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Lettingaproperty.com is the smarter way to find tenants without having to go through High Street agents. You could save on  average £1,900 in fees and reach millions of potential tenants by appearing on the UK’s biggest property websites. It’s hassle free, quick (ads are online within 24 hours) and you can choose the level of package to suit you. No wonder over 98% of our landlords recommend our national service.

We will be glued to the TV tonight as we learn of actor Nigel Havers’ ordeal of how he was cheated out of money by a ‘rogue high street letting agent’.

Also revealed will be the staggering thought of how millions of tenants could also be falling victim to these unscrupulous practices.

According to sources of the Letting Agent Today website, tonight’s Watchdog programme (BBC1, 8.00pm) will look into claims that letting agents are insisting that prospective tenants sign up to certain utility companies, with the agents picking up healthy kickbacks from the firms.

Setting up new utility providers at the start of a tenancy agreement is not uncommon.  In fact, most tenancy agreements would require that the incoming tenant notifies the current utility providers of the change of occupant.  However, this administration is often overlooked by the tenant, causing issues when it comes to unpaid bills and questions of who accepts liability of the debt. Some letting agents have consequently adopted the responsibility to inform the utility companies themselves.  Although it’s a good practice for most, there are a handful of agents that look for additional revenues to bolster the bottom line.   Herein lies the opportunity to generate kickbacks…

Some utility companies will pay between £30 and £50 per switch.  A typical high street agent may have in the region of 15 new tenancies per month, therefore generating a minimum of £450 – £750 per month of commission.  As the energy market is highly competitive and that the acquisition of new customers is of the highest priority, often these firms will incentivise the introducer letting agent with bigger bonuses if certain number of switches is achieved in the month.

There are a number of organisations outside of the Private Rented Sector that have built their business on the basis of generating revenues from these types of kickbacks – some of them big, well known brands. Although the morality of commission being paid for introducing new customers to an organisation is not in question, we believe the programme tonight will look into how unclear it is for these tenants as to the reason why they are being forced to switch to different utility providers.

Our view is that the landlord has the right to choose whichever utility company they desire for their property. However, if it is not the landlord paying the bill, it would then be up to the tenant to decide if they would be better off financially with an alternative provider and the Landlord should not unreasonably withhold such a request.

About LettingaPropery.com

LettingaProperty.com is an evolutionary Nationwide Online Letting Agent aimed at servicing todays’ Private Landlord. Modern technology, our in-depth lettings knowledge and a cost efficient administration infrastructure enables our business to compete aggressively with higher administration costs and a poor service culture stigma offered by conventional High Street Letting Agents. With the exception of conducting viewings, we offer all that a High Street Agency would be expected to do. Our services are National, dependable and supremely efficient. In essence, we provide Private Landlords a cost effective Lettings service without compromise and we promise to save you money, empower you with Industry knowledge and be there to support you when letting a property.

Image courtesy of Coventry Telegraph

 

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According to a recent article, “Private landlords will be responsible for checking the immigration status of potential tenants.  Fines could run into the thousands of pounds for those breaking the law.”

The Queen’s Speech, which sets out the legislative programme for 2013 / 14, is expected to contain more than a dozen parliamentary Bills and includes the measures that will be needed to be taken by private landlords and Employers to sift out illegal tenants and employees.  Questions may arise as to whether this is an attempt to enlist the support of the general public to underpin the failings of the UK Border Agency.

The exact details of the measurements are unknown and plans will be subjected to formal consultation during the coming months.

“Ministers are expected to say that the legal requirements on Landlords will affect those letting rooms in HMO properties. However, the measure will be universal and it will be the responsibility of all landlords to seek copies of passports and appropriate visas.”

Jonathan Daines, Founder of LettingaProperty.com comments;

“We are strong supporters for carrying out comprehensive tenant checks, irrespective of the tenant’s circumstances or place of origin.  Naturally, identification should always be sought and seen by the Landlord or Agent which should include an original passport and an original utility bill or bank statement, dated within the last three months.  If the tenant does not hold a valid Passport which allows him / her to live and work in the UK without restrictions, then alternative evidence should be requested such as a working Visa.  If the tenant is unable to provide this basic information, we would indeed advise the Landlord not to proceed with the tenancy.”

Read the full Telegraph article here.

About LettingaPropery.com

LettingaProperty.com is an evolutionary Nationwide Online Letting Agent aimed at servicing todays’ Private Landlord. Modern technology, our in-depth lettings knowledge and a cost efficient administration infrastructure enables our business to compete aggressively with higher administration costs and a poor service culture stigma offered by conventional High Street Letting Agents. With the exception of conducting viewings, we offer all that a High Street Agency would be expected to do. Our services are National, dependable and supremely efficient. In essence, we provide Private Landlords a cost effective Lettings service without compromise and we promise to save you money, empower you with Industry knowledge and be there to support you when letting a property.

“We support good landlords”

Senior officers of the city council have been in discussions with the West Midlands Regional Representative of the National Landlords Association (NLA) since 2011 when HMO licences were about to come up for renewal but it was not until the NLA proposed a radical new approach to the fee structure that progress was made.

The proposal was based on offering discounts to those landlords who have taken the trouble to learn, through an education based accreditation scheme, and ensure that they were supported, by joining a recognised landlords association. On the other side of the coin those landlords who have broken the law by not applying in a timely fashion for an HMO licence would be penalised to cover the extra cost involved in tracing and chasing and sometime taking legal action against them. By recovering their costs from the bad landlords the good landlords could be licensed at a much lower fee and the authority would still balance their books. Birmingham City Councils Officers were very supportive of this approach which was given the blessing of the Birmingham Landlord Forum Steering Group.

In the report, on the proposed new fee structure submitted to the Strategic Director, Local Services and the Deputy Leader of the Council, it was noted:

“When the increase of fees and charges came into effect on 4th April 2012 for new licence applications, and from 1st June 2012 for the renewal of existing licences. Private landlords representatives expressed concern that compliant landlords were being penalised and the National Landlord Association submitted an alternative proposal to introduce a fairer format of fees and discounts for this area of work.

The fee structure for the HMO licensing scheme has been reviewed in the light of a proposal submitted by the National Landlord Association on behalf of their members operating in the city.

The headline cost of the fee has not been altered but the levels of discount to members of certain professional organisations and members of the Midland Landlord Accreditation scheme have been increased. This will encourage landlords to respond more rapidly and penalise those who fail to comply. Those providing incomplete applications will be penalised as will owners and managers of unlicensed properties.”

Jacqui Kennedy, Director of Regulation and Enforcement, recognised the need to encourage good landlords to work with the city and in her report she noted

“To continue with the structure of fees and discounts set in February 2012 will cause damage to the reputation of Birmingham City Council in its dealings with the body of reputable private landlords and have a negative impact on dialogue intended to encourage owners to provide decent secure homes for the vulnerable and in need.”

