Author: tonu

The way private landlords are treated by councils will be exposed as the ‘the next Post Office scandal’ it’s been claimed.

Des Taylor, a director of Landlord Licensing & Defence, a company that helps landlords comply with regulations and defend themselves against council actions, said that tenants are treated in a substandard way by local housing authorities, and yet nothing is done about it.

Instead, he believes that councils are guilty of severe maladministration, excessive enforcement and unfair licensing conditions against private sector landlords.

Taylor highlights that many local authorities fail to implement repairs and deal with anti-social behaviour for their own housing stock, while imposing criminal liability on landlords in the private sector for matters beyond their control.

He said: “Councils are the next Post Office scandal – the makings are all there.

“Tenants are human beings who deserve decent living conditions, but they are let down by councils who make nonsense PR statements about learnings and not meeting their own high standards, when they are found guilty by the Housing Ombudsman for severe maladministration.”

He points to the recent £18,800 compensation order from the Housing Ombudsman for Waltham Forest Council failings in three different cases, where the council closed a file on a tenant’s desperate repair request and did not do the repair for 11 months, despite the property having severe issues of mould and damp.

He commented: “It is disgraceful that they would ignore a tenant’s plea for help and not do the repair.

“In the private rented sector, a landlord would be hounded by enforcement operatives from the council, have Abatement Notices, Improvement Notices imposed upon them, and face serious trouble and legal action if they did not act promptly or dared to challenge the council’s demands, even if they were incorrect.”

He also accused councils of subcontracting tasks to firms that misadvise landlords and tenants, and of imposing licence conditions that are entrapment and unfair.

Taylor continued: “One of the council advisors asked a landlord if he would consider letting the tenant sublet, which would make a HMO, even though the area is both Article 4 (Planning Restricted) and a HMO Additional Licensing area, which would entrap the landlord if he had unwittingly agreed.

“Of course, they work for a landlord adversary, tenant loving company.”

He added: “Waltham Forest is a very regulated borough with Selective Licensing across the borough, with licence conditions that impose on licence holders the responsibility for ensuring compliance with its conditions at all times, and the criminal liability for anti-social behaviour, which the council and the police have proven themselves incapable of controlling.

“The council are not held to any standard and a Public Enquiry into this must happen for this and all local housing associations.”

He said that there are 10,000s of landlords who have been punished far more for far less serious matters, and that this will continue until the Public Enquiry takes place.

Mr Taylor said: “These articles show that the CEOs of these authorities are asleep at the wheel and incompetent, and at the same time the council staff in another department can punish private sector landlords who do the best they can, and spout lies and misinformation about landlords in the private rented sector, this is scandalous.

“How councils deal with Private Sector Landlords is the next Post Office scandal, and they will be exposed and held accountable for their actions.”

Original Post from propertyindustryeye.com

Government-backed loan fund known as the affordable homes scheme is getting a £3bn uplift, which is expected to deliver 20,000 new homes.

The expansion of the Affordable Homes Scheme, which provides low-cost loans to housing providers, will support thousands of new homes. For the first time, the scheme can also be used to upgrade existing properties, making them warm and decent for tenants.

Providers will be able to apply for loans to carry out vital building safety works, such as the removal of dangerous cladding.

Backed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the now £6bn fund will help housing providers access low-cost loans so they can expand their business, build more affordable homes and upgrade their existing stock.

Housing Minister Lee Rowley said:  “We know getting cost-effective loans can be a stumbling block for many developers building more affordable homes or upgrading their existing stock, so it is of the quality tenants deserve.

“This new round opening today will not only improve the lives of those already living in homes, but help thousands of families benefit from new, high-quality, affordable housing.”

Launched in 2020, the scheme, delivered by ARA Venn, is already helping 12 providers to deliver 6,290 new homes, with thousands more to be built in the coming years.

Among the beneficiaries of the scheme is Watford Community Housing. They first accessed the scheme back in November 2021 and it helped them build 200 new homes, including the firm’s first modular development.

