Written By Em

Em Morley

Landlords need more Advice on Increasing Regulations

Published On: May 31, 2013 at 3:55 pm

Tags: buy-to-let legislation,landlord regulations

Leading buy-to-let lender Paragon has released a report that suggests landlords are not getting sufficient help in maintaining their investment.

The survey from Paragon indicates that 78% of landlords questioned said that they believe there is significant requirement for advice on landlord matters. For landlords owning a portfolio of 11 or more properties, this figure rose to 89%.[1]

Regulation

There have been calls from the private rental industry for some kind of regulation in the letting sector for a number of years. Complaints to the Property Ombudsman from both tenants and landlords alike rose by 9% in the previous year.[1]

The Government has introduced a crackdown on rogue agents, with agents responsible for repaying tenants or landlords who have been treated unjustly.

Eligibility checks

In last month’s Queen’s Speech, her majesty announced the proposal that landlords are to become responsible for background checks on all of their tenants, to ascertain their eligibility to live within the UK. Landlords subsequently found to be renting to illegal migrants will face hefty fines.

The proposal has been met with disdain from landlords, who believe that the plan to get them to combat immigration is unfair and will add more complications to the buy-to-let industry.

Landlords need more Advice on Increasing Regulations

Backtrack

Following this angry response, the Government is looking at ways to adapt their proposals and Eric Pickles, Communities Secretary, is reportedly in continued discussions with the Prime Minister.

A Whitehall source recently told the Daily Express that the Government want to bring in regulation “that does not inflict red tape on millions of people.”[1]

The source went on to say: “What we want to avoid is disproportionate regulations on the private rented sector. If you are British, we don’t want a bureaucratic check, the cost of which is passed on to the landlord and then the tenant.

“It is a question of getting the balance right and targeting the regulations at high-risk areas.”[1]

Tougher

Unsurprisingly, Paragon’s report found a high majority of landlords were opposed to the changes. 90% said that they thought the potential added workload, on top of taxes and existing regulation, would lead to it being even tougher as a landlord moving forwards.[1]

Furthermore, 46% of private landlords stated that they were already finding changes in legislation difficult to follow. 43% said that they were concerned about the impending impact of Universal Credit on the sector. 54% of landlords said that additional licensing would affect them the most.[1]

Help and Advice

Paragon’s Director of Mortgages, John Heron, said that the findings made for interesting reading. Heron stated that it is “interesting to note that although many of the landlords surveyed were greatly experienced, having owned buy-to-let properties for a considerable time, there is still a need across the board for information, help and advice. Of course the buy-to-let landscape never stays the same, and new regulations affect professional landlords just as much as they do those who are relative newcomers to the market.

“Paragon would always advise our customers, experienced or otherwise, to do their homework before they commit to buy a rental property; research the market, the area and also their obligations as landlords.

“Buy-to-let isn’t a short-term investment; many of our customers have been landlords for more than two decades, and see their portfolios as an alternative to a pension when they retire.”[1]

[1] http://www.landlordexpert.co.uk/2013/05/31/uk-landlords-need-more-advice-in-light-of-increasing-regulations/

Labour Proposing Landlord Register

Published On: May 29, 2013 at 4:31 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Labour government,Labour party

Those convicted of serious crimes would be banned from becoming landlords under proposals by Labour, who wish to improve the quality of the private rental sector.

The Labour party plans to create a national register of private landlords, of which serious offenders would be taken off, and therefore prohibited from renting to tenants.

Labour announced the plans in a policy review paper this week.

Labour Proposing Landlord Register

The review stated that “a small minority of criminal landlords who deliberately prey on the vulnerable”¹ damages the private rental sector. Councils supported the statement, saying that they are aware of about 1,500 serial rogue landlords.

About 3.6m (16.5%) households in England live in private rental accommodation. This includes 1.1m families with children.1

However, the Government have announced that 35% of private rental homes do not meet decent standards for repair, facilities, insulation, or heating. Comparative to 22% of owner-occupied properties, and 17% of social housing.1

Labour says that almost half a million families, and over 100,000 pensioners are living in these below standard properties.

