Author: tonu

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.

Looking for Property for Rent in London? At Homesearch Properties, we go above and beyond the typical standards to find you your dream home. Contact Us Now!

• Chancellor Jeremy Hunt set out the measures in the Autumn Statement 
• Supporters say it will create more homes, helping first-time buyers and renters
• But others have warned it could create controversy among neighbours 

The Government is planning to scrap the need for planning permission for property owners who want to convert a house into two flats.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the plan in the Autumn Statement as part of a package aimed at slashing red tape and increasing the number of new homes.

The new rule, known as a ‘permitted development right,’ will apply so long as the external appearance of the building does not change.

But the idea has already proved controversial.

Supporters believe it could lead to a greater supply of homes for both renters and homeowners, helping to combat increasingly unaffordable house prices and rents.

However, some worry that removing the need for sign-off from the local council could have a detrimental impact on communities, changing the character of neighbourhoods forever without giving residents their say.

We explain how the new system could work, and ask property experts for their thoughts on whether or not it is a good idea.

Peter Bill, co-author of Broken Homes: Britain’s Housing Crisis: Faults, Factoids and Fixes, says there will be pros and cons if the proposals are implemented.

‘Cutting red tape for those looking to convert is a good idea and should result in a marginal increase in the number of flats available.

‘The downsides are the inevitable parking problems, and the worries of long-term owners.

‘They may be thinking, “Will these new people affect the tone of the neighbourhood, and bring down the price of my house?”‘

What are permitted development rights?

In essence, permitted development rights cover the most significant changes someone can make to a home without needing planning permission.

The rules of permitted development are set by central Government, and they vary depending on whether you are in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Local authorities can also make amendments to permitted development rights within their areas, which means planning permission may be required for an extension in one place, and not in another.

It is also important to note that permitted development rights which apply to many common projects for houses, do not always apply to flats or maisonettes.

Paula Higgins, chief executive of the Homeowners Alliance says: ‘Permitted development rights entitle you to extend or renovate your home without the need for a full planning application.’

‘This is a fantastic option for anyone who is looking to avoid the subjective nature of a traditional planning application – not to mention the administration, time and costs involved.’

Why could the plans prove unpopular?

Other notable permitted development rights already in place include the right to extend a building’s height by one or two storeys in some circumstances, and to convert certain office buildings into flats.

Both of these have also been controversial and viewed by some as watering down safeguards to over-development.

He says: ‘This idea is similar to the one where you can build on rooftops – it sounds great in theory but doesn’t suit every area, particularly those where there is a pre-dominance of family housing.

‘While you may not be changing the external appearance of the property, you are changing the culture and making it multi-occupation, which could have a detrimental effect on the community.

‘The character of the area needs to be taken into consideration, along with practical concerns such as the potential increase in parking created by having more households in one property.

‘But on the other hand, in areas where there is a greater mix of accommodation and perhaps a lack of affordable property to rent or buy, it could be a good idea.

‘Whatever is implemented, there needs to be careful control to make sure it doesn’t cause more problems than it solves.

‘We don’t know what right of objection neighbours will have. It is important that there is an objective assessment in terms of parking or the character of the neighbourhood.’

Concerns have also been raised about the quality of the homes created when existing buildings are sub-divided into smaller units, and about the need to retain a supply of larger properties for families who need them.

Who benefits from permitted development rights?

The proposals will be attractive to some homeowners, landlords and developers as they could make sizeable returns on their investments by converting houses into flats and then selling them on or renting them out.

Although not true of all neighbourhoods, a house divided into two flats will tend to sell or let for more than if it was left as an individual home.

‘Two flats tend to be worth more than a single house, in selected areas,’ adds Peter Bill.  ‘The ability to turn a detached home or even big Victorian semis into a pair of apartments without planning permission could work well for the owner or landlord.

‘Squeezing two pokey flats into a terraced house can also be profitable, as a legion of landlords can testify.’

The changes could also be beneficial for both renters and aspiring first-time buyers.

There are growing concerns that the rental market is suffering from a severe housing shortage.

There are roughly 4.6 million households within the private rented sector, according to Government figures, representing 19 per cent of all households in England.

Meanwhile, the social housing sector is made up for a further 4 million households representing 17 per cent of the housing stock.

