devon landlords august newsletter by Edward Shepley

Issue: 3

DEVON LANDLORDS A S S O C I AT I O N NEWSLETTER The DLA Is A Not For Profit Company

August 2009

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CONTENTS PAGE 4 5 6

Message from the CHAIRMAN and Diary Dates

18 Protection for private tenants following repossession

POST

Disability Law

Alcoholics could see benefits cut. LHA

Dangers of cutting gas safety costs. BPF meeting with Homes and Communities Agency

Landlords convicted.

Defaulting Landlords and deferred possession. Important changes to GAS SAFETY RICS consulting on Accreditation of values etc.

Check your Gas Safety Certificate Closure Order delight

HCA Private rented sector initiative.

UK Smart meters and Subjects not Citizens

VAT cut urged on long term empty homes RPTS to conduct two reviews Delivery plan needed to upgrade all Brit Homes

Continuation of Mortgage Issues Regulating Letting Agents.

Government response to RUGG REVIEW

1/3 of families in non-decent homes Overcrowding set to soar.

Industry calls for treasury to support moves to regulate landlords and Agents.

LHA Questions in Parliament.

LHA failing both Landlords and Tenants. Tenants push for licensing of Landlords

ARLA launches new consumer protection scheme

Average rents have increased.

Options for joint ownership of Business properties Coastline Housing

BPF Standard Tenancy Agreement Fire safety What is a Section 106 Agreement?

Illegal landlords subletting social housing Social Housing New Model.

Headline points from Conservative Green paper on Housing.

â&#x20AC;&#x2014;BPRâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC; How can HMCR justify its stance?

29 Private tenant evicted by Council. 30

Some Estates are social concentration camps.

Benefit applications still too confusing Estate Agents who tell it like it is.

RICS Tenant demand falls.

Advertising information.

CONTACT DETAILS Committee Members: Peter Lewis (Chairman) John Shepley (Treasurer) Website: www.devonlandlords.co.uk

Exeter Office: Queensgate House 48 Queens Street Exeter EX4 3SR

Devon Landlords Association Torquay Office: The Chambers 141 St Marychurch Road Torquay TQ1 3HW

All Enquiries: 01803 314750 Email: equiries@devonlandlords.co.uk

All rights in and relating to this publication are expressly reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the DLA. The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the DLA and readers should seek the guidance of a suitably qualified professional before taking any action or entering into any agreement or documentation generally in reliance upon the information contained in this publication. Whilst the publishers have taken every care in compiling this publication to ensure accuracy at the time of going to press, they do not accept liability or responsibility for errors or omissions therein however caused.

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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN This is the first Ezine/Magazine to be published since the AGM on the 3rd June but there have been a number of events which have delayed publication, not least of which have been the various holiday dates which have delayed the meeting of the Committee Members who were elected at the last AGM. Three members only were elected; they were Peter Lewis, John Shepley and Stuart McNeall. This situation has now become more critical as Stuart resigned on the 16th July at the first meeting of the new Committee. This leaves your Association in a fairly critical situation with only two elected representatives. We need more people on the committee to represent more broadly the views of the membership. This is an excellent Association but for well over a year now we have suffered from a lack of people on the Committee to provide you with the services you deserve. Christine is doing a great job in the office to deal with your enquiries and when she is unable to resolve your problems then John and I are there to try to support you along with our team of legal helpers. The current Officers of the Association are

Chairman Treasurer

Peter Lewis John Shepley

Please consider giving up some time to support us by becoming co-opted members even if it is only for a few meetings until you get a feel for the issues which we will discuss. I joined as a co-opted member three years ago and as a result have learned so much about this complex business called â&#x20AC;&#x2014;landlordingâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;. It has been a real eye-opener and now I have so much more confidence in what is an increasingly complex environment. With only two of us in post we will be cutting our cloth according to our means, BUT we would like a few of you to volunteer to organise speaker meetings in the coming months. Now is a time to consider supporting the Association. Many hands make light work and the more of us who can get involved the better. If you think that taking part will produce a great workload, then believe me, you are wrong. We will fit what you do to what you are prepared to contribute and no more. Please contact Christine at the office on 01803 314750 with your offers of support. Peter Lewis Chairman DLA

