Valissa Burnett

Tenant Fees Bill 2019

Tenant Fees Bill Legislation from 1st June 2019

• Tenants cannot be charged for referencing costs
• Tenants cannot be charged for any tenancy agreements
• Tenants cannot be charged for part costs of inventories or check-in/outs
• Security deposits will be capped at 5 weeks’ rent (or 6 weeks’ rent for annual rents over £50,000)
• Tenants can be charged for early termination of tenancy agreements – reasonable landlord costs for re-letting and rent up until a new tenant moves in (up to a total maximum of the rent outstanding for the tenancy term)
• Tenants can be charged for variation of contract cost at the tenants request – expected to be capped at £50 inc vat, unless reasonable costs above the amount can be proven
• Tenants can be charged interest on late payments of rent over 14 days in arrears of 3% above BOE base rate
• Tenants can be charged for breach of tenancy terms – *breach of tenancy charges may be by way of deduction from the deposit at the end of the tenancy)
• Tenants can be charged for negligence – i.e. cost of unblocking toilets by putting nappies down them (though this may be by way of a deduction from the deposit at the end of the tenancy)
• Tenants can be charged for not returning the property back to the standard it was let (fair wear and tear excepted) through normal end of tenancy deposit process
• Tenants can be charged for losing keys or security devices (at reasonable cost)

Existing Tenancies from 1st June 2019

• Upon renewal existing tenants will need to be refunded any security deposit held over 5 weeks of the ‘new rent’
• Tenants cannot be charged additional security deposit levies for having pets and must be refunded additional levies over the 5 weeks’ upon contract renewal
• Existing tenancies which do not renew but become periodic tenancies (rolling on monthly) can keep the existing lodgement of security deposits without any need to refund until a contract renewal takes place – we therefore recommend that all existing tenancies with pets should not renew but should become periodic.

EPC – MINIMUM STANDARD ENGERGY REGULATIONS

From 1st April 2018 all new tenancies or renewals on rental properties (domestic and non domestic) must have a minimum of an E rating on an EPC. Domestic properties with existing tenants in a periodic tenancy (rolling on and not renewing) have until 1st April 2020. Non domestic until 2023.

If you have concerns about your domestic rental properties EPC rating speak to us at Regency Lettings & Property Management, we can give advice and put you in contact with energy assessors who can give you advice on how to meet with regulations. 01428 684540 Email: lettings@rlpm.co.uk

Christmas & New Year Opening

This year Regency Lettings & Property Management Limited are donating to the charity MIND instead of sending out Christmas Cards.
https://www.mind.org.uk/

Christmas & New Year Opening:

Friday 22nd December 9am to 3pm
Saturday 23rd December to Monday 1st January – Closed
Tuesday 2nd December – 9am to 7pm

Any property maintenance issues that cannot wait until the New Year please email Valissa@rlpm.co.uk
Or text 07837 920650

Landlord Tax

A reminder to all landlords the 6th April 2017 sees the first phase in the restriction of mortgage interest able to be claimed as tax deductible by landlords.

The final phase will eventually bring the maximum down to the basic rate in 2020/21.

The Government paper is here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/restricting-finance-cost-relief-for-individual-landlords/restricting-finance-cost-relief-for-individual-landlords

Landlords will be able to obtain relief as follows:
•in 2017 to 2018 the deduction from property income (as is currently allowed) will be restricted to 75% of finance costs, with the remaining 25% being available as a basic rate tax reduction
•in 2018 to 2019, 50% finance costs deduction and 50% given as a basic rate tax reduction
•in 2019 to 2020, 25% finance costs deduction and 75% given as a basic rate tax reduction
•from 2020 to 2021 all financing costs incurred by a landlord will be given as a basic rate tax reduction

According to Government figures they are expecting to raise an additional £1.3BN in tax revenue by 2021.

Landlords Rent Recovery & Legal Guarantee Cover

Regency Lettings & Property Management are delighted to be able to offer what is possibly the most competitive and comprehensive rental recovery and legal guarantee cover available.

100% of the monthly rent paid for up to six months from the date of the first arrears.

Legal expenses up to £50,000 to cover eviction costs or breaches of tenancy agreement.

50% of the rent paid for up to two months after vacant possession has been obtained, whilst new tenants are found.

The cover we can offer to all Landlords including Tenant Find only. Cover starts from as little as £13 per month.

At Regency Lettings & Property Management we carry out stringent vetting of prospective tenants and thorough market leading insurance & referencing provider Homelet carry out full credit checks and referencing on all tenants. Such stringent vetting makes it unlikely for our Landlords to experience problems with non-paying tenants. Occasionally however tenants can encounter difficulties beyond their control such as losing their job and being unable to pay the rent or full rent, even more rarely tenants may fail to move out of the property at the end of the tenancy or break the terms of their tenancy agreement.

For most Landlords their rented property is one of the largest assets they own, and in many cases the property is owned via a Buy to Let mortgage, with reliance on rental payments to meet their mortgage commitments. To seek possession of the property through the courts can be costly and more importantly can take three or more months, with no guarantee of getting your rent arrears at the end.

Rent Guarantee policies are available to cover such eventualities but many are expensive, complicated to manage and often will not cover properties which let for over £3,000 pcm or will not cover Let Only Landlords. Regency Lettings & Property Management are therefore delighted to be able to offer what is possibly the most competitive and comprehensive rent recovery and legal guarantee coverage available for all Landlords on properties with rentals up to £7,500 pcm.

The guarantee coverage is taken out on your whole property, regardless of tenants or change of tenants. Regency Lettings & Property Management directly insure your property with Homelet on a policy underwritten by Propgen Insurance Limited, with your interest being registered. This enables us to offer the Regency Lettings Rent Recovery & Legal Guarantee Cover to all Landlords including Tenant Find only clients.

