Posts with tag: legislation

Free Seminar Series Launched for Landlords and Letting Agents

Published On: September 18, 2017 at 9:37 am

Tags: evictions,landlord law,legislation

A free seminar series for landlords and letting agents will launch this month, with an advisory session on how to evict tenants in a way that is both effective and legally sound.

The Landlord Seminar Series, hosted by leading law firm Kirwans, will see legal specialists exploring a wide range of crucial issues for the sector, ranging from rent recovery to the consequences of failing to undertake Right to Rent checks.

Free Seminar Series Launched for Landlords and Letting Agents

The free seminar series will also feature guest speakers from non-legal sectors of the property industry, providing useful tips and analysis on topics affecting landlords and the rental market.

The initial event will focus on legally sound ways of evicting tenants; an area that some find particularly confusing, following recent legislative amendments.

A panel of experts will discuss how to tackle the eviction process, with a focus on Section 21 notices, the new additional regulatory requirements and the accelerated possession procedure.

They will also advise on the legal responsibilities that landlords and letting agents now carry, following the updated legislation, what to do if court proceedings unfold and how to deal with so-called retaliatory evictions.

Danielle Hughes, an associate solicitor and landlord legal expert at Kirwans, who will lead the series, says: “Evicting a tenant can be a tricky process. For landlords, protection is key if they are to avoid expensive errors and difficulties securing possession.

“The aim of these seminars is to educate landlords and agents on the correct way to launch eviction proceedings to ensure they don’t face complications further down the line. Many landlords come to us at the stage where they are ready to issue a claim and find that they have not complied with a simple requirement, which sets them back to square one of having to re-issue a notice. This can lead to unnecessary delays and lost rental income.”

She continues: “We have seen numerous cases in which minor errors have led to claims being struck out of court, and landlords often only seek advice when it is too late. Hopefully, our seminar series will set them on the right track and prevent these problems from occurring.

“In addition, we will explore the range of new grounds on which tenants can now seek to defend claims and challenge the eviction procedure, with tips and advice on how best to avoid these issues by taking a proactive approach from the outset.”

Attendees will also hear from Mark Wrigglesworth, the Director of ERC Accountants, who will examine and advise on the changes and impact of landlord taxes following the recent and ongoing reduction in mortgage interest tax relief, which began on 6^th April this year.

Hughes adds: “The rental sector has undergone significant change over the past two years, and our first landlord seminar series event will see us reflecting on what has changed and how to deal with new challenges which are still to come.”

The first in the free seminar series will take place at Avenue HQ, Mann Island, Liverpool on Wednesday 27^th September 2017 between 8-10am. For more information and to book tickets, visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/landlord-legal-update-tenant-evictions-tickets-36952085683

East Midlands landlords are being invited to a free event

Published On: September 15, 2017 at 9:51 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: landlords,legislation,mortgage interest tax relief,tax

Landlords in the East Midlands are being invited to attend a free event, which is offering mortgage, tax and legislation advice.

This event is being provided by Kingswood Residential Investment Management, OCS Wealth Management and Wren Accountancy. It is to be held at the NBV Enterprise Centre on Tuesday 3^rd October, with sessions taking place at 11am and 6pm.

Investment

These firms decided to join together to host the event, in response to concerns from their clients surrounding the changing landscape of property investment.

Paul Gayton of Wren Accountancy noted: ‘The event offers a unique opportunity to gain expert advice and insights into the property market. While landlords need to be given a briefing on the changes which are affecting their investment choices, the buy to let market in Nottinghamshire continues to provide potential and offer a wise investment option as part of a pension portfolio.’[1]

Adam Kingswood, owner of Kingswood Residential Investment Management, fears that the raft of legislation being implemented on the sector could drive reputable landlords out of the market. In addition, he is worried that that many more will deterred from entering.

East Midlands landlords are being invited to a free event

He observed: ‘Being impacted at national level with stamp duty reforms and changes to landlord’s mortgage tax relief, through to the Nottingham City Council’s selective licensing at a local level, we see investors being constantly bombarded with information and it can be incredibly confusing.’

