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Category: Tenants

November Lockdown: What You Need To Know

Posted on by prateek

Updated: 4th November 2020

We have received many enquiries over the last few days from landlords and tenants wondering exactly how they will be affected by the second national lockdown in England, which passed through Parliament today.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 specifically states that activities relating to our sector are allowed to continue.

Property viewings are allowed, as long as we have the permission of the incumbent tenant to do so and they are not isolating. We are taking careful precautions when visiting any property; all parties present are required to wear face coverings and gloves, and any surfaces touched are wiped down before we leave.

Home moves are permitted, so any tenants due to move in or out of a property during November can still go ahead, unless they have been told to isolate. We are required to comply with strict safety guidelines, and the measures we have implemented go beyond what is asked of us; all moves during the lockdown will be completely contactless so tenants will not need to meet with anyone from Reside in person.

Contractors are allowed to attend properties to carry out repairs during the lockdown, as long as they observe safety guidelines. We are asking tenants to report maintaince issues to us during November, as long as they are comfortable with having an engineer visit their property, so that we can arrange repairs where possible, rather than build up a backlog of issues to be addressed after lockdown.

Our office will stay open. Although we are heading into a national lockdown, we will still be here should you need us. Our office will be staffed during our standard opening hours, but you should telephone, email or arrange a Zoom meeting should you need to speak with us. Please do not visit our office in person during the lockdown, unless it is essential to do so.

Whilst we will be permitted to carry out the vast majority of our work, we must take extra safety precautions, all of which have been carefully planned to reduce risk to all parties.

We expect to receive more detailed guidance from government after the vote in Parliament, and we shall let you know if anything changes. In the meantime, if you would like more regular updates, these can be found on our social media channels or by contacting our office directly.

New Bath Apartments Offer Premier City Centre Living

Posted on by prateek

Space Available in Recently Completed John Street Development

Space is now available at a prime location in Bath city centre, offering the conveniences of modern living nestled within the splendour of Georgian architecture.

Kingsgate Apartments, 7 John Street, a development by Longacre, contains six apartments, a mixture of one and two bed. The new homes sit in the heart of Bath, between the prestigious Queen Square and bustling Milsom Street.

Longacre, renowned for its sensitive, high quality developments, is well versed in creating stunning modern apartments throughout Bath.

From Fitzroy House on Great Pulteney Street, to Milsom Apartments on Milsom Street, the company has a growing reputation for creating excellent living spaces in stunning locations.

Kingsgate Apartments are no exception. This secluded development nestled within the city’s back streets, filled with independent businesses, quirky cafes, traditional pubs and popular restaurants.

Alongside the expected conveniences of modern living, the development also benefits from lift access and superfast broadband. At a time when more people are discovering the benefits of working from home, this is a fantastic opportunity for young professionals, entrepreneurs or retirees seeking a level walk to all amenities.

Available through Reside, high levels of interest are expected in the remaining apartments. Prices start from £1,050 pcm.

For more information, view our available properties or call 01225 445777.

COVID-19 Update: Back To Work

Posted on by prateek

The New Normal

On Wednesday 13th of May, the government removed restrictions on residential lettings and issued strict guidelines, specifying how we can return to work. Safety remains paramount and we have had to radically adapt our methods to ensure that our staff and our customers are safe. The peak of the epidemic may have passed but the virus is still a very real threat and we have a clear duty of care towards everyone we engage with.

From Monday the 18th of May, our office will be staffed, however it will not be open to the general public for safety reasons. We have a self-contained space adjacent to our office (pictured), which is COVID-Safe and can be used for meetings by prior arrangement, if you need to see us in person. Even so, it would be safest for everyone if you were to contact us via email or phone.

We are now able to respond to non-urgent repairs, however many trades have not yet returned to work, and many are finding it difficult to source parts and materials. As a result, there may be a delay in some issues being resolved.

Like many others, we have adapted our processes and procedures during the lockdown period, making use of video technologies and remote working.

Although we are now permitted to return to work and visit properties, many of our clients will continue to act with caution and may prefer to meet with us remotely. If you would like to discuss letting your property, please contact us to arrange a full market appraisal via video call, or in person.

