Written By Em

Em

Em Morley

Is This the Cheapest Flat in London?

Published On: January 23, 2016 at 12:08 pm

Author:

Categories: Property News

Tags: ,,

A flat that has been named the cheapest in London has been sold for £79,000 after a host of prospective buyers showed interest in the property.

36 people viewed the studio flat in Clapton, east London, and nine of those made offers.

The advertisement for the property described it as “an exceptionally rare opportunity for a first time buyer, landlord or commuter seeking a bolthole to purchase a property in a desirable part of London for the same price as a high-end family car”1.

The agreed price is less than a fifth of the average property value in London and much lower than the £383,000 typically paid for a flat in the E5 postcode area.

However, as the flat measures just 75 square foot, it still costs more than £1,000 per square foot of living space. The £79,000 price tag is also enough to buy a family home in some parts of the country.

Simon Taylor, of estate agent Purplebricks, which sold the flat, says the amount of offers reflects “the property’s desirability in a busy market”.

He adds: “This property is unique to the market here in London. I wasn’t surprised at all by the excitement that the listing generated, particularly given the low cost and its easy access to the City and the West End.”1

The buyer plans to live in the property for six months of the year and rent it out for the rest of the year.

1 http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jan/20/cheapest-flat-london-sells-79000

Rogue landlord hit with whopping £67,000 fine

Published On: January 23, 2016 at 10:16 am

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ,,

A rogue landlord who continually let out an awfully maintained property has been given a huge fine.

Mr Liakath Ali of Bedford was found guilty of letting out damp and overcrowded rooms and as a result was hit with a whopping £67,000 fine.

Costly

In all, Mr Ali was ordered to pay:

  • A confiscation order of £36,936
  • £12,500 in fines
  • £17,500 in costs
  • A victim surcharge of £120

Offences related to a property in Stepney, located in London’s Tower Hamlets. The orders were based on the local council’s financial investigation report that investigated Ali’s rental income and his equity in the four properties he owned.

Such a substantial fine was decided upon after taking into account the amount of neglect that Mr Ali had shown. The property had no fire alarms, widespread mould, was overcrowded and had a rat infestation.

In addition, one room of the house was found to have inadequate light, with two other rooms having two people living in them, when there was only sufficient space for one occupant.

Rogue landlord hit with whopping £67,000 fine

Rogue landlord hit with whopping £67,000 fine

Shared

The large sum will be shared between the Courts Service, the national government and Tower Hamlets council, to help fund housing enforcement measures for the future.

A council spokesman said, ‘it is vital that landlords in the borough are committed to renting out their properties within the confines of the law. We trust them to ensure they have the necessary safety measures in place to protect their tenants. We only take enforcement action against rogue landlords as a last resort.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/1/massive-67-000-fine-for-letting-out-dirty-and-overcrowded-property

 

Rogue landlord in Cambridge fined £15,080

Published On: January 22, 2016 at 2:15 pm

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ,,,,

A landlord has been charged and fined for not adhering to regulations for HMOs, following an early morning raid involving immigration enforcement officers.

Selvakumar Francis, a London-based landlord, appeared in court on charges related to the condition and overcrowding of his property in Cambridge.

Disregard

Evidence was uncovered that Mr Francis had show disregard to the property, allowing its condition to deteriorate substantially. The property was found to have no basic fire safety precautions.

Officers noted that many defects amounted to nine breaches of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006.

Mr Francis pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined a total of £13,500. In addition, he was told to pay the council’s costs of £1,460, plus a victim surcharge of £120.

Rogue landlord in Cambridge fined £15,080

Rogue landlord in Cambridge fined £15,080

Lack of safety

As part of the inspection, Cambridge council officers noted that there was no fire detection system. A fire door had been removed or simply not installed and this, combined with no dire detection system in the downstairs area, meant that tenants would have been unaware of any fire and thus would have been trapped.

The hallway, the main route of escape, was found to be blocked with three bikes, a mattress and unopened packs of laminate flooring.

There were eight beds located within the three-bedroom property, with only one toilet for all occupants. One of these rooms was only 5.5 sq metres in size. In two of the bedrooms, three-beds were crammed in, with only one electrical socket for use between the three occupants of each. This led to multiple extension sockets being used and an increased risk of fire.

On sentencing, magistrates said Mr Francis was negligent and has actions, ‘had a significant effect on human health and quality of life.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/1/early-morning-immigration-raid-leads-to-15-080-bill-for-landlord

 

 

£5m pot to tackle rogue landlords announced

Published On: January 22, 2016 at 12:04 pm

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ,,,,

The Housing Minister Brandon Lewis has today announced a £5m fund to crackdown on rogue landlords across England.

48 councils will split the cash, which will be used in order to root out irresponsible landlords that force their tenants to live in unsuitable and dangerous properties.

Improving the sector

Additionally, the money will assist councils to conduct inspections, surveys and demolish ‘beds in sheds’ and other prohibited buildings.

Since 2011, almost 40,000 inspections have taken place across the country, with 3,000 landlords served with enforcement actions, statutory notices or prosecutions.

Lewis has provided the funding to try and make sure that millions of hard-working, law-abiding tenants receive a better deal when renting a property.