In recent years, more private landlords have been exiting the market than entering it, all the while demand from renters is increasing.

By the end of this year, private landlords will have sold almost 300,000 more homes than they have bought since 2016, according to analysis by the estate agent Hamptons.

This is putting upward pressure on rents. In the last three years between October 2020 and October this year, the average UK rent has risen by almost 32 per cent from £974 a month to £1,283, according to the Homelet Rental Index.

Leaf says: ‘In the right areas and circumstances, the new permitted development right will potentially provide more affordable accommodation which is in such short supply to rent.

‘This should help keep prices and rents in check so if properly controlled, it will be a good idea.

‘It was always that way anyway with conversions but it remains to be seen what difference this proposal will make.

‘It should alleviate pressures on housebuilding and provide a greater supply of property for rent, particularly smaller, affordable properties, which are in short supply.’

Meanwhile, barriers to becoming a homeowner remain high, with first-time buyer mortgage lending down by almost a quarter in the last year, according to UK Finance.

Earlier this year Leeds Building Society revealed that 426,000 fewer first-time buyers would be able to buy their first home over the next 5 years compared to the past 40-year average if current economic projections play out.

If it becomes easier for homeowners, landlords and developers to divide a house into flats this could benefit the buyers alongside renters.

Henry Pryor, a professional buying agent, welcomed the proposals.

‘It’s actually quite a clever idea,’ says Pryor. ‘Increase the housing stock without actually building anything new.

‘Does it solve all our problems? No, it doesn’t – but like converting commercial buildings – offices in old houses in the High Street for instance – this will make a positive contribution to the housing stock.

‘It may make a significant impact on the supply of available rented properties at a time when they are badly needed.

‘There will doubtless be some chancers who try to take advantage of the initiative, but on balance and perhaps unusually I think that this is a good idea and will make a positive difference to people.

‘Whilst he could and should have done much more for housing I say – two cheers for the Chancellor.’

However, Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons believes the changes will have minimal impact.

‘Generally we don’t think this policy will have much of an impact at all,’ says Beveridge.

‘If anything, it’s more likely to provide developers and landlords clarity and scope to split a house into multiple dwellings, which could increase densification for homes in some areas.

‘First-time buyers are unlikely to want to take on the work, particularly given the costs associated with purchasing a larger home and then do the works to divide it up.

‘As always, the devil’s in the detail and it will be interesting to see what the criteria is to keep the façade the same. For many houses, this simply won’t be possible.’

Could it lead to a shortage of larger homes?

There are also concerns that it could lead to a shortage of exactly the type of homes that are currently in short supply.

According to Zoopla, there is currently a larger disparity between supply and demand for three-bedroom homes than any other type of property in the UK.

Zoopla says that this impacts those going from their first home to a larger property, but it also impacts first-time buyers who make up a third of the market.

The average first time buyer is now 34, compared to 30 a decade ago, meaning many now need a family-sized home from the get-go.

Daniel Copley, consumer expert at Zoopla said: ‘We know that three bedroom homes are very popular for families and first-time buyers, but there are simply not enough on the market.’

Jeremy Leaf adds: ‘It could mean fewer larger homes, which is why there needs to be some control.

‘This is what planning offices and local authorities are for. It doesn’t have to be full planning permission, but a bit like with extensions and loft permissions, just some checks and balances.’

When will new permitted development rules come into force?

The policy is set to be consulted on early in the new year and then implemented later in 2024.

Paul Higgins of the Homeowners Alliance says the government doesn’t have a good track record on extending permitted development rights.

‘The quality element can be missing and is too often not up to standard, as we have seen with these office to flat conversions,’ says Higgins.

‘Standards need to be maintained as deregulation in this area does mean a greater risk of bad conversions – for example, minimum space standards are often not adhered to.

‘And unlike when you buy a new home, buyers of these conversions will not be given a warranty.

‘Potential buyers will need to be educated about the risks and an independent survey will be a must.

‘Newly converted flats without planning permission should be required to be subject to more stringent building control checks.’

