Year: 2020

“EU citizens who have played such a positive role to the life of the UK should be able to easily prove their settled status rights with a physical document.”

The RLA is urging MPs to back a “pragmatic and common sense” proposal to provide EU citizens with physical proof of settled status and secure their right to rent.

A vote on a related amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill passed in the House of Lords yesterday (Jan 21) and is due for a Commons vote today.

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, the3million and the Residential Landlords Association are warning that unless MPs accept the amendment it creates the risk of landlords being reluctant to let a home to EU citizens without immediate physical proof of their status.

In a joint statement, the three bodies say: “MPs should back what is a pragmatic and common sense proposal.

“It should not be controversial that EU citizens who have played such a positive role to the life of the UK should be able to easily prove their rights with a physical document.

“A digital only status will massively disadvantage EU citizens against British nationals with a passport, and anyone else who can quickly and conveniently prove their status with a simple official document.”

Under the EU Settlement Scheme the Government only  give EU citizens a digital code to prove their residency for landlords look up online.

Previous research by Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants on the Government’s Right to Rent policy found that of 150 mystery shopping enquiries from prospective tenants who asked landlords to conduct an online status check, 85% received no response and only three responses explicitly stated that the landlord was willing to conduct an online check.

Landlords were far happier to respond positively when the tenant could provide a clear physical document proving their status.

A report published by the3million this week found that 89% of EU citizens are unhappy about the lack of a physical document.

Calls for EU citizens to be given such a document have been made also by the Exiting the European Union Select Committee, the Home Affairs Select Committee and the House of Lords EU Justice sub-committee which warned to the “parallel with the lack of documents contributing to the Windrush scandal.”

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Plans to introduce a large selective licensing scheme in Waltham Forest have been approved by the government this week.

The scheme, which will cover 18 out of 20 wards in the borough, will come into affect on 1st May 2020. It will run for a period of five years ending on Wednesday 30 April 2025.

It comes just a week after the government blocked a large selective licensing scheme from being renewed for another five years in Liverpool.

Watch: RLA policy manager John Stewart was interviewed on BBC Sunday Politics North West at the weekend about the government blocking Liverpool’s licensing scheme.

RLA policy manager John Stewart was on BBC Sunday Politics North West yesterday, discussing landlord licensing schemes. Watch again here from 7 minutes in https://t.co/yKtN78od3V and read more about this story here https://t.co/uPZ3kcc9Iv pic.twitter.com/N9l1vJyf7c

— RLA Landlord News (@RLA_News) January 20, 2020

What is selective licensing?

Selective licensing designations mean that if a landlord has a property that is privately rented in the designated area, they are required to obtain a licence from the council in order to lawfully rent the property out.

Government approval is needed for schemes which cover more than 20% of a council area, and this week the plan put forward by Waltham Forest Council was approved.

Additional licensing

A new additional HMO licensing scheme will also come into force in Waltham Forest on Wednesday 1 April 2020 , and will target Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) that are privately rented but which do not come within the scope of mandatory HMO licensing and where households share one or more basic amenity such as a bath or WC.

The RLA’s opposition to the plan

As with all licensing consultations, Waltham Forest ran a consultation on the proposals, which the RLA responded to.

The RLA’s response outlined why the association is opposed to the implementation of such a large selective licensing scheme, as well the proposed additional licensing scheme.

Reasons listed in our response included:

Concerns that there are already many regulations affecting private landlords There are already more than 150 Acts of Parliament and 400 regulations affecting landlords in the private rented sector. The RLA argues that the council should make use of these existing powers, instead of introducing such a large licensing scheme
Little evidence that licensing improves standards
In terms of licensing schemes, the focus of staff becomes the processing of licences, and prosecutions tend to centre on whether a property has been licensed or not, rather than improving property conditions.
An ‘early-bird’ discount to those landlords who register between Friday 1 May and Friday 31 July 2020.

Written by Victoria Barker

Blog Post from Residential Landlords Association

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New research claims that one in every 50 homes in the capital is let on a short-term platform like Airbnb or similar.