As part of a second funding application made in December, they are set to build a further 100 affordable homes.

Watford Community housing deputy chief executive, Paul Richmond, said: “We were delighted to work with ARA Venn for a second time under the current Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme. The funding represents excellent value for the sector and offers best value for fixed rate debt for our organisation.

“The benefit of using the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme in terms of pricing over our 30-year plan is worth nearly 100 additional homes being delivered into our local community. This has significant commercial benefit to us but more importantly has a direct impact on the wider need to build more housing across the country.”

Richard Green, portfolio manager for AHGS20 and partner at ARA Venn, added:  “We are delighted that we will be able to provide low-cost loans to private registered providers across England to now facilitate investment in existing homes, in addition to new ones.

“We look forward to continuing and building on the success of the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme, that has already proved a key source of funding for the sector.

“This timely expansion of the scheme allows us to support the sector’s balancing of investment priorities between providing new homes and ensuring the quality and energy efficiency of existing homes.”

The government says it is making good progress and is on track to meet its manifesto commitment to build 1 million homes this Parliament and the target to deliver 300,000 homes a year remains.

This work is being supported by £10m investment to boost housing supply since the start of this Parliament. This is alongside the £11.5bn affordable homes programme, which will unlock £38bn in additional private investment.

Original Post from propertyindustryeye.com

Over 50 firefighters were called to YMCA Bournemouth on Westover Road at around 1.30am on December 18 after a fire erupted in one of the flats on the fifth floor.

Following an investigation by Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service it was found that a converted electric bike was the cause of the fire.

The fire service is now warning the public about potential fire risks with lithium-ion batteries and to only buy from reputable sellers.

A new analysis of the private rental sector suggests that between 800,000 and one million more homes are required to meet growing demand by 2031.

Savills – an estate agency which is a long-time stalwart of Build To Rent – has looked at the private rental sector overall, and not just BTR. It has calculated the propensity of different age groups to rent and applied this to government household projections.

• A total of 83% of landlords have had tenants breach their tenancy agreement
• Most common breaches include not keeping the property sufficiently clean
• Other breaches include keeping a pet without the landlord’s permission 

More than eight out of ten landlords say they have had a tenant breach their tenancy agreement, according to new research.

Direct Line surveyed 500 landlords in October and November last year and found that 83 per cent had experienced a tenancy breach.

The most common breaches included not keeping the property sufficiently clean and maintained – at 36 per cent – and failing to notify a landlord of required repairs at 29 per cent.

Other breaches include damaging or making alterations to the property, keeping a pet in the property, smoking or vaping in the property and redecorating without permission.

All of these other breaches were reported by more than a quarter of the landlords surveyed.

The most common sanction for broken tenancy agreements is to have money deducted from the tenant’s deposit, to issue the tenant with a written or verbal warning, or to ask the tenants to pay for the damages or work themselves.

Landlords are being urged by Direct Line to have their properties inspected regularly to help check for any breaches.

Left unaddressed, issues such as required repairs may cost more money to rectify if they are left in the long run.

Despite this, just over half of landlords – at 55 per cent – conduct six-monthly property inspections, according to the Direct Line research.

A further 21 per cent make only annual checks, while 10 per cent of landlords admit that they only visit their properties at the start and end of the tenancy.

Fourteen per cent of landlords visit their properties less often than that, or only if they suspect there is an issue.

Rates have dropped significantly since summer – with small lender Generation Home now leading the way

A new mortgage deal priced below 4 per cent has hit the market just before the new year, sparking hope rates could come down further in 2024.

Generation Home, a small lender, has today launched a five-year rate for 3.94 per cent for people with a 40 per cent deposit. This comes with a £999 fee, and is currently the cheapest rate on the market.

Despite the mortgage market usually getting quiet around Christmas time, lenders have continued to cut rates following a drop in inflation to 3.9 per cent in November.

The surprising drop in inflation was very good news for homeowners who could see mortgage deals drop even further in the coming weeks as a result, as pressure mounts on the Bank of England to cut interest rates.

