Court delays are causing misery for landlords

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Leading tenant eviction law firm, Landlord Action, says they have numerous cases where court delays and administrative errors mean evictions are taking longer than ever, pushing landlords into further debt. One case has taken nearly a year and the landlord is still no closer to gaining possession. 

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“Court delays causing misery for landlords” says Landlord Action

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County Courts:

Leading Tenant
Eviction Law Firm, Landlord Action, says they have numerous cases
where court delays and administrative errors mean evictions are
taking longer than ever, pushing landlords into further debt. One
case has taken nearly a year and the landlord is still no closer to
gaining possession. Founder, Paul Shamplina, says investment in the
court system is imperative before the government scraps Section 21.

In a recent Section 21 case handled by Landlord Action, a tenant claimed she did not receive the ‘How to Rent Guide’ so the court set a hearing date of 27th June. The day before, the court cancelled the hearing because the Judge was no longer available. A new hearing date was set for 8th July.  At the hearing, the court listed the matter for a trial with a time estimate of two hours to decide the validity of the Section 21 notice.

Having not received any form of written confirmation from the court, Landlord Action repeatedly chased the court which finally confirmed the trial had been listed for 26th September. At the hearing, the court adjourned the matter again because the tenant said she needed more time to seek legal advice.

The court then relisted the hearing for 12th November, which was once again cancelled the day before as a result of not having any judges available to hear the matter. Landlord Action are now chasing for a new date but the original Section 21 Notice was served back in January 2019 and yet the landlord is no closer to gaining possession.

“We are experiencing cases like this time and time again” says Paul Shamplina. “It’s not only causing extra work for us at Landlord Action, meaning we now have a full-time member of staff whose main responsibility is chasing courts for updates on possession orders, Notice of Issues and bailiff appointments, it is also causing extreme stress for the landlords who are already facing financial hardship as a result of rent arrears.”

In another example, Landlord Action sent a Section 21 N5B claim to court and on 31st July, the court issued the claim and Landlord Action applied for the Possession Order. The Section 21 notice at this point was three and half months into its six-month lifespan.  After constant emails and calls, but no response, a court clerk confirmed a backlog of two to three months’ work.

However, on 18th October an order was eventually received from court saying that the claim had been struck out as the notice was over six months old and invalid. After a lengthy witness statement to court requesting the matter to be restored, the Possession Order was granted – almost 5 months on from sending the Section 21 claim to court.

“The situation is the worst I have experienced in my 28 years in this industry. Cases are being overlooked, delayed or thrown out due to administrative errors and there is little we can do to improve matters for landlords when we are at the mercy of the courts. Remember, many courts were closed due to cost saving by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).

The number of court cases will double once Section 21 is abolished as landlords will be forced to use Section 8, which require a court hearing. I do not believe the government have a thorough understanding of the implication that scrapping Section 21 will have on the courts, with all the extra administration, recruitment of more judges (which is extremely difficult) and more bailiffs required.

As I have said many
times before, if we do not have a clear message from the MOJ that
there will be sufficient investment in the court system, then
landlords will lose confidence. Combined with all the other changes,
some landlords will feel that the length of time to gain possession
of their property is too great a risk, so may decide to sell up – we
have already seen this at Landlord Action. There must be a call for
evidence on the implementation of a Housing Court” says Paul
Shamplina.

www.LandlordAction.co.uk

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – “Court delays causing misery for landlords” says Landlord Action | LandlordZONE.

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Affordable homes, UC advice and calls for rental minister

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The House of Commons Library has published a briefing paper considering how affordable housing is defined in England and looks at key trends in the affordability of different tenure types.  It examines the supply of affordable housing and the role of Housing Benefit in allowing families to access and keep affordable housing.  Of note, the paper states: […]

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Property predictions for 2020: What the experts say

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We start 2020, yet again in the knowledge there are big changes ahead for landlords, with the government committing to pressing ahead with plans to axe Section 21 repossessions and the full impact of changes to Section 24 kicking in this year.Here we talk to industry experts about the changes we have seen in the […]

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Tax deducible costs following renting to pay for care home?