Original Post from thisismoney.co.uk

The UK’s Office for National Statistics will soon have access to data on short-term lets listed on Airbnb, Booking .com and Expedia Group as a result of a new sharing agreement.There has long been criticism of the short lets sector for an absence of hard data on its size and growth; in turn, critics of local authorities and politicians who have spoken of the alleged detrimental impact of short lets have suggested they may have exaggerated the effect of the sector on the wider rental market of uk property market. The cross-platform initiative to provide data was brokered by the Short Term Accommodation Association (STAA) and means anonymised and aggregated UK data will be published for the first time from spring 2024. It will include the number of guests using short-term let platforms and the number of nights booked. Data will be shared on a quarterly basis.

Amanda Cupples, Northern Europe General Manager at Airbnb, says: “At Airbnb we want to help strengthen communities, support tourism, and boost income of local families. This data will be a vital resource for authorities at all levels to better understand short-term letting activity in their communities, and capture the positive benefits of tourism.”

The STAA’s research director, Louise Birritteri, says: “This agreement marks a pivotal moment for short term lets in the UK, demonstrating its commitment to responsible data sharing with public authorities such as the ONS. We expect this data to illustrate the positive impact that short-term lets bring to the UK tourism economy, while also empowering public authorities with the insights they need to make informed, data-driven policy decisions, ensuring a balanced approach that benefits both local communities and the broader economy.”

The announcement comes ahead of a government response to consultations on new rules for short-term lets in England later this year.

Back in the spring the government consulted on new measures designed to control the rise in short lets; the proposed planning changes would allow councils to stop homes being turned into short lets; there has been a separate consultation on a national registration scheme for short lets.

Looking for Property for Rent in London? Contact Homesearch Properties Now!

Want to comment on this story? If so…if any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals on any basis, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.

Original Post from landlordtoday.co.uk

Landlords in the capital’s prime rental sector are facing a stark choice between topping up a rent shortfall or selling up.

Luxury residential property expert, Jo Eccles, reports that highly leveraged landlords are coming under serious cost pressures as fixed rate mortgage deals come to an end. Stress testing by lenders means some are finding they can borrow 30% less than before, forcing them to make up the shortfall or sell.

The founder and MD of Eccord, which manages £1.5 billion worth of residential property in prime central London for portfolio and individual landlords, says: “Those with the financial flexibility are reorganising their finances to pay down debt and raising rents by an average of 15% at renewal, but it isn’t always enough to meet their increased borrowing and service charge costs – which are up 30% in some buildings.”

One landlord has seen his mortgage repayments more than double from £4,000 a month to £9,000 a month and can’t sell due to cladding issues.

Rent increase

“We’ve secured him a significant rent increase of 19% but he has still swung from a monthly surplus to a £2,000 shortfall, which he’s having to personally top up each month.

“This illustrates that the challenges landlords are facing can’t always be resolved with rent increases alone.”

Some now have no choice but to exit the market which will further diminish supply and cause more hardship for tenants, believes Eccord.

“For landlords who are able and committed to remaining in the market long term, we are seeing them review their existing arrangements,” she adds.

“Many are choosing to move away from underperforming letting agents or property managers with high staff turnover, as they recognise the importance of tenant experience now more than ever, if they’re to achieve high rent increases.”

Original Post from  landlordzone.co.uk

Insolvencies rocket as army of small firms – seen as backbone of the sector – struggle with falling demand, rising interest rates and higher costs.

It’s tough out there,” says Steve Midgley, the managing director of Fairgrove Homes. His east Midlands firm, which builds about 50 homes a year, is one of Britain’s army of small housebuilders that are struggling with falling demand, rising interest rates, labour shortages, and high material and wage costs.

“It’s taking longer for people to sell their own house,” says Midgley. “So it’s taking vastly longer to exchange contracts. After the reservation, we’re talking three or four months, whereas at one time we’d have had that down to four to six weeks. And that all puts stress on the working capital, the work in progress and everything.”

Cracks in the housebuilding market – a key barometer of consumer confidence – are growing by the day. Barratt Developments, one of the largest housebuilders in the UK, recently said it would build 20% fewer homes this year. Taylor Wimpey, another big builder, has said the share of its first-time buyers taking on mortgages of more than 36 years has almost quadrupled since 2021 to 27%.

Cameron Homes, a family-owned firm based in Staffordshire, is offering discounts and free extras, such as carpets and upgrades, to persuade hesitant buyers.