 

Reside COVID-19 Business Continuity Plan

Posted on by prateek

Last update: 15 May 2020.

Please note that this blog has been superseded by a more recent post, which details our plans to re-open our office for business. This can be found here.

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have put in place the below action plan to minimise any disruption to our services, and limit the risk of spreading the virus.

This page is will be updated regularly in response to the latest advice from the Government; the latest advice from the Government can be found here.

The government has published a document containing guidance for landlords and tenants. The document, which addresses issues including payment of rent, house moves and maintenance, can be found here.

Please note that until further notice, we will be closed on Saturdays. We will also be closed on the early May Bank Holiday, Friday 8th of May. Urgent issues and emergencies can still be reported on our out of hours telephone number – 01225 690069.

Business Continuity Plan

Preventative Measures

How can we prevent spreading the virus?
  • As of 24 March 2020, all Reside staff will work from home until further notice, and meetings in person will be avoided where possible
  • Ensure staff have all read and are familiar with this Action Plan; regular team meetings will be held to discuss any potential hazards or concerns
  • Staff to wash their hands in accordance with NHS guidelines throughout the day, and whenever they return to the office from an appointment
  • Staff will not share phones
  • Office door handles, handrails, phones, keyboards and other surfaces to be wiped down regularly with alcohol wipes
  • It is Reside policy not to shake hands with clients and to maintain at least 2 meter distance when possible
  • Clear records will be kept of any clients who are vulnerable and / or self-isolating
  • Staff will make reasonable checks with prospective and current tenants when scheduling viewings, and offer remote viewings if any party has relevant symptoms
  • Ensure extensive cleaning takes place at tenanted properties in between tenancies
  • Ask contractors to ensure engineers suffering from relevant symptoms are not sent to managed properties

Reside Staff Self-Isolating

What measures are in place to ensure minimal disruption to our services in the event of full or partial office closure? 
  • All Reside staff have remote access to emails, CRM software and shared folders
  • Staff have work mobile phones, so can be contacted by colleagues and clients
  • In the event of a full office closure, telephone calls to the Reside office will divert to the staff’s mobile handsets
  • Landlords and tenants will receive regular email bulletins, informing them of the office status and any special measures that have been implemented
  • Our Financial Controller and Managing Director can remotely run payments and send statements of account

Tenants Self-Isolating

How will Reside continue to operate services to landlords, if tenants or prospective tenants are self-isolating? 
  • If prospective tenants or tenants of currently available properties are self-isolating or vulnerable, property viewings cannot take place. Our lettings team has already recorded video property tours, which can be sent out to interested parties
  • We will ensure compliance with Consumer Protection Regulations by providing to prospective tenants reasonable information about prior residents in relation to the infection and appropriate cleaning measures to take
  • Routine property inspections will be suspended until further notice. If a specific concern is raised about a property, an inspection will be arranged unless the tenants are vulnerable or self-isolating. Once measures are relaxed, we will catch up on any delayed inspections.
  • Essential property maintenance and mandatory safety testing will be carried out, unless access is refused by the tenant. Written records will be kept of any instances wherein a tenant has refused access to the property due to self-isolation.
  • If a tenant advises Reside that they are facing a loss of income due to the Coronavirus, resulting in lack of funds to pay rent, we will notify the landlord immediately and discuss next steps. If the landlord’s mortgage lender requires proof of sickness, we will ask the tenant to supply a copy of their medical certificate.
  • We will keep tenants informed of government support available to them, so that they can continue to make rent payments
  • We will notify landlords by email of any temporary changes to our standard services and business terms.
  • We have temporarily suspended our Guaranteed Payday service until further notice. Whilst we wish to offer landlords the reassurance that this will be reintroduced as soon as possible, the service was not designed or built to endure such an unprecedented scenario.

