Ground Rent Reform on Leasehold Flats

The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 received Royal Assent on 8^th February 2022 and formally entered the statute books.

The terms of the draft legislation are to tighten up the risk of unscrupulous landlords exploiting loopholes and finding new ways of getting more money out of tenants (leaseholders).

The government are looking to reduce grounds rents to be charged ‘peppercorn rents’ as they were historically. Anyone breaching the Act can see financial fines of up to £30,000.

Although this is great news for anyone buying a leasehold property, sadly, this will not include existing leases for the moment, but a second bill has been promised in the future to address the problems with current leases.

Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaign at Propertymark, said: “This legislation is progress and whilst the unsuccessful amendment to remove ground rents from all existing leasehold properties would have strengthened the legislation, it is positive that ground rent charges will now be restricted on newly-created long leases of houses and flats to an annual rent of one peppercorn, a token of no financial value.’’

At Move On, we make sure all our landlords can sleep at night, because this is what we do every day. We make sure we are always up to date with latest legislations, and we are often ahead of the deadline.

If you would like a free rental appraisal and fresh eyes over your paperwork, then please contact me 01202 711169 or email sharon@moveon.biz

Sharon

What can happen if your paperwork is not up…

The law is unbending! Naivety is not an excuse! Over 300 legislations in the last 3 years – do you know them?

The courts have been filled in recent years with landlords being heavily fined and, in some cases, having to pay back the last 12 months’ worth of rent received.

None of us would like to find ourselves in this position, but more and more landlords are finding this simply because they haven’t kept up to date with the law.

A landlord recently failed to evict a tenant through non-payment of rent, due to not having a valid Gas Safety Certificate and Electrical Certificate.

Another landlord had to pay back 3 times the deposit plus the deposit of £1000.00, totalling £4,000 to the tenant as they had failed to register the deposit. Local councils have the ability to fine landlords up to £30,000 for non-compliant properties including properties in disrepair. Two or more households is a HMO! Three unrelated friends or 2 couples is a HMO! Do you have the correct license?

Another landlord had not noted the visa on his tenant had expired and they did not have the right to rent in the UK. The landlord narrowly missed going to jail.

If you would like a free rental appraisal and fresh eyes over your paperwork, then please contact me 01202 711169 or email sharon@moveon.biz

Sharon

MINIMUM EPC RATING TO CHANGE IN 2025?

The Government is in current consultation to bring forward the change in EPC ratings from E to min ‘C’ from 2028 to 2025.

With climate change being a prominent factor in the news at the moment, the government is keen to do their bit.

From 2025 all new builds will be banned from putting in gas boilers to drive us away from gas as a carbon-based fuel. They are looking to replace these boilers with a heat source air pump.

The government introduced a ‘Green Homes Grant’ in September 2020, where they would pay two thirds of an invoice and the public paid one third with a cap of £5000. However, this was closed on 31st March 2021 due to various hitches and lack of skilled workforce. There is talk of them looking at another type of grant– let’s hope so!

Landlords will not be able to issue new tenancies unless their property is rated ‘C’, just like we did with the current system when they banned F and G ratings from the rental sector in April 2018.

The older the property, the more likely you are to be a D or E. I would highly recommend you looking at your current EPC and seeing if you have a potential rating of ‘C’ and what the recommendations are on how to achieve this.

If they insist on landlords upgrading properties to the pump system, this could have a negative impact on the rental sector as it just wouldn’t be affordable for many landlords and the return on investment could take several years to recoup! As they say, ‘watch this space’.

Have a good week!

Sharon Canning

If you would like a friendly, no obligation chat regarding buying, selling, renting or investing in property, then please email sharon@moveon.biz or telephone 01202 711169.

Possession Notices Back to Pre-COVID Length

When COVID hit us back in March 2020, none of us had any idea of the impact this would have on our lives and how every sector would be affected – good or bad (there are always winners and losers after all).

As it became apparent that COVID was going to be around for a while and many people furloughed, the Government deemed it necessary to bring in additional measures to stop any tenants being evicted from their homes, especially as there was nowhere to go: hotels, etc. were all closed.

The extension of the possession notices from 2 months to 6 months caused huge ramifications to landlords who already had tenants in rent arrears.

Some landlords have been incredibly generous to their tenants where COVID had an impact, and either came up with a payment plan or, in some cases, gifted a month’s rent.

There will always be people who like to use the system, thankfully this is not the majority of tenants.

The government then confirmed that, from the 1^{st of} October, possession notices would revert to as they were in to pre-COVID times, meaning landlords can now give their tenants 2 months’ notice to vacate the property through a Section 21 notice for the time being. Section 8 notices have also reverted to pre-COVID rules.

