There has been a lot of media coverage in the wake of the news that private sector landlords will be expected to check tenants’ immigration status and evict them if they don’t have the right to stay. Some think the scheme is a good idea; others are highly critical. However, data released to the Economist has shown that the original pilot scheme was not a success so rolling out the scheme nationwide could have many unwelcome consequences.

Black Country Pilot
The pilot was implemented in the West Midlands in December 2014. Since then, only
Seven landlords have been prosecuted, with average fines of around £800 each. The idea behind the scheme is that landlords must check a tenant’s passport or visa documentation in order to establish their right to stay in the UK, but a survey carried out by a charity indicated that only half of landlords and letting agents bothered to do this.

Landlord Discrimination
In a separate survey, more disturbing information came to light that indicated many landlords in the pilot discriminated against overseas tenants, blocking them from renting properties.

This information raises fresh fears that the scheme is unworkable and will encourage landlords and letting agents to discriminate against non-UK tenants. Experts are also quick to point out that any landlord found guilty of discriminating against foreign tenants faces expensive litigation.

A Home Office spokesperson says: “The evaluation of Right to Rent is currently being completed, but there are no indications so far to suggest landlord checks are being carried out unfairly.”

The Green Deal Finance Company was set up in 2013 to offer cash-backs and financial incentives to homeowners to make their properties more energy efficient. Unfortunately, however, the scheme didn’t work as well as the government planned and the government has decided to scrap it.

Tenants Eligible for Green Deal Scheme
Tenants as well as landlords were eligible for the Green Deal scheme, with the cost of the work added to future energy bills for the property, so landlords didn’t have to pay for a thing.

Critics of the scheme think it’s a good thing that the government has pulled the plug. Consumer organisation, Which? said the government was throwing good money after bad, so it needed to end. The home insulation industry is not happy, however. They say there is too much uncertainty because the government hasn’t figured out whether (or indeed if) a replacement scheme needs to be put in place. They say homes in the UK have the worst levels of insulation in Europe and saving energy is a cheaper way of lifting poor families out of fuel poverty.

ARLA Unhappy
The Association of Residential Lettings Agents is also unhappy with the demise of the Green Deal scheme:

“Just as the Green Deal looks like it will finally succeed, the government seems determined to sabotage its own policy. The NLA advise all landlords with a draft Green Deal plan to act immediately in order to benefit from the previous funding incentives.”

Unfortunately, until the government makes a decision, landlords will have to fund their own energy efficiency measures.

The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks is warning landlords that they need to be extra careful when preparing inventories for student properties. Millions of students are checking in and out over the next few weeks and any mistakes made now could prove to be costly.

Double Check All Items on an Inventory
“Tenants should be issued with a copy of the inventory at the beginning of the tenancy and I urge them all to double check all the items listed at that time and to ensure that all items remain in the property, in good condition, when moving out. If there is something missing it can often be cheaper for the tenant to replace it rather than for the landlord or agent to do so,” explains Pat Barber, chair of the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks.

“For letting agents and landlords, it is important to go through the inventory fairly and thoroughly when undertaking the check-out process. If both sides of the rental transaction hold up their side of the bargain, the amount of deposit disputes can be kept to a minimum this summer.”

Inventory Preparation
Landlords can prepare their own inventories or employ a third party company to take care of the inventory. If you do your own inventories, make sure you include plenty of detail. Use a combination of narrative and photographic or video evidence. Photos are good, but they need to be backed up with detailed descriptions. The more detailed your inventory is the better. That way, if you end up in a dispute over property damage or missing items, you have the evidence to back up your claims.

Housing charity, Shelter, has previously been very much in favour of rent controls, but according to a story in the Guardian newspaper, it has now changed its mind.

Shelter Commissions Research
Research commissioned by Shelter and carried out by the University of Cambridge indicates that “hard rent controls” would discourage landlord investment and lead to tenants having poorer choices in the private rental sector. 31% of landlords surveyed said they would sell their buy to let properties if rents were frozen and the researchers warned that this could lead to the development of a housing “black market”.

“In practice, hard rent controls tend to create a two tier system in which some homes are subject to rent caps, while a formal or informal unregulated sector emerges that houses those in most need who do not benefit from the caps,” researchers said.

More Stability for Tenants
The report suggests that rather than hard rent controls, the introduction of five-year tenancies where rent rises are limited to inflation could provide a much greater level of security for tenants:

“As the charity for people experiencing bad housing or homelessness, our first priority is tenants. That’s why although many have called for rent caps as the solution, we have found that this could add fuel to the fire by pushing landlords out of the market and making it even harder for renters to find a home they can afford.

“This research is further proof that the government should give renters the stability they need to put down roots and save for their future by introducing longer-term tenancies with rent increases that can’t go above inflation.”

As every experienced landlord knows all too well, some tenants turn out to be a nightmare from start to finish. For new landlords, however, the stark reality of life as a landlord can prove to be a bit of a shock to the system. So if you want a reality check on how things can (and do) go badly wrong, make sure you watch Channel 5’s ‘Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords’.

Last weeks’ show featured three different landlords, all of whom are on the brink of financial ruin as a result of problem tenants.

