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We are starting to see signs of local councils and the Government cracking down on rogue landlords.
Here are few that have come across my industry news this month…
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The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 received Royal Assent on 8th 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
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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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