If you need help or advice on your tenancy management then please do not hesitate to contact us. We are not just good; we are amazingly good!

Have a good month!

Sharon Canning

If you would like a friendly, no obligation chat regarding buying, selling, renting or investing in property, then please email sharon@moveon.biz or telephone 01202 711169.

Rental Market Update: Bournemouth and Poole

You couldn’t miss headlines throughout 2021 of the increase in sales property prices. However, news on lettings and rental prices has not been as common.

The last three or four years have seen the rental market pretty static, but this has dramatically changed over the last 12-18 months. Tenants are staying longer in their properties, which in turn means there are less properties coming to market. This has created a shortage and pushed prices up.

Gardens have been very much sought after and this has seen an uplift of hundreds of pounds in monthly rentals, which is adding thousands to yearly totals for landlords.

So how does a landlord approach this with their existing tenant, especially if they have been long-term and good tenants? This is where a letting agent should shine and act as negotiator between the two parties. Most tenants expect a yearly increase in their rent, but when a significant increase, this can cause distress to the tenant.

We have successfully negotiated larger-than-normal rent increases with our tenants, giving our landlords that extra revenue.

It is important for landlords to keep up repairs and maintenance of their properties as this also has an impact on not just the amount of rent that can be achieved, but also the quality of the tenant.

Rental properties are a business for landlords and not a charity. You can still be a great landlord and go the extra mile but, at the end of the day, the money left in your hand impacts your living standards. Tenants will always look at the market to see if there are properties better and cheaper for them, this is where we need to make sure it is a win-win for both sides.

If you would like us to help negotiate a rent increase with your tenants then please phone for an informal chat.

Have a good month!

Sharon Canning

For more information or help with your rental property, email sharon@moveon.biz or telephone 01202 711169 today.

Is Your Property Protected Against Fraud?

Your property is probably the most valuable asset you own. That’s why it’s important you do whatever you can to protect it from the risk of fraud.

Property fraud happens in many ways, but typically a fraudster will impersonate a homeowner and forge documents to try to persuade Land Registry to transfer the title into their name. They then either sell the property or use the property to raise a mortgage from a bank – and disappear with the money.

There is an increased risk of fraud when:

Your property’s mortgage has been paid off
Your property is empty or you’re letting it
An owner is spending time abroad or is absent
The owner is infirm or in a nursing or care home
A relationship breaks down

So what can you do about it?

Land Registry have stopped hundreds of fraudulent applications on properties worth millions of pounds, and have a dedicated fraud team and work closely with the police and other agencies to reduce the risk of property fraud.

You can sign up to get property alerts if someone applies to change the register of your property, for example if someone tries to use your property for a mortgage. This won’t automatically block any changes to the register but will alert you when something changes so that you can take action. You can get alerts for up to 10 properties – there’s no fee. You can do this by visiting https://propertyalert.landregistry.gov.uk/

If you’re worried you may be the victim of property fraud, contact Land Registry immediately. You should also get legal advice and contact the police. For more information please go to http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/public/property-fraud.

Have a good week!

Sharon

If you would like a friendly, no obligation chat regarding buying, selling, renting or investing in property, then please email sharon@moveon.biz or telephone 01202 711169.

Selling Tenanted Properties

Why being a specialist in selling tenanted properties is important versus the general high street agent!

Over the years, we have sold many tenanted properties and we are very successful in doing this. We understand the lettings industry compliance side and because of this we know and understand why it is important to get it right from day one.

Selling tenanted properties is a win-win for all parties involved. The seller, the buyer and the tenant!

THE SELLER

The Seller wants to sell the property with the tenant in situ normally for a couple of reasons. They have long standing tenants and do not want to disrupt their lives or the seller may have a mortgage on the property that would be financially difficult to cover if they were to sell the property empty.

Solution – selling the property with the tenant in situ will mean receiving rental income up to the day of completion.

THE BUYER

Dependent on the experience of the buyer, there can be some anxious moments. Typically, a new landlord will have the following questions:

1. Will I really achieve the rental amount being quoted by the agent?

2. How long will it take until a tenant can move in, how long will my void period be?

3. What kind of tenant will the property attract?

Solution – buy a property with a tenant in situ and receive rent from day one. You will meet the tenant, you will know exactly how much rent you will achieve and you should receive a rental statement showing them paying their rent on time each month.

THE TENANT

The tenant will automatically be worried as soon as the property is advertised. They will worry they will have to leave their home, they will worry about being made homeless. The lack of security may persuade them to move out as soon as they find somewhere, leaving the seller with no rental income.

Solution – Liaise with the tenant, work with the tenant, be transparent and let them know an investor is being sought.