In further recognition of those good landlords, who had applied and paid for a licence or renewal before the restructure was agreed, it was agreed to back date the new fee structure to 4th April 2012 and those landlords who are entitled to the discounts will now be given a very welcome refund.

The new fee structure is as follows:
A first application for a licence – £1150
For the renewal of an existing licence made before the current licence expires – £850
Where an application for the renewal of an existing licence is made after the expiry of the current licence – £1150

Discounts
A discount, applied to each application, if the proposed Licence Holder is a member of the Midland Landlord Accreditation Scheme (MLAS) – £300
A discount, applied to each application, if the proposed Licence Holder is a member of the National Landlords Association (NLA) or the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) – £150

Note – both discounts may be claimed if the proposed Licence Holder belongs to both the MLAS and either the NLA or the RLA

Duration of the licence
A licence application made following an investigation by the council – 1 year
A licence application made after a request has been made by the council – 1 year
A licence application made where a licence application should have been made previously – 1 year
A licence application made where there is evidence of poor management of a HMO – 1 year
Any other application – 5 years

Additional charges
For the submission of an incomplete application (If additional information is required the application will not be processed until the additional charge is received) – £100

The result of this is that good landlords can reduce their fees to £700 for a new 5 year licence application and £400 for a 5 year renewal of an existing HMO licence where all licence conditions have been met and the application is made on time and in full.

Those landlords who have chosen not to become accredited through MLAS or to join a recognised landlords association will pay £1,150 for a new 5 year licence and £850 for a 5 year renewal.

Those landlords who do not apply in time and in full or are not meeting the HMO Management regulations will only receive a 1 year licence and will need to pay the full fee again before the end of that year when they apply for a 5 year licence renewal.

Landlords who are accredited with the National Landlords Association (NLA), following attendance of a one day foundation seminar, will be passported at no cost into the MLAS on application and will be entitled to the accredited landlord discount.

Speaking on behalf of NLA members in Birmingham Mary Latham, Regional Representative of NLA had this to say:

“I am delighted that Birmingham City Council are offering tangible support to good landlords. Birmingham has one of the lowest LHA rates in the region and good landlords, who are providing the much needed HMO accommodation, will really appreciate this recognition of their efforts. NLA have an excellent relationship with this authority and we look forward to working with them to avoid homelessness in the city.”

About LettingaPropery.com

LettingaProperty.com is an evolutionary Nationwide Online Letting Agent aimed at servicing todays’ Private Landlord. Modern technology, our in-depth lettings knowledge and a cost efficient administration infrastructure enables our business to compete aggressively with higher administration costs and a poor service culture stigma offered by conventional High Street Letting Agents. With the exception of conducting viewings, we offer all that a High Street Agency would be expected to do. Our services are National, dependable and supremely efficient. In essence, we provide Private Landlords a cost effective Lettings service without compromise and we promise to save you money, empower you with Industry knowledge and be there to support you when letting a property.

At a time when all local authorities are looking at “creative” ways to increase their income, landlords are seen as fair game and the hunting season is in full swing.

“To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”  ― Thomas Jefferson

Three local authorities have found another piece of legislation to misinterpret.  Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012.

Under this regulation, which came into effect on 6th April 2012;

“Waste arising from a domestic property used in the course of a business for the provision of self catering accommodation should be classed as commercial waste”

Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield have decided that some privately rented property should now be reclassified as “commercial” and are informing the owners that they will be charged if they choose to continue to use the bin collections provided by the local authority.  In one case the annual charge for this service will be £13,066.85!! This charge includes a weekly collection of general waste and a fortnightly collection of paper, tins and glass which must be stored in separate bins.  These charges include £85 for the “hire” of each bin, and £19 each for “admin charges”. The council have calculated the number of bins required based on the number of tenants and are also proposing to charge a “delivery charge” of £50 per bin for the additional bins that they say are required.

The landlord wrote to the local authority, in reply to their request to pay for the service or find a commercial company which is licensed to their collect waste, pointing out;

“We are private landlords who let domestic properties; the properties are not used in the course of a business, they are occupied by tenants for residential purposes only.

Please note that the properties are not subject to service charges, all of the tenants pay for their own services such as utilities and charges such as Council Tax. The waste collection service is already paid for by way of Council Tax.”

The local authority replied repeating that the properties had been reclassified under the new legislation and confirming that the collection of waste would stop three days from the date of their letter unless the payment was made.

The landlord contacted DEFRA (The department for environment food and rural affairs) and quoted what they were told to this authority.

“ DEFRA has clarified the situation and we are not liable for the waste collection charges on two counts.

Firstly the change in wording of the regulations was not intended to change tenanted properties from residential to commercial and therefore there should be no charge for waste collection to properties that are rented under a tenancy agreement and all our apartments are rented under an assured short hold tenancy agreement.

On the second count we are exempt as we are a small business. We receive small business relief on our business rates”

The landlord included this information provided by DEFRA

“Domestic property used in the course of a business for the provision of self-catering accommodation”

The 1992 Regulations dealt with “Waste from domestic property or a caravan used in the course of a business for the provision of self-catering holiday accommodation” (Schedule 2, paragraph 6), and classified waste from these premises as household waste for which collection charges could be made. 

The 2012 Regulations carved these premises into separate entries in the table in paragraph 2 of Schedule 1, removed the word ‘holiday’, and reclassified waste from these premises as commercial waste, which means that collection and disposal charges may be made (except for premises which are covered by the “small business exemption”).

However, the removal of the word ‘holiday’ was not intended to represent a fundamental widening of the meaning of “self catering accommodation”.  We did not intend to re-classify waste from properties rented out under tenancies from household to commercial waste.  Furthermore, our consultation document did not flag any proposals to change the treatment of properties rented out under tenancy agreements.  We remain of the view that residential properties that are subject to some sort of tenancy agreement are unlikely to constitute “self catering accommodation”. 

The inclusion of the word “unlikely” gives me cause for concern!!

If you are now thinking “phew thank goodness for that”.  The local authority in this case stopped collecting the waste on the date that they had stated and the landlord is now using a local waste removal company who are charging £5,000 a year.  While this is a massive saving on the prices quoted by the local authority it is an additional financial burden on the landlord and the local authority are still being paid, through Council Tax, for a service which they no longer provide.

Article 4 Directions, Mandatory and Selective Licensing and now Waste Removal charges…… where will it all end? At some point investing in property to let, particularly HMO’s, is just not going to make sense for private landlords and all the corporate investment that Government are hoping will solve the housing shortage is never going to happen.

