Year: 2020

The government has yet to give explicit guidance relating to private rental maintenance, but new advice this morning appears to shed some light on the issue.

While Propertymark says the government is still looking into private rental maintenance tasks such as gas safety checks, a statement at 7am today from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government offers more clarity.

It says:

Work carried out in people’s homes, for example by tradespeople carrying out repairs and maintenance, can continue, provided that the tradesperson is well and has no symptoms.

Again, it will be important to ensure that Public Health England guidelines, including maintaining a two metre distance from any household occupants, are followed to ensure everyone’s safety.

No work should be carried out in any household which is isolating or where an individual is being shielded, unless it is to remedy a direct risk to the safety of the household, such as emergency plumbing or repairs, and where the tradesperson is willing to do so. In such cases, Public Health England can provide advice to tradespeople and households.

No work should be carried out by a tradesperson who has coronavirus symptoms, however mild.

However, agents and landlords may still be wary of sending in maintenance staff.

In practical terms, many builders’ merchants are closed.

And wider issues such as liability should a tradesperson either apparently picks up or apparently transmits Coronavirus while working in an occupied property remain uncertain.

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Labour is on the warpath against the government following the surprise contents of the Coronavirus Emergency Bill, apparently watering down the eviction ban.

Last week, the government pledged to introduce a ‘complete eviction ban and additional protections for renters’ affected by Coronavirus, but the Bill which has now become law simply extends the notice required for possession from two months to three.

John Healey MP, Labour’s shadow housing secretary, says: “With this legislation, Boris Johnson has broken his promise to the country’s 20 million renters.

“This is not an evictions ban, as Labour argued for, and renters were eventually promised by Boris Johnson. This legislation does not stop people losing their homes as a result of coronavirus, it just gives them some extra time to pack their bags.

“It beggars belief that the government is not willing to make this simple change. We even wrote to ministers to give them the legislation that would provide the protections renters need: to ban evictions and suspend rental payments beyond the crisis.

“This is the help already promised for struggling home-owners from government and mortgage lenders.

“Coronavirus is a public health emergency, it need not become a crisis of housing and homelessness too. But this will happen if the government continues to refuse to take the most basic steps to keep people in their homes.”

The Coronavirus Bill has now passed into law and cannot be amended.

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A pet care company claims that millions of private renters are being denied the benefits of pet ownership because of landlords and tenancy agreements.

Mars Petcare UK commissioned polling firm YouGov to speak with 1,007 tenants.

Apparently 64 per cent said they would like a pet but have delayed getting one because of landlords and tenancy agreements; however, the same survey says 43 per cent of tenants had a pet-friendly rental policy allowing them to keep animals.

Asked if they would like to own a pet in future, 59 per cent said they would be keen to do so; 53 per cent said they would be likely to consider a longer tenancy if pet ownership was supported by their landlord.

Just under a third of those surveyed who do have a pet and have moved into a private rented property since June 1 last year said they had to pay additional costs or been subject to additional conditions in their contract.

The pet care company has won support from activists’ group Generation Rent.

Its campaigns manager Georgie Laming says: “Pets are a large part of making a house a home and whatever your tenure you should be able to keep a pet. Tenants with pets are more likely to want a stable, long term home, which benefits landlords in the long run. “Whilst we welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment to updating the model tenancy agreement to make renting fairer for pet owners it’s clear that further measures are needed to guarantee the rights of renters to own pets.”

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Landlords who own domestic private rented properties have until 1st April this year to ensure that their property complies with the ‘Minimum Level of Energy Efficiency’ standard EPC band E.

This will apply to any domestic private rented properties that are let under an assured tenancy, a regulated tenancy or a domestic agricultural tenancy, as well as any other property that is required to have an EPC.

The Guild’s Compliance Manager, Paul Offley, says that if a property has been marketed for sale or let, or has been modified in the past 10 years, then the likelihood is that the property will require an EPC. If the property has an EPC rating of F or G, the landlord will have until the cut-off date on 1st April this year to ensure that the necessary steps have been taken to improve its rating to at least a minimum band E or register for an exception.

