Posts with tag: Right to Rent

Right to Buy scheme, ‘will erode housing associations’

Published On: January 26, 2016 at 1:58 pm

Tags: government,housing association,housing associations,landlords,right to buy,Right to Rent,tenants

Yesterday saw the Government announce that a pilot for the new Right to Buy scheme was to be trialled in five housing association areas.

As part of the pilot, the first housing association tenants can apply for the Right to Buy scheme, which comes ahead of a nationwide rollout later on in 2016. This follows a voluntary understanding between the Government and National Housing Federation to enlarge the Right to Buy scheme to 1.3 million housing association tenants.

Right to Buy scheme, ‘will erode housing associations’

‘Unfortunate’

However, Stephen Smith, Director of Legal & General Housing Partnerships, described the extension as, ‘unfortunate,’ and believes the scheme will reduce the availability of affordable homes.

Smith also noted on that the scheme, ‘will ultimately erode housing associations’ ability to build homes.’ He believes, ‘this will reduce the number of affordable properties available in the UK when we need a greater supply of housing, not less.’[1]

‘Forcing the sale of homes at a reduced market value will ultimately disrupt a well functioning sector, making it harder for housing associations to allocate resources to housebuilding and more difficult for investors to lend to them. We hope that the Government reconsiders this decision before fully implementing it and instead look to other ways in which to produce affordable housing by focusing on the root cause of the housing crisis and tackling supply side issues,’ he concluded.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/government-urged-to-reconsider-right-to-buy-scheme.html

Many landlords still not prepared for Right to Rent

Published On: January 24, 2016 at 11:49 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Buy-to-Let,buy-to-let landlords,landlords,legislation,Right to Rent

A concerning new report has indicated that only half of UK landlords are ready for the Right to Rent rollout, which is set to come into effect in less than 2 weeks (February 1^st).

Urban.co.uk conducted a survey of 5,000 landlords and found that 20% wrongly believed that they had until April 2017 to prepare for the changes. 3% thought they had until 2018!

Knowledge

These alarming findings were part of Urban.co.uk’s Landlord Knowledge Survey Report, which questioned landlords on issues relating to the leasing market.

With a number of new legislations coming into play in 2016 and landlords’ responsibilities growing, the investigation provided cause for concern.

Key findings from the report include:

just 10% of landlords provide the correct information to their tenants at the start of a new tenancy
90% of landlords could not articulate the characteristics of a HMO
16% did not put a valid contact address on their tenancy agreements, something which could deem contracts being null and void

‘There has been an influx of new legislation relating to the rental market made in recent years and we know that UK landlords are struggling to keep on top of these changes,’ noted Adam Male, Co-Founder or Urban.co.uk. ‘Despite knowing many of the basics, many find it difficult to navigate the minefield of changing renting rights and wrongs and this is particularly so for accidental landlords.’[1]

Many landlords still not prepared for Right to Rent

Reassuring

Despite this perceived lack of understanding in some areas, thankfully, most landlords were found to be knowledgeable of most other rental issues. 77% were aware of the up-to-date Energy Performance Certificate requirements, with 95% of landlords able to identify their gas safety responsibilities.

76% of respondents knew their smoke alarm requirements, with 7% saying they put one in every room.

According to the research, the most knowledgeable landlords are located in Southampton, with the least located in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Male went on to say, ‘it’s great to hear that knowledge about things such as gas safety is widely understood and implemented landlord legislation, however there is still a long way to go in educating landlords about the varying aspects of renting. New regulations such as the Right to Rent have the potential to stop back door lettings and create a better environment for all, however this will only happen if the scheme is communicated to landlords properly. We as an organisation want to do our bit to clean up the industry and help landlords protect themselves from significant financial risk.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/are-landlords-prepared-for-%C3%A3%C2%A2%C3%AB%C5%93right-to-rent%C3%A3%C2%A2%C3%A2%E2%80%9E%C2%A2.html

Peers Believe Landlords Should Not Face Jail over Right to Rent

Published On: January 18, 2016 at 1:35 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Immigration Bill 2015,immigration checks,Right to Rent

Two Conservative peers argue that landlords and letting agents should not face up to five years in prison if, accidentally, they rent a property to a tenant that should not be in the country.

