I was recently chatting to a landlord who self-managed his properties and was having a problem with one of his tenants who had fallen into rent arrears. Despite trying all they could to help the tenant, it was clear the arrears were not going to be made up and they would continue to increase.
The landlord was picking my brain on what paperwork was required, in the event he had to go down the court route.
It was apparent to me that he was a good landlord and had always used an agent (not Move On) to set up a new tenant for each property and then let the tenancies rollover.
After going through the paperwork, it was clear he had not had any electrical certificates conducted on his properties and he was completely oblivious to the fact that he needed one. He was under the impression that they would only be required for new tenants moving in after April 2021 and as none of his tenants had moved out, he hadn’t instructed his electrician to do them.
Part of the court paperwork is to include all legislative paperwork. Also in the court waiting room is a representative from Shelter, who will go through the tenant’s paperwork as well.
I advised him to get the electrical certificates completed ASAP.
For the avoidance of doubt:
SINCE APRIL 2021 – ALL RENTAL PROPERTIES MUST HAVE A VALID FIVE-YEAR EICR CERTIFICATE!
Feeling deflated? Exhausted with all the changes? Then let us take care of your property needs. We promise to hold your hand throughout this process, giving you less stress and more freedom!
If you fancy an informal chat any time, then email me sharon@moveon.biz with your phone number.
The Government’s levelling up Rental Reform white paper bill has included this in detail.
Section 21, often referred to as the ‘No Fault Eviction’, has been a security blanket for landlords. If you as a landlord wanted your property back, then a Section 21 will guarantee you your property back.
By abolishing the Section 21, this will no longer be the case. The tenant will be able to give 2 months’ notice at any time and the landlord must give a reason as to why they want the property back and that reason must be one of the grounds of a new updated Section 8 notice.
If I look at the occasions we have issued a section 21 over the last 30 odd years (and there really has not been that many), 95% of the time, it was because the tenants were in rent arrears, the landlord wanted to sell his property or the landlord wanted to move back in. The new Section 8 notice will have additional grounds to cover these reasons.
There are additional caveats to these. If you decide you want to sell the property and give the tenants notice, you must prove it was on a portal for sale and if your situation changes and you decide to put the property back up to rent, then there must be a gap of 3 months between the tenants.
If you are seeking possession because the tenant is in the minimum 2 months of arrears and they decide to pay a nominal amount that takes them under the 2-month threshold the day before court, then you will not regain the property (as it is now), however, if the tenant does this 3 times in 3 years, the court will give the property back.
Feeling deflated? Exhausted with all the changes? Then let us take care of your property needs. We promise to hold your hands throughout this process, giving you less stress and more free!
If yancy an informal chat any time, then email me sharon@moveon.biz with your phone number.
The past 18-24 months have seen a massive increase in rental prices throughout the Poole and Bournemouth area.
We are valuing rental stock, new and existing, with huge increases and properties are being successfully let at the new prices.
Prior to the last couple of years, rents had remained static, but when Covid came and we saw an increase of out-of-towners looking for properties with gardens, this caused a huge demand and saw the rental prices going up.
We are also seeing a lack of stock coming to the market, which again is increasing the rental prices.
As a tenant, this is not good news, as we now have an increase in energy prices, fuel prices and cost of living being added on.
Contrary to popular belief, many landlords are not making vast amounts of money on their rental properties and expect their investment to help them in their retirement years. Those landlords who are already retired, will also be impacted on the cost of living going up.
It is always a hard decision for landlords to increase rentals when they have had long-standing tenants, this is where Move On can help, by being the negotiator between all parties, in an amicable way.
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 up to date rental appraisal or fresh eyes over your paperwork to ensure you are compliant, then please contact me 01202 711169 or email sharon@moveon.biz
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.
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
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.
£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 31st 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.
Summer is a great time of year to sell your home. With bright, sunny days, gardens at their greenest and flowers blooming, your marketing photos will look fabulous!
More daylight hours and generally better weather than at other times of year gives people much more opportunity to view your home at its best and brightest. And there’s nothing like a sunny day to put people in a great mood, which means they’re more likely to have a positive mindset when they’re viewing.
So, how can you best take advantage of the benefits of selling during the summer?
Photographs
The marketing photographs in your brochure and online advertising play a huge part in enticing buyers to view your home. Importantly, they’ve got to be in line with the season, so if your home’s already on the market and the photos were taken earlier in the year, we’d suggest you replace them with some up-to-date ones.
Have the interior photographed when there’s maximum daylight outside so the sun streams in through the windows, really boosting the natural brightness of your rooms. And if you’ve got a patio, balcony or terrace, open the doors and have a shot taken looking either inwards or outwards – it can create a really captivating image, with a hint of ‘summer holiday villa’, which could be hugely appealing to many buyers.
Two great times to have exterior shots taken in the summer:
In the middle of the day, in bright sunshine. If you’ve got a good-sized garden, a shot from the end – front or back – looking towards your home and taking in the lush colours of the trees, flowers and shrubs can look beautiful.
On a clear evening, around sunset. A mid-length shot of the front or back against the twilight sky, with exterior and interior lights on, can be quite stunning.
