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Renter’s Rights Bill – What does it mean for you?

Posted on by prateek

The renter’s rights bill was published last week. It is important to note that the following is not yet law as it must be passed through parliament. Many Landlords are apprehensive about these proposed sweeping changes to the private rental sector. So, let’s explore the bill’s key points and what this means for tenants and landlords.

THE ABOLITION OF SECTION 21 NOTICES –

Section 21 evictions have been long used by landlords as a means of terminating a tenancy agreement without any reason.  This system will be replaced by a new measure that will only permit evictions under certain conditions, such as rent arrears or the landlord wishing to sell up. Whilst this may initially be seen as restrictive, it has been on the horizon for a while as this was also a measure proposed in the Renters Rights Act, the previous bill by the conservative party, and we have previously spoken about the limited impact this change may have.

Going back to the point, landlords in Bath and beyond will now need to follow stricter legal grounds for eviction and ensure that they are treating their tenants fairly and making sure they are not displacing their tenants.

RENTAL INCREASES AND BIDDING WARS –

Rent control mechanisms in the Bill aim to standardize rent increases across the board. It has been proposed that landlords will only be allowed to raise rents once a year and tenants will have the power to challenge this, if they deem the rent increase as excessive, at a tribunal. The aim here is to prevent unfair rental hikes from being used as an undercover eviction. Despite this, Landlords will still be free to increase the rents in line with market rates.

Another significant proposed change is the prohibition of bidding wars. In recent years since the rental market demand has far exceeded supply, there has been an increase in these rental bidding wars where tenants are bidding higher than the advertised rent to secure a property they may know has been garnering a lot of interest. Under the Renters Rights Bill, this practice will be outlawed. Lettings agents and Landlords will be forced to publish a clear asking price for rent and will not be allowed to accept offers over this rate.

DECENT HOMES STANDARD AND AWAAB’S LAW –

The introduction of the Decent Homes Standard into law aims to make sure that all properties in the private rental sector abide by a minimum safety and quality standard. Landlords in Bath and beyond will need to make sure their properties comply with these standards or they will risk facing penalties. This is an expansion of the existing standard that applies to social housing, ensuring those in the private rental sector are entitled to the same level of safety and decency in their homes.

Awaab’s Law, named after a traffic case of a child who died from exposure to mould in social housing, will also be extended to the private rental sector. This will place a legal requirement on landlords to address serious health hazards within a specified time frame. Whilst this may seem like a major regulatory burden, many landlords are already maintaining these standards so will find compliance with these new regulations relatively straightforward.

RENTING WITH PETS –

Another headline from the bill is the enhanced ability for tenants to keep pets. Landlords will no longer be allowed to refuse pet requests without reasonable grounds. However, to address concerns about the potential damage a pet may cause to the property, landlords can now require pet insurance to cover any damage.

STRENGTHENED LOCAL AUTHORITY POWERS –

Local councils will be granted additional powers to enforce the rules laid out in the Bill. This included the ability to levy fines of up to £7,000 for initial breaches of the above, and escalating to £40,000 for repeat offences. Whilst these new powers may be daunting, they are largely targeted at rouge landlords, and those who already comply with existing regulations are likely to be unaffected.

If you have any further questions, then do not hesitate to get in touch and if you would like to read further into this then click the link below ⬇️

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-renters-rights-bill/82ffc7fb-64b0-4af5-a72e-c24701a5f12a

The Renters Reform Bill

Posted on by prateek

The long-awaited Renters Reform Bill, which contains the government’s proposed changes to the Private Rented Sector, had its first reading in parliament last week.

Despite some of the headlines you may have read, none of these proposals are currently law and as such have no immediate impact on new or existing tenancies.

Here is a short summary of the Bill, and we’ll be sure to keep you informed of any further developments.

Reside is an award-winning independent letting agent in Bath. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspect of letting or managing your property; we would love to hear from you.

Live Conference For Landlords – Energy Efficiency in Rented Homes

Posted on by prateek

With energy prices soaring, rents rising and tenants feeling the pinch, a property’s energy efficiency has become so important that it can affect the rental value and desirability of a property. 

The government has set ambitious targets that will require landlords to improve the energy ratings of their rental homes in the near future… so what can Bath landlords do to get ahead of these incoming regulations? What makes a good and bad EPC? And what can landlords do to improve their properties?

We have assembled a panel of expert speakers to discuss this hot topic at our second Bath Landlord Forum event. There will be a chance to put your questions to the panel and speak with fellow landlords.