Offley explains: “The Domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) is not something new and has been around and with us for a number of years, however, this year is the final cut-off date before the prohibition on letting F and G properties will be extended to all relevant properties, regardless of whether there has been a change in the tenancy. After the deadline, if the local authority believes that a landlord has failed to fulfil their obligations under the MEES Regulations, they will issue a compliance notice, and if a breach is confirmed, the landlord will face a possible financial penalty.

“Landlords have had time to either improve the efficiency rating or apply for an exemption – but lettings agents need to be sure that they are able to demonstrate compliance with the legislation from 1st April 2020,” says Offley. “The Guild of Property Professionals has been advising its Members on this impending date for several months to ensure a smooth transition for landlords and tenants – our mission is to ensure our Members are fully prepared and ready for any new or changes to legislation and looking at what is on the horizon over the next few months, this is going to keep us fairly busy.”

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The three month outright eviction ban pledged to renters last week appears to have been watered down in the Coronavirus Emergency Bill passed by Parliament yesterday.

Last week, the government pledged to introduce a ‘complete ban on evictions and additional protections for renters’ affected by coronavirus.

However, the Coronavirus Emergency Bill merely extends the notice required for possession from two months to three: the Labour Party and campaign groups have complained about the change.

It’s unknown whether this was an error in drafting – the government is under extreme pressure currently – or an intentional change of mind.

This morning a Generation Rent spokeswoman said: “This legislation fails to deliver on these promises in every respect. All these measures do is extend the notice period for evictions to three months, which will provide little comfort to those faced with losing their homes in the midst of a pandemic.

“Equally worrying is the lack of provision made for rent arrears, which will stack up in the three month period. Many renters will end up with thousands of pounds worth of debt and no means of paying it off.

“Landlords and tenants are expected to ‘work together’ to find a solution to suit both parties from June onwards – but there’s absolutely nothing to stop landlords from evicting tenants if they can’t pay. Eviction is the leading cause of homelessness, so the government must act now to avoid another crisis in three months’ time.”

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The government’s announcement that no new eviction proceedings from either social or private rented accommodation can start for at least three months has been welcomed by Citizens Advice.

“This news will come as a huge relief to many people. These are extraordinary times and it’s great to see the government stepping up and acting quickly to make sure people don’t lose their social or private rented accommodation as a result of this crisis” says Dame Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice.

“We called for an end to evictions as part of our package of measures to help protect people from the worst financial impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic” she adds.

“The government should now rapidly introduce a wider range of support to protect people’s incomes, including increasing sick pay and ensuring benefits give people enough to live on.”

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Newly released data from intermediary-only, specialist lender, Foundation Home Loans, has revealed that as many as 70% of UK landlords anticipate there will be further Government intervention in the private rental and buy to let sectors during 2020.

According to the numbers of those PRS and buy to let sectors landlords who anticipate further Government action, 73% believe it is either quite, or very, likely this will mean the introduction of minimum tenancy terms, while the same number think action is likely in the HMO and multi-unit block sector. 72% of landlords think individual licensing for all landlords and their properties is likely, while 38% can envisage a rental cap for private rental properties being introduced.

The landlord research – undertaken by BVA BDRC and carried out in January 2020 with the results based on 791 online interviews – also asked landlords their views on how supportive of a rental cap they were. 77% were not in favour, 12% said they may be in favour, 2% definitely supported such a measure while 9% didn’t know.

When asked what action they would take should any cap on rents be introduced in the PRS and buy to let sectors, 35% said they would immediately increase all rents to the maximum rent allowable, 33% said they would consider selling some of their portfolio, 20% didn’t know, while 19% would either look at leaving the PRS or at other assets for their investment. 10% said they would do nothing.

Even with large numbers of landlords anticipating further interventionist measures from the new Government, overall respondents tended to be neutral on whether December’s General Election result would be either positive or negative for them. 26% thought positive, 28% thought negative, while 38% thought neither. However, landlords who held more properties within their portfolios were more likely to be positive about the impact.

When asked why they might feel positive or negative, those citing the former suggested there was now more certainty with regard to Brexit, it was positive that the Labour Party had not won and the Conservative Party were traditionally more ‘friendly’ to landlords; while those who felt negative worried about the abolition of ‘no-fault’ S21 evictions, increased legislation, or ‘anti-landlord’ policies being introduced.