London Councils, a cross-party group representing all 32 boroughs and the City of London Corporation, found 73,549 listings for London homes on online letting platforms such as Airbnb last month.

This is the first time the total number of London listings across the leading platforms has been compiled.

London Councils claims that the capital currently faces the most severe homelessness crisis in the country with around 56,000 households in temporary accommodation – accounting for nearly 70 per cent of the national total.

It says borough councils are concerned that the proliferation of lets on a short-term platform means less housing supply for permanent residents while driving up prices in the private rental sector, worsening affordability.

A statement from the cross-party group says: “Short-term lets are also increasingly associated with spikes in crime and anti-social behaviour. Boroughs report growing numbers of complaints from local residents about short-term lets used as ‘party houses’ and bases for prostitution and drug dealing.”

Cities such as Paris and Barcelona have implemented mandatory registration schemes for short-term lets and impose heavy fines on rule breaches; the Scottish government has recently accepted that councils north of the border should have powers to introduce licensing schemes.

The umbrella body is calling for similar measures, including mandatory registration of short-term lets and stronger powers for local authorities to protect housing stock and clamp down on irresponsible property owners.

Group spokesman councillor Darren Rodwell says: “At a time when almost one in 50 Londoners is homeless, it’s ridiculous that potentially one in 50 London homes is rented out as a short-term let.

“Although short-term lets listed on digital platforms offer benefits to some Londoners, the market is growing out of control. Boroughs are hearing more and more complaints about short-term lets linked to antisocial behaviour and even criminality.

“The priority has to be protecting Londoners’ interests. That’s why we’re calling on the government to introduce much stronger regulation of this sector. Changes to government legislation are essential for giving local authorities the powers we need to keep check on short-term lets in our communities and defend our residents.

“The Scottish government’s recent announcement shows London risks being left behind on this issue – especially when you look at the regulatory powers and resources other cities around the world have already got. We look forward to working with ministers so we can ensure London is better placed to tackle this challenge.”

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The Government has announced that a new building safety regulator will be established, as part of a new package of measures designed to improve building safety in residential blocks.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will begin to establish the new regulator in shadow form immediately, ahead of it being full established, following legislation.

The regulator will raise building safety and performance standards, including overseeing a new, more stringent regime for higher-risk buildings.

Dame Judith Hackitt, who carried out an independent review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, following the Grenfell Tower fire, will chair a Board to oversee the transition.

ACM cladding

Speaking this week in the House of Commons, (see tweet below) the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP also announced that from February, he will start to name building owners where remediation has not started to remove unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding from their buildings.

What else is included in the building safety package of measures?

“This Government is committed to bringing about the biggest change in building safety for a generation.” Housing Secretary @RobertJenrick yesterday set out a series of measures to overhaul building safety. Watch his statement to Parliament. pic.twitter.com/08Tp3rZsHh

— Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Govt (@mhclg) January 21, 2020

What else is included in the building safety package of measures?

• Advice on building safety for multi-storey, multi-occupied buildings

The government appointed independent expert advisory panel (IEAP) has clarified and updated advice to building owners on actions they should take to ensure their buildings are safe, with a focus on their external wall systems, commonly referred to as cladding.

This consolidated advice, which can be read here, simplifies the language, consolidates previous advice into one place, and – vitally – makes clear that building owners need to do more to address safety issues on residential buildings under 18 metres.

It additionally reflects the independent panel view that cladding material comprised of ACM (and other metal composites) with an unmodified polyethylene core should not be on residential buildings of any height and should be removed.

• Fire doors

The consolidated advice also makes clear the actions building owners should take in relation to fire doors.

The government welcomes the commitment by the Association of Composite Door Manufacturers to work with building owners to remediate their doors which failed tests.

It will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure that this commitment is followed through.

• Remediation of buildings with ACM cladding

To speed up remediation, the government will be appointing a construction expert to review remediation timescales and identify what can be done to improve pace in the private sector.

