Good Landlording

By: Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson
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  • A weekly podcast co-hosted by Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson, who discuss practical tips to help you start, grow and succeed as a landlord in England
    © 2024 Good Landlording
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Management Economics Personal Finance
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Episodes
  • #27: What the Renters’ Rights Bill changes about rent

    #27: What the Renters’ Rights Bill changes about rent
    Sep 25 2024
    The Renters' Rights Bill makes significant changes to the rules about rent for landlords and tenants in England. In this podcast episode, Richard Jackson and Suzanne Smith discuss the proposed restrictions on landlords when accepting offers from tenants, the new process that landlords will need to follow to increase rents, the new powerful rights for tenants to challenge and delay even reasonable rent increases, and what's happening with advance lump sum rent payments. They also discuss the challenges that landlords and letting agents face with a very short implementation timetable, with the expected "big bang" change over to the new tenancy system by the summer of 2025. Finally, they share tips on how to successfully navigate the change. >> Related episode: #26: What happens when Section 21 is abolished? >> Blog post: The new rules about rent in the Renters’ Rights Bill >> Ask a question: Click here for question form What we cover in this episodeThe changes to how landlords increase rentThe greater powers of renters to challenge rent increasesCan landlords accept advance lump sum payments of rent?The likely impact on tenants without a good credit historyThe rules to stop “rental bidding” The changes to how landlords increase rent Landlords will only be permitted to increase in-tenancy rent by giving at least 2 months' notice to expire at the end of a rental period, using the statutory process in Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988, and what will be an updated Form 4. Landlords won't be able to increase rent by agreement (unless the agreement is to reduce rent after a landlord serves a s13 notice) and all rent review clauses in tenancy agreements will be null and void. The greater powers of renters to challenge rent increases As now, tenants will be able to appeal Section 13 rent increase notices in the First-tier Tribunal, who will determine the market rent. If they do challenge a rent increase at the FTT, any increase in the rent will only come into effect on the date of the FTT determination. In other words, it won't be backdated to the date specified in the notice. This will have the effect of delaying an increase in rent that is fair and reasonable. Given the current delays on a small number of cases in the FTT now and the expected increase in appeals, this may have the effect of what David Smith of JMW terms "rent suppression". Can landlords accept advance lump sum payments of rent? The Bill does not say in words of one syllable whether advance lump sum payments may be made, and there is some disagreement between lawyers. This needs to be clarified urgently. The likely impact on tenants without a good credit history If upfront payments are outlawed, and given the expected increase in rent guarantee insurance as a result of the abolition of section 21, unless tenants have a good credit history, they may find it difficult to find somewhere to rent. The rules to stop “rental bidding” When landlords list or offer a property for rent, they will need to set a proposed rent. Landlords will not be permitted to accept offers above the proposed rent from prospective tenants. Credits window.addEventListener('message',function(e){'https://widgets.blubrry.com'===e.origin&&'object'==typeof e.data&&(document.getElementById(e.data.senderId).style.height=e.data.height+'px')}) Music: "Paradise Found" by Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech. Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 License.
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    23 mins
  • #26: What happens when Section 21 is abolished?

    #26: What happens when Section 21 is abolished?
    Sep 18 2024
    In this week's episode, Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson discuss the practicalities of what will happen when the Renters' Rights Bill will abolish Section 21 "no fault" evictions for landlords in England. They cover: what is Section 21, how Section 8 will replace Section 21, the key new and changed grounds for possession, when it's going to come into effect, and what landlords will need to do to adapt to the new regime. They also share their reflections on this new Bill. As always, it's a very practical episode. PS As a general caveat, it's still very early days with the Renters' Rights Bill. The Bill is really difficult to understand, and we may well change our views on how to interpret it. It may also change as it goes through parliament. Before taking significant action, do get advice from a specialist solicitor. You can contact us by sending us a message on our contact page if you would like a referral. >> Ask a question: Click here for question form What we cover in this episodeWhat is Section 21?What will replace Section 21?What is Section 8?When is Section 21 going to be abolished?Tips for adapting to the new regime Special offer from Symple for Good Landlording listeners #ad Before we get into the ins and outs of the abolition of Section 21, we wanted to share a promotion for listeners of Good Landlording that helps you, and helps support the podcast. We all know it can be a hassle for landlords to keep on top of gas safety certificates, EICRs and EPCs, especially for those of us who have a portfolio in different parts of the country. Although software like Alphaletz can help remind landlords when they are all due, landlords can also use Symple to make sure they are actually done on time. If you haven’t heard of Symple, it’s a free platform that’s designed to help landlords streamline their compliance management. You can set it up to order gas safety inspections, Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICRs), and Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) with just one click. Symple provides landlords with automated renewal reminders to ensure they never miss a deadline and provides real-time updates on certificate statuses once they are ordered. Symple cover the whole of the UK with pre-approved local service providers. There’s no searching or chasing - Symple handles everything for you. Symple even guarantees to do it by the due date if you book it at least 4 weeks in advance. The charges for the certificates are reasonable, and all of the suppliers are vetted. And best of all, Symple are offering listeners of Good Landlording a 5% discount on all of their products with the code GL05. This is a paid promotion, but one that benefits our listeners as we have negotiated a 5% discount for our listeners on all certificates ordered from Symple using the code GL05. Click here for Symple What is Section 21? Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 gives landlords the right to evict tenants without needing to give a reason. So long as that landlord serves a valid notice using Form 6A, which is on the government website, they give two months notice plus a few days for service (and assuming the landlord has, of course, served all the relevant documents when they needed to), then the landlord will get the property back. The landlord doesn't need to give a reason. It doesn't mean there is no reason, just that they don' need to explain their reason. >> Blog post: How and when will Labour abolish Section 21 no fault evictions? What will replace Section 21? The only way landlords will be able to bring a tenancy to an end after Section 21 is abolished is by using the Section 8 process. What is Section 8? Section 8 is from the Housing Act 1988 and allows landlords to evict tenants when they have a specific grounds or a reason. The landlord needs to provide evidence of the ground. There are two types of grounds:
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    29 mins
  • #25: Overview of Labour’s new Renters’ Rights Bill

