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Islington Council launches two new landlord licensing schemes

Published On: February 23, 2021 at 9:32 am

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Categories: Landlord News,Law News

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Islington Council

By introducing two new landlord licensing schemes, Islington Council aims to make private renting fairer and protect renters’ rights.

The council wants to help secure a fairer deal for private renters in the borough by improving conditions.

First announced in February 2020, one scheme is borough-wide, licensing houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), while the second scheme is a selective licensing scheme for Finsbury Park ward. The two schemes are now active, and landlords who have not already done so are reminded to apply for a property licence.

The borough-wide licensing scheme is for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), requiring landlords who rent out a property occupied by three or more tenants who are not members of the same family (as well as certain converted blocks of flats) to get a licence. The council has found that HMOs have some of Islington’s poorest housing standards, with many HMO conversions having inadequate fire safety measures. A pilot HMO licensing scheme in Caledonian and Holloway Roads has been in place since 2015 and has led to an improvement in the management of properties.

The second scheme is a selective licensing scheme for Finsbury Park ward, building on the borough-wide HMO licensing scheme. Finsbury Park ward has the poorest housing conditions in private rented property in the borough. Many people in the area are also facing higher levels of deprivation, meaning that they are at greater risk of being taken advantage of by rogue landlords. For these reasons, the Finsbury Park scheme also requires landlords to obtain a license when they rent out a flat or house occupied by either a single household or two people sharing.

The two licensing schemes allow the council to set minimum standards for property management, including the provision of kitchen and bathroom facilities, room sizes, health and safety (e.g. fire, gas, and electrical safety checks).

The schemes look to punish rogue landlords renting out properties in poor conditions and encourage responsible landlords to keep up with property maintenance. Accredited landlords are also offered a discounted application fee.

Cllr Diarmaid Ward, Executive Member for Housing and Development, said: “The council is committed to building a fairer Islington for all, and that means we will do everything we can to prevent rogue landlords taking advantage of people’s desperate need for a home.

“These new licensing schemes will help protect private renters and also ensure that conscientious landlords are rewarded. There are a great many responsible landlords in the borough and schemes like this help to level the playing field.

“Licensing schemes are also powerful tools that allow the council to use data to identify properties with poor conditions and take appropriate action. We’ve taken significant enforcement action in recent years against landlords and lettings agents who don’t treat private renters fairly and we will continue to stand up for our residents.”

More information about licensing schemes, including information for landlords about how to apply, is available on Islington Council’s website.

House prices increased by 8.5% over the year to December 2020

Published On: February 22, 2021 at 9:16 am

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Categories: Property News

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Rightmove reports 'best ever spring sellers’ market' for the UK

The latest House Price Index published on GOV.UK by HM Land Registry looks at data for December 2020. The main highlights include:

  • UK average house prices increased by 8.5% over the year to December 2020
  • Average house prices increased over the year in England to £269,000 (8.5%), in Wales to £184,000 (10.7%), in Scotland to £163,000 (8.4%), and in Northern Ireland to £148,000 (5.3%)
  • The North West was the English region to see the highest annual growth in average house prices (11.2%), while London saw the lowest (3.5%)

You can read the full report on the Office for National Statistics website.

Nicky Stevenson, Managing Director at national estate agent group Fine & Country, comments: “This confirms that 2020 was the year that fundamentals came home to roost. There was no escaping a lack of space for households who suddenly found they were living on top of each other with little respite. That has powered annual growth that reached a six-year high.

“Markets don’t move in straight lines and there’s no doubt there will be fresh challenges this year but there’s still too much pessimism around. One aspect being routinely ignored is the amount that Britons have saved during the past 12 months and the effect that will have in the real economy. 

“The Bank of England’s Andy Haldane revealed this month that he expects ‘accidental savings’ to have reached £250bn by June. This won’t just make itself felt on the high street and in our travel agents. It is set to be an instrumental supporting factor for house prices this year. 

“To put it in context, £250bn would fund the maximum stamp duty tax break of £15,000 on over 16.7million sales, which would be enough to cover every purchase in the UK for over 15 years. If the Chancellor does end the scheme as planned at the end of next month, it’s not necessarily all over for healthy house price growth even if some sales do fall through.” 

Adnan Shah, founder of ethical real estate investment manager Buraq London, comments: “Festive celebrations had been put on hold in December, but it seems no one told the housing market, which saw prices soar higher than New Year’s Eve fireworks. 

“In hindsight, there were hints of an overheating market, with the monthly mortgage approvals cooling 103,400 in December, down slightly from 105,300 in November.

“Much of the slowdown in January had been due to buyers’ fears over the stamp duty holiday ending, but the growing optimism about an extension should see house prices blossom through the spring.”