Mary Latham (@landlordtweets)

About LettingaPropery.com

LettingaProperty.com is an evolutionary Nationwide Online Letting Agent aimed at servicing todays’ Private Landlord. Modern technology, our in-depth lettings knowledge and a cost efficient administration infrastructure enables our business to compete aggressively with higher administration costs and a poor service culture stigma offered by conventional High Street Letting Agents. With the exception of conducting viewings, we offer all that a High Street Agency would be expected to do. Our services are National, dependable and supremely efficient. In essence, we provide Private Landlords a cost effective Lettings service without compromise and we promise to save you money, empower you with Industry knowledge and be there to support you when letting a property.

“Romney shot himself in the foot this week, then re-loaded, and shot the other foot” – Affan Chowdhry

Most universities were built before most of us were born and, just like Airports, it is fairly safe to say if you buy your home close to one of them there is the potential for it to be very noisy at times. I would not live close to a university because, while I love my student tenants, I would not want to be woken at 3am as they walk home from the student union bars. I cannot understand why people choose to live in areas where there is potential for issues like these to arise unless the issues don’t bother them?

Article 4 Direction was the Governments way of appeasing voters who do not want to live close to students.  The silly word “studentification” has crept into use in recent years.  It is the word used to describe areas where former family homes become student Homes in Multi Occupation (HMO’s). As the student community grew owner occupiers began to resent the intrusion of students in their communities and put pressure on local authorities to control the increase in properties that were being converted into multi occupied student homes (HMO’s). As the last Government were on their way out, on April 6th 2010, they put in place a change to planning regulations which meant that for any property that had established use as a single dwelling house (Planning Use Class C3) where the owner wanted to use it as a small HMO (Planning Use Class C4) planning consent would be needed. The new Government quickly changed this, enabling local authorities to use this regulation if they felt that there was a need to do so, but only after consulting with property owners in the chosen area. They retained the split of residential property into two separate classes- Class C3 for dwelling houses and Class C4 for small HMO. As a result from 1 October 2010 a change of use from a dwelling house (Class C3) to a HMO (Class C4) and from a HMO to a dwelling house was once again possible and planning permission was not required unless the local authority had put an Article 4 Direction in place in that area.

They did this by allowing authorities to withdraw the ‘permitted development’ rights which would otherwise apply by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 as amended (the ‘GDPO’).  An Article 4 Direction does not prevent the development to which it applies, but instead requires that planning permission is first obtained from the local planning authority for that development. In the case of conservation areas, this process allows for the consideration of the impact of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the conservation area.

The definition of different planning use classes are set out in the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended).

Many landlords confuse change of use with physical changes to the building and where an Article 4 Direction is in place one does not need to make any physical changes to the building this is simply about how the building is occupied. If the property is occupied by 3-6 people, sharing facilities, who are unrelated it is class C4. Larger HMO’s (7 tenants and more) must always have planning consent.

Some cautions

1. Some local authorities are asking for proof of up to 10 years of established use as an HMO in order to avoid an Article 4 Direction and the need for a planning application while others accept a Tenancy Agreement, that was in place prior to the Direction coming into force, as proof of established use. This could mean that an established HMO is refused permission when the landlord cannot prove established use.
2. Some local authorities are covering their whole area with an Article 4 Direction rather than targeting high density HMO areas – this is no longer about student HMOs.
3. If a property, that has established use as an HMO, changes use to a family home this will break the established use and will need planning consent to be used as an HMO again in future.
4. If you are considering buying a property, for conversion, check the local authority web site to see if there are any plans to put an Article 4 Direction in the area.
5. If lenders become aware that there is an Article 4 Direction in place in an area where you are planning to buy, for conversion to an HMO, they may refuse to lend on that property.

In my opinion many of the people who have pushed local authorities into introducing Article 4 Directions in their area have not considered the affect on the value of their homes. Where there is already a high proportion of student HMO’s in an area families are less likely to want to buy their homes  and when these properties come onto the market they are bought by landlords to convert to more student HMO’s.  Landlords have driven up the cost of properties in these areas despite the downturn in property prices generally. The rental income from a HMO in the right area makes this type of property very attractive to investors.  If landlords are not certain that they will be able to use a property as an HMO they will not buy the property.  If families don’t want to live there and landlords won’t take the risk, who will by these properties when they come onto the market?  This is bound to have an impact on the value of the property. The horse has already bolted in most student areas and control of the spread of HMOs is about 10 years too late. In my opinion Article 4 Directions will have a very short shelf life and in the meantime those of us who own  established HMO’s will see an increase in their value because investors will know that they have established use and are therefore a safe investment.

Changes to Housing Benefits rules reduced the amount paid to a single person under the age of 35 years to the rate for a room in a shared house, where previously if they were over 25 years they would have been entitled to claim the self contained home rate. This change has had a major impact on many landlords who were forced to take a reduction of up to 50% in their rent or evict the tenant because of his inability to pay the full rent. The good news for landlords who let HMO’s was that there was a increase in the number of people who wanted to rent a room in the property and many landlords invested in HMO’s to meet the increased demand.  An Article 4 Direction is not specifically about student HMO’s and where there is a Direction in place landlords will not buy properties to convert into HMO’s for any tenant group because they cannot afford to take the risk of being refused planning consent and this has already had a negative impact on the supply of affordable homes.  All local authorities are struggling to house the homeless and single people under the age of 35 years are a particularly difficult group for them to house because they simply haven’t enough stock of small homes.  People on modest incomes are also attracted to HMO’s and if they cannot find an affordable home they often cannot take up employment in an area. This in turn will have an impact on businesses and services that depend on staff who are paid a modest wage. Without investment from private landlords the need for affordable homes will not be met. Landlords are already reducing the homes that they offer to people on benefits because of their concern about the Welfare Reform and the coming of Universal Credit. Any local authority that compounds the problem with the use of an Article 4 Direction is indeed “re-loading, to shoot the other foot”. Just how long it will take for the penny to drop remains to be seen.

Please check with your local authority website regularly because they must publish their intention to put an Article 4 Direction in place and carry out a consultation with all interested parties before it begins.  You may find it well hidden but it is vital that you respond to the consultation making the point that only private landlords are investing in affordable homes at the moment and if we are prevented from doing so homelessness will increase in their area.

Mary Latham (@landlordtweets)

About LettingaPropery.com

LettingaProperty.com is an evolutionary Nationwide Online Letting Agent aimed at servicing todays’ Private Landlord. Modern technology, our in-depth lettings knowledge and a cost efficient administration infrastructure enables our business to compete aggressively with higher administration costs and a poor service culture stigma offered by conventional High Street Letting Agents. With the exception of conducting viewings, we offer all that a High Street Agency would be expected to do. Our services are National, dependable and supremely efficient. In essence, we provide Private Landlords a cost effective Lettings service without compromise and we promise to save you money, empower you with Industry knowledge and be there to support you when letting a property.

