Grampa

At present with the ability to serve a s21 a landlord can take certain balanced risks with questionable potential tenants. Without that, all that means is it will be harder for tenants with a questionable history to be housed. I see us as a agency raising the bar at the referencing stage and also having to document every little incident during a tenancy in case it is needed to bolster a potential s8 hearing in the future. I also see rents being raised to push undesirable tenants out or to encourage rent arrears as a ground to evict at a s8 hearing.

I think carry on screaming is more appropriate 😱

There is now an even stronger argument for regulation in the letting industry and for landlords to use a good/competent agent. But it wont happen and a higher % of self managing landlords with come a cropper and make the decision to sell up therefore reducing housing stock. https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2018/4/more-than-half-of-btl-landlords-to-offload-properties-says-property-partner

The writing has been on the wall for this for a while. I believe it has already happened in Scotland and is now filtering its way to England in the same manner the fee ban did. If you look at the all the recent (last 12 years) changes although some have a duel benefit to both landlord and tenant if you were a cynical person you would see it as a ploy to make it harder to evict and with numerous pitfalls for any possession order to fail therefore keeping tenants in properties longer at the landlords expense and taking the pressure off local authorities. Below is my list of changes and amendments that make gaining possession harder: Huge increase in court fees within a very short period (from £125 into £300+ ) Deposit protection timescales (possession order fail if no done correctly) Deposit protection timescales Prescribed Info (possession order fail if no done correctly) EPC requirements (possession order fail if no done correctly) Gas certificates (possession order fail if no done correctly) S21 Shelf life added (possession order fail if no done correctly) How to rent guide (possession order fail if no done correctly) Latest version of How to rent guide (possession order fail if no done correctly) Retaliatory evictions (possession order fail if no done correctly) Tenant fee ban (possession order fail if no done correctly) HMO requirements (possession order fail if no done correctly) Different rules for Wales and England (possession order fail if no done correctly)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47927706?fbclid=IwAR3VtpQkGb2aPItBIssnHQM-ds_wAn1O664zfOLIBr8PBw4C0qyd-chNIxQ Another stupid idea from the government who dont understand the industry

Housing Minister Heather Wheeler is planning a ban on private landlords who reject tenants claiming benefits. She is opening a charm offensive to encourage landlords and letting agents to drop the no DSS adverts by lining up meetings with mortgage providers, landlord associations, tenant groups, and property websites. But is ready to follow-up with a new law if the lettings industry fails to embrace the change. Wheeler argues that 890,000 out of 4.5 million tenants renting private homes are paid housing benefits towards their rents. But she is concerned half of landlords are unwilling to let homes to tenants on benefits, which rules out renting for thousands of vulnerable people and families. The minister is also sharing a Private Rented Sector Access Fund of nearly £20 million between 54 housing projects in England to help the homeless or those at risk of losing their home. The money is aimed at aiding councils to pay deposits and the first month’s rent on private rented homes .“I want everyone to have the security, dignity and opportunities they need to build a better life – at the heart of which is ensuring everyone can find a safe and secure home to call their own,” said Wheeler. “This funding will make a huge difference in opening up the private rented sector to people who need it and give them the chance to rebuild their lives." “I will also be meeting key stakeholders to tackle the practice of ‘No DSS’, to underline the need for immediate change.” She also explained landlords can already receive rent from tenants on Housing Benefit and Universal Credit by payments directly into their bank accounts. Minister for Family Support, Housing and Child Maintenance, Justin Tomlinson said: “Everyone should have the same opportunity when looking for a home, regardless of whether they are in receipt of benefits. “With Universal Credit, payments can be paid directly to the landlord, and we continue to listen to feedback and work with landlords to improve the system.” Another badly thought out hair-brained idea from people with no idea how the letting industry works. We will now see numerous HB tenants applying for unsuitable properties. Which I mean by properties that are hugely more expensive than the local HB rate for that size of property. The would-be tenants will swear blind they can afford a monthly top-up of 200+ quid from their other benefits and many inexperienced agent or landlord will fall for it but end up having to evict at a later date. Bloody madness. RANT OVER.

