Written By Em

Em

Em Morley

Tenant mediation service to help landlords and tenants during coronavirus crisis

Published On: March 23, 2020 at 9:31 am

Author:

Categories: Tenant News

Tags: ,,

Tenant mediation service

The Government has been fast to respond to the situation caused within the private rental sector by the coronavirus outbreak. The decisions it has made in regards to protecting private landlords and tenants have been “right and fair”, according to Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action.

New eviction attempts will be banned for three months during this crisis as a way to protect tenants in financial difficulty due to job losses or having to look after their children because of school closures.

To counteract this, the Government has also stated that buy-to-let mortgages would also be covered by the 3-month payment holiday that was recently announced.

Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action, said: “These are unprecedented times and all landlords must now work collaboratively with their tenants to come to solutions to get us through this public health crisis and move forward after.

“The measures taken are right and fair; no one wants to see a tenant be forced out of their home due to loss of income as a result of coronavirus, nor does anyone want to see landlords face unmanageable debts.

“We would urge landlords to be as flexible as possible with tenants facing difficulties with their rent payments arising from the current situation.”

In order to make its own contribution to easing the situation, Landlord Action will be launching a tenant mediation service, working collaboratively with the Property Redress Scheme. It will offer support to both landlords and tenants looking to find a suitable arrangement for the future.

Landlord Action is now waiting on the Government to provide confirmation of the details for the suspension and a possible verification process, along with further information on how the possession claims that are currently going through the court process will be dealt with.

Landlord Action received its first court adjournment from Blackpool County Court for a Section 8 eviction last Friday. A statement from the county court says all new eviction proceedings will now be adjourned until June.

Action taken by Blackpool County Court is likely to be followed by other county courts handling Section 8 evictions, despite the fact that the government has yet to introduce its emergency legislation.

Shamplina commented: “There will be many adjournments, and this was the first that came through yesterday from Blackpool County Court on a section 8 case. 

“We are still awaiting the government’s decision as to when possession claims have to be stopped at court for a three-month period. But it wouldn’t surprise me if the courts soon shut down for a period of time.  We are in unknown territory. Our advice line at Landlord Action has been extremely busy advising concerned landlords.

“If landlords are experiencing adjournments, they need to provide the court order to their lender so that they can ask or their mortgage payments to be suspended.”

A Statement From Landlord News

Published On: March 20, 2020 at 10:48 am

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Coronavirus, or COVID-19, is affecting people across the UK and the world in one way or another. Many workers across the country are now working from home and others whom are less lucky have been sent home without pay. Many of these workers are tenants in the private rental sector. They don’t know how they’ll be paying their next rent payment, and their landlords don’t know if they’ll receive it at all.

What happens next is very uncertain for both tenants and landlords. Just since Tuesday, there have been calls to allow landlords to receive leniency on their buy-to-let mortgage payments and for legislation to be put in place to protect tenants from eviction whilst they are not earning due to coronavirus. Both of these resulted in fast action from the Government and banks, who responded by introducing mortgage holidays and by pausing new evictions until the outbreak has cleared.

We were in the process of writing an article to update you about such calls just as the news broke that the Government had stepped in. The speed at which the situation is changing is unprecedented, but we are endeavouring to keep our readers up to date with the latest developments as they emerge.

All the best,

Landlord News

Agents’ resilience key to property market survival

Published On: March 20, 2020 at 9:29 am

Author:

Categories: Lettings News

Tags: ,,

Agents’ resilience key to property market survival

Property portal Residential People believes that “dark days are ahead but there remains light at the end of the tunnel”.

With the coronavirus set to cause the most significant financial disaster since 2008, Residential People says that the property market is also on the brink of a crisis unless it embraces change.

With the UK government guidelines on self-isolation changing by the day, and fewer people roaming the streets, the property portal foresees that many traditional, bricks and mortar high street agents could suffer significant losses as we enter unprecedented territory.

They believe that agents should embrace technology and use it to their advantage if they’re to continue to generate business as the streets get emptier.

Fortunately, these days agents have access to video conferencing tools and virtual tours to continue providing a more detailed look at a home for interested parties, as opposed to a static image.

The impact of coronavirus and what agents can do

Working from home has already been enforced for many high-street agencies due to Covid-19.

As highlighted by Lucy Pendleton, Co-Founder and Director of James Pendleton estate agents, the impact of the virus has already begun to have very real implications for the property market, noting: “Coronavirus impacted our business for the first time a few days ago, stealing away a sale that was just days from exchanging.”

Residential People’s Co-Founder & Director, Christopher May, reminds agents that: “The property sector has faced big crisis’ in the past and bounced back, so I see no reason why the market shouldn’t do the same this time around.”

The property portal compares the current situation to the 2007 financial crisis – a total of 2.5 million mortgages were approved in 2007, to then fall to under 1 million a year.

Challenging agents to learn from the past, May adds: “Despite the vast decrease in approved mortgages, collapsing banks as well as depreciating house prices following the market crash; the property sector successfully managed to bounce back to good health.”