According to the latest insight report from Rightmove.co.uk, “97% of tenants are searching Rightmove.co.uk for property verses just 37% for local newspapers”.

There is no better time than the present for landlords letting a property.

And now there is a way to let a property that is ultimately cheaper, faster, offers maximum exposure and puts you back in control, over the traditional methods of yester year…

For those landlords who have not yet experienced the services of an online letting agent, let’s take a look at why others have chosen to go down this route:

Saving you money on your letting agent fees

Landlords can advertise on Rightmove and the other major property websites such as Zoopla.co.uk, GumTree.com, FindaProperty.co.uk, PrimeLocation.com etc by choosing our Bronze Marketing Package which would incur a flat fee of just £79 inclusive of VAT.  Your property advert would be advertised for 6 weeks which is ample time to find a suitable tenant.  Bearing in mind that over 90% of our landlords find a tenant within 3 weeks of advertising!

Landlords that are new to letting a property may prefer the Platinum service where we would advertise the property, take calls from prospective tenants, reference the tenants, write up the tenancy agreement, lodge the deposit, guarantee the rent and collect the rent on a monthly basis.  All of this for just £99 inc vat upfront and £35 per month once a tenant has been moved in.

Our Platinum package can save landlords on average £931.75* on their letting agent fees in comparison to typical high street agent fees which are normally around 10% of the annual rent.

Ability of the online letting agent

LettingaProperty.com has been trading for over 5 years and is in fact one of the very first online letting agents to establish in 2008.  The Founder, Jonathan Daines has been in the Property Industry for over 10 years working in both offline and online agency.

During his career in property, Jonathan has trained and managed well over 150 Letting Agents in the field and has offered consultancy services to a number of traditional Letting Agents before he decided to pursue his passion for improving the generally negative perception on the Property Industry by setting about developing the low cost national online letting agent – lettingaproperty.com.

We are registered members of UK Association for Letting Agents (UKALA), are Recognised suppliers for the National Landlords Association (NLA), SafeAgent accredited and members of the Property Ombudsman.

Support Available

Every one of our advertising landlords receives a personal service from our team of letting experts.  Our offices are open 7 days a week, and we can be reached from 8.00am to 8.00pm.  We offer online support allowing easy instant access to your account manager online.

Our services extend from simply advertising a property, right the way through to finding a tenant, moving them in and collecting the rent monthly.  We can also assist with Tenancy Agreements, Inventories, Gas Safety, Energy Performance, Referencing etc.  Just contact us to find out more.

You won’t be the first Landlord to save money and experience better service!

We have successfully helped well over 4000 landlords find tenants across the UK and 99% of our landlords that have provided a review would recommend us to a friend or family.  In fact, our biggest form of marketing is through recommendations which we are delighted about.

Don’t just take our word for it; read our reviews or check out the Property Ombudsman’s own survey of lettingaproperty.com.

Whatever your letting requirements, one of our helpful team members will be happy to take your call, email or online chat.

And remember, according to Rightmove.co.uk – 20-30% of tenants start looking for property up to 3 months in advance.  So take advantage and advertise on Rightmove and all the major property websites today.

About LettingaPropery.com

LettingaProperty.com is an evolutionary Nationwide Online Letting Agent aimed at servicing todays’ Private Landlord. Modern technology, our in-depth lettings knowledge and a cost efficient administration infrastructure enables our business to compete aggressively with higher administration costs and a poor service culture stigma offered by conventional High Street Letting Agents. With the exception of conducting viewings, we offer all that a High Street Agency would be expected to do. Our services are National, dependable and supremely efficient. In essence, we provide Private Landlords a cost effective Lettings service without compromise and we promise to save you money, empower you with Industry knowledge and be there to support you when letting a property.

 

*Savings based on average high street fees for rent collection services with a set up fee of £250 + vat and 10% + vat monthly.

Until now landlords have had two choices to make when protecting their tenants deposits:

1. To hold the funds in their own bank accounts and pay an Insurance Premium to cover the cost of potential arbitration in the event of a dispute at the end of the tenancy and to cover the cost of running the scheme
2. To pay all of the money into the Custodial Scheme where the interest made on the funds held would pay for the potential arbitration in the event of a dispute at the end of the tenancy and to cover the cost of running the scheme

Having made that decision the landlord may have a further choice to make if he decides to hold the funds and use an Insurance based scheme because there were, until now, two options.

Any Deposit Protection Scheme must hold a Government Contract in order to operate and the three schemes that have held a Contract until now are

1. DEPOSIT PROTECTION SERVICE (DPS) www.depositprotection.com
2. MYDEPOSITS www.mydeposits.co.uk
3. TENANCY DEPOSIT SCHEME (TDS)  www.tds.gb.com

The DPS is the only Custodial scheme, the other two offer the Insured option.

From 1st April there will be two further Insurance options because Government have issued two new Contracts.

1. CAPITA TDP (CapitaTDP) www,capita-tdp.co.uk
2. DEPOSIT PROTECTION SERVICE INSURED SCHEME (TDP INSURED) www.depositprotection.com/insured-deposit-info

Information about legislation related to Tenancy Deposit Protection and the various schemes that are Government approved can be found here https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection/overview.

It is very important that landlords do not put deposits into any scheme that is not authorised by Government, there have been bogus web sites over the last few years and landlords have been caught out.

The other important thing to remember is that there are two elements to tenancy deposit protection legislation

1. The need to protect tenants deposits within the prescribed time frame. The changes in the Localism Act mean that a landlord has only 30 days from the time that the deposit is paid to protect it, and to give the tenant and any third party who may have paid the deposit, the Deposit Protection Certificate and the Prescribed Information for Tenants provided by the scheme.  Failure to meet these legal requirements could cost the landlord up to 400% of the deposit.
2. The need to meet all the rules of the chosen scheme, this is part of the legislation and must not be ignored. These vary from scheme to scheme and can change within a scheme from time to time.  Landlords MUST check the website of their chosen scheme on a regular basis to make certain that they meet with any new requirement because failure to do so may mean that the tenants deposit has not been protected as it should have been throughout the whole tenancy.

An issue that has come to light recently is that one of the schemes changed their rules in January 2012.  The change meant that a deposit needed to be re-protected when a fixed term ended and the tenancy rolled over into a Statutory Periodic Tenancy.  If the landlord did not re-protect the deposit at that point the deposit was no longer protected and the landlord will have broken the law.  The penalties for this are severe because a court may award the tenant up to 400% of the deposit as compensation.  This can hang over a landlords head for up to 6 years after the tenancy has ended. Other schemes may ask the landlords to update the record to show that the tenancy has continued beyond the fixed term and no new contract has been put into place, these schemes may not issue a new certificate and will continue to protect the deposit until it is unprotected, their request for an update is for administrative purposes only.  A new contract (AST) always means a new protection with an Insurance based scheme.