“We are having to negotiate with purchasers,” says Kate Tait, the firm’s land and planning director who previously worked at the much bigger builder Persimmon. “People are taking quite a lot longer to commit to the purchase of a house because of the uncertainty around what it’s going to cost on interest rates. Not just for the first two years, but what’s going to happen beyond that.”

The Bank of England’s sharp hike in rates since December 2021’s record lows – increasing them to a 15-year-high of 5.25% last week – has sent shockwaves through the housebuilding industry.

Midgley says: “People are much more risk averse and they want to see a house nearly finished before they commit. In the last few years we’ve been selling plots at a very early build stage and in some cases before they were started and that has been a real shift change.”

House prices across the UK fell at the fastest annual pace in 14 years last month, the Nationwide building society said recently. Prices have declined by 4% since the peak last summer, and economists say they have further to fall. However, a full-blown housing crash – during which prices fall by 20% or more – looks unlikely to happen, with unemployment low and more people on fixed-mortgage deals than during the financial crisis.

The downturn has forced the big housebuilders to drastically scale back their projects and land-buying, and sales and profits have taken a big hit. Barratt is on course for a double-digit fall in annual profits, while Taylor Wimpey’s are expected to halve.

Cameron expects to deliver between 200 and 220 homes this year, down from the 250 to 300 it usually builds in a year. But Tait says newbuilds are still popular as they are cheaper to run, with lower energy bills and fewer home improvements needed than older properties.

Midgley says: “We still have demand. As always, good locations are key and correct pricing.” Fairgrove’s biggest project is at a former brewery site in Kimberley, Nottingham, where a two-bedroom apartment costs £195,000.

According to Aynsley Lammin, a building analyst at the banking and wealth management group Investec, the total number of UK homes completed in 2023 could be down by 25% on last year’s figure of 177,400 before recovering slightly to 135,700 in 2024.

He expects “this downturn to be very painful but not as bad as during the financial crisis of 2007-08”, when housebuilding slumped 40% from peak to trough and prices fell by 20%.

The latest housing downturn will feed into weakness in the wider economy. Housebuilding is worth about 3% of the UK’s economic output and Charlie Campbell, an analyst at stockbrokers Liberum, expects newbuild completions to fall by about 20%, resulting in a 0.6% hit to gross domestic product this year – with smaller firms feeling the pain more than bigger ones.

“The big builders in the UK have got lots of cash on the balance sheet,” he says. “Smaller builders tend to run for debt and they have the problem that debt’s costing them more and more and is probably less and less available. The other problem is that the large ones have lots of land. Therefore, delays are not a huge problem. But for some of the smaller ones planning and other delays really make it pretty difficult.”

While the large builders dominate the headlines, Britain’s 342,000 small and medium-sized construction firms are regarded as the backbone of the industry. The problems are mounting: construction has had more insolvencies than any other sector in the past year and accounted for almost one in five of all business failures in recent months. Between April and June, 1,122 construction firms went bust, the most since spring 2009, according to the Insolvency Service.

The construction industry suffered more insolvencies than any other sector in April-June 2023

Quarterly insolvencies in England and Wales, top five sectors

The effects are being felt at the building materials suppliers Travis Perkins and Marshalls, which have both warned of lower profits in recent months. Marshalls is making further job cuts and is closing a factory.

Nick Roberts, the chief executive of Travis Perkins, says: “We’ve seen some customers hold back because they are concerned about their mortgage rates. They are just not confident to press ‘go’ on a home improvement project.”

The cost of building materials rocketed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year, but has eased in recent months. Prices for timber and steel are falling, but those for concrete and related products are still rising.

The number of small housebuilders has plummeted from about 12,000 in the 1980s to just over 1,000 today, according to the Federation of Master Builders. Back then, it took six to eight weeks from submitting a planning application to getting the first spade in the ground, according to Steve Morgan, who founded the housebuilder Redrow as a small firm in the 1980s. Today, it takes months or years until everything is approved.

Jennie Daly, the chief executive of Taylor Wimpey, describes the planning system as “extremely challenging”, saying that while requirements for housebuilders have become more complex, local authority planning resources have more than halved since 2010.