We have the following speakers:

Oliver Meyer, of Meyer Energy, is a government-approved and accredited Domestic Energy Assessor operating in Bath. He will explain how property EPCs are compiled, and what constitutes a good or bad EPC.

Sonia Pruzinsky, of the Centre for Sustainable Energy, will discuss the options and funding available to landlords who wish to increase the energy efficiency of their property.

Toby Martin, of Reside Bath & ARLA Propertymark, will summarise current and upcoming EPC regulations, and other recent changes to landlord legislation.

We want to help Bath landlords to stay compliant with ever-changing lettings legislation, and provide support to make the most of your property investments.
So join us at The Francis Hotel, Queen Square on Wednesday 15th March 2023 from 18:00.

Places are limited, so booking is vital.

Click here to book tickets

Reside is an award-winning independent letting agent in Bath. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspect of letting or managing your property; we would love to hear from you.

Section 21: will it stay or will it go?

Posted on by prateek

It’s been a tough week to keep up with exactly what’s happening to Section 21. Although this video was recorded shortly before the PMQs during which the Prime Minister appeared to confirm that Section 21 would be abolished, it’s pretty much hit the nail on the head (if I do say so myself!).

It’s been a tough week to keep up with exactly what’s happening to Section 21. Although this video was recorded shortly before the PMQs during which the Prime Minister appeared to confirm that Section 21 would be abolished, it’s pretty much hit the nail on the head (if I do say so myself!).

Reside is an award-winning independent letting agent in Bath. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspect of letting or managing your property; we would love to hear from you.

Landlord Legislation Update

Posted on by prateek

The start of October has brought no fewer than three changes to regulations affecting landlords. Here’s Toby with everything you need to know.

Reside is an award-winning independent letting agent in Bath. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspect of letting or managing your property; we would love to hear from you.

What Bath Landlords Need To Know About The Government’s ‘Levelling Up’ White Paper

Posted on by prateek

  • Some Bath landlords could face bills of between £11,000 to £14,000 as Michael Gove, the Housing Minister, declared an attack on poor quality private rental homes.
  • 2,114 Bath rental properties could require upgrading. The Government announced in their ‘Levelling Up’ White Paper last week, they plan to introduce a new minimum standard for private rental properties.
  • Also, the White Paper wants every landlord in Bath (9,075 of you) to go on a Landlord Register and proposes the removal of Section 21 no-fault evictions.

But despite what some might think, these proposed changes are not another nail in the buy-to-let coffin for Bath landlords. Here is why…

On the face of it, yes, it could be seen as another attack on the humble Bath landlord, having to spend money on their properties and get tangled up with red tape on a register and then having no-fault evictions removed.

Yet, as always, the devil is in the detail…

This ‘Levelling Up Bill’ is a White Paper. White Papers are policy documents created by the existing Government that set out their future proposals for legislation. Many White Papers don’t even make it to the House of Commons to be debated on, and even then, it needs to be voted on by both Houses of Parliament before becoming law. Any changes are at least two or three years away, and that’s assuming it gets debated and subsequently approved.

Many have said the White Paper is supposed to lay out how to resolve the problem of rebalancing the UK economy that is suffering from the highest level of regional inequality than any G8 country. This is a gargantuan challenge…

Yet the Levelling Up White Paper reads very much like a shopping list of great ideas without the means to pay for it.

One of the 12 points in the White Paper was focusing on housing, with a plan to introduce a new minimum standard for rental properties, a landlord register and the removal of no-fault evictions (as an aside, there was also a mention of a possible reintroduction of Home Information Packs – remember those from 2009!).

So, what does this mean for the landlords of the 9,075 private rental properties in Bath?

Sub Standard Rental Properties

The proposed changes will mean rental homes in the private sector will have to meet two specific standards that the existing 6,848 social housing homes in Bath currently need to meet.

The first is called the ‘Decent Homes Standard’ (DHS) and the second, the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) evaluation.

Looking at data from the Government, there are 2,114 private rental properties in Bath that are considered substandard under these two measures and each one would cost between £11,000 and £14,000 to bring up to the prescribed standard. That means…

The estimated total cost to improve the 2,114 Bath properties, that are considered substandard, could be as high as £29,602,650.

Yet both systems of standards (DHS & HHSRS) have been slated by many (even by the Government itself).

The DHS criteria for the standard are as follows:

  1. It must meet the current statutory minimum standard for housing
  2. It must be in a reasonable state of repair
  3. It must have reasonably modern facilities and services
  4. It must provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort

Note how the word ‘reasonable’ is used in three of the four points of the DHS. Reasonable is an arbitrary and very much subjective point of view. It screams loopholes and get out clauses to me.