Jack Dromey, the shadow housing minister, says: “The private rented sector has an important role to play in meeting housing need.

“But too many tenants are in poor and sometimes dangerous homes. That’s why Labour has set out proposals to drive standards up and bad landlords out.”1

Labour also believes that creating a national register will stop criminals entering the industry, and also ensure that landlords pay tax. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) says that private landlords avoiding tax owe over £500m.1

Labour also wants to crackdown on landlords using “retaliatory eviction”1 against tenants who report bad conditions of their properties.

¹http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/may/28/national-register-private-landlords-labour

Need for More Housing Options for Senior Citizens

Published On: May 26, 2013 at 4:24 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

There is currently a growing ageing population in the UK, which will see a greater proportion of senior citizens to those of a working age in a few years.

The Government are worried of the added pressure on the NHS and care homes, and a lack of people to manage the work.

Need for More Housing Options for Senior Citizens

Most senior citizens have been recommended to move into nursing homes when they begin struggling with taking care of themselves, where they will receive supervision and care from trained professionals.

Despite this, many senior citizens do not want to move into care homes, as they feel that they would be secluded from society. Others have even described nursing homes as depressing and morbid.

This has caused some senior citizens to move into co-housing projects, where they live amongst other people of all ages, and can be involved in the community.

One lady in her seventies explained to The Guardian that living in a co-housing project with younger people kept her “young at heart.”¹

Co-housing is currently quite rare in the UK, although there have been more instances of people moving into a complex together in order to save money. These housing arrangements include sharing certain facilities, such as gardens and laundry rooms.

Senior citizens could benefit from living in this way, and there would be more people around them regularly, who could aid them on a daily basis.

However, these co-housing projects can be very expensive, and therefore would only be possible for a few. Additionally, some senior citizens may not want to live around families with small children, or young professionals, who could be staying up considerably later than they do.

Currently, it is very difficult to find these arrangements in Britain, potentially because landlord insurance would become extremely expensive, and the properties would have to be registered as Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

¹http://www.justlandlords.co.uk/news/Calls-for-more-housing-options-for-senior-citizens-1721.html

Landlords to be Careful of Rogue Tradespeople

Published On: May 25, 2013 at 2:43 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: rogue landlords

Recently, it was announced that the Government are introducing the Green Deal scheme, in which landlords can apply for free energy improvements to their rental properties.

This system was developed to encourage energy efficiency in the UK, and also reduce tenants’ bills. However, as a consequence, some rogue tradespeople have been providing the work under the Green Deal, but requiring administration fees.

Landlords to be Careful of Rogue Tradespeople

Accordingly, the Energy Saving Trust has released a statement to landlords to only accept work from tradespeople from one of the 16 companies certified to conduct the work.

The Energy Saving Trust have also surveyed homeowners around the UK, and found that about half are more concerned with certification marks of a trusted organisation than cheap prices when looking for tradespeople.¹

Landlords should follow these concerns, as saving money in the short-term can lead to long-term problems.

Certification Manager from the Energy Saving Trust, Tom Lock, says: “These findings make it clear that while money is tight for many, being able to trust the tradesperson doing the work on their home is still more important to people that the pounds in their pocket.

“Trust is earned, and householders often find it difficult and time-consuming to find tradespeople they know can be 100% trusted and relied upon to perform good quality work at the right price.

“Tradespeople could see this as a problem, but we would advise them that it is actually a great opportunity. Certification, such as that provided by the Energy Saving Trust to installers working under the Green Deal, is a great way to build trust.

“Homeowners can then be sure that the right energy efficiency measure providing greater comfort and energy savings will be installed in their home.

