Melboy

Gove starts his campaign today for change to UK housing law etc. From what I reading and hearing on TV and radio there is some back-peddling on his proposals from a year ago. There is evidence that some new build housing is happening to house immigrants and definitely strong evidence that private rental properties (in my location) are being snapped up for immigrants both legal and non legal. That evidence has come from my EA and LA contacts where they have said that 2 bed and 3 bed properties are being rented out for anywhere up to £300 above normal rental rates being charged to the local council. I have seen on Rightmove rental property evidence to back that up as well. That excess rental payment is being paid for by the local council through government grants. Admittingly this arrangement, at present, probably refers to probably less than 10 properties. I don't trust Gove. He is a Weasel., but as we are nearing a general election I would think he has watered down a lot of his anti landlord proposals to gain support from Tory MP's and voters.

I would go with COR's reply. It makes sense to do this with the minimum of fuss.

I heard last week that this deal was about to become public knowledge. The question is how sinister is it? Is it another step to drive out the small time landlord? Probably not I would say. I would say that Lloyds / Citra will probably work closely with the Government on this housing purchase probably to turn it into one large housing association providing accommodation for the local councils. Only time will tell what is going to happen. We don't hear a lot about Barrett Homes much these days but some forum members will remember back in the 70's and 80's they did not have a very good reputation for their build quality as I recall. " Built to the nearest Foot" 😃

It does look fairly bleak for Welsh landlords and the prospect for English landlords is not looking too good either when you hear and read of the future planning by this Conservative Government and probably worse if the Labour Party win the next general election which is currently looking very likely. The Conservative Government housing minister Michael Gove seems to want to ignore all the advice he is receiving from landlord associations and just push through his agenda of tenant tenancy protection and even more landlord tenancy restrictions in favour of tenants. If Gove provides a solid new housing law for the rapid eviction of the non-paying, anti-social tenant then I may have a change of mind but at this moment I don't see this happening.

One of my tenants is actually an EA and LA in a large office. I am kept up to date by this person fairly regularly on the property scene for my area. The current trend is showing that Landlords are selling up and getting out but not in large numbers maybe 1 or 2 a week coming into the office to put their property on the market. The largest volume of enquiries and property sales is more down to people downsizing, mortgage repayment problems, work related moves, and moving out of the UK to places like Spain France and Portugal. ( that number moving overseas has definitely increased I am informed) I listened to a news program in the week when they were interviewing the boss of the Landlords Association and he said that he is selling ALL of his 17 rental properties due to current events. Sign of the times I guess. Also, unusual perhaps? I have seen 2 properties on Rightmove for my area where the sales actually state for sale to BtL investors only. I can only guess the selling landlord has good tenants and would like to pass them on to the new landlord buyer. Memo to myself: must stop using the terminology Landlord and use the phrase: Private Home Provider. 😃 As for Gove, well, what can you say? He as useless as a chocolate teapot and just pandering to the liberal left of the Tory party to show that he dealing with the renting sector tenants and no doubt will stuff the private landlord bat of fair play where the Sun doesn't shine.

https://www.landlordaction.co.uk Probably one of the best well known organisations. Fee covers review of notice and service, checking the file, case preparation, court fee. ‍ Our fees: £783.00. VAT: £157.00. Disbursements: £355.00.

Back into the headlines again is the Renter's Reform Bill being discussed in Parliament. According to Minister for Housing Michael Gove the new laws will be introduced to deal with rogue landlords. Believe that and you probably believe in fairies at the bottom of your garden. The Local Councils have many existing laws to deal with rogue landlords but the vast majority do not adhere to them and the reason for that must be that it would mean that the Council Housing Department would have to rehouse them from their rapidly diminishing and probably non existing housing stock. This new Bill is designed to restrict landlords on what they can and can't do to a sitting tenant and obviously to stop "no fault evictions". When I actually see the details of the new law which is supposed to deal with rogue tenants and which is also designed to provide the landlord with fast track eviction of rogue tenants than I am very happy to have a change of opinion on the new renter's Bill. Also the Government have announced today (BBC R4, Telegraph ) that they plan to move illegal immigrants out of hotels and into private accommodation asap. With an hotel asylum bill of 7 million pounds a day the Government will be able to hoover up a lot of private housing stock as landlords sell up and get out of the BtL business. I have always said that once Government interfere with private housing law they will make a mess of it and over many years nothing has convinced me to alter that view.

My Son carries at least 2 CO monitors on his van. He does carry out a lot of Landlord's gas boiler servicing and certification. If a quality monitor is supplied at the visit it is £20. If the landlord doesn't want it fitted ( for whatever that reason may be) it is recorded on the gas safety certificate. UK bluebell management agent should have perhaps phoned and warned of the problem of not having one and the legal consequences etc.