General Election 2019

Posted on by prateek

WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE PRIVATE RENTAL SECTOR

Heated debates over Brexit and the future of the NHS may have dominated headlines in the run-up to this year’s snap General Election, but when voters go to the polls on 12 December they will also have their say on a broad spectrum of policies which will plot the direction of the United Kingdom for the foreseeable future. Flagship housing policies have been announced by all of the main parties, each of which would mean significant changes for the private rental sector. Change is coming for landlords and tenants alike, regardless of who has the Downing Street keys come the New Year.

Armed with a strong brew and a highlighter, we trawled the manifestos to bring you a summary of the main partys’ plans for the sector.

The Conservative Party

Before an election had even been called, the Conservatives outlined their intention to abolish Section 21, or ‘no-fault’ evictions; their manifesto follows through on this promise. It is expected that Section 21 of the Housing Act will be replaced by a reworked version of Section 8, which would allow landlords to take back possession of their property if they had a valid reason, for example a breach of contract or to sell. The government sold this as a fairer solution for both tenants and landlords by promising greater security to tenants, and a simpler, faster eviction process for landlords with a genuine reason for seeking possession.

We will bring in a Better Deal for Renters, including abolishing ‘no fault’ evictions and only requiring one ‘lifetime’ deposit which moves with the tenant.

The Tories’ manifesto also plans to introduce a ‘lifetime’ deposit which moves with the tenant from property to property, also known as tenant deposit passports. In practice, this will allow a tenant to port their existing security deposit to their next tenancy; it is not yet known how deposit deductions or tenancy overlaps will work. A working group formed of the various deposit protection schemes had been due to report back to the government in the autumn, but the election has forced the Conservatives’ hand.

The only other reference to the sector in the Tory manifesto is an allusion to a policy introduced in 2015, protecting tenants from ‘revenge evictions’. We can only assume that legislation and enforcement of this issue will be tightened to give tenants greater protection against unscrupulous and ill-informed landlords.

The Labour Party

Jeremy Corbyn’s manifesto says that the UK’s 11 million tenants are ‘at the sharp end of the housing crisis’, and promises urgent action to protect private renters. Plans for open-ended tenancies will mean an end to no-fault evictions, echoing the Conservatives’ intentions to scrap Section 21, whilst rent increases would be capped at inflation. Labour would also give local authorities powers to introduce rent caps, should rents locally be deemed excessive against the national average.

We will take urgent action to protect private renters through rent controls, open-ended tenancies, and new, binding minimum standards.

An annual property ‘MOT’ would replace current landlord safety requirements, with hefty fines, landlord licensing and renters’ unions in place to hold sub-standard homes and rogue landlords to account. One of the party’s more radical policies is the introduction of national licensing for landlords.

Labour would abolish the Conservatives’ contentious Right to Rent policy, which in March 2019 was found to be in contravention of human rights law. This would remove the burden on a landlord to check the immigration status of their tenant before and during their tenancy.

The Liberal Democrats

Jo Swinson’s most eye-catching policy for the private rental sector is the introduction of a Help to Rent scheme, which would provide government-backed deposit loans to first-time renters under the age of 30. This has drawn criticism from some who believe the government should be supporting the younger generation into home ownership; however, Swinson maintains that increasing numbers of young people require state support in order to break into the rental market.

To reform the private rental sector, we will help young people into the rental market by establishing a new Help to Rent scheme to provide government-backed tenancy deposit loans for all first-time renters under 30.

The Liberal Democrats complete the triumvirate of major parties who have pledged greater security to tenants in the form of longer-term tenancies. Whilst they have not explicitly pledged in their manifesto to remove Section 21, the party voted in favour of doing so at their Bournemouth conference last September. They would also introduce a cap on annual rent increases, linked to inflation.

The Lib Dems’ final flagship rental policy is the mandatory licensing of all private landlords, in order to improve enforcement of current regulations.

What does it all mean?

Regardless of your political inclinations, landlords should accept that changes will be made to the sector after the 12th of December, but behind the dramatic headlines are policies which will have little impact on most conscientious landlords.

Section 21 evictions are going to be abolished, regardless of who holds the keys to Number 10, but landlords should find succour in the fact that reforms to Section 8, if done correctly, may actually simplify the eviction process for landlords with a legitimate reason to seek possession of their property.