The issue of abolishing S21 evictions was a major concern with 53% of landlords saying they would feel much less confident about their portfolios if this was introduced, while 30% said it would make them feel slightly less confident. 34% said they would be unlikely to buy any further properties, 33% would consider exiting the sector, while 31% said they would consider reducing the size of their portfolios.

Overall, there is however a greater degree of landlord optimism than in previous iterations of the research – the metric used to show this is up for the first time in over a year, while 25% reported tenant demand had increased from the last quarter (up 3%), with those landlords who own 11-plus properties now much more positive on rental yields and the financial market as a whole. Those with more than six properties were also much more positive about their own letting business compared to smaller portfolio landlords.

Jeff Knight, Director of Marketing at Foundation Home Loans, said: “While many landlords look like they’re taking a ‘wait and see’ approach to this Government and any anticipated intervention in the PRS and/or buy-to-let market, it’s also noticeable that many believe the status quo is unlikely to hold and there will be action of some kind.

“Interestingly, landlords appear resigned to the introduction of minimum tenancy terms, further action with regards to HMOs and MUBs and individual licensing. And while 38% think a rental cap might be likely, there is very little support for such a measure being introduced, and it will result in landlords having to take action around the rents they charge and whether they can hold onto all their properties.

“There is definitely a degree of uncertainty around what might be coming next, and I suspect many PRS and buy to let sectors landlords are waiting for this month’s Budget before they make up their minds more fully on whether this is a Government which will be more ‘friendly’ to landlords.

“Of those who think there will be intervention, 32% think stamp duty for landlords is just as likely to go up from its 3% extra charge level, as opposed to the 7% who think a cut is likely. In that sense, landlords appear to be bracing themselves for a Budget which may not be in their favour, rather than one which seeks to roll-back on the measures which have undoubtedly impacted on their profitability over the last few years.

“Clearly landlords do not want to see S21 evictions removed as an option for them, but at the same time, there appears to be a growing level of confidence in their own businesses, especially for those who own larger numbers of properties. This perhaps taps into the move towards portfolio operators in the sector who can certainly benefit from strong lending options and a highly competitive mortgage market to help them meet their aims and ambitions for their businesses.”

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According to the most recent data released by smart home specialist, Somfy, some of the most basic security measures are not being met by UK residents, leaving their homes extremely vulnerable to opportunist burglars.

The research – carried out among 2,008 UK adults through a Censuswide survey – revealed that, on average, 1 in 4 never lock their front door when they go out, despite nearly 1 in 5 (17%) having experienced a burglary, and 1 in 3 of those having been burgled more than once. Alarmingly, 4% of people never lock anything when they go out.

The survey also revealed the most security-conscious regions, the UK’s riskiest and safest areas as perceived by residents, as well as how neighbours would react if they witnessed a burglary. Highlights include:

Londoners are the least security-conscious with home security measures – An overwhelming 33% never lock their front door when they go out and 48% never lock their back door, despite it being the riskiest region for burglaries – double the UK average. The South West is the most responsible region with (83%) locking their front doors when leaving the house.

Glasgow had the highest rate of have-a-go heroes with 23% saying they would confront a burglar if they saw a neighbour’s house being burgled – On average, 17% of those across the UK would confront a burglar at a neighbour’s house, with one citing they would ‘use a baseball bat’ to intimidate the intruder, exposing themselves to danger as well as potential legal issues.

The majority (83%) would call the police if they witnessed a neighbourhood burglary – However, some 3% would do absolutely nothing if they witnessed a burglary in a nearby house, with one even stating, “it would depend on which neighbour’s house it was,” as to whether they would help.

The South West has the most proactive neighbours – Only 1% of residents wouldn’t take any form of action when witnessing a break-in. The North East had the highest percentage of neighbours who would turn a blind eye, with 6% saying they wouldn’t do anything.

Only 60% of those living in Greater London feel safe, followed closely by those living in the City of London with 63% – The North West was also cited as an area where some residents felt vulnerable, with only 58% of Liverpudlians saying they felt safe, as well as only 64% of Mancunians. The North East closely followed with only 2 in 3 feeling safe (68%).

The South West and Scotland are considered the safest area to live by locals, with the majority (80%) feeling totally safe in their neighbourhood – Bristol (79%) and Plymouth (84%) rank amongst the top three safest cities, but Edinburgh was crowned as the safest city overall, with an overwhelming 88% agreeing that they feel safe and secure where they live.