Swap rates, a measure that indicates what the market thinks interest rates will be in future, fell by 0.2 points in just a few hours on both two and five-year fixed rates.

It comes following a tumultuous year for mortgage costs. At their highest average level, rates were 6.86 per cent for a two-year fix in July. Experts are predicting even more rates of below four per cent by early next year.

Any further changes will be affected by the base rate, which determines the rate at which the Bank of England lends to other banks. If it stays at 5.35 per cent of falls, which is is now predicted to do, as early as next March, it is likely that deals will also become better value.

David Hollingworth, associate director at L&C Mortgages, added: “Competition between lenders remains strong in a housing market with lower activity levels.

“As market expectation of the chance for the next move in base rate to be down has grown, lenders have passed through improvements in funding costs.

“Today’s news is likely to further that trend, which could soon see five-year fixed rates closing in on the four per cent marker.”

Lenders battle to lure customers as mortgage applications fall

Currently, an average two-year fix is 5.95 per cent and a five-year one is 5.55 per cent, according to the mortgage analytics firm Moneyfacts. However, much lower deals can be found.

Lenders started cutting rates towards the end of 2023 to lure more customers as the number of people applying for mortgages has fallen.

They will continue to make up for lost business in the new year, which could mean more criteria changes to try to soak up as much business as possible. For example, high-street lenders may try and take some of the business away from specialist lenders.

Chris Sykes of brokers Private Finance added: “While there is no crystal ball to determine what mortgage rates will be in 2024, it is looking increasingly likely that we have now passed the peaks of mortgage rates for the time being.”

Although not yet under 4 per cent, major lenders are offering cut-price deals, including Barclays, which earlier this week announced fixed-rate cuts of up to 0.43 percentage points. The cheapest rate it offers is now a five-year at 4.32 per cent, although it does come with a £1,999 product fee.

Halifax is offering a five-year fix at 4.28 per cent as of this week, down from 4.27 per cent.

Should rates stay (relatively) low, or fall further, first-time buyers are likely to benefit as lenders tend to offer cheaper purchase rates for new buyers than they do for those remortgaging.

Anyone on a standard variable rate, which tends to follow the base rate, are likely to find they are paying a similar rate to what they are already.

But for those on fixed rates about to end, although rates are coming down, they will still be likely find they are paying more than they were before, as thousands move off deals that were as low as one per cent.

Brokers suggest looking for a deal six months before your mortgage comes to an end, and locking in a new one. You will be able to change it nearer the time, if a better offer opens up, but will have one secured if rates increase again.

Original Post from inews.co.uk

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A landlord looks set to lose his leasehold flat after being caught renting it out on Airbnb by his freeholder.

A First Tier Property Tribunal ruled that Gabriel Ben-Soussan had breached the clause of the lease which stated it was not to be used other than as a single private residence “for occupation by an individual or an individual and his family as his or their only or principal home”.

It heard that the leasehold services team at Westminster City Council received a complaint that the one-bedroom ground floor flat in Harewood Avenue, central London (pictured), was being used for short-term letting.

It had also been tasked with removing two key safes that were fixed to the exterior wall of the building. It then wrote to Ben-Soussan, asking him to stop the practice.

Airbnb booking

When a council officer visited the property, thought to be worth about £643,000, he found a guest staying there who had booked it via Airbnb for the period of 2nd-17th July. The council confirmed that the flat had been advertised on www.booking.com and Airbnb.co.uk.

The judge said the property was not used as a single private residence by an individual or his family as their only or principal home, given that it was being used for short-term occupation by a paying stranger.

He added: “The tribunal finds, on the balance of probabilities, that the respondent, whether themselves or by an agent, advertised and allowed the property to be used as accommodation for paying guests in breach of clause 18 (a) of the seventh schedule of the lease.”

Ben-Soussan failed to take part in the tribunal proceedings. He has a month to appeal.

Original Post from landlordzone.

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