To ensure cost is not a barrier to remediation, the government is considering different options to support the remediation of buildings. They are examining options to mitigate costs for individuals or provide alternative financing routes.

• Combustible cladding ban

The government has also launched a consultation into the current combustible cladding ban, including proposals to lower the 18 metre height threshold to at least 11 metres.

• Sprinklers

The government’s consultation on sprinklers and other measures for new build flats concluded on 28th November 2019.

It has proposed lowering the height threshold for sprinkler requirements in new buildings and will set out detailed proposals on how the government will deliver the technical review of fire guidance in February.

• Fire Safety Bill

The government has also set out further details of the upcoming Fire Safety Bill being introduced to Parliament, which MHCLG sets out in more detail in its response to the Public Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations.

This will clarify the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 – ‘the Fire Safety Order’ – requiring residential building owners to fully consider and mitigate the risks of any external wall systems and front doors to individual flats.

New consultations

Jenrick also confirmed that the government will run a consultation on extending the ban on combustible materials to buildings below 18 metres.

In addition to this, a new consultation has also be launched seeking views on how to assess, and how to understand the complexity of building risk to ensure that an appropriate level of safety is achieved in existing buildings. (Consultation closes 11:45pm on 17th February)

Written by Victoria Barker

Blog Post from Residential Landlords Association

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A landlord in one of the most scenic parts of Devon had been served with a £18,000 civil penalty because he failed to do work demanded by an Improvement Notice.

The landlord has not been named by South Hams council, but it says the landlord has now organised for the repairs to be carried out – which he has paid for, in addition to the Improvement Notice penalty.

“This is fantastic news for the tenant. It is also a great result for the council.  A prosecution would have taken a considerable amount of time and money.  We have achieved a great outcome for the tenant in a relatively short period of time” says a council spokesman.

“It is important for landlords to know that we have these powers and where necessary we will use them to protect our most vulnerable residents.”

The council decided to issue civil penalties under section 249a of The Housing Act 2004 as an alternative to a prosecution. This policy – Section 126 and schedule 9 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 – came into force on April 6 2017.

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New investment in private rental housing stock has fallen since 2016 as some private landlords have dipped out of the sector in response to tax changes and lower yields in some regions.

That’s the view of Zoopla, which says in the past three years there has been a four per cent drop in the supply of private rental housing stock coming to the market.

At the same time, Zoopla has recorded an eight per cent increase in rental demand over 2019 alone – meaning, inevitably, that rents are rising.

However, while rental growth has picked up over 2019, it continues to run below the growth in average earnings, which currently tracks at 3.8 per cent according to the Office for National Statistics.

The growth in average earnings has outpaced the growth in rents for the last three years. While this has improved the headline measure of rental affordability, the affordability of renting varies widely across UK cities. At present, the average renter is spending 31.9 per cent of their annual earnings on rent – unchanged from a year ago.

Rents in London fell over 2017 and 2018 on weaker demand, but they are now increasing by 2.8 per cent annually – the highest rate for almost four years.

The available supply of homes for rent, per estate agency branch, in London has declined by 20 per cent over the last two years – a result of much lower new investment by landlords and disinvestment by others, together with renters staying longer in their home.

The drop in availability is supporting higher rental growth, but Zoopla insists that stretched rental affordability in London is limiting the level to which rents can increase when compared to other cities, where there is headroom in rental affordability to allow for higher rents.

Over the last decade, average rents have grown from £700 per month to £886 today, an increase of 27 per cent, in line with the 26 per cent growth in average earnings over the same period.

“A lack of supply and real wage growth is behind the increase in average rents across the country over 2019. New investment by landlords has fallen since the introduction of tax changes in 2016 and this has been felt most keenly in southern England where property values are highest and yields lowest. This is creating scarcity and explains why rents are rising in the face of increased rental demand as levels of employment continue to grow” according to Richard Donnell, research and insight director at Zoopla.

“The scope for landlords to increase rents is greater when earnings are rising faster than rents and this has been the case for the last three years. The positive news for renters is that the growth in rents is running below the growth in average earnings.