Green Homes Grant in urgent need of change, says NRLA

Published On: February 19, 2021 at 9:15 am

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Eco-friendly ways to reduce running costs and add value to a property

The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has responded to concerns raised by the Environmental Audit Select Committee that money not spent on the Government’s Green Homes Grant scheme will not be rolled over to next year.

Meera Chindooroy, Deputy Policy Director for the NRLA, said: “Our own survey data shows that 43% of landlords are interested in applying for a grant and there is clear appeal in the potential of the scheme to ensure the energy efficiency improvements we all want to see. 

“Given that just 6% of the budget assigned for the grants in 2020/21 has actually been spent, the scheme is simply failing to achieve the results Ministers had hoped. We agree with the Select Committee that the eligibility criteria for the scheme is preventing many from being able to access it and Ministers need to address this as a matter of urgency.”

In its report, published on 17th February 2021, the Environmental Audit Committee notes that: “The Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme opened for applications on 30th September. In November 2020, we conducted a survey to find out how easy it had been for home improvers to access. In total, 510 people responded to the survey. Alarmingly, 86% of those responding to the survey had had a poor experience with the process, although just over half applying had found the Green Homes Grant eligibility calculator helpful. The eligibility criteria, however, prevented many from being able to access vouchers for the measures they required: homeowners must install primary measures before receiving the same funding towards secondary measures.”

It goes on to say: “We welcome the intention behind the Government’s Green Homes Grant. It is disappointing that the administration of the scheme appears to be putting green jobs at risk, rather than creating them. Delivery has been poor for consumers and has led to perverse consequences for installers, and the scheme remains too short-term to have any prospect of achieving its initial targets. We recommend that the Green Homes Grant scheme be urgently overhauled and extended to provide greater long-term stimulus to the domestic energy efficiency sector. The Government must be mindful not to repeat the mistakes of the failed Green Deal energy efficiency incentive scheme.”

Chancellor called on to tackle the UK rent debt crisis

Published On: February 18, 2021 at 9:07 am

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Categories: Tenant News

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Arrears and void periods hit lowest level for six years

A joint statement has been made by The Big Issue Ride Out Recession Alliance, Crisis, Citizens Advice, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Money Advice Trust, The Mortgage Works, National Residential Landlords Association, Nationwide Building Society, Propertymark, StepChange Debt Charity, and Shelter.

The statement calls on the Chancellor to take action in order to tackle the rent debt crisis:

“At least half a million private renters are in arrears due to the economic impact of COVID-19. The UK Government’s own research shows that ‘private renters report being hardest hit by the pandemic’.

“Renters and landlords whose finances have been affected since lockdown cannot keep tenancies going without additional financial support.

“We welcome many of the measures taken to date, which have helped to sustain tenancies in the short term. But they do not go far enough to adequately protect renters going forward.

“The longer the Chancellor waits to take action, the more rent debts will increase, and the greater the risk of homelessness will become. Without additional support, more renters will lose their homes in the coming months, with the risk of an increase in homelessness.

“As organisations with the aim of sustaining tenancies wherever possible we consider that this requires two things in the forthcoming Budget.

“First, a targeted financial package to help renters pay off arrears built since lockdown measures started in March last year. This will help to sustain existing tenancies and keep renters in their homes – whilst also ensuring rental debt does not risk them finding homes in the future.

“Secondly, we need a welfare system that provides renters with the security of knowing that they can afford their homes. The pandemic has shown how vital this is to providing security at a time of crisis. The Government increased Universal Credit and Housing Benefit because it recognised that the system was not doing enough to support people in the first place, yet it has chosen to freeze Housing Benefit rates again from April and is considering cutting Universal Credit at the same time. It cannot be right that these measures could be pulled away from renters during continued economic uncertainty.

“We urge the Chancellor to act now to avoid renters being scarred by debts they have no hope of clearing and a wave of people having to leave their homes in the weeks and months to come.”

‘Please don’t post us carpet, taps or mobiles’ says The Deposit Protection Service

Published On: February 17, 2021 at 10:10 am

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The Deposit Protection Service

A section of carpet, a fully functioning mobile phone and bathroom taps are among the more unusual items that The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) has received through the post during tenancy deposit disputes.

The carpet was from a landlord wanting to demonstrate the iron burn that a tenant had left. Another sent a mobile phone (complete with charger) containing photos that they thought would best highlight the state of the property.

One landlord sent a faucet covered in limescale to demonstrate a tenant had not taken sufficiently good care of their bathroom. A tenant also once sent in a new shower mixer tap to support an argument that their landlord was charging too much to install a replacement.

The DPS also revealed that one landlord posted a plastic bag containing wet wipes and dirt to argue the property was not clean when their tenant checked out; while another sent in a bag of sweet wrappers in an attempt to prove the tenant had children living with them.