“We are the only trusted consumer-facing organisation providing Green Deal Installer Certification, with tradespeople signing up to the scheme being give a free listing on our website, and able to use our trusted certification brand mark across all their marketing and materials.”1

More information on registered tradespeople can be found at: http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Organisations/Business-services/Green-Deal-certification

¹http://www.justlandlords.co.uk/news/The-importance-of-hiring-trustworthy-tradesmen-over-cheap-ones-1723.html

NLA to Accredit all Landlord Members by 2020

Published On: May 22, 2013 at 12:41 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: accredit landlords 2020,NLA

At the joint Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH)/National Landlords Association (NLA) Private Rented Sector Conference on Tuesday 21^st May 2013, the NLA announced that it will accredit all landlord members by 2020.

Deputy Chairman of the NLA, Carolyn Uphill, made a speech on providing an excellent service in the private rental sector, in which she outlined the NLA’s Vision for Accreditation.

NLA to Accredit all Landlord Members by 2020

The NLA is certain that landlord accreditation is vital to ensuring high standards in the private rental sector, and they recommend all landlords, members and non-members, to be accredited by the NLA.

The Vision for Accreditation will provide all NLA members with an opportunity to display their understanding and capability of being a landlord.

Accreditation will become a focus on NLA membership, demonstrating how NLA member landlords are different from other, non-accredited investors.

To become accredited by the NLA, landlords must complete an NLA foundation course, either at a seminar or online, and continue learning through continued professional development (CPD).

Landlords can contribute to CPD by joining landlord meetings and conferences, further landlord development courses, and studying NLA information.

The NLA highlight the importance of management skills and professional development, to guarantee that landlords understand their responsibilities and fulfil the standards and regulations of the private rental sector.

Many landlords, policy makers, and local authorities support the scheme.

Carolyn Uphill comments: “We believe that NLA membership should be synonymous with landlord professionalism, and accreditation is a significant factor in helping us achieve this. To have all our members accredited is an ambitious target but realistic in the lead-time provided.

“By demonstrating a level of competence represented by NLA accreditation, NLA members will be able to set themselves apart through evidence of their commitment to quality and standards.

“We all need to work together as an industry to improve the reputation of our sector, and NLA members can play an important role through leading by example.”¹

¹http://www.landlords.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/nla-commits-accredit-all-members-2020

Disabled Tenants in Court Case Against Bedroom Tax

Published On: May 16, 2013 at 10:56 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Finance News

Tags: bedroom tax,disabled people and bedroom tax

It has been nearly two months since the introduction of the highly controversial, Bedroom Tax and other welfare reforms. Since then, research into their effect has uncovered unwelcome statistics for the Government. Many people have been adversely affected by the reforms in the face of additional charges and reduced benefits.

Bedroom Tax

Disabled Tenants in Court Case Against Bedroom Tax

Bedroom Tax was introduced to restrict benefits for those tenants living in council or housing association properties with spare bedrooms. Claimants can lose 14% of their housing benefit if they have one spare room, with 25% being docked for houses with two or more unoccupied rooms.

The Government introduced the tax in an attempt to make the benefit system more justified. They point out that private rented sector tenants cannot live in larger than required properties without having to pay to do so. Therefore, the Bedroom Tax was introduced to create a level playing field for those in social housing.

Opposition

Particularly opposed to the Bedroom Tax are disabled tenants, who argue that the changes are discriminatory. They argue that they need additional space in order to store necessary equipment and to move around more freely. Ten families feel that aggrieved by the changes that they are bringing their case to the High Court.

Martin Westgate QC, appearing in court on behalf of the families, said: “Each of the claimants has a need, because of disability, to occupy accommodation larger than that which would be allowed to them under the size criteria.”[1]

Acting solicitor Rebekah Carrier, spoke about her clients’ worries. Carrier said: “My clients are disabled children and their families who don’t have a spare room. Many families up and down the country are, like my clients, desperately worried about losing their homes.”[1]

Defence

Acknowledging the case, a spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) stated that the Government is “confident that these measures are lawful and they do not discriminate against disabled claimants or those with shared care of children.”[1] However, the fact that welfare reforms are leading to High Court cases is obviously not good news for Westminster, nor for landlords.

[1] http://www.justlandlords.co.uk/news/Disabled-tenants-launch-court-case-against-Bedroom-Tax-1717.html