“We expect the acceleration in rental growth to moderate over the first half of 2019, which is typically a period of slower rental market activity. We expect rents to increase by 3.5 per cent over 2020 as a lack of supply supports faster growth.

“With further policy changes expected from the government to provide more security of tenure for renters we expect the supply of rented homes to remain constrained, which will support rental growth over 2020. With robust earnings growth, the impact on rental affordability will be muted.”

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Councils that have been awarded additional cash injections by government could use their windfalls to enhance their enforcement of the private rental sector – with more Banning Orders a possible consequence.

That’s the view of PropTech entrepreneur Neil Cobbold who says Banning Orders – introduced as part of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and aimed at ridding the private sector of the worst rogue agents and landlords – may become more commonplace this year.

It took until September 2019 for the first one to be issued, with only a few more handed out since; those on the receiving end get a criminal record and are prohibited to serve as landlords or agents or property managers.

“Banning orders are only reserved for the very worst offenders. We may see a number of penalty options used, but local authorities that do increase enforcement will show that they are serious about raising industry standards” says Cobbold.

“With further legislation changes expected throughout this year, it’s important that the authorities do everything they can with the additional funding to ensure widespread compliance” he adds.

Earlier this month it was announced that 100 local councils would receive an additional £4m in funding to combat rogue landlords and letting agencies.

Some councils have been explicit in how they will use their share of the cash – over 100 enforcement officers will be trained across Yorkshire and Humberside, and a Special Operations Unit will be set up in Northampton, for example.

“One of the biggest issues in the rental sector in recent years is the lack of enforcement of a rising number of regulations aimed at improving industry standards” Cobbold continues.

“More enforcement officers across the country would significantly help to increase compliance, meeting the government’s goal of raising standards and discouraging rogue operators” he says.

Cobbold is chief operating officer of PayProp, a lettings payment automation provider.

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The average cost of a rental home in Great Britain rose to £999 pcm in December according to figures just released by Countrywide’s Hamptons International brand.

This was a 3.7 per cent year-on-year increase, marking the strongest rental growth recorded in a December since 2014.

However, average cost of a rental home was particularly low in December 2018 and this has boosted the year-on-year comparison slightly.

The South West continued to post the strongest rental growth, with the average rent rising 5.6 per cent year-on-year; meanwhile London followed, with 4.4 per cent rental growth.

Every region recorded rising rents; however Scotland posted the weakest rental growth of 1.7 per cent.

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons International, says: “Rents rose in every region, but those in the South saw the biggest increases.  Low stock levels have put pressure on rents, resulting in stronger rental growth during the second half of 2019.”

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A tenant is thought to be the first ever to have been awarded damages under new Scottish lettings legislation.

Dambaru Baral was awarded £18,000 by the First-tier Tribunal from Scotland Housing and Property Chamber after it was found he was unlawfully evicted back in 2015.

He raised the case in September 2018 against his landlords Mohammed and Khalda Arif who removed him from his occupancy under an assured tenancy.

A representative of the landlords entered the property, removed the tenant’s belongings and changed the locks due to the tenant being in rent arrears; however, there had been no warning and no prior attempt to terminate the tenancy.

At an earlier hearing it was established that the representative had taken possession of the property without a court order, claiming that he believed or had reasonable cause to believe that the tenant had ceased to occupy the let property.

The Tribunal rejected this defence, stating: “Mr Arif and Mr Bhatti accepted that they had gone to the flat and filled a number of cardboard boxes with the applicant’s belongings.

“The record taken by City Building, as indicated at paragraph 30 above, was that there were seven boxes. It is also apparent, from the photographs taken by the applicant, that there were items on top of the boxes.

“On any reasonable view, the sheer volume of the applicant’s belongings at the tenancy were not such as to indicate that he had ceased occupation.”

The lettings legislation tribunal concluded that an unlawful eviction had taken place and awarded damages of £18,000 based on a surveyor’s reports.

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