Steven Montgomery, Managing Director of Somfy UK and Ireland, said: “We were extremely surprised that people aren’t being more vigilant when it comes to home security, especially given some have had first-hand experience of burglaries. We were also shocked that there wasn’t a correlation between the areas perceived unsafe and the efforts people made with security – if you don’t feel safe, you should at the very least lock your doors.”

“Of those surveyed, 58% of UK residents have adopted Smart Home products, with the most common being outdoor lighting (40%), followed by Smart cameras (25%), Smart alarms (19%) and finally, Smart locks (15%). More than half (53%) of those using Smart Home security products said they feel safer as a direct result.

“It was also interesting that nearly half of UK residents don’t have any form of Smart Home security. The biggest advantage of including smart home devices and security features is that they can prevent break-ins from occurring altogether. Burglars generally look for easy targets and unprotected homes. If they sense that you have a modern security system, most burglars won’t even bother targeting your property.”

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Over 800 landlords took part in a survey to find out what they consider to be the best regions and cities for landlord investment in properties during 2020.

The survey was carried out by a landlord insurance provider which found that landlords were extremely confident of London and Manchester outperforming other cities in the buy-to-let market.

The two cities together received more than a third of votes with 18% each when the landlords answered the question which city they felt offered the best BTL investment opportunity.

Manchester’s private rented sector owes its success to a large and sprawling student population, high employment and media scene; whereas London has the potential to offer capital growth because of the fall in property prices last year of 1.8%

The survey also reported that landlords are very hopeful of the buy-to-let sector’s prosperity continuing this year throughout the UK’s regions.

Birmingham and Liverpool came out joint second with the two cities each receiving 10% of votes from landlords looking at where their next BTL purchase could be made in 2020.

The top 10 of votes received for cities that landlords are considering to invest in for 2020 are:

1. London and Manchester (joint first)

2. Birmingham and Liverpool (joint second)

3. Edinburgh

4. Bristol

5. Leeds

6. Oxford

7. Glasgow

8. Cardiff

9. Southampton

10. Sheffield

A spokesperson for the insurance provider, said: “Buy-to-let landlords are crucial to the UK economy, contributing a combined £16.1bn through pre-tax spending.

“The sector also now houses 20% of British households and has a huge presence up and down the country, so it’s wholly encouraging that landlords view a broad spread of regions as attractive areas to invest this year.

“London usually comes out on top for being the most expensive city to invest in property in the UK, but falling house prices are making it an attractive place to invest once again.

“We know a quarter of landlords are planning to sell at least one property this year, largely due to government reform and tax changes, so it’s reassuring to see that landlords are still eying up investment opportunities up and down the country.”

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Apparently the majority of tenants carry out living habits that break landlords’ tenancy agreements, because according to the perpetrators some are unaware of the rules contained in their tenancy agreements.

New research from a housing interior specialist has discovered that 84% of tenants knowingly break at least one of the terms and conditions outlined in their tenancy agreement.

Just under three quarters of tenants that took part in the study (73%) owned up to the fact they did not know what the landlord had set out in the terms of their tenancy agreement, and 36% said they wouldn’t know where to find a copy.

The most common rules that tenants had broken were:

• 1) Hanging pictures/photos/art on the walls – 38%

• 2) Making alterations to the property without seeking the landlord’s permission, or causing damage. – 34%.

• 3) Smoking inside the property – 23%

• 4) Causing noise disruption to neighbours and other anti-social behaviour – 19%.

• 5) Living with a pet – 14%.

When answering the question if they knew what the current notice period was outlined in their tenancy agreement, 23% admitted that they were not certain of how much time the landlord would give them to leave, or what notice they should give to their landlord.

Lucy Askew, interiors specialist of the firm, said: “Thanks to rising house prices and the subsequent need for significantly large deposits, the reality of homeownership has become unachievable for a number of Britons, resulting in the need for rented accommodation.

“Whilst it can be all too tempting to ignore the agreements made with a landlord in order to create a cosy atmosphere, rules are put in place for a reason, and failure to comply can put a tenancy at risk and could leave the tenant in question without a home.”

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