The call comes from Lord Cathcart and Lord Howard of Rising in a proposed amendment to the Immigration Bill 2015.

Peers Believe Landlords Should Not Face Jail over Right to Rent

They argue that landlords and agents should not face the prospect of criminal penalties if they are caught out by fraudulent papers, which would have already got past border agency officials.

The Right to Rent scheme is set to be enforced across England from 1^st February. Initially, the Immigration Act 2014 will impose civil penalties, but the Immigration Bill 2015 – currently going through Parliament – will bring in criminal sanctions of either fines or imprisonment.

The amendment states that the following should be added to the bill: “A person does not commit an offence… where they are proceeding diligently to evict any adult who is disqualified as a result of their immigration status from occupying the property of which they are a landlord.”

The amendment is expected to be debated either this week or next. It seems that it only relates to fast-track evictions, but the peers are likely to make further arguments.

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) have supported the amendment.

Both bodies are concerned that the new bill – as currently drafted – will make it an automatic criminal offence if a landlord or agent is notified by the Home Office that a tenant does not have the right to rent.

However, the bill allows 28 days for the illegal tenant to be evicted.

They also worry that the landlord or agent may have been caught out by false documents that allowed the illegal immigrant to enter the country initially; these would be the same papers that got past immigration officers, who do not face jail.

Additionally, a major concern is that landlords or agents would be criminalised prior to, or even without, prosecution.

It is expected that Lord Cathcart will argue to fellow peers that landlords and agents that have done everything to check a tenant’s right to rent and then take the required steps within the 28-day eviction period, should not be prosecuted.

Read the full amendment: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2015-2016/0079/amend/am079-h.pdf

With Two Weeks to go, Legal Expert Calls for Right to Rent Delay

Published On: January 18, 2016 at 10:33 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: February,immigration checks,Right to Rent

On 1^st February, the Right to Rent scheme will be rolled out across the whole of England, but a legal expert has called for the launch to be delayed.

The national roll out of the controversial scheme is scheduled for exactly one week today. However, landlords or their letting agents can already start conducting immigration checks. Find out more: /landlords-and-agents-must-prepare-for-right-to-rent-says-home-office/

With Two Weeks to go, Legal Expert Calls for Right to Rent Delay

David Smith, the Policy Director at the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) and a partner at law firm Anthony Gold, believes the scheme is not ready for a national roll out.

His call arrives after the Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, tabled an early day motion.

The early day motion calls for the order for the nationwide launch of Right to Rent to be annulled. However, it has only attracted 38 signatures, predominantly from the Scottish National Party.

Smith supports the early day motion, as it is “an opportunity to provide more thorough, larger scale evaluation” of the scheme.

Right to Rent has been piloted in the West Midlands for just over a year, but Smith argues that it has produced little data, of which is contradictory.

He claims that the trial shows that Right to Rent is not achieving what the Government intends and is causing discrimination.

The Government’s review of the pilot scheme notes “limited evidence”¹ that illegal immigrants’ access to the private rental sector was being controlled.

An earlier analysis, from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, shows that 44% of tenants in the pilot area had not been asked for identity documents.

On behalf of the RLA, Smith states: “To proceed at this stage runs the very real risk of causing considerable harm to the relationship between landlords and tenants, which are so crucial to the smooth operation of the private rented sector.”¹

The early day motion can be viewed here: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2015-16/934/

¹http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/two-weeks-to-go-until-right-to-rent-housing-lawyer-david-smith-calls-for-deferment/

Landlords and Agents Must Prepare for Right to Rent, Says Home Office

Published On: January 8, 2016 at 3:06 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Immigration Bill 2015,immigration checks,letting agents,Right to Rent

The Home Office has warned landlords and letting agents that they only have a short period of time before they are obliged to check the immigration status of prospective tenants under the Right to Rent scheme.

The legal requirement will be enforced across England on 1^st February. However, from this week, landlords and agents can begin conducting the checks on potential tenants, as the checks can be made from 28 days before the start of the tenancy agreement.

Landlords and Agents Must Prepare for Right to Rent, Says Home Office

James Brokenshire, the Immigration Minister, insists that the checks are simple and do not require any specialist knowledge.