I agree and here is the court case to prove it: Grand v Gill (EWCA) 2011 CIV 554 http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2011/554.html If you dont want to read all of it the relevant bit is: Leading judgement of Lord Justice Rimer For myself, whilst I would accept and adopt Mr Recorder Thayne Forbes’s observations as to the meaning of ‘the structure … of the dwellinghouse’ as providing for present purposes, as Neuberger LJ put it, a good working definition, I am respectfully unconvinced by his holding that the plaster finish to an internal wall or ceiling is to be regarded as in the nature of a decorative finish rather than as forming part of the ‘structure’. In the days when lath and plaster ceiling and internal partition walls were more common than now, the plaster was, I should have thought, an essential part of the creation and shaping of the ceiling or partition wall, which serve to give a dwellinghouse its essential appearance and shape. I would also regard plasterwork generally, including that applied to external walls, as being ordinarily in the nature of a smooth constructional finish to walls and ceilings, to which the decoration can then be applied, rather than a decorative finish in itself. I would therefore hold that it is part of the ‘structure’. I would accordingly accept that the wall and ceiling plaster in Ms Grand’s flat formed part of the ‘structure’ of the flat for the repair of which Mr Gill was responsible. Lord Justice Lloyd : Accordingly I would hold, as a general proposition, that plaster forming part of or applied to walls and ceilings is part of the structure of the relevant premises

It is not unreasonable to formerly request from the FH what extract of the lease states the issues you mentioned are the leaseholder responsibility. That will put the onus on him.

The devil is in the detail of lease as RL states. Unfortunately leases can be very badly worded/drafted, and written in legalise which can make it hard for a lay person to interpret. Normally (depending on the lease) re-painting and plastering would be covered in situations like this and as the cost is ultimately paid by the leaseholder anyway via the service charge. I can only think the reason these costs are being passed your way is: 1. The lease states they can 2. The freeholder doesn't understand the lease and self manages the block. 3.The freeholder also owns a lease in the block and is trying to get the total cost of the works down and therefore his contribution for his service charge will be less. This can be common. If the cost is more than £250 the FH has to go down the S20 process and get quotes from 3 contractors and give you the option to put forward your own contractor. If the property is inhabitable while the works are being done thats what it is whether you are living there or a tenant. Ask to see a copy of the block insurance which you have a right to.

HMO properties need a specialised mortgage product and if you have a “normal” BTL mortgage it is unlikely to allow HMO’s. REad your mortgage conditions. You need to either change your mortgage to one that allows HMO’s or rent the property as a normal rental

You may have to swallow that cost or add it to the rent when the fee ban comes in and is clarified.

A typical inventory for a 2 bed unfurnished flat will be 40-60 pages(sides) long and will list/photo as well the meters, bin area external areas etc. It will be a combination of photos and descriptions. It should be signed on every page and any stains on marks should ideally be photographed with a coin or ruler along side them so the size of the mark stain can be determined. There are many inventory companies out there that do this service and the cost varies but expect to pay in the region of 100-140 quid depending on the size of the property. We do ours in house and that has never been questioned if there was any a dispute and we charge the landlord £85. It takes from start to finish 4-5 hours to do.

Sound advice.

I dont think its quite a simple as mentioned. If there is a security issue then that is a emergency especially if the door wouldnt lock (or at risk of not opening next time) and the agent was the last person to access it as he has a certain amount of responsibility over the property. Plus a duty of care in looking after the landlords interests. If the property is in a higher risk area that makes it even more urgent. So I think the agent has done the right thing BUT: 1.The agent should have at least called, left message, emailed to take instruction or let you know what they at doing. 2. £150 + is in my view excessive for changing a lock. if the door is open a good handyman would do it for £25-£50. If the door is locked shut it can be a bit more specialised which it reflexed in the cost and the skills needs to open the door first. 3. What time of day or day of the week was the issue determined it needed doing? If it was 4.30pm on a Friday and the door wouldn't lock or they couldn't shut it without risk of it not opening again I think the cost is reasonable. Hard to swallow but had to be done. Also as RL mentioned what is in the T&C's you signed with the agent? If you need to revise the arrangements/T&C's with the agent now is the time to do it. Doing something is normally better than not doing anything.

my lowest one it £360 but we own the freehold. (block of 6) I would be happy to pay a bit more to built up the reserve fund but the other owners are not keen. I guess it makes up for having to pay £1250 pa on 2 others

i consider any service charge under 1k pa and you are doing well.