Tenancy deposit protection has become an administrative burden for landlords and many are choosing not to take a deposit, this is of course a commercial decision and we must all make our choice.  Please be warned that any money taken to cover losses or damages is, in law, a deposit regardless of what the landlord chooses to call it, and must be protected.

There is a case pending where the landlord took rent in advance and did not protect it as a deposit and we are waiting to hear the ruling on whether rent taken before it is due for payment is, in fact, a deposit or not. I will stick my neck out and say that, in my opinion, rent taken before it is due is in fact a deposit because it is taken to protect the landlord from non payment of rent.  Rent taken in advance where the next payment is not due until the period covered by the advance rent has, or is about to expire, is rent in advance not a deposit and does not need to be protected.  There is a danger in extending the rental period in this way but that is the subject of another article related to Possession and I will not complicate matters by discussing it now. It will be interesting to see how the court rules on the case that is pending.

Mary Latham, Landlord

Follow me @landlordtweets

About LettingaPropery.com

LettingaProperty.com is an evolutionary Nationwide Online Letting Agent aimed at servicing todays’ Private Landlord. Modern technology, our in-depth lettings knowledge and a cost efficient administration infrastructure enables our business to compete aggressively with higher administration costs and a poor service culture stigma offered by conventional High Street Letting Agents. With the exception of conducting viewings, we offer all that a High Street Agency would be expected to do. Our services are National, dependable and supremely efficient. In essence, we provide Private Landlords a cost effective Lettings service without compromise and we promise to save you money, empower you with Industry knowledge and be there to support you when letting a property.

 

Landlords have started to ask us this question given a spike in recent media interest on the subject.

Government bodies, Associations, Charity organisations, Letting Agents and even Landlords like you are all making their opinions heard.

A recent email received from a prospective Landlord wanting to use our services said….

“There are other online letting agents offering the same services as you, who charge less and keep your ad up for longer – if necessary. Can you tell me what advantages you offer over these competitors?”

A good and fair enquiry!  Before I explain how this question and the one heading up our article is related, other opinions regarding the Letting Industry and its code of practise come from Richard Lambert , Chief executive of the National Landlords Association (NLA):

“The NLA believes that landlords and tenants should be able to expect certain provisions when using a letting agency to ensure transparency, fairness and a degree of consumer protection. “Our advice to all landlords is to look for agencies which have a commitment to Continued Professional Development, comprehensive Client Money Protection Insurance and Professional Indemnity Insurance, and have elected to abide by a respected industry code of practice.”

These commitments to Landlords and Tenants alike are available to the Lettings Industry by means of memberships to recognised trade bodies such as the UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA), who offer a secured Client Money Protection (CMP) policy amongst other benefits.

The Property Ombudsman who provide recourse for Landlords or Tenants to approach if the service they have received has been unreasonable.

The National Landlords Association and Safe Agent who ensure CMP through reputable providers are in place amongst other assurances.

Given the continued demand for tenants out-weighing supply, Ian Potter, Managing Director of ARLA, has been quoted as saying:

“This increased demand (in property) will put quality and standards under a greater spotlight. This year, it will be time for unscrupulous agents to put up or shut up. Consumers are rightly calling for much higher standards in the private rented sector.”

What we do need is for our industry to avoid such recent cases where, for example, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) are having to ban estate agents who miss-manage their businesses.

Case in point. Huntingdon Magistrates took action against such an outfit who failed to register tenants’ deposits with an authorised protection scheme, failed to repay deposits when tenants moved out, and failed to pass on rent to landlords. Subsequently, they were fined £3,000 and those responsible banned from being associated to an Estate Agent for five years.  Seems unfair given the NAEA is understood to have received 75 claims from tenants and landlords totalling £144,000 and a double whammy given the OFT can’t do anything if those responsible decided to operate as a Letting agent given loopholes in the Estate Agents Act 1979.

Back to my Landlords question… my reply was simple.. I explained…

Lettingaproperty.com have been operating for over 5 years, is accredited with UKALA who provide us Client Money Protection amongst other benefits, we are a recognised supplier of the NLA, we are members of the Property Ombudsman allowing a recourse for landlords and tenants to address any concerns with our service, we have qualified letting agents working for you within our business and over 95 genuine Landlord reviews where over 99% of these landlords would use our service again.

I politely continued by adding… the competitor you have just mentioned has none of the above, has been in business for under a year and if you would like to find other cheaper alternatives, they are out there.

There are risks however, including the before mentioned case in point, your property being withdrawn from the major portals wasting your time in having to choose another provider.  Most importantly, you need to ask yourself – should I consider do I pay for a service at a third of a price or for free and expect the same level of attention and service with a proven and reliable provider?

Needless to say, Lettingaproperty.com are working with landlords who do ask these questions and have been satisfied with the service they have received.

Our Director and Founder of Lettingaproperty.com, Jonathan Daines, has made it very clear to his staff that the reputation of our business is built on continually delivering the highest level of service possible at all times. With this in mind, the welfare of our Landlords business interests are paramount. We make it very clear that LAP strongly support this “commitment to continued Professional Development” and will do what is necessary to remain a secure, trustworthy and beneficial business platform for any landlord considering to use our services.

About LettingaPropery.com

LettingaProperty.com is an evolutionary Nationwide Online Letting Agent aimed at servicing todays’ Private Landlord. Modern technology, our in-depth lettings knowledge and a cost efficient administration infrastructure enables our business to compete aggressively with higher administration costs and a poor service culture stigma offered by conventional High Street Letting Agents. With the exception of conducting viewings, we offer all that a High Street Agency would be expected to do. Our services are National, dependable and supremely efficient. In essence, we provide Private Landlords a cost effective Lettings service without compromise and we promise to save you money, empower you with Industry knowledge and be there to support you when letting a property.

 

Having arranged well over 1000 rental viewings thus far in 2013, Melissa, who is in charge of dealing with Tenant enquiries at lettingaproperty.com, shares her top 10 tips for Tenants looking to take on a new rental property:-

1. Before starting your rental search, set up an email address that is non-offensive i.e. your firstname.surname@…com.  Avoid personalised addresses such as kittyboo123@…
2. When communicating by email to the letting agent or Landlord, do not use slang text words for example ‘cud’ instead of ‘could’ or ‘u’ instead of ‘you’. Use the correct grammar and capital letters where needed i.e. I instead of i.
3. Avoid melodic ring tones that play your favourite tunes down the line to the caller.  Bob Marley’s “Don’t worry be happy” may not instil confidence in the Landlord.
4. Call the Landlord or letting agent on the day of the viewing to confirm that you are going to arrive and bring a photocopy of your passport or driving licence.
5. Do not arrive at a viewing looking like you have just got out of bed.  Be presentable.
6. Be open and honest about your personal circumstances.  If you know that you had a little trouble with a credit provider in your student days, tell the Landlord.  It will more than likely be picked up during references and by that stage it is too late.
7. If you have a pet i.e. a dog or cat, ask the Landlord if they would like to meet your furry friend at the viewing.
8. This may not be appropriate on the first viewing, however, why not invite the Landlord to meet you at your home to discuss the paperwork so that they can see how nicely you keep your own property.
9. If you are claiming housing benefit or benefit of any description, make sure you have the relevant documentation to show the Landlord.  This will prove to them that you are organised and in control.
10. After the viewing, it is always a good idea to call the Landlord and thank them again for meeting you and provide feedback and agree an action plan.