He says: “Right to Rent is part of the Government’s wider reforms to the immigration system to make it stronger, fairer and more effective.

“Those with a legitimate right to be here will be able to prove this easily and will not be adversely affected.

“The scheme is about deterring those without the right to live, work or study in the UK from staying here indefinitely.”¹

The Right to Rent obligations apply to all private landlords with rental properties in England, tenants that sub-let their homes and homeowners that take in lodgers.

Landlords can appoint a letting agent to undertake the checks on their behalf.

Landlords or agents must make the checks on all adult occupants. The scheme applies to all new tenancy agreements starting from 1^st February onwards, with existing tenancy agreements unaffected.

Landlords must:

Determine who will live in their property.
Obtain a tenant’s original appropriate documents.
Check the documents with the tenant present.
Copy and keep the copied documents on file.
Record the date of the check.

If the tenant is only allowed to be in the UK for a limited period of time, the landlord or agent must conduct a follow-up check at a later date.

All local authority homes, company lets and holiday lets are exempt from the scheme.

A Practical Guide to Right to Rent Checks event is being held in Cambridge on 18^th January, aimed at educating landlords and letting agents. More details are here: http://www.easylawtraining.com/right-to-rent/?inf_contact_key=0012124fd7fe89ba77388c520451eaa739a56222a44c4ff9a0e9876a84b9b91d

¹http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/home-office-tells-agents-and-landlords-they-must-get-ready-for-right-to-rent/

Right to Rent Could Mean Over 5m Immigration Checks for Landlords Every Year

Published On: January 7, 2016 at 3:49 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Immigration Bill 2015,immigration checks,landlord responsibilities,Right to Rent

Private landlords or their letting agents may be required to check the immigration status of at least 2.6m tenants per year, and maybe more than double this figure, when the Right to Rent scheme is enforced in England on 1^st February.

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has released this calculation, after finding that there were 2.6m moves within the private rental sector in the year 2013/14.

Right to Rent Could Mean Over 5m Immigration Checks for Landlords Every Year

However, it warns that the amount of prospective tenants who will be subject to these checks every year could “easily be double that figure, based on a conservative estimate that each letting will involve two households being checked”.

The CIH is calling for the nationwide roll out of Right to Rent to be postponed, believing it should be trialled in a “high pressure area”, such as London.

A pilot scheme has already been trialled in the West Midlands, running for just over 13 months. But the CIH is calling for another trial.

Under the Right to Rent scheme, checks must be conducted on all new tenants, without discrimination. Landlords are able to pass this legal responsibility onto their agent by written agreement.

The requirement to undertake immigration checks was included in the Immigration Act 2014, which imposes civil penalties.

However, the latest Immigration Bill 2015 would enforce criminal penalties, including jail sentences.

The CIH warns that due to the scale of the task and threat of criminal sanctions, landlords may discriminate against any tenants they think aren’t British, even if they have a legal right to live in the UK.

Chief Executive of the CIH, Terrie Alafat, says it is important for landlords to be given proper training on how to perform the immigration checks, in order to “combat the risk of discrimination against people who have every right to be in the UK”.

He continues: “For many people, private renting is the only option, and if this is removed, homelessness and destitution may follow.

“The new Housing and Planning Bill includes measures to tackle rogue landlords, which we have welcomed, but an unintended consequence of the Immigration Bill could be that more tenants are pushed towards the sorts of landlords who ask no questions and will rent poor quality accommodation to anyone who’ll pay the rent.

“Before the checks are extended to all new lettings in England, it is therefore vital that landlords are given training in how to carry them out – but there is very little time in which to do this.”

He adds: “The start should be postponed until this is done, otherwise both tenants and landlords could fall foul of the new requirements.”¹

The CIH warns that immigration checks can be very complicated; if the tenant doesn’t have an EU passport, they could have one of three dozen or more types of immigration document, or their paperwork could be with the Home Office.

¹http://www.cih.org/news-article/display/vpathDCR/templatedata/cih/news-article/data/More_than_2.5_million_people_a_year_could_be_subject_to_new_immigration_checks_to_rent_a_home