Looking at the HHSRS, the Government announced just before the pandemic in June 2019 that the HHSRS would be revamped after it was found to be ‘complicated and inefficient to use’.

Putting aside how one measures the standards, it is a simple fact that there are many Bath rental properties that are substandard. I believe it right the Government have an ambition to halve the number of sub-standard private rentals by 2030. However, would it surprise you that…

In 2006, 46.7% of private rented homes in the UK were classed as substandard and today that has reduced, without any legislation, to 23.3%. One must ask if new legislation is now required?

Also, if you recall in an article I wrote recently (drop me line if you would like me to send it to you), Bath landlords could be faced with bringing their properties up to an energy rating (EPC) of C between 2026 and 2028 in legislation already proposed.

Most of the works to meet that EPC rating requirement will be the same works to meet this new DHS and HHSRS. Also, in that article, I discussed how the Government have suggested that certain allowances will be made for landlords on rental properties that can’t be improved – such as Listed properties.

So, I think Bath landlords should sit tight and let the Government shine more light on this in the coming months before any knee jerk reactions are made.

Landlord Register

To be honest, there are several city/borough registers around the UK for landlords. Experience has shown they seem to add an extra level of bureaucracy and red tape. The register would be for every Bath buy-to-let landlord and rogue landlords would be struck off whilst allowing tenants new redress rights. Another reason to employ the services of a letting agent to sort!

End of No-fault Evictions

Again, I spoke about this a few weeks ago with the proposed removal of Section 21 to evict a tenant (again, if you want a copy, drop me a line). If you recall, I stated that no-fault evictions were removed in Scotland over four years ago and the apocalyptic suggestions it would kill the rental market for Scottish landlords was not forthcoming. Now of course, the Scots strengthened the other grounds to evict a tenant. If the Government strengthen the Section 8 legislation, again, I cannot see this being an issue south of the border. Time will tell once the Government put more meat on the bones of the White Paper.

Conclusion

Many of the announcements made in the Levelling Up White Paper are re-hashed proposed legislation that has been on the books for the last couple of years.

This White Paper is not another nail in the coffin of buy-to-let in Bath.

Yet, many commentators have cautioned that more landlords with substandard homes will sell up because of these proposed changes, warning the sell up would add to the private rental sector’s shortage of homes, thus pushing up rents.

If that was true, that would increase rental returns on Bath buy-to-let and attract more Bath landlords into the sector, wouldn’t it?

But if you don’t agree other Bath landlords will buy these rental properties that other landlords are selling, who will buy their Bath properties from them? It will be Bath renters, who are now able to buy because the price has come down, meaning equilibrium should return to the market.

This is all theoretical and there are shortages/gluts in specific locations. Let us not forget it was 12/18 months ago that rents were dropped by double digit percentage points in the space of a couple of months in the big cities. Those rent drops weren’t anything to do with landlords buying up City Centre rental properties, but demand plummeted with 20-something tenants moving back in with their parents during the first lockdown and the months that followed. Yet, now rents have bounced back to pre-pandemic levels (and more) with the return of tenants to the cities.

In a nutshell, if Bath landlords do end up selling in their droves (which they won’t), yet if they do, those Bath properties will still exist.

Few of them will be left empty because most of them will be bought by other Bath landlords as they will be attracted to the sector as inflation takes hold whilst others will be bought by first-time buyers.

What goes around, comes around. So, let’s see what happens in the coming months. In the meantime, if you’re a Bath landlord and you want to discuss anything in this article, please either drop me a line or send me an email.

Reside is an award-winning independent letting agent in Bath. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspect of letting or managing your property; we would love to hear from you.

Bath Rental Market Review: January 2022

Posted on by prateek

Everything you need to know about the Bath rental market in January 2022. This month: just how bad is the Bath property shortage?

Tenant demand has far exceeded property supply for the last 12 months, but just what is the extent of this property shortage? As Reside’s Toby Martin discusses in the above video, the number of rental properties on the market at any one time is currently 35-40% below the average for the last decade.

This month’s round-up also includes news of upcoming smoke and carbon monoxide alarm regulations that landlords should be aware of. Be sure to watch the video for full details.

Reside is an award-winning independent letting agent in Bath. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspect of letting or managing your property; we would love to hear from you.