Melissa summarises by saying:

“In a market where rental properties are in high demand and supply is low, Landlords generally have the pick of the crop.  Tenants need to be at the top of their game to leave a positive impression with the Landlord or Agent.”

About LettingaPropery.com

LettingaProperty.com is an evolutionary Nationwide Online Letting Agent aimed at servicing todays’ Private Landlord. Modern technology, our in-depth lettings knowledge and a cost efficient administration infrastructure enables our business to compete aggressively with higher administration costs and a poor service culture stigma offered by conventional High Street Letting Agents. With the exception of conducting viewings, we offer all that a High Street Agency would be expected to do. Our services are National, dependable and supremely efficient. In essence, we provide Private Landlords a cost effective Lettings service without compromise and we promise to save you money, empower you with Industry knowledge and be there to support you when letting a property.

The homeless charity, Shelter, are calling on Government to force landlords to offer tenants longer tenancies.

In all the thousands of landlords I have met I have not found one that would not prefer a tenant to stay for a long time so long as they are good tenants who pay their rent in full and on time, respect the neighbours and the property. This made me think about how a landlord might go about attracting long term tenants and thus avoid the cost of churning tenancies every six months or so. I have analysed my own tenants, some of whom have been with me for years – long may that continue.

When I first became a landlord I let to students, who of course will never become long term tenants, and I provided every item they might need except bed linen and towels.  Over the years I found my crockery, cutlery and pans under the stairs and gradually I provided less and less, enabling my students to bring their own personalities to their temporary homes.  When I expanded into other client groups I offered fully furnished properties and it was not until I realised that the landlords I spoke to who had fewer problems and longer tenancies were those who let unfurnished properties.  I began by removing the furniture from one property and eventually removed it from many of my properties, except those that are let to companies or to those who are on short term contracts and need to move around the country.  There were indeed less problems, mainly because I did not have to deal with breakdowns, repairs and replacement nor to fall out with tenants at the end of the tenancy because of damages or losses. But the biggest difference I have found is the length of those tenancies.  When tenants have to consider the cost and upheaval of removing furniture they are less likely to want to move and I think perhaps they feel more “at home” surrounded by their own belongings. I had increased my profit by reducing my repair and replacement costs and avoiding void periods and this enabled me to keep my rents down to affordable levels – everyone wins.

With this in mind I began to let tenants put their pictures and posters on the walls just so long as they were not fixed with Bluetac or sticky tapes.  A nail hole is easy to fill and to paint over and bare white walls are not homely at all.  If they want book shelves I have them fitted by my own contractor to make sure that they are safe and that my walls are not damaged by the fixings.

All this has helped to increase the length of time my tenants stay with me and I have some who have moved from property to property as their circumstances changed and particularly those who went from being love birds to being parents.  There is one more thing that has increased the length of my tenancies more than anything else, it is accepting pets.

Letting to tenants with pets can increase the length of tenancy

We are a nation of animal lovers and yet so many landlords advertise “No Pets” and indeed I have been one of them, but tenants often find it very difficult to find a landlord who will accept them and their pets so they wait until they are ready to sign the Tenancy Agreement before admitting “We have a tiny dog, it that ok?” or “We’ve got a really old cat and she would die if she went to a cattery”  This is how I began taking tenants with pets and these tenants really do stay a lot longer and build a home in my properties.

According to the Oxford Times:

“One in three pet owners in the region struggle to find rented accommodation that will accept animals, this information came from research by charity The Dogs Trust.

And while house hunters spend an average of seven weeks looking for a property, more than half of pet owners searched for between two months to more than a year.

There has also been a 56 per cent increase during the past five years in the number of people handing in dogs to the charity’s 17 re-homing centers, due to housing problems.

With this in mind, Lets with Pets was set up by The Dogs Trust two years ago to help tenants find rented accommodation where their pets would be welcomed, by working with lettings agents and landlords to encourage them to consider pets in their homes.

On the web site here http://www.letswithpets.org.uk/landlords/landlords there is a lot of good information and support for landlords who are prepared to offer homes to tenants with pets

“Landlords who exclude pet owners from their properties are missing out on a large chunk of the rental market as 46% of the population currently own a pet. By adopting a pet-friendly approach, you can easily increase demand for your property and attract long-term, responsible tenants.”

They give alternative ways that landlords can avoid increasing our costs because of any damage a pet might cause.

“Higher deposit: You can ask your tenant for a higher deposit to cover any damage that may be caused by their pets. For example, if you normally ask for the equivalent of four weeks rent, you could ask for six weeks from pet owners.

Pet payment: You may also want to ask pet-owning tenants for a non-refundable pet payment to cover the cost of professionally cleaning the property once they have moved out. This would cover the cleaning of carpets, soft-furnishings and curtains.

A Pet Policy: The tenant agrees that they will abide by the pet policy as shown in Schedule 1 attached to this tenancy agreement.

On signing this tenancy agreement, the tenant will pay a deposit to cover any damage caused by their pet to the property or furnishings during the tenancy.

Remember that this is part of a deposit and must be protected in line with Tenancy Deposit Protection

A Pet Reference: The keys points that you should ask to be covered in a pet reference from a previous landlord are:

• How long did the tenant live in the previous property with their pets?
• Which pets did they own at that time?
• Does the referee consider the tenant to be a responsible pet owner?
• Were the tenant’s pets well behaved?
• Did their pets cause any damage to the property?
• Did their pets cause a nuisance to neighbours or visitors?

If the reference is to be provided by a veterinary surgeon, it should cover the following points:

• Are the tenant’s pets generally well behaved?
• Does the veterinary surgeon consider the tenant to be a responsible pet owner?
• Does the tenant provide routine

Another option is to ask your tenants to take out special insurance to cover any damage to your property.

I found these Insurance policies that can be taken out by tenants to cover the cost of damages caused by pets.