The UK has long had a housing shortage as the population has grown faster than homes have been built, sending rents and house prices soaring. According to the Centre for Cities thinktank, the housing market is missing 4.3m homes that could have been built since the 1950s, but were not because of outdated planning regulations.

Tait thinks the planning system is too politicised. “In the UK, it’s become such a political hot potato, the location of new housing, that we’re simply failing to deliver anywhere near the amount of housing that we need,” she says.

Shortages of bricklayers, plasterers and other construction workers – caused in part by Brexit and an ageing workforce – have also hampered the sector. The government recently added them to its “shortage occupation list”, making it easier for foreign builders to come to Britain.

“It’s a year too late. We needed that a year ago. They’re doing that just as people are slowing down,” says Midgley.

Original Post from theguardian.com

A well-known lettings agency has made the shocking move of asking a landlord to be a guarantor for their own tenants, it has been revealed.

Julie Ford, who is a mediator at PRS Mediation, says a female landlord has been in touch with her to ask her for help with a problem and during the discussions revealed she was named as guarantor for her own tenants.

This highly unusual situation means that, should the tenants stop paying the rent, it will be her who covers their payments.

The landlord was asked by her lettings agency to be the guarantor after it was recommended that she take out rent guarantee insurance as one of the two people renting the property had an insecture job and therefore the insurance company involved asked that they provide a guarantor, paperwork for which Ford has been shown.

The situation came to Ford’s attention after the landlord had requested vacant possession of the property when her circumstnaces changed and she needed to move back in. But her lettings agency had already renewed the rental contract without telling her – which led Ford to look at the paperwork more closely.

The landlord has been advised to seek specialist legal counsel to effect an eviction, and is expected to report the lettings agency to the relevant redress scheme and/or Trading Standards.

Baffled

“I am baffled by this and am don’t even understand how the rent guarantee insurance company could have allowed this to go through,” says Ford in a video that has gone viral. “Someone clearly isn’t looking at the admin.”

She also suggests that using landlords as guarantors for their own tenants may be a new ruse used by some lettings agencies during the cost of living crisis to fill properties when tenants fail referencing or rent guarantees insurance is required but the tenants cannot provide a guarantor.

It’s certainly a loophole – the various industry codes of conduct make no reference to the practice and for example both the PRS redress schemes make it clear in their codes of conduct that guarantors are separate to landlords and tenants, but don’t exclude a landlord being the guarantor.

But as Ford points out, most landlords would not want to end up paying the rent for their own tenants and should refuse such a request.

Original Post from landlordzone.co.uk

If you live in a flat, or are considering buying one, your mortgage lender may ask to see the building’s EWS1 form. Here’s everything you need to know about EWS1 forms, who needs one, how to get one, who pays and the associated issues.

In the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire disaster new fire safety regulations were brought in for cladding on residential buildings. To ensure external wall systems (EWS) were properly assessed for fire safety, the EWS1 form was introduced in 2018.

The form is evidence that a building with potentially combustible cladding has had a fire safety assessment. When first introduced, they were only required for buildings over 18m or six storeys in height. But, in 2020, the rules were changed to include all residential buildings of any height. Then, in August 2021, the rules changed again so an EWS1 is not required for buildings under 18m.

To get an EWS1 certificate, a qualified professional will conduct a fire-risk appraisal of the external wall system, or cladding. They will then sign the EWS1 form. One EWS1 form covers the whole building and is valid for five years in England and Wales. In Scotland, separate EWS1 certificates may be needed for each flat.

The EWS1 form, also known as an EWS1 certificate, was intended to reassure lenders so that mortgages can be offered on flats within a building that has cladding.

The EWS1 form isn’t the same as a fire safety assessment of the building. It is a report for valuers and lenders conducted by a specialist fire engineer of the external wall construction.

Based on that assessment, the building will be assigned one of the following ratings:

Option A – External wall materials are unlikely to support combustion. Split into:

• A1 – There is no cladding that contains significant quantities of combustible material
• A2 – A risk assessment of cladding has taken place and no remedial works are required
• A3 – Cladding is unlikely to support combustion but remedial works may still be needed

Option B – The cladding contains combustible materials. Then your building can be:

• B1 – The fire risk is low enough that remedial works are not required
• B2 – The fire risk is high enough to require remedial work

EWS1 and mortgages – what’s the latest?