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Two years ago my Nan, who had dementia, went into a care home. In order to help pay for the care home we (her family) decided to rent out her home, which she was the sole owner of.

My mother had Power of Attorney so was able to act on my Nan’s behalf.

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Can this be construed as damage to the carpet?

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Since moving into the house the washing machine has been leaking. The tenant has used a large number of bath towels to save the carpet, but can any related over-spill be construed as damage to the carpet caused by the tenant?

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Rent guarantors liability beyond fixed term?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

I would welcome advice on the following. I issued a tenant with a 6 months short hold tenancy agreement and obtained a letter from a guarantor for any non payment of rent by the tenant. The tenancy has rolled over into a periodic tenancy.

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What happens when Section 21 is no longer there?

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No-fault
evictions:

With the
confirmation that the no-fault Section 21 process is to be abolished,
in the December Queen’s Speech, comes the realisation that
landlords and letting agents will need to prepare for a new regime.

Details are sketchy at the moment but a good deal of information, and the general direction of travel, can be gleaned from the government’s guide, “A new deal for renting: resetting the balance of rights and responsibilities between landlords and tenants”

PayProp, the company
that handles automated transactions and reconciliation for landlords
and agents on its web platform, is advising landlords and letting
agents to think now about updating their documentation and procedures
prior to the introduction of the new system.

Neil Cobbold, Chief
Operating Officer of PayProp

“…agents (and
landlords) need to think about the ways they can help to reduce the
frequency of evictions. Encouraging good relationships between
landlords and tenants is all-important, as is staying on top of
repairs and facilitating good communication between both parties.”

“Rent arrears
are one of the most common reasons for evictions, so agents can help
landlords to keep them to a minimum by sending automated emails and
text messages – which are proven to be more effective when it comes
to chasing rent payments. Using technology and automation will be
crucial for agents to stay on top of constantly changing industry
regulation and legislation,” thinks Mr. Cobbold.

Whilst its too early
to develop detailed paperwork, agreements and notices incorporating
the new regime, it’s not too early to start to put procedures in
place which are robust enough to deal with situations that as a last
resort may develop into a pressing need to evict.

In future, all
evictions, and most of these involve rent arrears, will revolve
around having good evidence to convince a court that the situation
may not be resolvable in any other way. Either serious rent arrears –
and these should never be allowed to become too serious – or
persistent delays in paying rent, will have to be adequately
evidenced if they are to succeed.

The other two major
reasons why an eviction may, unfortunately, have to be resorted to,
include damage to the premises, or anti-social behaviour.

In the case of the
former, a regular inspection regime is important, following on from a
good independent inventory taken at the commencement of the tenancy.
Where a damage claim is likely, a follow-up end-of-tenancy check-out
inventory is a must.

Where anti social
behaviour is concerned, and indeed with any form of dealing with
tenants, the landlord or agent should keep a detailed diary of
events, recoding everything that is said, and copies of all
communications. Verbal communications should always be followed up in
writing, and should be readily available in the tenancy file.

The courts are
interested in one thing and one thing only: facts. Hearsay and
opinions will get you nowhere, so all evidence presented must be in
some form of documentation, whether this be letters, emails,
contemporaneous diary entries, police reports, witness statements,
inspection reports, photographs and full inventories.

With the prospect of
having to prove given tenant behaviours against what is said will be
a revised set of grounds for possession, landlords and agents should
be getting ready now with their new and existing tenancies.

Forewarned is forearmed, so being prepared for the worst, in the unlikely event it may happen – by far most tenancies end normally with the tenant giving notice – means that you are protecting your investment even though the convenience of Section 21 has been taken away.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – What happens when Section 21 is no longer there? | LandlordZONE.