“Residential People strongly believes that the industry has the ability to not only make it through the dark days that lie ahead, but to expand to new heights…. just as long as the sector is ready to embrace change..”

Change is coming for the property industry

With the global economy in disarray, it’s time for the property industry to think about ways of flexible advertising and reducing their costs.

Some property portals have offered token gestures such as ‘deferred payments’ that ultimately must be paid somewhere down the line, but these do little to resolve the real problem.

Highlighting an alternative way for small and medium-sized agents to stay afloat, May states: “In these troubling times, estate agents are being bled dry. Portals are not operating with compassion and understanding that many agents will struggle to remain trading if proposed lockdowns are in place throughout the UK.”

While the large, multinational agencies are well-positioned to endure and minimise the impact of a sustained drop in traffic, the smaller agents are on the firing line, and will undoubtedly be the first to fall should this crisis continue for several months.

May concludes: “If you’re the decision-maker in an SME that’s having to weigh up letting staff members go or continue to pay a portal, I want you to know that there is another way.”

“By joining a fairer marketplace such as Residential People, you can advertise your properties for free, allowing you to alleviate some of the worries you may have during this sensitive period.”

Government announces three-month mortgage payment holiday

Published On: March 19, 2020 at 10:28 am

Author:

Categories: Finance News,Landlord News

Tags: ,,,,,,,

Government announces three-month mortgage payment holiday

The Government is to offer coronavirus-affected mortgage holders a three month payment holiday.

In a joint statement, the RLA and the NLA said: “Our priority is to ensure that tenants are secure in their homes during this crisis. The three-month buy-to-let mortgage payment holiday will take a lot of pressure off landlords enabling them to be as flexible as possible with tenants facing difficulties with their rent payments.

“No responsible landlord will be considering evicting tenants because of difficulties arising from the current situation. There does need to be some flexibility though such as with dealing with a tenant engaging in anti-social behaviour.

“This could cause misery for fellow tenants or neighbours especially when they are going to be spending a lot of time together.

“We would like to see further measures taken including pausing the final phase of restricting mortgage interest relief to the basic rate of income tax due in April.

“In addition, we need to do all we can to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. There should be national guidelines for local authorities to suspend routine inspections of properties and a temporary halt on enforcement action where landlords are unable to fulfill certain required obligations because of the health risk posed to them, tenants and contractors.”

Henry Jordan, Director of Mortgages for Nationwide Building Society, comments: “As the UK’s second-largest buy-to-let mortgage provider we feel it is important to extend protection to landlords and their tenants during this uncertain period.

“We have extended mortgage payment holidays to include rental properties so that landlords with tenants who are unable to meet rental payments because of coronavirus are protected as much as possible.

“These payment breaks will be able to be arranged via The Mortgage Works – Nationwide’s buy-to-let arm. We would encourage tenants to speak to their landlords if they are impacted or worried about coronavirus to ensure that steps can be taken to support them at this time.”

Franz Doerr, founder and CEO of flatfair, comments: “It is pleasing to see that the government is taking measures to ensure landlords are protected during this crisis with a three month mortgage holiday, but support must also be offered to tenants as well, who may very well be unable to make their payments in the months ahead.

“The impacts of Covid 19 are just becoming visible and it is crucial that everyone pulls together to help us all come through this.”

Chris Sykes, mortgage consultant at Private Finance, the mortgage broker, comments: “While many holiday plans are in disarray, mortgage borrowers will welcome a break from monthly repayments in the current climate.

“The biggest beneficiaries are likely to be customers who are self-employed or have little saved to help them through these challenging times. A mortgage holiday will ease concerns about loss of earnings if people are isolated for any period or if their working hours are reduced due to business closures.

“This flexible relief is an intelligent move for both lenders and borrowers. Lenders will reduce the risk of having ‘bad debt’ on their books if customers miss payments without taking a mortgage holiday, which can reflect poorly on their business and make it harder to raise finance in future.

“Customers can rest easier by avoiding the danger that a missed payment creates a blemish on their credit profile which lasts longer than the current pandemic and limits their borrowing options for three years or more.

“Customers need to be mindful that pre-emptive action will be key to making the most of a mortgage holiday. It will be important to agree deferred payments with their lender in advance, so they are not recorded as missed.

Andy Foote, director at SevenCapital comments: “This evening’s (18th March) measures announced by the Government will be welcomed by landlords and tenants alike. We heard measures yesterday designed to protect landlords through mortgage relief over a period of three months.

“It’s extremely good news, and I’m sure there will be thousands who will breathe a huge sigh of relief, to hear that any renters affected, who as a result are unable to pay their rent during this period will also be protected.

“It’s also highly encouraging to see that this legislation has been extended to both the social and private rented sector, where there are many landlords and tenants who may be impacted by these events and unsure about their payments in this unprecedented situation.

“During a tough period of time, as the Prime Minister himself said, “it would not be right for people to be penalised as a direct result of following government advice”.

“The information that appears to be missing, however, with regards to mortgage relief, is whether landlords who run their properties through limited companies will be protected under this legislation or whether there are alternate business measures being put in place that will cover this.

“We await further developments over the next few days.”

