Launch of the all new Debt Collection Service
As many know, we’ve had a couple of attempts at providing a debt collection service. In fairness it’s a very difficult thing to provide because of course if the tenant or guarantor is not going to pay you why would they pay someone else? Anyway, after suspending the service for a short while, we have had a recommendation from one of long standing members (so if this fails, I know who to blame!) We are therefore very pleased to announce the launch of our all new debt collection service (again). Hopefully we will get some good...
read moreLand Registry launches top tips to help owners protect their property from fraudsters
Thanks to the painsmith blog for this one Property is usually the most valuable asset people own. It can be sold and mortgaged to raise money and is therefore an attractive target for fraudsters. The properties most vulnerable to fraud are usually empty, tenanted or mortgage-free. Individuals at a higher risk of fraud include owners who are absent for whatever reason; for example because the owner may live abroad, buy to let landlords, the elderly not living in their properties because they may be in long term hospital or residential care, and...
read moreEnergy Act 2011 – An Overview
The Energy Act 2011 is the result of the much talked about Energy Bill receiving Royal assent. You have probably heard of items contained within the act without perhaps realising that that’s where they originate. In particular, the Energy Act 2011 enacts the following: Green Deal Landlord not to refuse reasonable request for energy efficiency improvements Landlord not to let property unless meets minimum energy efficiency Green Deal The green deal is to be a new financing model to enable the provision of fixed improvements to the...
read moreTeignbridge DC Landlords Energy Assistance Scheme
Teignbridge District Council has launched a new scheme to encourage private landlords to improve the energy efficiency of their properties. Measures included in the scheme include loft and cavity wall insulation, installing new ‘A’ rated gas condensing boilers and installing or replacing a central heating system. In exceptional cases where no alternative is available, it may even pay towards installing night storage heaters. To take part in the scheme, landlords must be completing work on an occupied property or one available...
read moreChanges to the EPC regulations.
From 6 April 2012, changes are being made to the regulations which govern energy performance certificates. The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 amend the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (no link because they are quite out of date on legislation.gov.uk) There is currently disparity between properties for sale, rent residential and commercial regarding timescales for ordering and obtaining an EPC. The...
read moreHousing benefit rates set to freeze from April 2012
Currently, the amount a claimant receives in housing benefit is based upon the local housing allowance rate. This rate is calculated every month by the rent officer assessing non housing benefit rents within the local area and calculating the 30 percentile of those rents. This provides a monthly figure. As market rents rise (or fall) so, in theory does the LHA rate. Once a claimant tenant is on housing benefit, the rate remains the same for the claimant for up to 52 weeks assuming no change of circumstances. From April 2013, rather than the...
read moreAsk a Question Available Again
We are pleased to report one of our most popular services, – “ask a question” – is now available again with a few modifications. On the previous website, we used a whole separate wordpress installation just to run the questions. This had the advanatge of looking really good and special sorting options were available but a massive downside was the inability to easily search the main website and the questions site together. Often therefore during a search, an answered question wouldn’t be found. We’ve been...
read moreWalsall landlord prosecuted for putting tenants at risk
Thanks to Painsmith Blog for this one. A Walsall landlord has been sentenced for failing to provide a gas safety certificate. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Khalid Hussain following a complaint from a tenant and her partner, who rent a house at Raleigh Street, Walsall from him. Walsall Magistrates’ Court heard that the boiler was only replaced in October this year despite having broken down in January 2011. Mr Hussain also did not have a landlord’s gas safety certificate for the appliances in the property until last...
read moreWelcome to the New Website
I hope your liking the new website. What a busy and stressful couple of days it’s just been! I don’t think I’ve ever sworn on-line on a blog post or similar but my goodness this is closest I have ever been to doing so (I’m not going to though). So basically, this site shouldn’t have been live for another couple of weeks. In anticipation, I asked my (now) old hosting company, hostpapa, to release all4landlords website name and cease the hosting. Once I had the name in my control, that was going to point here and...
read moreNine out of ten landlords owed rent by LHA tenants
Almost nine out of ten (87%) landlords who accept housing benefit tenants have had problems with rent not being paid on time, with one in ten (11%) saying they have had tenants who stopped paying their rent altogether. Out of all landlords, more than half (59%) stipulate no housing benefit tenants in their advertisements.The astonishing results emerge from a survey of over 1,000 UK landlords, conducted by flat and house share website Spareroom. The majority of buy-to-let landlords (86%) surveyed were against the change to the...
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