Dodgy Boilers and Bogus Claims
Franc Coutinho has never had any problems letting out his property in North London, but when his latest tenant moves in, it all goes pear-shaped. The tenant keeps complaining the boiler isn’t working to avoid paying the rent, but when plumbers check it they can find nothing wrong. Eventually the landlord starts the eviction process but the tenant shows up at the court proceedings and files an eleventh hour defence, delaying the eviction and leaving the poor landlord on the verge of bankruptcy.

The Nightmare Begins
A second case features a landlord who has let a property to a family of four, but they haven’t paid much in the way of rent for 18 months, so he is forced to start the eviction process. The third landlord manages to get her problem tenant evicted, but that’s only the beginning of her problems…

Tune in to see how the story ends!

Slough council is suffering a major housing crisis and if plans for a new Heathrow runway come to fruition, the situation could get a whole lot worse. In an attempt to try and solve their problems, the council is offering 700 private sector landlords a financial incentive to join the new social lettings scheme.

Housing Crisis
Like many London boroughs, Slough does not have enough housing stock to meet demand. The town has seen a huge influx of homeless families from other London boroughs, but the council has now decided to make local families the priority. It wants to find new accommodation for families already living in Slough and currently in overcrowded or unsuitable accommodation, with the emphasis on families not entitled to local authority housing but who still need help.

“Affordable private rental properties are scarce across the country, not just in Slough,” says the council deputy leader.

“Good quality housing is one of the foundations of leading a happy, healthy life, and our ultimate goal is to make sure every family has that opportunity.”

Under the new incentive scheme, landlords can claim a one-off payment if they agree to house council tenants. Alternatively, the council will guarantee to cover the cost of any damage caused by tenants (up to an agreed amount).

Housing Association Scheme
There is also a second scheme available. Landlords can lease their properties to Paradigm Housing Association, which pays a guaranteed monthly rent and manages the property on the landlord’s behalf.

Interested landlords can email or call the council for more information.

Landlords with high-spec properties in desirable locations rarely have to work hard to find suitable tenants. In fact if you own a nice two bed flat in London you will probably have would-be tenants queuing up around the block to take it!

An Advert with a Difference
However, despite the demand for rental property, one enterprising landlord decided to place an advert with a difference. The property owner reckoned he could let the room out for around £520 per week, but rather than specifying a room rental rate, he said the spare room in his flat was available to an attractive female tenant for free.

Deal or No Deal
At first glance, this might sound like a fantastic deal if you are looking for a large double room in a high-end flat in Manchester, but unfortunately any interested females would be expected to consider ‘alternative’ payment options in return for free accommodation.

So, not such a good deal then!

The ad, which was placed on spareroom.com, was removed as soon as a customer service representative noticed.

“In principle we do allow people to offer discounted rates for rooms if their new tenant can also offer a specific service. In the past we have had people that have been after a flatmate that will clean, or perhaps help to look after a child. In one case we had a music technician who offered a discount as long as the new roommate could help them catalogue their music collection.

“But in this particular case the offer of a discount did not seem appropriate, and so the listing was removed. In all honesty I wouldn’t think that there really was a room available, but that it might have been someone having some fun.”

Lots of landlords pay letting agents to manage their properties. If you don’t have the time or inclination to do the job yourself, it can be a lifesaver. The problem is that a lot of letting agents charge ridiculous sums to carry out routine maintenance tasks. Some landlords might not scrutinise their bills all that closely, but one landlord did and now the agent is facing a mammoth legal bill.

Foxtons Under Pressure
Foxtons is a huge up-market estate and letting agent, with a lot of business in the London area. The landlord in question engaged their services to manage his London property and all was well until he complained about a sub-standard repair on a light fitting and demanded a refund. The agent told the landlord to contact the maintenance company directly, who then informed him of the cost of repair – which was considerably less than his bill from the agent.

It transpired that by the time the agent had added on ‘management fees’, commission, and had been paid commission for passing on the work, the invoice from Foxtons was marked up by 49%.

Solicitors on the Case
The aggrieved landlord has now instructed solicitors to handle his case on the basis that the ‘hidden commission’ was not highlighted in the contract and there is a conflict of interest. As a result of the claim, thousands of other landlords could also be entitled to sue for compensation in claims that could end up costing the company as much as £42 million.

One of Ed Milliband’s flagship election promises was the introduction of fresh landlord regulation, which included rent controls in the private rental sector. Mr Milliband felt strongly that tenants needed to be protected from ‘exploitive’ landlords trying to make a fast buck by putting up the rents as and when they felt like. Now Ed is out of the picture for good, the balance of opinion has changed in the Labour party.

It’s Wrong to Control Rents, Says Shadow Chancellor
Labour’s new shadow chancellor, Chris Leslie, has gone on record as saying that Labour was wrong to have sought to control rents in the private sector. Speaking as a landlord, he said it was wrong that landlords should be punished for seeking to make money from rental housing.

In an interview for the Guardian newspaper, he said:

“Part of the issue we always face on the centre-left is the temptation to want to control and run what’s going on in a particular market. It was reasonable to talk to people who were renting and say, ‘we understand your anxieties.’ But actually the solution is supply of housing, and not necessarily implying that landlords are all exploitative and opportunistic.”

More Transparency Needed in the Private Rental Sector
He believes the solution to the problem is not rent controls and more landlord legislation. Rather a new system of house building needs to be rolled out instead. He also says the PRS would benefit from greater transparency.

According to the parliamentary register of interests, Mr Leslie owns one rental property in London.