Picture by Steven Barber
Styling your interior for summer vibes
The styling of your home is important at any time of year to help buyers imagine themselves living there, and it should resonate with the season. To give your home that summer vibe:
Pack away any dark, heavy throws and blankets and replace them with lighter fabrics
Floral cushions bring a summer vibe to any room
White bed linen will help make bedrooms feel bright and fresh
Scented candles are a great aspirational and welcoming accessory all year round, so choose some light, floral scents for bedrooms and living areas
Any aroma that reminds people of being on holiday, such as coconut, can boost their positive mood even further! You could have some fresh coconut cake in the kitchen or a coconut diffuser in the bathroom.
Of course, the glass surfaces in your home should be gleaming whatever time of year you’re selling, but it’s even more important that they sparkle in the summer light. It might be worth having the windows and glazed doors professionally cleaned inside and outside before you put your home on the market and perhaps periodically until you secure a buyer.
Indoor/outdoor living is becoming increasingly popular, so fling open your sparkling doors and windows before people arrive to view, and have plenty of plants and flowers around your home – particularly near doorways – to help the flow of greenery from inside to outside.
Showing your garden at its blooming best
Many gardens are at their finest during the summer, but it’s the time of year when everything is growing quickly, meaning it takes a little more effort to keep everything looking fabulous. Some of our clients choose to get extra help from a gardening services company while their home’s on the market – so why not consider doing the same? It’s one less job for you to do, and you can be confident your garden will always make the best possible impression on buyers.
Styling is just as important for the outside of your home as the inside, so think about things you could do to show off how you enjoy the garden. If you already have garden furniture, great; if you don’t, then it might be beneficial to buy a reasonably-priced table and some chairs, as that can really help set the ‘lifestyle’ scene outside when people come to view. Put a vase of flowers on the table and lay out some refreshments – even if that’s just a big jug of freshly-made lemonade and some glasses. The garden will look even more welcoming and inviting, which will encourage people to stay longer to appreciate everything your home has to offer.
Families on the move
For growing families, being cooped up together indoors over the winter months often makes them realise it might be time to upsize! And with school-age children on holiday, summer is a popular time for families to look for a new home, as they can all view together, find something everyone loves and then move in early autumn without disrupting the middle of the academic year.
So, while demand tends to be strong across all types of home in the summer, we usually find the ‘family home’ market is particularly busy – especially for those homes that have generous gardens. As children get older, many families really appreciate having extra space outside, so summer is the perfect time of year to sell homes with large lawns, where viewers can watch their young ones safely running about and enjoying the space.
And with high demand comes buoyant prices, which means you may be able to get more for your home than if you try to sell in the winter months.
Would an open house suit you?
Summer is also a great time of year to have an open house, where different buyers can view at the same time over a period of a few hours. In nice weather, buyers can spread out through your home and garden, take their time to view – and, as long as it’s dry underfoot, you don’t need to worry too much about your carpets getting dirty! While it might not be the right strategy for every home, for some it can be very successful in creating a buzz and encouraging great offers, so speak to your agent about whether it could work for you.
Moving in the autumn
Once your summer marketing has led to a successful sale and you’ve found a new home that you love, you can start planning the next exciting step. Moving in the autumn has its benefits, as it won’t be too hot or too cold when you’re shifting all your furniture and possessions in and out of buildings and vans – which removals companies certainly appreciate!
And here’s a valuable tip if you’re using a removals company: contact them as early as possible, even if you don’t have a firm moving date yet and particularly if you’d like to move on a Friday, as that’s the most popular day. They can come and do their survey of what needs moving, give you a quote and you have the opportunity to negotiate the best possible price.
While some people find moving house one of life’s more stressful events, doing it in the autumn means you’re nicely positioned between the rush of the summer and Christmas holidays, so you should have some breathing space – and you’ve got the festive season to look forward to!
So, if you’ve been thinking of selling this summer, or perhaps you’re already on the market and are looking for a new approach to secure a buyer in time for an autumn move, we’d love to hear from you. Give us a call on 01202 711169 or email sharon@moveon.biz and we can get things moving right away to ensure you take full advantage of the summer buzz!
The pandemic has had a huge impact on people, their finances and their mental health. The government have looked at this and are introducing from the 4th May 2021 ‘The Debt Respite Scheme’.
The respite is 60 days breathing space to help sort out the debts that have accumulated. The condition of this is that you must sign up with a debt advice provider authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
If you have a tenant who has fallen behind in their rent and is struggling to keep up with their arrears, then this may help them. As a landlord you will not be able to contact them about their arrears or serve any notices during the 60 days. They must provide proof of the debt advisor and the tenant must have been accepted under the scheme. You can of course still contact them for other things such as Gas Safety Certificates.
It is important to note that the tenant must still continue to pay their rent during the 60 days, the respite is there for them to work on a payment plan on their arrears. The tenant can only sign up to this once a year.
If you would like more details on this, then please email me on sharon@moveon.biz.
Remember a good agent is worth every penny when you know you can sleep peacefully at night.
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