Expenditure 1/1/16 - 31/12/16 Electricity £124.20 (sounds about right but a tariff change will likely save 20%) Bank Charges £66.00 (depends on the bank but is similar to client accounts i have) Accounts £310.50 (about right) Management (incl office costs) £500.00 (cheap for 5 flats if total amount) Asbestos Survey, 20/3/16 £276.00 (about right but only has to done about every 4-5 years as a guide unless works, extensions, major repairs going on which might reveal something) A M Fire & Security Contract, 14/2/16 £233.40 (about right) Ballcock repair in roof, 18/1/16 £60.00 (about right) Fire Risk Assessment, 7/11/16 £207.00 £1,777.10 WHY TWO FIGURES??? what was the £1777.10 for? It could be to resolve highlighted issues from the report. Less Service Charge invoiced 1/1/16 (5 x £200) £1,000.00 I would ask the question why a sinking/reserve fund isnt budgeted for. If I was managing the block i would be looking at adding at least £500 pa to build up an emergency fund. What if the roof is damaged and emergency repairs are needed but only 2 out of the 5 owners have the funds available for their share?????

How many flats in the block? I find a fire risk assessment costs about 350-500 but it does depend on the size etc of the building

Be careful for what you wish for. If the freeholder is managing the block themselves they may not be charging a management fee. If they then decide its too much hassel they could instruct a management agent who is likely to charge between £150 - £500 PER UNIT/FLAT which will be added to the service charge. This happened to a landlord of mine who was also a self managing freeholder. He got fed up with late payments arguments over every expense (which were reasonable) so he gave to me to manage for which I charge £300 per flat. So they shot themselves in the foot. It isn't standard practice to provide evidence/receipts unless formally requested.

Under Sections 21 and 22 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (LTA 1985) you have the right to request a summary of the service charge account and to inspect receipts, accounts etc in relation to the last accounting year, or where accounts are not kept by accounting years, the past 12 months preceding the request. You need to write to your landlord or managing agent and request a summary under Section 21 LTA 1985. The summary should be provided within one month of your request (or within six months of the end of the accounting period whichever is the later) and should be certified by a qualified accountant if there are more than four dwellings. Once you have received the summary, you have the right under Section 22 of the LTA 1985 to inspect documents as a follow-up to provide more detail on the summary. Within six months of receipt of the summary you may write to the landlord or managing agent requiring them to allow you access to inspect the accounts, receipts and any other documents relevant to the service charge information in the summary and to provide facilities for them to be copied. Facilities for inspecting the documents should be provided within one month of your request and should be available for two months.

We have used a good handyman to repair/patch up damaged electric doors in the past. This incudes fixing new hinges. You also need to consider that the tenant did it themselves when they lost or couldn't find the locking key to open the door and they needed to top up the electric key and couldn't get in. Depending on the location I would try to claim the cost from the tenant at the end of the tenancy. After all if it was in good order at the start of the tenancy it should be at the end.

We have it in the T&C'c that the landlord is signed up for at least the first six months of the tenant moving in just to cover ourselves in case you got a smart arse who tried to terminate after a couple of weeks and we have put all the work in setting up the tenancy and advertising, inventory, etc. After that we have a standard 30 day termination clause that can be used by either party. Thought I am toying with the idea of increasing it to 2 or 3 months. I have never had a new landlord (that I can remember) who did terminate after 6 months and 99% of dis-instructions are due to having to sell and then we do that as well most times so get the sale commission. Every agencies T&C's are different some will even have questionable, unfair terms or no T&C's at all If he wants a portion of the management fees reimbursed I guess it would be down to how much or little of the service he actually got and to equate that to a monetary figure.. A lot of it will be down to the T&C'S with the company and how specific it states what they do or don't do. For example if it said the agent would do 5 inspections a year but only did 2 you could easily put a price to that. Or if the agent kept funds that should have been passed over and there is evidence to prove it. If the agent is a member of ARLA or the ombudsman there is a code of practise they have to follow (down-loadable) and you can put a complaint into them but there are timescales to complain by. As mentioned unless you can equate a cost, material loss and justify it I think the chances of getting a punitive award from a judge at county court level is not good because the landlord has received a service or part of it, it just happens it wasn't very good.. This is just my opinion and if it did go to court I would be interested to see how a judge interprets it.

I'm not sure I agree with that statement or think it is that common. We don't have it in ours and don't find it necessary as we rarely lose landlords. The three other agencies I have taken over or purchased their portfolio's didn't have that restriction either. I think it is the bigger muti office or national chain companies that are more inclined to feel they have to tie clients in because they don't have the personal touch or flexibility which doesn't inspire loyalty.