Reside Review: September 2021

Posted on by prateek

The latest in lettings, from Bath and beyond. This month: pets, notice periods and the Renters’ Reform Bill

Over the course of this year, we have firmly established that demand from tenants is comfortably exceeding property supply, with many tenants struggling to secure their property of choice. Reside’s vital statistics over the last month bear this out – average letting time of 3.5 days, achieving an average of 102% of the advertised rent, and agreeing more lets over the course of September than in any other month since the company’s inception.

At this time of year, we usually urge landlords to bring their property to the market as quickly as possible, to avoid the quiet winter market. Whilst that is still advisable, it is difficult to image demand dwindling during November and December, as there are still a great many home-hunters who have been unable to secure a property.

Supply is bound to reduce further between now and the end of the year, meaning that there will still be fierce competition for those properties that do come to the market.

Pet Deposit Peeve

The government has clarified that it will not revisit the deposit caps that were mandated by the Tenant Fees Act. Conservative MP and pets campaigner Andrew Rosindell has led calls for reforms that would make it easier for tenants with pets to secure properties, and the reintroduction of additional pet deposits was widely considered to be most practical way to achieve this.

Deposits are currently capped at 5 weeks’ rent, or 6 weeks’ for high rent properties. This has seen the majority of landlords adopt a more cautious approach to tenants with pets, due to concerns about additional damage being incurred and not adequately covered by the deposit.

Notice Periods Return to Normal

Notice periods finally returned to their pre-pandemic levels on the 1st of October, for the first time since March 2020. Landlords, who had previously been required to serve three, then six, then four months’ notice on their tenants under Section 21, are again able to serve two months’ notice to bring their tenancy to an end. Tenants, whose notice period remained unaffected throughout the pandemic, can serve one month’s notice to end a tenancy.

Reform In The Pipeline

This year’s Queen’s Speech put us on notice that a significant White Paper would be delivered by the government this Autumn, which will propose significant changes to the private rented sector. Whilst recent comments by Housing Minister Eddie Hughes from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing & Communities have suggested that these are still some weeks away, the minister did clarify that lifetime deposits and Section 21 are very much on the agenda.

We want to get this right. For example if we start from a position of ‘Landlords Bad/Tenants Good’ then the approach might be too stringent for landlords and they’ll be forced out of the market. We don’t want that.
Eddie Hughes MP

Lifetime deposits will allow a tenant to port a single deposit between tenancies, avoiding the need to pay a new deposit at the start of each new tenancy.

Section 21, also known as ‘no-fault evictions’ has long been in the crosshairs of the government, but it remains to be seen how the evictions system will be reformed.

Reside is an award-winning independent letting agent in Bath. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspect of letting or managing your property; we would love to hear from you.

Covid-19: Landlord Legislation Update

Posted on by prateek

Extended Section 21 Notice Periods

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has confirmed that it is to extend the evictions ban in England until the 20th of September 2020, and will also introduce six-month long notice periods that will run until the 31st of March 2021.

The ban, which was announced in March as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, was to end on the 23rd of August, with some cases due to be heard immediately at the newly approved Nightingale courts. It has also been confirmed that once the courts do re-open, only serious cases such as those involving anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse will be prioritised.

Now that the ban on evictions has been extended, the Government must use this time to introduce further guidance and prepare the sector. It is important to take steps back towards normality so that both landlords and tenants have access to the justice system while putting measures in place to offer further support to tenants who have built up COVID-related arrears and this four-week extension will give Government the time to introduce such measures.

Timothy Douglas, ARLA Propertymark

MHCLG has advised landlords to work with tenants who are experiencing financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic and consider all possible options – such as flexible payment plans which take into account both parties’ circumstances – to ensure cases only end up in court as an absolute last resort.

Landlords must disclose impact of COVID-19 on tenant

Those cases which do make it to court will be affected by new rules requiring landlords in England and Wales seeking possession of their properties to set out in their claim any relevant information about a tenant’s circumstances.

This information includes what effect COVID-19 has had on a tenant’s vulnerability or whether they are claiming benefits – information should also be provided on how the pandemic has affected a tenant’s dependents, if they have any. However, the rules do not require agents or landlords to actively seek out information but merely to make the court aware of what information is known.

The rules do not change the regulations around possession for landlords and they do not amend Section 21 claims or Section 8 arrears claims. What is changing is some of the steps that landlords must follow if they want to apply for possession through the courts.

STAY COMPLIANT WITH PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT

With landlords now needing to comply with nearly 150 pieces of law, it has never been more important for your tenancy to be managed by a knowledgeable, professional and regulated agency.

For guidance on all aspects of tenancy management, or if you are considering letting your property in Bath, contact us on 01225 445777 or info@localhost.