The DPS said it encouraged the use of video and photo evidence to help resolve disputes, but it was surprised to receive a video from a tenant seeking to prove that their landlord had allowed another person to live in a concealed part of the property.

Matt Trevett, Managing Director at The DPS, said, “The provision of evidence is a fundamentally important aspect of the resolution of any dispute, and good evidence can help our adjudicators come to fair conclusions around the return of deposit money.

“Good evidence can include records of email correspondence or mobile phone messages, date-stamped photographs, or video that helps demonstrate the condition of the property at both the start and end of a tenancy.

“Over the 14 years that we’ve been protecting deposits, landlords and tenants have posted us some very inventive and unusual items to back up their points, but we’d nevertheless encourage both parties to stick to paperwork, images, and video in order to make the process as quick and efficient as possible.”

‘Please don’t post us carpet, taps or mobiles’ says The Deposit Protection Service
‘Please don’t post us carpet, taps or mobiles’ says The Deposit Protection Service

The DPS has provided the following tips for tenants and landlords to help with the claims and disputes processes:

1. Check what the tenancy agreement says about repairs 

Tenants should always check the agreement to understand what repairs they can make ahead of the check-out. Generally, tenants who want to redecorate any or all of a property need their landlord’s express permission before they start.

2. If the agreement permits, try to carry out minor and inexpensive repairs 

It can be better for a tenant to do a quick and inexpensive repair, for example replacing a broken drawer handle with a matching one, rather than leaving it to the landlord, who is within their rights to claim for a contractor to carry out the work. Tenants should ensure any significant damage is repaired by tradespeople with the right experience and tools and ideally in consultation with their landlord.

3. Carry out repairs or cleaning before the end of the tenancy 

Tenants should not rely on the opportunity to re-enter the property after they have moved out to carry out additional repairs or cleaning, as timescales for the next tenant may prevent it. Instead, they should undertake any work before they leave.

4. Take date-stamped photographs as evidence if possible 

Taking date-stamped images at the start and at the end of the tenancy is the best way for a landlord to show if there has been damage or wear and tear that goes beyond what is reasonable for the length of the tenancy. If that is not possible they should still send images to enable adjudicators to check for date information inside the file.

5. Avoid emotive or abusive language when describing evidence 

Keep evidence descriptions professional and neutral, for example, avoid using words such as ‘filthy’ or ‘disgusting’ and avoid derogatory or sarcastic remarks. If the disagreement reaches the dispute stage, evidence could be shared with the tenant or landlord, potentially escalating tension and prolonging any disagreement.

6. Be honest with yourself about the original condition of the property before making a claim

It can be difficult for landlords to remember a property’s original condition, especially if rented for several years or if successive tenants have lived in it. Older-style properties can be clean on check-out but still have dated decoration or older items that may have deteriorated over time. Likewise, tenants should be prepared to accept reasonable deductions proposed by landlords if they have not met their obligations set out within the tenancy agreement.

Tenant loan scheme needed for those unable to access Discretionary Housing Payment

Published On: February 16, 2021 at 10:40 am

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Categories: Finance News,Tenant News

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Government wrong to make landlords pay to replace unsafe cladding

The Resolution Foundation has published a report calling for the development of a tenant loan scheme for renters impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The key findings of the report include:

  • Over 750,000 families were behind with their housing payments in January 2021
  • 24% of private renters have seen their earnings fall during the last ten months
  • 56% of private renter families with arrears are not in receipt of benefits, leaving them ineligible for a Discretionary Housing Payment

The Resolution Foundation stated within the report: “Our findings suggest the Government needs to do more if arrears are to be managed in an orderly manner as the COVID-19 period unwinds.”

It highlights that both Scotland and Wales already offer a tenant loan scheme. It goes on to say: “The time has come for the Government to deliver on its promise of a pre-action protocol for private renters and require landlords take serious steps to negotiate a payment plan with indebted tenants before proceeding to court.”

Referring to those unable to access Discretionary Housing Payment, the report says: “For this group, a tenant loan scheme, along with requirements on landlords to mediate, would go a long way towards an equitable and efficient resolution of the incipient housing cost crisis.”

You can view the full report here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/getting-ahead-on-falling-behind/

Responding to this report, Meera Chindooroy, Deputy Policy Director for the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), comments: “We welcome today’s report which agrees with the need for tenant hardship loans to tackle the rent debt crisis we now face. Simply banning repossessions is doing nothing to address this underlying problem which renters and landlords are struggling to cope with.

“The Chancellor needs to develop an urgent financial package as called for by the Resolution Foundation to pay off arrears built since lockdown measures started last year. Only this will sustain tenancies and prevent renters facing the consequences of damaged credit scores.”