TenantCare Cat

• From only £4.99* per month
• Designed for tenants living with cats
• Property damage cover included
• £1,500 in vet fees per illness/accident category

TenantCare Dog

• From only £7.75*** per month
• Designed for tenants living with dogs
• Property damage cover included
• £2,000 in vet fees per illness/accident category
• £1,000,000 Third Party Liability cover

Here http://www.petpalsdirect.co.uk/

A simply way to cover any additional costs would be to advertise that pets are welcome and increase the rent a little to give yourself a margin for extra repairs, tenants who are struggling to find a landlord who will accept their pets are prepared to pay a higher rent and once they are letting from us they are less likely to move because they know that it will be difficult a new home.

When advertising my holiday homes in Devon I say on my website

“All your family will be made welcome, including your furry friends”

I do this because I realise that people are prepared to pay a little more to rent my properties because they are saving the cost of kennels and the upset of leaving their pets behind.

We all need to make decisions about what we are prepared to accept when taking a new tenant but it’s important that we don’t just make a knee jerk decision without considering all of the options. It might just be worth rethinking in order to attract long term good tenants who turn our properties into their homes.

Mary Latham, Landlord

Follow me @landlordtweets

About LettingaPropery.com

LettingaProperty.com is an evolutionary Nationwide Online Letting Agent aimed at servicing todays’ Private Landlord. Modern technology, our in-depth lettings knowledge and a cost efficient administration infrastructure enables our business to compete aggressively with higher administration costs and a poor service culture stigma offered by conventional High Street Letting Agents. With the exception of conducting viewings, we offer all that a High Street Agency would be expected to do. Our services are National, dependable and supremely efficient. In essence, we provide Private Landlords a cost effective Lettings service without compromise and we promise to save you money, empower you with Industry knowledge and be there to support you when letting a property.

In my article, published in October last, I asked:

“Will High street Letting Agents soon be a thing of the past?” 

I explained how In Scotland, Shelter – the Housing and Homeless charity, have managed to stop Letting Agents charging fees to tenants other than the deposit and first month’s rent and  how Shelter have now turned their attention to England and Wales, where there is no legislation in place to prevent Letting Agents charging fees to tenants, and under their “Letting away with it” campaign they are gathering the evidence they need to prove that tenants are being “ripped off” by Letting Agents in England and Wales.

I talked about how I found out that my tenants were being charge by my Letting Agent when I had always thought that the fees that I was paying covered the cost of their service.  I concluded

“I suspect, we are about to see a revolution in the property letting business”

That suspicion has become now a prophecy.

The Officer of Fair Trading published a report, on 14th February 14, 2013, which identifies several consumer protection issues in the lettings market. If Shelter alone could not bring about changes the OFT will not be ignored.

“As part of this report, the OFT analysed nearly 4,000 complaints made by people renting a home as well as those letting out a property. It found that both tenants and landlords were concerned about fees and charges levied by agents, poor service provided and that ‘surprise’ charges were introduced or ‘drip-fed’ once contracts have been signed.”

In the summary of findings it’s the OFT say this

“This is a market where large numbers of landlords may lack expertise in and the complexity of housing law means that tenants may not understand their rights and obligations properly. Letting agents play a pivotal role in the lettings market, where they are involved in the letting transaction, both in bringing landlords and tenants together, and in bringing valuable expertise and experience. However agents can cause problems where they exploit customers’ behavioural biases by not being transparent about their fees or what they have on offer. A lack of clear and timely information about fees or quality of service means that customers are less likely to make good decisions. Further, agents’ interests are not always aligned with those of landlords who instruct them or the tenants who may rely on them for guidance”

The report sets out a number of recommendations for Government, industry, enforcers and others in order to make the market work better for tenants. The recommendations and next steps include:

• Better compliance with legislation and in particular better up front information. The OFT would like fees to be set out in a clear tariff of charges.
• A general redress mechanism so landlords and tenants can sort out problems when they occur.
• More consistency within the industry so that common principles are applied throughout the industry, such as what information is used for pre-tenancy checks.
• Government, industry, enforcers and consumer bodies to agree a national strategy.
• Agree an enforcement strategy for traders who do not comply with the law.
• Initiatives which make it easier for landlords and tenants to assess quality, such as recognised logos.
• Working with industry and consumer bodies to develop joint educational material such as ‘quick guides’ to help tenants and landlords understand their rights.

Summary of findings and key recommendations

• Better compliance with legislation already in existence and in particular better up front information. Ideally we would like fees to be set out in a clear tariff of charges at the start of the process and certainly before any contract is signed.
• Initiatives which make it easier for landlords and tenants to assess quality and compare one agent’s services against another, such as recognised logos which signify minimum standards are met.
• A general redress mechanism so landlords and tenants can sort out problems when they occur. This is supported by a number of industry players. Consideration needs to be given to the cost this would impose on traders and the extent to which it would restrict new entry to the lettings market.
• Mechanisms which protect money, i.e. more widespread use of client money protection mechanisms and better compliance with the mandatory Tenancy Deposit Protection Schemes. We think that greater transparency about these requirements would be helpful, so any additional steps the UK Government, industry and consumer groups can take to raise awareness would be particularly useful.
• What more can be done to help landlords and tenants to help them understand and compare what existing codes offer, so they can more easily make informed choices and know what to look for when trying to find a good letting agent.

Further work

The OFT suggests a number of recommendations for Government, industry, enforcers, and those involved in consumer empowerment and education to work together, to devise and deliver an agreed strategy to raise standards within the lettings sector. We are hosting a series of events to discuss our findings and what action can be taken to make the key features of this market work more effectively.

The OFT is keen, so far as its remit allows, to play a role in supporting the development of any overarching strategy. As a next step, in addition to producing this report the OFT will also by the end of this year:

• Produce and consult on a document which will provide UTCCRs/CPRs/BPRs guidance for letting agents.
• Review the substance and accessibility of existing OFT Guidance on unfair terms in tenancy agreements .
• Work with other organisations to publish ‘quick guides’ and other information sources for tenants and landlords to help them engage better with the lettings process. Sample ‘quick guides’ for tenants and landlords are published within the report
• Launch a UTCCRs Hub, similar to our existing Distance Selling Regulations and Sale of Goods Act Hubs, which we hope will be a useful resource for agents and professional landlords

I now firmly believe that the result of these consultations will be to “look north” and that England and Wales will follow Scotland’s example which will mean an end to the fees that a Letting Agent can charge to tenants, other than a fair deposit, to cover potential damages and losses of the landlord, and the first month’s rent. For many Letting Agents this will mean such a huge loss of income that they will not be able to cover their overheads.  Will landlords be prepared to pay more for their services?  Would this increase rents to the point that many people simply could not afford to rent from us?  Or will more landlords begin to manage their own properties with the help of on-line Letting Agents like lettingaproperty.com where we can get all this for less than £100 and a small monthly fee of £35:

• Advertise on lettingaproperty.com and on partner sites including Rightmove, FindaProperty, Zoopla, Gumtree, PrimeLocation and more.
• Advert Online within 12 hours
• Tenants Fully Referenced
• Full Tenancy Agreement written
• First Months Rent collected
• Deposit Protected with the DPS
• Inventory Template for the Landlord to complete
• Guaranteed Rent for the term of the tenancy
• Ongoing Rent Collection for just £35 inc vat
• Open 7 Days a Week for Tenant calls

Now I ask again,

“Will High street Letting Agents soon be a thing of the past?”