Government announces legislation to ban evictions and protect renters

Published On: March 19, 2020 at 10:04 am

Author:

Categories: Law News

Tags: ,,,,,

Government announces legislation to ban evictions and protect renters

The government has also announced that it will be bringing forward legalisation to protect renters during the outbreak of COVID-19.

David Cox, Chief Executive, ARLA Propertymark comments: “We agree that the Government must do ‘whatever it takes’ to safeguard tenants in these unprecedented times. We, of course, have to support tenants as they face uncertainty over the coming months, while as the Prime Minister has said, ensuring we don’t simply pass on the problem to other actors in the economy.”

Matt Downie, Director of Policy and External Affairs for Crisis, said: “This is a hugely welcome announcement. While we await the detail, we hope this means anyone served an eviction notice will not be left facing homelessness as a result of the pandemic.

“We appreciate that this needs to be a workable solution for renters and landlords, but would stress that any repayment plan must be affordable for tenants. If someone loses their job because of the outbreak and has no income coming in, they cannot be faced with intolerable levels of debt once these emergency measures are lifted.”

Franz Doerr, founder and CEO of flatfair, comments: “Protecting renters who may be facing a financially precarious position during this pandemic is absolutely crucial and the fact that the government is putting forward legislation to help the UK’s millions of renters feel safe and secure in their home is to be welcomed. Extending the three-month mortgage holiday to landlords whose tenants are experiencing difficulty paying is a sensible step.”

Dan Wilson Craw, Director of Generation Rent, said: “We have already heard from renters who are losing work as a result of the outbreak and have been given eviction notices. This announcement will give them welcome short term respite.

“But there is nothing here that will help renters who get into arrears to find the money to pay them off at the end of their landlord’s mortgage holiday. Levels of housing benefit have fallen behind market rents and new claimants face delays in getting payments. To ensure renters don’t fall into debt, the government now needs to offer rent relief.”

Read the Government’s announcement here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/complete-ban-on-evictions-and-additional-protection-for-renters.

Spring clean your investment strategy in five steps from SevenCapital

Published On: March 18, 2020 at 9:03 am

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ,,

Spring clean your investment

Here’s some positive news for you all to counteract the stress that everyone is currently under – this Friday marks the first day of spring! We will soon be seeing longer days and hopefully better weather.

For those looking to carry on improving their business, these tips from SevenCapital will help you to spring clean your investment strategy!

A new financial year is on the horizon, which for investors may bring new interest rates, changes to tax relief and, importantly, an opportunity to give your portfolio a timely spring clean. These five steps from Andy Foote, director at SevenCapital, aim to help revive your investments to boost your financial health for the year ahead:

1. Keep your interest up

Checking interest rates can feel like a dull task, but it’s worth it to make sure that your wealth is accumulating the maximum it’s able to. Is the amount of interest you can earn on your investments – for example an ISA – still at or higher than the rate you initially signed up with, and is it one of the best rates on the market that are available to you? 

If you plan to keep investing into an account relying on interests, doing this can make a big difference when you crunch the numbers for the long-term. If your portfolio includes property be sure to review mortgage rates and/or reassess whether now is the right time to leverage any equity built-in property to finance any new purchase.

2. Don’t let tax become taxing

Making sure you’re up to date with your tax returns, up to speed on tax regulations and clued up about any upcoming changes is crucial. But evaluating your taxes owed versus your income is, it goes without saying, also crucial. 

This is particularly relevant for property investors as we come into the final phase of buy-to-let mortgage interest tax relief adjustments this spring. How will the changes impact your finances? Are you a private investor that might benefit more from transferring and running your properties through a limited company, or vice versa?

3. Stick to the (right) track

Your investments might still be “working”, but are they still working as well towards your end goal as you need them to? Maybe your circumstances have changed – do you need to rethink your investments to be able to stay on track to meet your goals, or have they changed for the better and can you afford to reach your goals within a quicker time-frame? If you’re a property investor, could you leverage any equity for improved returns with a bigger portfolio?

4. Stay true to yourself

Have your priorities changed or are you happy with where you are? If your priorities have changed, do your current investments fit in with that? Whether your goal is short- or long-term, taking the time to look at what you really want and where you are is important. 

Are you an experienced investor who used to enjoy the risk and reward of the stock market, but now lack the time or energy to keep on top of it as much as you used to? Or have your immediate returns versus long term growth changed? Taking the time to review your own priorities is important to making sure your portfolio delivers for you.

5. Remember variety is the spice of life

Many a wealthy manager will tell you that holding a diverse investment portfolio is the ideal situation. Others may tell you that property is completely the way to go, historically demonstrating a doubling effect every 15-20 years and producing both growth and yield. What you invest in, when and how are your choice, but there is truth in the saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” 

No investment is 100% safe, so if you can afford to, it’s worth investigating whether you can invest in a few different products. If you’re a property investor and you’re dead set on property, ask yourself how can you diversify your property portfolio so that you’re not reliant on just one type of property performing well. Could you diversify by location, unit type, or via a mix of commercial and residential? There are lots of options to consider.