    #25: Overview of Labour’s new Renters’ Rights Bill
    Sep 12 2024
    Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson discuss their first impressions of Labour's new Renters' Rights Bill in this special episode of Good Landlording, shortly after Bill was published. They go through the big ticket items in the new Bill, how it compares to the old Renters (Reform) Bill, and what landlords should do to prepare for the new Bill. They'll be discussing the Renters' Rights Bill in more detail in the coming weeks and months, but this episode provides a useful overview of what's in the Bill, and what's not. >> Ask a question: Click here for question form What we cover in this episodeOverview of the Renters' Rights BillThe key parts of the Renters' Rights Bill1. The abolition of Section 212. The abolition of ASTs and fixed term tenancies3. Changes to Section 8 Grounds for Possession4. No rent controls in the Renters' Rights Bill5. Change to rent increase procedure6. No encouragement of rental bidding7. Other provisions in the Renters' Rights BillWhat should landlords do about the Renters' Rights Bill? Overview of the Renters' Rights Bill The Renters' Rights Bill is very similar to the old Renters Reform Bill, but with a fair few Labour "tweaks", notably removing the concessions given to Conservative backbench MPs at the Report Stage of that Bill, banning rental bidding, and giving tenants more rights when it comes to challenging rent increases. There are no dramatic surprises as the main provisions have been well signalled by the Labour government. The amendments that Labour proposed at the Report Stage of the Renters (Reform) bill have been reflected in the new Bill. >> Useful resource: Renters' Rights Bill Hub >> Blog post: How the Renters' Rights Bill compares with the Renters (Reform) Bill The key parts of the Renters' Rights Bill 1. The abolition of Section 21 The Renters' Rights Bill takes the same approach to the abolition of Section 21 no fault evictions as the Renters (Reform) Bill. However, there will be no delay to the implementation for existing tenancies for the Lord Chancellor's review of the operation of the County Court eviction process as there was with the Conservative's Bill. Instead, there will be a "big bang day" when all tenancies will switch to the new regime, without Section 21, whether they are new or existing tenancies. The abolition won't affect notices that are served before the Bill comes into force. >> Blog post: How and when will Labour abolish Section 21 no fault evictions? 2. The abolition of ASTs and fixed term tenancies As per the old Bill, assured shorthold tenancies will be replaced by periodic assured tenancies and landlords won't be able to sign up renters for a minimum period. Renters will be able to serve 2 months' notice to quit at any time. Labour have done this to make tenants flexibility so that they're not tied in and can leave places that are in disrepair. It's part of their aim of giving more power to renters. There is no exception for student landlords, and they won't be able to stop tenants moving out at Easter or after the exams in May. 3. Changes to Section 8 Grounds for Possession Contrary to media reports over the summer, the Renters' Rights Bill does not introduce a hardship test for Mandatory Grounds, which would have effectively turned all Mandatory Grounds into Discretionary Grounds. Landlords will be pleased that the new Bill contains the new Ground 1A from the Renters Reform Bill which entitles them to possession if they can demonstrate they wish to sell the property. 4. No rent controls in the Renters' Rights Bill Despite recent speculation, there are no rent controls in the Bill and no provisions to devolve the power to impose rent controls to local government and the Metro Mayors. 5. Change to rent increase procedure Landlords will only be able to increase the rent by using the Section 13 procedure, and the notice will be doubled from one month to two months.
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    15 mins

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