I was watching an interesting article about Chinese EV's bursting into flames for no good reason well, apparently the poor construction of battery packs leaves a lot to be desired. It happens quite a lot in China especially with the newest cars that they produce. Your right RL lithium battery fires are virtually impossible to put out and conventional methods of extinguishing car fires just don't work. This has also led to Chinese people avoiding parking next to EV's especially at charging points ( good video of a Chinese delivery van going up in flames having parked next to an EV on charge and was well on fire ) I don't think I will be rushing out to buy an EV anytime soon as the more I hear about them the more they don't make any sense starting with exaggerated manufacturer mileage claims so I will stick with my petrol job for as long as I can. I won't be driving in 10 years time and that may not necessarily be down to age related problems but down to our overcrowded roads on our overcrowded island.

Talking of Christmas cards with a religious theme. I receive a lot of Christmas cards every year and this year I made a mental note of just how many I received had religious theme to the front of the card and if I remember correctly it was less than 5. The most popular card is the cute Robin sitting on a snowy post and an Olde World, snowy picture scene of old buildings covered in 3ft of snow. Both of course bear no relevance to what Christmas is all about. Easter is just around the corner........now I hope I get an Easter egg. 😅

My guess is that the Government will have to bring in some form of exemption clause for the really old Victorian/Edwardian/pre 1950 properties but not for modern properties that can be upgraded within the guidelines. For example my Daughter lives in a very nice Grade2 listed 1840 converted stable with Groom's house attached. The walls are stone and thicker than Richlist's wallet and there is nothing you can do to that construction to improve it and even if you could she wouldn't be allowed to do it by the G2 Listing Office Police. There must be thousands of such properties in the UK housing stock including rental properties in a similar situation.

I had to put this up on the forum as it did make me smile but of course there is a serious side to it that makes anyone undertake building and living in a converted skip. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11832221/I-spent-4-000-converting-skip-compact-home-London.html

Probably not the way things are going now with tenant tenancy protection. It has been said that the new EPC rules coming into force in the future will cost landlords a lot of money to reach the minimum grading required for an EPC on the older properties.

eBay 10% selling fee's plus VAT plus your postage costs to the buyer equals a £10,000 loss. 😂 I would stick to selling lawnmowers this April RL 😀

Everything that Grampa and Richlist has written in their replies. Funny enough before I read Grampa's reply I thought the same "Tricky one" this comment to answer on. It is always difficult when it comes to family member disputes like this. So I would recommend following Grampa's advice and a solicitor's letter and their advice is advisable imo.

All my property insurances are due in March including my own property. At least I don't forget as they are all due on my birthday. Happy Birthday Mel. 😀 I suppose I have always considered BTL insurance as essential as it's a hell of an investment to lose if you don't have insurance in place. I always tailor the insurance to the tenant and that includes loss of rent and legal cover as well. Direct Line were my insurance company for a few years and the cover was very good but their premiums steadily rose to an uncompetitive rate so for the last 2 years I am with SAGA Landlord Insurance and their cover is pretty comprehensive and I am just waiting to see what the renewal charges will be this year. I have been with many insurance company's over the past 30 plus years and I have never made a claim so to answer the question it is up to you, the landlord, to insure your property for what you consider is suitable for your needs and your tenant......but just don't skimp on the cover.

I cannot answer you question COR but I would guess a Licence to Occupy is not covered by the Government Housing Act for Rental / Sold Property if they, for any reason, they backed out of the deal. I don't think I would allow anybody to occupy a property before completion unless there was some form of watertight contract in place and perhaps a money incentive for doing this. I presume you have the 10% deposit. Why can't they wait a few weeks before taking possession.

As per usual a very light Court sentence for the misery he has caused. https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/cowboy-builder-conned-vulnerable-homeowners-23683244

Supposing and it is supposition until the details are released that the rumour of 4 months notice is correct and that you cannot market the property for 6 months then the exodus of private landlords and even business landlords would be immense and not to mention the landlord Conservative core voter's at the next general election giving the Tories an even bigger kicking than they are going get right now......according to the opinion polls.

The Renters Reform Bill will, according to an announcement from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, be introduced in this session of Parliament, ending in May 2023. The Bill seeks to change the landscape for rental tenants and landlords. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-deal-for-private-renters-published-today I would like to think that good, honest, private landlords will not be too seriously affected by the this Government "new deal". I'm nearly always wrong on this assumption.

Not intentionally COR but I can see where you are coming from. 😃

Probably not, but my circumstances are probably different to most landlords. Landlords who are working on tight budgets and are really affected by the increased mortgage rate, bad tenants, repairs and overheads etc. are most likely to be the first to take their money by selling up with a capital profit and getting out of BTL.

Interesting snap-shot of the current BTL market. Worth a read I would suggest. I do personally know of two landlords selling up and getting out of the business, but there again there are many who are not, me for a start. My selling HMRC tax bill would be enormous! 😃 ‘I’m selling my properties as soon as a tenant gives notice’ (msn.com)

Like Grampa I increase my rents by small increments each year mainly between £15 to £20pcm. I have never received any complaints by doing this but as mentioned if you whack a tenant after say 4 or 5 years with a large monthly increase of say £2 -£300 to make up for the years you haven't done this they are not going to be very happy with you and it could mean that they would move on or demand more for the property by way of improvements.