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Looking back: The RLA Year in review – 2019

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It’s been a busy year for the Residential Landlords Association and the PRS as a whole, with game-changing announcements, including plans to axe Section 21. Here we take a look back at some of the biggest news from 2019 month-by-month. January The RLA celebrated the start of the year with the announcement membership had hit 35,000, […]

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Will transferable tenancy deposits be introduced in 2020?

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Lifetime deposits:

As the New Year and
new decade approaches, for good or ill, we can expect more changes in
the Private Rented Sector (PRS).

With the election over, there’s far more certainty around and if the effect the election’s had on the stock market is anything to go by, we can expect a boosted housing and rental market in 2020.

There’s light at the end of the tunnel regarding Brexit, at least the government is now able to act decisively, but the jury’s still out as to how long the new government’s honeymoon period will last.

Despite everything that’s happened in 2019 though, the property market has remained remarkably stable, with rent levels quite resilient.

Landlords have faced a slew of new regulations and are still grappling with an enormous amount of new information to keep on top of, if they are to comply with everything that’s been thrown at them recently, Changes range from the changes introduced by the Deregulation Act, the tenant fee ban, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act, and more recently introduced in Boris Johnson’s Queen’s Speech, the Renters’ Reform Bill which includes banning S21 and lifetime deposits.

Lifetime Deposits and Passporting

The concept of a
“Lifetime” or “Transferable Rental Deposit” was mentioned in
a press briefing by Prime Minister Boris Johnson before the election:
“The costs of deposits make it harder (for tenants) to move. We are
going to fix that.”

Unlike some of the
other proposals mooted by the Conservatives, these would be largely
welcomed by landlords and agents. The RLA has said: “…it would be
easier for all involved if a tenant’s deposit could follow them
from property to property, with the tenant making up any shortfall
caused by deductions.”

David Smith, RLA
Policy Director says:

“We have long
argued that deposits should be transferable. It will make renting
cheaper and easier for tenants. It is vital though, that the detail
of the plans ensure that both landlords and tenants can have complete
confidence in how the lifetime deposit will work.

Mentioned in a radical Queen’s Speech this December, the Government is to introduce a Renters’ Rights Bill in the New Year which aims to “improve the experience of those living in the private rental sector and the affordability for tenants when moving from one tenancy to the next by introducing a new lifetime deposit.”

Other less popular
measures contained in the Bill include the abolishion of ‘no-fault’
evictions by removing Section 21 from the 1988 Housing Act, along
with reforming the grounds for possession.

This future Bill’s provisions will apply only to England as housing policy is now devolved to the regional nations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A Government’s Tenancy Deposit Reform Working Group, of which ARLA Propertymark was a member in September 2019, proposals were put forward as to how the concept of a tenants’ passporting system, with lifetime transferable deposits, could be made to work for the benefit of both tenants and landlords.

ARLA Propertymark
has said in its consultation
response that:

“If the
introduction of a passporting system is to be viable the Government
must ensure that both the outgoing landlord’s deposit can be used
if needed, whilst the incoming landlord has certainty, they will get
the full deposit they have agreed with the tenant.

“Would this lead
to the change in landlord and tenant behaviour? Most likely, however,
the Government must introduce a measure that reduces the risks
landlords and agents face with three things that can help tackle or
prevent negative behavioural changes in a passporting system.
Firstly, a tenant guarantee. Secondly, a requirement to have an
inventory. Thirdly, the requirement for a written tenancy agreement.”

We shall have to await the full publication of the Renters’ Reform Bill 2019-20 to find out the full details of the proposals, but these will doubtless be subject to industry scrutiny as they move forward.

Other developments in the rental deposits sphere, where some private companies are working on the concept of passporting, a digital record which allows tenants to build a digital rental profile over time, and gives assurances to landlords as to their payment records. One such system is tied-in to Experian’s credit checks, where the rental payment record affects the credit score attained.

Experian
says that early
analysis has proved
that by adding rental data to credit reports, the proportion of
tenants who can prove their identity online increases from 39% to
84%.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Will transferable tenancy deposits be introduced in 2020? | LandlordZONE.

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