Proposed rent controls will restrict annual rent increases to inflation, however most standard tenancy agreements already cite RPI as the bellwether by which to gauge rent reviews.

All three parties are seeking to make life more difficult for ‘rogue landlords’, their message being that dutiful landlords with a keen awareness of their obligations should have nothing to fear. Proposed landlord licensing or tightening of legislation is intended to clamp down on those landlords with little care or knowledge of the law.

Whilst it is not included in any manifestos, it is still widely expected that all letting agents will be required to comply with the recommendations of the RoPA Report, which proposed mandatory qualifications and licensing for all professional agents; something which Reside already complies with by virtue of our ARLA Propertymark membership.

With changes to the sector undoubtedly coming soon, and strict enforcement of housing legislation being proposed, there has never been a better time for landlords to employ a qualified, knowledgeable and regulated letting agency.

If you are a landlord with property to rent in Bath, please don’t hesitate to contact us – we would love to help.

Awards Recognition For Reside

Posted on by prateek

Reside was crowned Bath’s best lettings agent at the Bath Property Awards, a celebration of the city’s vibrant property sector encompassing everything from property agents to interior designers. The panel of ten independent judges, comprising industry experts and local luminaries, summarised Reside as a “smart company with highly-detailed local knowledge which cleverly balances landlords’ and tenants’ needs.”

Three hundred eager property professionals descended on the Apex Hotel for the inaugural awards hosted by MediaClash, proprietors of the prestigious Bath and Bristol Life Awards.

Collecting the best lettings agent award from Homes under the Hammer’s Martin Roberts, Managing Director Ben Bower paid tribute to the Reside team’s tireless work and commitment.

 

The General Election & The Private Rented Sector

Posted on by prateek

When the United Kingdom goes to the ballot box on the 7th of May, the electorate will cast their votes with a host of prominent issues in mind, but how will your choice of political party impact on Tenants and Landlords in England?

The key parties’ manifestos don’t make for the most thrilling reading, so we made a strong pot of coffee and scrutinised them for you.Conservatives

The Conservative Party‘s manifesto actually makes no explicit reference to the private rented sector, but focuses intently on helping more people onto the housing ladder by extending the Help to Buy scheme. Their Help to Buy ISA will aid renters trying to save up for a deposit, and they aim to build 200,000 ‘Starter Homes’ exclusively aimed at first-time buyers under 40.

As far as the lettings industry goes, the Conservatives are taking an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach. Over the past five years, the coalition has made minor adjustments to legislation to make letting agents’ fees more transparent and to increase living standards and security within privately rented properties, and they seem to feel that this has left the industry in a good position.

Labour Party 3

In this area, the Labour Party has taken a drastically different approach to their rivals. Ed Miliband is proposing a shake-up to the industry which will involve a ban on ‘unfair letting agent fees [which] will save renters over £600’. The Labour manifesto does not stipulate what constitutes ‘unfair’, but it is not clear whether this will be the blanket ban on fees that some had expected, such as the one implemented in Scotland in 2012.

Other Labour initiatives include legislating to make three-year tenancies the norm, and imposing a ceiling on ‘excessive rent rises’. As with the above policy, ‘excessive’ will presumably not be defined until after the election, but it is bound to be linked to inflation rates. Finally, Labour has pledged to ‘drive standards up’ by introducing a national register of private landlords, doubtless designed to weed out ‘rogue’ Landlords.Lib Dems

The Liberal Democrats‘ manifesto covers similar ground to that of Labour, in that it proposes standard ‘multi-year’ tenancies with rent increases linked to inflation. They also moot a ban on letting agent fees, although this would not be implemented until 2017 and would be on the condition that fees have not dropped to an ‘affordable level by the end of 2016’ following transparency requirements brought in by the coalition.

Nick Clegg has also pledged to introduce a new initiative called ‘Help to Rent’. With other parties placing sole emphasis on helping first-time buyers onto the property ladder, the Liberal Democrats would also aim to assist those struggling to save a deposit for a rented property. This would be aimed at first-time renters under 30, and would take the form of a government-backed tenancy deposit loan.