Tough tackling

Mr Lewis said that, ‘many private rental tenants are happy with their home and the service they receive, but there are still rogue landlords that exploit vulnerable people and force their tenants to live in overcrowded and squalid accommodation.’[1]

‘We are determined to tackle these rogue which is why we are providing 48 councils with extra funding, so they can get rid of the cowboy operators in their area and bring an end to tenants living in miserable homes in the name of profit. We also want to raise the quality and choice of rental accommodation across the sector. The funding will ensure tenants know what level of service they can expect and have confidence to get help and take action if things go wrong,’ he added.[1]

£5m pot to tackle rogue landlords announced

£5m pot to tackle rogue landlords announced

A better buy-to-let sector

The announcement comes as part of the proposals in the Housing and Planning Bill, aimed at ensuring England’s 9 million private sector tenants are given better standards by their landlords.

Included in the Housing and Planning Bill proposals are:

  • a database of rogue landlords and agents convicted of previous offences
  • total banning orders for the most prolific offenders
  • introduction of civil penalties up to £30,000, instead of prosecution
  • a more hardline fit and proper persons test for landlords of licensable properties, such as HMO’s

Councils

A full-run down of the forty-eight councils and how much of the £5m they have been allocated is as follows:

  • Birmingham £110,250
  • Blackburn with Darwen £39,375
  • Blackpool £150,000
  • Boston £74,600
  • Bradford £45,000
  • Bristol £135,000
  • Burnley £18,200
  • Calderdale £100,000
  • City of Lincoln £96,071
  • Cornwall £127,500
  • Croydon £15,000
  • Derby £13,161
  • Ealing £150,000
  • Fenland £44,500
  • Hastings £122,734
  • Hyndburn £112,500
  • Ipswich £56,250
  • Islington £112,500
  • Lambeth £90,000
  • Leeds £70,000
  • Lewisham £151, 378
  • Liverpool £112, 500
  • London Borough of Barking and Dagenham £250,000
  • London Borough of Brent £295,000
  • London Borough of Enfield £360,000
  • London Borough of Hackney £36,400
  • London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham £91,000
  • London Borough of Haringey £100,000
  • London Borough of Hounslow £67,500
  • London Borough of Newham £428,241
  • London Borough of Southwark £31,200
  • London Borough of Tower Hamlets £100,000
  • London Borough of Waltham Forest £225,000
  • Luton £94,000
  • Manchester £60,000
  • Middlesbrough £100,000
  • Newcastle £70,000
  • North East Lincolnshire 64,250
  • Nottingham £151,079
  • Pendle £22,500
  • Peterborough £112,500
  • Plymouth £60,000
  • Royal Borough of Greenwich £175,000
  • Salford £63,952
  • Slough £90,000
  • Thanet £88,737
  • Kensington and Chelsea £91,000
  • Torbay Council £90,000

[1]

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/5-million-cash-for-councils-to-stop-rogue-landlords

 

18% of landlords will leave sector due to tax changes

Published On: January 22, 2016 at 10:04 am

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ,,,

A concerning new survey has indicated that the majority of landlords believe that the Government’s perceived assault on the buy-to-let sector will lead to serious market damage.

Research conducted by property management group Orchard and Shipman suggests 90% feel that the tax hikes will bring about higher rents. This was based on a survey of 500 landlords.

Leaving

Further results indicate that one quarter of landlords will sell their properties as a direct result of the changes, with 18% saying that would have to leave the sector altogether.

In addition, the research shows that over 90% of landlords think that they should be able to deduct legitimate costs from rents. This was found to be one of the main issues with the Government’s proposals to limit mortgage interest tax relief for the more higher-taxed landlords.

Committed

Over half of the landlords surveyed said that they would increase rents over the course of 2016, to cover the increased financing costs.

However, Orchard and Shipman thinks the Government’s ambition to thwart the buy-to-let sector may yet come up short.

18% of landlords will leave sector as result of tax changes

18% of landlords will leave sector as result of tax changes

‘Many landlords and property investors are committed and passionate and will do whatever it takes to protect their interests. Our research shows that the majority of landlords are looking at ways to recover the potential drop in revenue,’ noted Shane Spiers, chief executive of the firm.[1]

‘I believe that the buy-to-let market will pull together to ensure it continues to provide much needed accommodation to meet growing tenant demand,’ he added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/will-the-governments-tax-changes-discourage-btl-investment.html

 

 

 

Just 51 Days Until Stamp Duty Deadline

Published On: January 21, 2016 at 3:37 pm

Author:

Categories: Finance News

Tags: ,,

Number of UK buy-to-let businesses increases 2.1%
Just 51 Days Until Stamp Duty Deadline

Just 51 Days Until Stamp Duty Deadline

Demand for property has surged since Chancellor George Osborne announced an extra 3% Stamp Duty charge for buy-to-let landlords and second homebuyers. And now, there’s just 51 days before the additional tax is imposed.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reports that its members are witnessing a rush of purchases before the 1st April deadline, when the charge is enforced.

The body also predicts that house prices in London, the South East and East Anglia will increase by 5% per year in each of the next five years, compared to a UK average of 4.5%.

Conveyancers are also experiencing increased workloads due to the 1st April deadline – this could affect purchases, as searches are taking longer in some areas.

The Managing Director of Searches UK, Andrew Stenning, says: “We are currently seeing a very active conveyancing market. Searches for purchase transactions are currently taking an average of seven to ten working days, but this does depend on the area where the searches are being carried out, as some of the local authorities are experiencing a backlog.

“This is having a knock-on effect on us and other search providers being able to deliver reports in a timelier manner.”1

With just 51 days before properties need to be completed in order to beat the extra tax, landlords must act fast if they wish to expand their portfolios and avoid paying 3% more.

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/demand-for-property-has-jumped-says-rics/