Six of the UK’s biggest banks have updated their policies following new guidance published in December 2022 by RICS, which guides valuers on how to take into account any agreed remediation funding and timelines when forming an opinion on the value of properties in blocks of flats with cladding.

The lenders said they would offer mortgages on properties in blocks above 11 metres where there are safety issues providing an agreed remediation plan funded by either the government or a developer is in place. While some lenders may lend to leaseholders who are covered by protections in the Building Safety Act, even where a plan is not in place.

However, there are some variations in banks’ policies. For example, Santander will reportedly consider mortgage applications in England on properties in buildings ‘irrespective of the building’s height or whether remediation work has commenced, provided the correct evidence is shared’. And that it won’t require an EWS1 form ‘unless specifically requested’. While Lloyds Banking Group said it updated its position on 19 December stating it will no longer require an EWS1 form to ‘progress applications’ for properties in England that are in buildings five storeys or higher.

While this is hopefully positive news for some people living or wanting to sell homes that may be affected by this issue, time will tell how it works in practice. And if this does impact you it’s a good idea to chat it through with a fee-free mortgage broker who will be able to give you the run down on each lender’s positions.

My building does not have cladding, do I need an EWS1 form?

If your building doesn’t have cladding, or a wooden balcony, then it should not require an EWS1 form. However, don’t assume you don’t have cladding. Buildings can look as if they are built from traditional materials, but it is actually a brick or stone slip external wall system which is classed as cladding. Even some brick or stone-built properties may need an EWS1 form if they have decorative panels that require a fire assessment.

When do I need an EWS1 form?

If you are the leaseholder or freeholder of a property in a building that requires an EWS1 form, then you may need it when you are dealing with mortgage valuers ie when it comes to selling your home or remortgaging with a new mortgage provider. EWS1 certificates are not a legal requirement but mortgage lenders may require an EWS1 for them to offer a mortgage on properties within that building.

An EWS1 certificate allows valuers to know that your building has undergone a fire safety assessment and helps them to put a value on the property that considers whether remedial works are needed.

Which lenders don’t require an EWS1 form?

Lloyds Banking Group has stated it will no longer require an EWS1 form to ‘progress applications’ for properties in England that are in buildings five storeys or higher. But for the most up to date information on which lender don’t require an EWS1 form it’s a good idea to speak to an expert fee-free mortgage broker.

Who arranges an EWS1 certificate?

It is the building owner’s responsibility to arrange the fire safety assessment and subsequent EWS1 certificate. Leaseholders, valuers and lenders cannot arrange for an EWS1, only the legal owner of the building can do so.

The Fire Safety Act 2021 stipulates that a Fire Risk Assessment of a residential building must now include any cladding. This means if your building’s Fire Risk Assessment is several years old it won’t have included the external wall system. It is the owner of the building’s legal duty to have an up-to-date Fire Risk Assessment.

If the freeholder of your building is refusing to arrange everything for an EWS1 form, your first step should be to get together with other leaseholders in your building and write to the owner as a group. That will add additional pressure and hopefully resolve the problem. If not, you can approach your local council for assistance.

How do I get hold of my building’s EWS1 form?

If your building has an EWS1 form, you should be able to get it from the owner of your building. Alternatively, you may be able to find it on the Building Safety Information Portal, but there have been delays in getting all existing EWS1 forms uploaded onto the website.

How much does an EWS1 form cost?

The cost of the initial fire risk assessment (needed before an EWS1 certificate is produced) varies depending on the size of your building and the amount of cladding that needs to be assessed. Typically, it costs at least £6,000 but can rise to over £20,000 if the situation is particularly complex.

It is the freeholder’s responsibility to pay the bill, but they could pass a portion of those costs onto the leaseholders. It will typically depend on the terms of the lease between the building owner (the freeholder) and the leaseholders as to who pays for specific maintenance or safety works.

If there is no specific mention of fire risk assessments in the lease, the freeholder may still be able to use other wording in the lease (for example, in a ‘sweeping up’ clause) to justify passing on the cost to leaseholders.

If leaseholders are asked to pay, the cost is usually included in the annual service charge.

It shouldn’t cost you anything to get hold of a copy of your building’s EWS1 form.

Do I need an EWS1 to remortgage?