Regency Lettings & Property Management are able to offer you the coverage at highly competitive rates, as unlike some agencies we do not ‘front load’ the cover with costs that we hope you will never need – such as Court Appearance day/half day charges, preparing and sending documents to solicitors for rent arrears and possession. In the unlikely event that you will need to use the cover any such costs will be charged only as and when you need them.

Chiddingfold Bonfire Night 2016

A fabulous night was had by all attending the Chiddingfold Bonfire Night on Saturday 5th November 2016.

The 500 burning torch procession from the school to the village green is a magical sight. It was a cold night but soon after the 500 torches lit the vast bonfire warmth was felt by all!

The organisers and the volunteers cannot be thanked enough. All the stalls were wonderful and we at Regency Lettings & Property Management were very proud to be one of this years sponsors.

The park and ride service as always was a wonderful success, though some people as always did try to park nearer the green and damage was seen to a number of people verges.

To those tenants and landlords we did not see on the night we hope that you enjoyed yourself and hope to see you all again next year.

These photographs are credited to and courtesy of the Chiddingfold Bonfire Association and were taken by Bruce Devlin.

8 Great tips for packing on moving day!

An article from MyBigMove.co.uk:

Moving day. Hands down one of the most stressful experiences you will ever experience. We all know that!
A substantial amount of people make one fundamental error when packing their belongings away to move house. They use the method of packing everything away as quickly as physically possible, which is all well and good until it comes to the unpacking.
Then comes the frenzy of throwing boxes around to try and find something that ‘you definitely packed’, which is aggravating to say the least.
So, we decided to try and give you a little nudge in right direction to ensure your move goes as smooth as possible.

Tips for moving day:

1. Pack your house one room at a time!
2. Print off the labels above (multiple times if needed) and label your boxes, making note of the contents, the room and which floor it is on.
3. Wrap socks around your glasses to stop them from breaking.
4. Wrap bed sheets around any big mirrors or anything fragile.
5. Keep your valuables with you to ensure they do not get lost.
6. Store cables in empty toilet & kitchen rolls and label each one to stop tangled wires.
7. Pack an overnight bag last. You will more than likely just want to crash out as soon as you have unloaded. This will stop you scavenging for a further few hours just to find your toothbrush and pyjamas.
8. Tape your boxes and carry a box cutter for when you’re unpacking (this save a lot of time).
We do hope your move goes well, and hopefully these little tips will help you on your moving day.
Once your move is complete, you need to inform all of the right services of your change of address. Make it your priority to update your driving licence, as this can land you a £1000 fine! For a full checklist of who to inform when moving house please visit http://mybigmove.co.uk/Moving-House-Who-to-inform

Good luck!

http://mybigmove.co.uk/Moving-House-Who-to-inform

Buy to Let Tax Amendments to Finance Bill

I have read an article by Rosalind Renshaw which has flagged up that major amendments to the Finance Bill have been “slipped in” at committee stage, avoiding property consultation and scrutiny.

The changes if they are passed as currently worded in the Finance Bill could result in Buy to Let property owners paying Income Tax rather than Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the profits when they sell.

Capital Gains Tax (cut in the 2016 budget) is 20% for high rate and 10% for basic rate tax payers.

Income Tax is charged at 45% for additional rate, 40% for higher rate and 20% for basic rate tax payers.

This change should it go through would double the amount of tax payable by Buy to Let investors when they sell.

The Law Society is challenging the government on this issue, and has made representations to the Government and HMRC.

It may be that the Government did not intend a material change to buy to let investors, and that the bill will undergo clarification within the bill before it is passed.

Treasury Minister David Gauke has told the Law Society that the measure was not intended to affect (buy to let) property investors, but was targeted for those in the property building industry.

Lets hope that is the case! I will keep an eye on this and report further in the news section of our website http://www.rlpm.co.uk/news.php if anything else comes to light!

Valissa Burnett
Lettings Director
Regency Lettings & Property Management

Property Prices Post BREXIT

auction-sales-property image

After an interesting few weeks the property sales market seems to be as buoyant as ever with many agents seeing a dramatic increase in instructions post referendum.

The period leading up to the referendum has been quiet for sales and lettings instructions. Lettings instructions still remain low for the period.

Solicitors have also generally reported lower than average conveyancing fall outs since the referendum. Demand is definitely out-stripping supply, apart from at the upper end of the sales and lettings market where there are few buyers or tenants.

Property auctions have been the only variable, with Strettons auction yesterday 11th July 40% failing to sell and 8% being withdrawn. Those that sold generally sold for around the guide price. One property I had advised a client upon sold for 60% over the guide price! Auctions are still the place to find bargains Nationwide, but regionally it is getting increasingly difficult in the Surrey area.

RIGHT TO RENT

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On 20th October 2015 the Government announced that as of 1st February 2016 all landlords in England will be responsible for checking that potential tenants have the right to reside in the UK.

Prospective tenants will have to prove that they are either UK or EEA nationals who have an unlimited right to rent in the UK, or will have to provide the correct immigration status documents including biometric residence permits and travel documents.

Landlords (or agents representing the Landlords) that do not carry out the immigration checks could be fined up to £3,000 per tenant.

Checks are not required for existing tenants, but will be required for all new tenancies from 1st February 2016.

Regency Lettings & Property Management use Homelet the national leading referencing agency for all our tenant credit checks and referencing. Homelet carried out a successful pilot of the right to rent checks for the Home Office from December 2014 to May 2015.

Regency Lettings & Property Management are pleased to confirm that we will be using Homelet Verify service, which is a bespoke solution designed specifically for Homelet agents conducting immigration checks on behalf of their landlords.