‘It’s our intention to use this briefing to help clients manage the changes by being well informed and prepared.’

You can access your tickets here.

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/9/free-advice-event-for-landlords-and-investors

Almost one-third of landlords plan on increasing rents

Published On: August 22, 2017 at 8:47 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: buy to let investment,landlords,legislation,rents

A rising number of private landlords are looking at plans to increase rents, in order to combat alterations to mortgage interest tax relief.

New research from Cover4LetProperty discovered that 32.5% of landlords are planning to raise rents during the next 12 months. This is in order to keep up with heightened tax liabilities and costs, due to these legislation changes.

Mortgage Interest Tax Relief

In April, alterations to mortgage interest tax relief began to be phased in. The four-year cycle will eventually see landlords only able to deduct 50% of their taxable income generated through their buy-to-let investment.

While rents are set to increase, the research also suggests that most buy-to-let investors are not planning on altering the size of their portfolios. 83% of those asked said they were not looking to either increase or decrease the size of their portfolio in the next year.

Actually, only 14% private investors said they were looking to expand their portfolio within the next 12 months.

Almost one-third of landlords plan on increasing rents

Landlord Happiness

Positively, when landlords were asked how happy they were with their tenants, 93% replied that they were happy. Just 6% said they were 50/50 and 1% said they were unhappy.

Almost half of the respondents also revealed that they are property investors, while the others said that they are accidental landlords, due to features such as inheritance or other circumstances.

Looking to the future, many investors were found to be concerned about further Government legislation changes, alongside increased tax liabilities and ongoing uncertainty surrounding Brexit.

Professionals and families more likely to see rent rises

Published On: August 17, 2017 at 11:42 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: investment,legislation,rent,rents

Another report has suggested that rents are likely to increase in the third quarter of the year, as less rental properties are coming onto the market.

This is due to more landlords beginning to sell more properties as a direct result of the raft of legislation changes aimed at deterring investment, according to Belvoir.

Spiralling?

Despite the forecasted rent rises, the property franchise insists that rents across Britain are not spiralling out of control.

Belvoir’s Q2 rental index shows that private rents have risen by an average of 2.75% during the last year. This was an increase of £730pcm in Q2 2016, to £751pcm in the second quarter of this year.

When comparing the Q2 2017 average with the 2016 yearly average of £783pcm, this suggests rental price growth of just below 2% – more or less consistent with ONS statistics and other rental indexes.

Dorian Gonsalves, CEO of Belvoir, said: ‘Sensationalist media reports that rents are spiralling out of control across the country are at odds with what our offices are reporting, and that other letting agents across the country are currently experiencing. However, feedback from our franchisees confirmed that fewer properties were seeing static rents than in the previous quarter, and more offices experienced rent rises of £25 and £50 per month.’[1]

Professionals and families more likely to see rent rises

Rental Rises

The data indicates that rents range from £597pcm in the North West, £665pcm in Yorkshire, £1,048pcm in the South East and £1,446pcm in London.

In fact, the average rent recorded in Q2 2017 in London was £1,454 excluding Central London. This represented an increase of 4.5% year-on-year.

40% of Belvoir offices in the South East saw slight rises in rent during Q2 of 2017, with 40% reporting little falls and 20% remaining static. This pattern was also seen in East Anglia, Yorkshire and the East Midlands.

Looking to the third quarter, Mr Gonsalves observed: ‘Families and professionals are most likely to experience rent rises. Demand from tenants on benefits saw the biggest increase versus Q1 and therefore rents are expected to rise for this sector. Two to three bed properties remain in demand and are in short supply.