UKIP

UKIP‘s manifesto is another that focuses solely on home ownership and does not set out any major changes for Tenants or Landlords. They wish to build more affordable housing aimed at first-time buyers, and aim to bring some of England’s ‘279,000 privately-owned long-term empty homes’ back into use through increasing taxation on properties that remain empty for more than 2 years.Green

The Green Party manifesto usurps Labour’s proposals and sets out its own plans for what would be a highly regulated private rented sector. Natalie Bennett’s party would introduce a ‘living rent’ tenancy which would include five-year fixed tenancy agreements, as well as ‘smart rent control’ that caps annual rent increases to the Consumer Price Index.

Local not-for-profit letting agencies would be set up, and fees for tenants would be abolished across all agencies. A mandatory license for Landlords would be established, and alterations would be made to make buy-to-let mortgages less attractive, including removing tax incentives such as mortgage interest relief.

In Summary…

The Conservatives and UKIP seem content with the current condition of the lettings industry, and do not address private renters or landlords in their manifestos. The Liberal Democrats and Labour both outline alterations to the sector, with both parties agreeing on rent control, standard multi-year tenancies and regulation of agency fees. The most radical policies are those of the Green Party, whose plans would drastically change how renting works for tenants, landlords and agents.

On May the 7th, Britain’s political landscape may well change; it remains to be seen whether the private rented sector will also be affected.

Reside is OnTheMarket (.com)

Posted on by prateek

OnTheMarket

The launch of OnTheMarket.com on January 26th heralded an important day for the property industry; it saw the arrival of the first genuine rival to the two established property portals, Rightmove and Zoopla.

OnTheMarket.com provides the consumer with a cleaner and fresher browsing experience, free from the advertisements, promoted properties and unnecessary information which burden other websites. It is designed to automatically adjust to all manner of screens, so whether you’re browsing on a smartphone, tablet or a PC, you will always be given the most optimised version of OnTheMarket.com. iPhone and iPad users can now also download the OnTheMarket app, which has a similarly user friendly interface.

Here at Reside, we are delighted and excited to announce that all of our properties are now displayed on OnTheMarket.com, as well as across Rightmove and our own website. We have already started to receive leads through OnTheMarket.com and feel that it is on the way to quickly establishing itself as an essential tool for property hunters.

Despite only being a few weeks old, you may already be familiar with OnTheMarket.com; a major advertising campaign has started across a variety of national television channels, as well as on the pages of the UK’s major daily newspapers.

Click here to view all of our properties on OnTheMarket.com, and to have a look around their new website. We think you’ll be seeing a lot more of it for years to come.

First time landlords invest as tenant demand increases

Posted on by prateek

Bath shutterstock_101583367

A recent study by major buy-to-let lender, Paragon Mortgages, found an increase in borrowing by first-time landlords as compared to the same time period last year.

Similarly, the percentage of business coming from landlords looking to grow their rental portfolios also increased.

John Heron, director of Paragon, said: “It would seem that an investment in property is increasingly attractive against a background of low returns on cash and volatility in global markets.”

“With perceptions shifting in terms of the improved availability of buy-to-let finance too, the lending industry is in a good place to support the ambitions of both new and experienced landlords.”

Also of interest to new landlords are the increases in average monthly rental costs in England and Wales – up by 3.5% in the 12 months to May 2013, according to LSL Property Services’ buy-to-let index.

David Newnes, director of LSL Property Services, said: “With wage growth so weak compared to inflation and house price growth, it looks like deposits will become less affordable – which will keep demand for rented accommodation high.”

He added that “private renting will become a more and more vital aspect of the economy.”

In line with these findings, we at Reside are seeing local demand for properties increasing significantly. July 2013 was our busiest month ever in terms of properties let, which were up 44% compared to July 2012 and 116% compared to July 2011. New properties added to our website also rose by 33% in July 2013 compared with last year.

Given also that rent arrears and voids are in decline, according to the National Landlords Association, this suggests that now is an excellent time for new landlords to consider investing in rental properties.