well-known tenant suddenly announced he would no longer pay rent on the London bolthole he rented off her, without providing any proof of financial difficulties and refusing to move out.

A landlady who
rents out a London pied-à-terre was shocked when her wealthy tenant demanded a
rent holiday, then decamped to his own home.

The famous musician rents Carol Wilson’s luxury flat in Notting Hill and travels the world, but within 24 hours of the announcement on rent payment breaks during Coronavirus – which suggested landlords should work with tenants who were in financial trouble – informed her that he wouldn’t be able to pay any for the foreseeable future because all his future concerts had been cancelled.

So, while her tenant spends the lockdown at
his main home in the country, which he owns, the one-bedroom flat remains
empty.

Carol, from Maidenhead, also runs a company
which has had to cease trading during the crisis and is now living off her
savings. “I’m partly dependent on the rent for income,” she says. “My savings
are in my properties and I’m not really making any profit. I’m sure my tenant
is pretty wealthy as he can afford the £2,000 a month rent – but I couldn’t!”

He’s a good tenant who’s been renting her flat since 2013, and she was shocked when he gave her the news. “We get on well and I’ve never put up the rent, but I might have to give him two months’ notice, which I don’t really want to have to do.”

Rent holiday

Carol believes it’s unfair that tenants can demand
a rent holiday regardless of their own or their landlord’s financial situation.
“There must be thousands of rented pieds-a-terre in this country. Surely all
the Government restrictions are in place only to protect people from being out
on the streets?”

However, a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government department has told LandordZONE that most tenants will be able to pay
rent as normal and should continue to do so, as they are still liable for the
rent during this period.

A
spokeswoman adds: “Our Coronavirus
Guidance for Landlords and Tenants is clear that landlords
are not obliged to stop charging rent – it recommends an open and sensible
dialogue between landlord and tenant.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – EXCLUSIVE: Are wealthy tenants wriggling out of paying rent for their pied-a-terre homes during Coronavirus? | LandlordZONE.

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NRLA webinars for landlords during Covid-19 pandemic

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The NRLA is running a series of weekly webinars exploring how landlords can manage their portfolios and businesses during the Coronavirus outbreak. Our webinars so far have included advice on mitigating losses from industry experts including Kate Faulkner and Alison MacDougall,of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, and another Financial Support webinar. Our regional representatives will also […]

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Call of the Week: Can the broadband be fixed?

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This week the advice team have continued to assist our members with their questions relating to the coronavirus pandemic. A member gave the team a call with a question about fixing the broadband at their rental property. Their tenants were able to choose their own provider and service, but had informed the landlord that there […]

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“Don’t jump on the repayment holiday bandwagon”

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Mortgage broker, Mortgages for Business, are warning landlords not to spoil bank’s goodwill towards landlords in real trouble by applying for a payment holiday if you don’t need one. They report most landlords enquiring about payment holidays are not struggling to pay their bills and only a minority calling its switchboard have legitimate concerns about covering their costs.

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BREAKING: Up to 2.3 million tenants to default on their rent during crisis, says charity

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Shelter says its research among renters indicates that a quarter of tenants or 2.3 million people will lose their jobs and be unable to pay their rent over the next three months.

A quarter of renters say they expect to lose their jobs over the next three months as the jobs market contracts during the downturn caused by the Coronavirus, a leading charity has claimed.

The research by Shelter also reveals that these people will be unable to pay their rent if they lose their jobs, indicating just how precarious many low income renters’ personal finances are.

Worryingly for landlords, the research also indicates that up to 2.3 million are likely to join benefits system as they turn to the government to pay their rent, and that the creaking Universal Credits system will not be able cope.

Nearly a million extra people have already begun claiming Universal Credit since the Coronavirus crisis began, a tenfold increase compared to normal times.

Shelter points out that the gap between the housing element of Universal Credit and the rents that tenants pay in many areas of the UK will mean landlords will have little choice but to accept lower rent payments as tenants struggle to pay the shortfall.

Lowest third

The housing element only covers the lowest third of market rents in an area, meaning for families in a two-bedroom home, the shortfall is as high as £400 a month outside of London, and up to £1,227 in the capital.

Shelter is calling on the government to increase housing benefit payments so they cover the average cost of local rents. It says this emergency measure is essential to help tenants and landlords through the financial shock caused by the virus.