Mary Latham, a landlord of over 40 years.

Follow Mary @landlordtweets

About LettingaPropery.com

LettingaProperty.com is an evolutionary Nationwide Online Letting Agent aimed at servicing todays’ Private Landlord. Modern technology, our in-depth lettings knowledge and a cost efficient administration infrastructure enables our business to compete aggressively with higher administration costs and a poor service culture stigma offered by conventional High Street Letting Agents. With the exception of conducting viewings, we offer all that a High Street Agency would be expected to do. Our services are National, dependable and supremely efficient. In essence, we provide Private Landlords a cost effective Lettings service without compromise and we promise to save you money, empower you with Industry knowledge and be there to support you when letting a property.

 

Behaviour is anti social if it disturbs those around us and can range from the playing of loud music or slamming of doors to extreme cases where people feel threatened or illegal activities are going on.

There is a bill going through Parliament at the moment and this is the result of the riots of 2010. It was estimated in 2011 that the cost of evicting an anti social tenant could be £20,000 or more and could take upwards of 7 months.

This is the draft Anti Social Behaviour Bill:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/about-us/consultations/community-remedy-consultation/draft-antisocial-behaviour-bill?view=Binary

Unfortunately this bill, should it become law, will not help private landlords at all, on the contrary, it is going to make it more likely that we will take a bad tenant without realising. The proposal is to make Anti Social Behaviour a mandatory ground for eviction and to fast track cases through the legal system but only for local authorities and registered social landlords (RSL’s).  When a tenant is evicted (s)he will look for a new home and private landlords, who will be unaware of the history of the tenant, may take on those who have been deemed unfit to live in the properties of local authorities and RSL’s.  In my opinion this is a very short-sighted piece of legislation which will enable a person who has been evicted to simply move back into the same neighbourhood and continue with their previous activities. We have neither the training nor skills to help us to deal with these difficult tenants and without the protection of the law private landlords will unwittingly enable them to continue to have a negative impact on neighbourhoods and on our properties.

Apart from carrying out credit references on ALL tenants it is vitally important to check their previous history and if we cannot do this we should avoid taking the tenant. Speaking to the landlord before the last one is best practice; this landlord will have no vested interest in giving a bad tenant a good reference as sometimes happens with a current landlord.  Taking full name, date of birth, national insurance number, passport number and next of kin information can help us after the event but we must see proof of each of these pieces of information. In reality there is very little else we can do to ensure that a tenant is who he says he is and if the tenant has got serious anti social behaviour we have only discretionary grounds for Possession under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. Grounds 12,13,14,15 or 17 may be used but none of these guarantee that Possession will be granted by the Court even if the landlord proves them. Many landlords bite the bullet and wait until they can regain Possession using Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 but this cannot be used until the first 6 months or the fixed term (whichever happens last) of the tenancy has expired and for this reason we often have no choice but to use Section 8.

All grounds for Possession under Section 8 can be found here

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/2

I wish that I could pass on words of wisdom about how to avoid these tenants but unfortunately I too have been the victim of plausible tenants who turned out to be the tenants from hell. These tenants came with excellent credit references, held good long term jobs and, on paper and in person, presented as good tenants. Before I evicted them there had been 19 visits from the Police, 4 visits from the Anti Social Behaviour Unit of the local authority, the female had been hospitalised twice.  The neighbours were at their wits end.  No one told me what was going on until the local authority contacted me. When I visited the neighbours, who all have my contact details, to apologise they told me that they thought that the Police would deal with it and what could I have done! The problem was caused by weekend binge drinking which, I am told, is now the cause of many such problems. How on earth can a landlord avoid such tenants?

I do a lot of networking with landlords in my area and I am also a member of www.landlordreferencing.co.uk because, in my opinion, if no one else is going to help us we must help each other and it is only by sharing the details of bad tenants that we can send a clear message to them.

Behave or be homeless. 

We need to be cautious about data protection and Landlord Referencing is not a black list or trip advisor site, it is a free resource for private landlords, local authorities and RSL’s to register the details of their bad tenants behind closed doors and only when a member searches for information on a prospective tenant is (s)he contacted by the site if they have any information on that tenant.  The information may be good or bad the site is not just about bad tenants it is about lifestyle references.

Many landlords visit their prospective tenants in their current homes and they make an assessment of the lifestyle of the prospects from that visit.  Other landlords check them on social media like Facebook and Twitter to get an idea of their lifestyle.  Much can be found out through Google too.

If you are concerned about criminal activities in your rented properties you can find some guidance here

Drug trafficking and use  http://homestamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/guidence-for-property-pdf1.pdf

Drug cultivation http://www.drugsandhousing.co.uk/tacklingdruguseinrentedhousing.pdf

Money laundering http://www.nfopp.co.uk/media/39344/money_laundering_guidance.pdf

Prostitution http://www.acpo.police.uk/documents/crime/2010/201008CRITMW01.pdf

Loan Sharks http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/dealing-with-loan-sharks

Noise Nuisance  http://local.direct.gov.uk/LDGRedirect/index.jsp?LGSL=412&LGIL=0

If you are concerned about a prospective tenant or you let in an area that attracts difficult tenants you may want to check with the local Police. Your local Police have limits on the amount of information that they can share with private landlords but if you do not ask a question you will not put them in a position where they cannot be of much help.  A good way to deal with this issue is for you to give them information and to ask a simple question like this

Go to the Local Police Station and ask for a Crime Prevention Officer. Give the Officer all the information that you’ve got about the prospective tenant, Write out a list of your criteria for taking tenants.  It might be something like this

• I do not want tenants who are known to have been involved in criminal activities
• I do not want tenants who have been convicted of serious crimes
• I do not want tenants who are known to have been involved in anti social behaviour

Tell the Officer that you know that (s)he cannot give you information but could (s)he please tell you if the tenant who you are proposing to take fits your criteria.  If the Officers says no do not ask for further information, you know what you need to know.

Unfortunately bad tenants get all the media attention, in much the same way that bad landlords do.  In reality 1.5m landlords provide homes to 3.5m tenants in the UK and most of the time this is a happy relationship but you may only need on bad tenant to cause you stress and cost your thousands of pounds.  Please take the time to keep your business safe.

Mary Latham, Landlord

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