When all sides work together, the outcome is a win for sellers, a win for buyers and a win for the tenants.

COMPLIANCE

Because we have sold so many, we also know that it is absolutely vital to make sure all paperwork is in order at the beginning and our expertise can help ensure the smooth process of a completion, with hopefully no nasty surprises down the road. We will look at the tenancy paperwork and the compliance certificates along with proof certain paperwork were issued to the tenant at the correct times including the prescribed information and Deposit certificates. If the paperwork is not in order, this can cause fines later down the road or unable to gain possession of your property if the need arose (for example the tenant not paying their rent).

ABOUT US

Move On Sales and Lettings area multi-award winning agency and have been established for 15 years under the ownership of Sharon Canning. Sharon became a landlord at the age of 19 and has worked in the real estate industry for 36 years and personally owns a portfolio of properties that also include HMO’s and Service Accommodation/Holiday lets. Selling or buying to live in or rent out is Move On’s speciality.

Thinking of Changing Estate Agents? Our Smooth-Move Guide

A great agent will be focused on selling your home at the best price, in a timeframe that suits you. If everything goes well, they’ll p

ut the right value on it, market it effectively, then negotiate and progress your sale so you can move on to your new home as planned – and they’ll make the whole process as pain-free as possible. That’s what we strive to achieve for every one of our clients, and it’s what every seller hopes their experience will be. Read more “Thinking of Changing Estate Agents? Our Smooth-Move Guide” →

NOTICE PERIOD CHANGE FROM 1ST JUNE TO TENANTS

If there is one thing that has kept letting agents busy over the last 3 to 4 years, it is the continuous changes within legislations.

COVID-19 has also had a massive part since March 2020, with how much notice a landlord can give a tenant to gain their property back. In normal times, (pre-COVID) a Section 21 (Form 6a) notice would be given to the tenant giving 2 months notice to vacate. However, the Government extended this notice to 6 months, which in some circumstances across the country caused absolute mayhem. This being particularly difficult for landlords whose tenants were already in serious rent arrears. If there was ever a time for a landlord to have a rent guarantee in place then this was and still is the time.

From the 1^st June, the notice period is being reduced to 4 months and then to 2 months notice from the 1^st August 2021.

Notice periods for the most serious cases that present the most strain on landlords will remain lower:

Anti-social behaviour (immediate to 4 weeks’ notice)
Domestic abuse in the social sector (2 to 4 weeks’ notice)
False statement (2 to 4 weeks’ notice)
4 Months’ or more accumulated rent arrears (4 weeks’ notice)
Breach of immigration rules ‘Right to Rent’ (2 weeks’ notice)
Death of a tenant (2 months’ notice)

Bailiffs are also able to carry out evictions from June too.

If you would like help in managing your rental property then please contact me on sharon@moveon.biz

Remember a good agent is worth every penny when you know you can sleep peacefully at night.

£30k FINE IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN ELECTRICAL…

£30k FINE IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN ELECTRICAL CERTIFICATE

LANDLORDS! If you are with an agent or self-managing, please, please, make sure you have an electrical certificate on your rental property. This became a legal requirement on the 31^st March 2021.

I was shocked to receive a call from a landlord whose property was being managed by another local agent (they will remain nameless). She was ringing me to ask if she could transfer over to me, as she was not happy with the service she was receiving. In these conversations, I also ask them to check their terms of business for giving notice and then go through details of their property. During our chat, she advised she had received an email that week (middle of April) to let her know an electrical certificate was due on the property, I nearly fell off my chair. Why was the agent notifying her mid-April when it should have been done by the end of March 2021? I then had to advise her that they had opened her up to a possible £30,000 fine by not having one in place. She was NOT aware of this!

Needless to say, we are taking over the management and ensuring she is legally compliant.

If you are not sure, (you should have received a copy of the certificate) please email/phone your agent today and make sure it is in place and if you are self-managing, please get it done IMMEDIATELY! If you have not been able to gain access because your tenant is shielding, then as long as you have a paper trail of this, you should be okay, but you do need to prove this if you get a knock on the door!

If you would like a friendly chat, then please email me on sharon@moveon.biz with your contact details and I will happily ring you back.

Remember a good agent is worth every penny when you know you can sleep peacefully at night.

Header Images

Ground Rent Reform on Leasehold Flats

What can happen if your paperwork is not up…

MINIMUM EPC RATING TO CHANGE IN 2025?

Possession Notices Back to Pre-COVID Length

Rental Market Update: Bournemouth and Poole

Is Your Property Protected Against Fraud?

Is Your Property Protected Against Fraud?

So what can you do about it?

Selling Tenanted Properties

Selling Tenanted Properties