If the property you want to remortgage is in a building with cladding your lender may ask to see the EWS1 form – but this varies by lender and also on factors like how tall your building is and how much of it is covered in cladding. 

If there is unsafe cladding on my building what then?

If your building has unsafe cladding it will be marked on the EWS1 form as either B1 or B2. B1 means that the risk isn’t significant to require remedial work. B2 means the cladding needs remedial work to make it safe.

If your building is over 11m tall, the government will pay for the unsafe cladding to be removed. The cost is being covered by a fund which major housing developers are paying into.

A new Residential Property Developers Tax was announced in February 2021 to raise funds to help cover the cost of making cladding safe.

At present, it is still the leaseholders who will foot the bill for remedial works on buildings that are under 11m in height. However, the government has announced that it doesn’t want leaseholders to be liable and is working on plans to help residents of lower-rise buildings.

Original Post from hoa.org.uk

Michael Gove has slammed one of Britain’s biggest social landlords for letting tenants down.

The housing secretary told L&Q: “You have failed your residents”. He also called the chief executive of housing provider to a meeting after the housing ombudsman ordered the landlord to pay tenants more than £140,000 in compensation.

The move follows a special investigation revealed it was “dismissive” of tenants and found “severe maladministration”, including in tackling disrepair and antisocial behaviour.

L&Q, which rents out more than 105,000 homes in England, primarily in London, the south-east and the north-west, “failed to consistently identify damp and mould” as a key problem, disregarded its own antisocial behaviour policy and presided over “a period of significant failure” as a landlord, said Richard Blakeway, the housing ombudsman.

Responses to complaints were marked by “a lack of listening” and were “overtly dismissive, heavy handed and lacking in respect” in some cases, the ombudsman said. There was a “repeated failure to respond fairly to vulnerable residents, especially where the resident had a disability or mental health problems”.

Blakeway said his special investigation into L&Q found that “resident concerns were repeatedly dismissed or poorly handled, without the respect they or their issues deserved. Crucially, the needs of vulnerable residents were not always identified, and too often this caused serious detriment and risk to them”.

He said: “The landlord consistently failed to take sufficient action on its own monitoring and warning signs that were evident in its complaints and independent reviews – leading to a prolonged period of decline, especially in areas like repairs and complaints handling. Rather than address the core issues, the landlord continued to firefight individual issues.”

In a letter to Fiona Fletcher-Smith, the chief executive of the association, Gove said he was “deeply shocked and disappointed” to discover the landlord’s failings had caused residents

“unacceptable” and “prolonged periods of distress”.

“This is unacceptable,” he said. “You have stopped listening to your residents’ voices, and failed to deliver the service that they should expect … in some cases you were described as having been ‘heavy handed’, ‘dismissive’ and even ‘callous’ and ‘confrontational’ … You must take immediate action to remedy these severe failings.”

Fletcher-Smith said: “My senior leadership colleagues and I are personally contacting the residents whose complaints the ombudsman judged to have involved service failure or maladministration on our part. We have apologised for the completely unacceptable service they have received. L&Q has let them down, and I’m truly sorry for that.”

Original Post from propertyindustryeye.com

LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recommitted on Monday to promises to boost homebuilding by the next election to tackle a lack of housing stock that has alienated many younger voters who pay high rents and are unable to buy.

With a national election expected next year, Sunak’s governing Conservatives have witnessed a collapse of support among younger voters, who are frustrated at being priced out of owning their own homes and are struggling with high childcare costs.

Housing has long been a contentious area for the Conservatives. Some of its lawmakers in rural areas do not want to see an increase in building while those in more urban regions want more homes built quickly.

Sunak and his housing minister Michael Gove said they would concentrate new house building in urban areas while protecting the countryside.

“Today I can confirm that we will meet our manifesto commitment to build 1 million homes over this parliament,” Sunak told reporters, using a term that refers to the time between the 2019 election and the next vote.

“We won’t do that by concreting over the countryside – our plan is to build the right homes where there is the most need and where there is local support, in the heart of Britain’s great cities.”

Earlier this month, a parliamentary committee said the government was on track to deliver 1 million new homes by the next election, but was not forecast to deliver another promise to build 300,000 net new homes per year by the mid-2020s, largely because of uncertainty over planning policy reform.