Polly Neate, chief executive at Shelter, said: “We’re facing an onslaught of people suddenly unable to afford their rent, at a time when people need to stay put and cannot safely move to a cheaper home.

“To avoid spiralling debt and needless evictions once the ban lifts, the government must increase the housing element of Universal Credit so that it covers the average cost of local rents.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: Up to 2.3 million tenants to default on their rent during crisis, says charity | LandlordZONE.

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Today in politics: Coronavirus and flood insurance review

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New research has shown there has been a  fall in the number of buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage deals since the start of March 2020 as a result of coronavirus, with the government today publishing details of its of flood insurance review. Coronavirus impact on buy-to-let mortgages There has been a significant fall in buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage deals […]

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University waives rents for 1,700 students and urges private landlords to follow suit

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Rent ‘holiday’ is for students living in halls of residence, but both University of Lancashire and its student union have written to landlords urging them to do the same.

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is urging private landlords to follow its lead by giving students a rent holiday.

The Preston-based university recently announced that it would waive final semester rents for students who have a UCLan accommodation after the Coronavirus pandemic closed down its campus, and it now hopes private landlords in the area will make a similar gesture.

The fee waiver applies to all these 1,700 students in
university accommodation, regardless of whether they have already moved out of
halls or continue to live there. 

Both the university and students’ union have written to
all university-registered
landlords including
landlords of HMOs, asking them to support students.

Vice-chancellor professor Graham Baldwin says while it can’t make the same decision for private third-party providers, it’s in discussion with them to see if they can agree to similar measures.

Waive fees

He says: “We
hope our decision to waive accommodation payments helps ease the financial burden
at this challenging time. As a university we are keen to support our students
as much as possible and minimise any disruption to their academic studies.”

A spokesman for the university tells LandlordZONE: “Some
private landlords are listening to our appeal, considering what they can do to
ease our students’ financial burden and make a difference during this difficult
time.

“We do however appreciate that some student landlords are
small businesses and decisions of this nature are not easy.” 

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – University waives rents for 1,700 students and urges private landlords to follow suit | LandlordZONE.

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BREAKING: Legal ‘loophole’ in government’s evictions shutdown revealed

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Leading housing lawyer and NRLA policy director David Smith says recent High Court ruling opens up possibility of evicting some tenants during crisis despite ‘ban’.

Some landlords might still be able to evict
troublesome tenants during the crisis using an injunction, despite the current
Government restrictions.

If they can show a very real need for urgently
removing an occupier, courts could grant an injunction, according to David
Smith, policy director at the National Residential Landlords Association.

However, this would only apply to a non-Housing
Act tenant in extreme cases – a residential tenant whose tenancy doesn’t fall
within the Housing Act 1988 – often tenancies to companies or very high value
tenancies.

He tells LandlordZONE: “A need would usually
be something around anti-social behaviour, such as an individual refusing to
self-isolate, so threatening the health of others in a shared occupancy house.”

While nobody has yet tried this in the
private rented sector, it’s likely that someone will, says Smith: “I have a
client at the moment who may do this.”

The Government gave tenants more protection by making
changes using the Coronavirus Act 2020, suspending all possession cases for
three months until 30th October with a practice direction. But this
specifically exempts any claim for an injunction, he explains.

“This has raised the question of whether a landlord can obtain an injunction which requires a person to vacate a piece of land or not to trespass on it, thereby getting round the limitations of the practice direction.”

High Court

Smith points to a High Court injunction last
week to remove a highly disruptive and abusive woman from a London hospital. He
says this is an indication that it can be done in rare cases where action is needed.

“A landlord with a residential tenant who did
not fall under the Housing Act 1988 could potentially obtain an injunction if
that tenancy had been ended because the tenant would have lost their rights and
would now be trespassing.

“Exactly the same position would apply for a licensor who had terminated a licence to occupy a room in their own house or a room in shared multi-occupancy accommodation – assuming it was a real licence of course and not a sham.”

Read more about the evictions ban.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: Legal ‘loophole’ in government’s evictions shutdown revealed | LandlordZONE.

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Coventry irresponsibly implementing selective licensing

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The NRLA have accused Coventry Council of being irresponsible for ignoring government coronavirus guidelines by going ahead with plans to implement a licensing scheme for private rented housing.

The Council intends to bring in a licensing scheme from 4th May despite government guidelines which advise that the introduction of new

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