Although we are not currently seeing a huge exit of landlords from the market it is apparent that landlords are beginning to sell their properties. Most agents expect investor enquiries to remain the same, or to fall, especially for room rents.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/8/families-and-professionals-most-likely-to-experience-rent-rises

[2]

50% of landlords could quit sector due to tax changes

Published On: April 6, 2017 at 8:45 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Buy-to-Let,landlords,legislation,mortgage interest tax relief,tax

The most recent analysis from AXA has revealed that as a result of the phasing out of mortgage interest tax relief, more landlords believe they will be affected than Government estimates.

Changes to mortgage interest tax relief calculations come into force from today, with AXA’s figures suggesting that half of landlords plan to quit the market by 2020. Many cite the fact that they are being unfairly targeted.

Worse Off

AXA’s research indicates that over 40% of landlords feel they will be worse off as a direct result of the tax changes. This comes despite Government estimates that 82% will not have any additional tax to pay.

However, AXA’s research suggests that today’s change, coming on top of a host of legislation targeting landlords in recent years, means that many will leave the sector by 2020.

21% said that they plan to sell all of their portfolio, while 10% plan to reduce. 7% said that they will move to a commercial property ownership. 8% said they plan to transfer ownership of their property to a spouse or other family member, who is in a lower tax bracket, thus avoiding tax.

50% of landlords could quit sector due to tax changes

Scapegoats

Two-thirds of landlords questioned said that they feel stigmatised for running their rental business.

The stark reality is that only 4% of private landlords have a portfolio large enough to give up work and live off the profits. On average, the typical UK landlord makes £343 rental profit every month. Profit levels do vary widely across the country, from £297 in the West Midlands to £713 in London.

Gordon Rutherford, Head of Marketing at AXA Insurance, noted: ‘Landlords have been subject to one piece of new legislation after another in recent years, much of it very complex indeed. We see a real confusion as to what the new tax changes will mean, with Government and landlords giving very different estimates of the impact.’[1]

‘We need to remember that few landlords are professional property tycoons: two thirds in the UK are ‘accidental’ landlords. They tend to own just one rental property that they’ve inherited or are finding hard to sell, and they make a modest income once time and expenses are out. They do feel increasingly apprehensive, as we can see from the numbers thinking of withdrawing their properties from the rental market in the coming years,’ Mr Rutherford added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/almost-50-of-landlords-plan-to-quit-due-to-unfair-tax-change.html

Agents are not going to be included in Money Laundering Directive

Published On: March 24, 2017 at 12:59 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Finance News

Tags: landlords,legislation,letting agents,Money Laundering Directive

The UK property industry feels that a recent Government decision not to include letting agents in its proposals for legislation to meet requirements of the fourth Money Laundering Directive is wrong.

There are many elements of the consultation on the directive that are likely to have an impact on the property sector. While letting agents will be expected to carry out consumer due diligence, lettings agents will not.

This means that buyers and sellers of properties will be checked by estate agents, but tenants and landlords won’t.

Disappointed

David Cox, Chief Executive of ARLA Propertymark, said: ‘We’re disappointed the Government has chosen not include letting activity within the money laundering regulations 2017.’[1]

‘The risk with this is that money laundering activity will transfer from the sales sector due to the increased powers within the new regulation, into the lettings sector which remains unregulated. However, within the context of the recently increased legislative burden on letting agents, coupled with the shock announcement to ban letting agent fees in the Autumn Statement, we understand why the Government has chosen not to impose these requirements at this critical juncture,’ he continued.[1]

Agents are not going to be included in Money Laundering Directive

Implementation

Mark Hayward, NAEA Propertymark Chief Executive, believes it is good news that the consultation on money laundering has appeared. He believes that when legislation comes into force, it is imperative that the sector acts to implement the changes.

Hayward said: ‘The Government has announced that purchasers are now included in the application of customer due diligence, so additional checks will need to be made by sales agents and auctioneers, which will be complicated by the fact that buyers are sometimes at arm’s length and there’s not necessarily a face to face relationship.’[1]

‘However, further clarity will be required as to what point the purchaser becomes a purchaser and this is an issue we will be seeking guidance on,’ he added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/uk-property-industry-disappointed-letting-agents-not-included-money-directive/