DIARY DATES

As we go to press no dates have yet been decided for speaker evenings. However, we have a number of speakers lined up for the Autumn and the dates will be discussed and decided upon at the next full meeting of the Committee. Since I wrote the above message we have had four members volunteer to play a part in the activities and the deliberations of the new Committee. With their advice and support we intend to bring a regular and informative series of speaker meetings to you in the year ahead. If you have any ideas for speakers then please let us know about them so that we can consider them at our next meeting. Peter Lewis

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ILLEGAL LANDLORDS SUB-LETTING SOCIAL HOUSING Experts estimate 5% of social housing properties in inner city areas could be being unlawfully sublet. John is one of thousands of people living in unlawfully sub-let social housing across the UK. He saves more than ÂŁ500 a month by renting a one-bed housing association flat from a friend and insists that he cannot afford to pay market rates. Just this week the National Housing Federation predicted that the waiting list for social housing would top two million by 2011. Does John not feel guilty? "On a selfish level, I haven't got anywhere to live either," he said, "And I justify it by that. It's not the ideal or the best situation but that's how it is. It's not something I just did and thought, 'Sod people who were in a more desperate situation than me.' But I was in a desperate situation myself." Market rents No-one is making a profit from John's arrangement. He just ensures that the rent and council tax are paid each month, while his friend is living abroad with a girlfriend. But not everyone is like John. Many others - from illegal immigrants to wealthy young professionals - are unwittingly renting social housing property, thinking the landlord rightfully owns it. In these cases the landlords are often making huge amounts of cash from sub-letting their property at market rates. In some inner city areas people can make more than

ÂŁ12,000 a year from sub-letting - money rarely declared to the Inland Revenue. The money will sometimes subsidise a more lavish lifestyle, while the person lives elsewhere with a partner or family. In some cases, it is even used to pay off a mortgage on another property. It is hard to know how extensive a problem this is. The National Fraud Initiative (NFI) is a data-matching operation that takes place every two years and which can highlight cases where someone appears to have more than one council home. But in 2006 and 2007, it led to only 75 properties being recovered, all of them in England. Huge impact But these figures could be just the tip of the iceberg. A Freedom Of Information request to London councils alone showed they had recovered more than 560 properties from illegal tenants in the past year. The NFI - carried out by the Audit Commission and which also covers Wales and Scotland - cannot highlight cases where someone might be registered to only one council house but is actually living with a friend or relative while renting out the property to make a profit. And only 49 of the several thousand housing associations in the UK took part in the exercise. Experts say illegal subletting doesn't seem to be a problem in Wales or Scotland - but say there is

HOMES AND COMMUNITIES AGENCY TO CONSIDER NEW SOCIAL HOUSING MODEL New types of social housing contracts that would not give new tenants the right to remain in their homes for life are being considered by the housing and regeneration super-agency. The Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) is understood to be looking at the contracts as it seeks ways of persuading major financial institutions to build homes for rent. Speaking at a dinner at the Mipim property conference earlier this month, hosted in association with Regeneration & Renewal, HCA chairman Robert Napier said the agency was exploring whether it could revive house building by persuading institutions to put their money into homes for private rent. Major institutions invest in private rented housing elsewhere in Europe, but rarely if ever do so in the UK. In a bid to reduce the risk to such institutions of investing in such schemes, the HCA is understood to be exploring whether it could lease homes off them for use by middle income tenants paying subsidised rents, or low income tenants paying social rents. According to a source who is aware of the discussions, the HCA believes that the promise of a guaranteed rent

from part of a prospective development would make investors more willing to commit to the whole scheme. The approach would also create mixed tenure schemes, rather than the single tenure estates that would be built if the HCA simply pumped its money into conventional social housing, the source said. But the source acknowledged that introducing such a scheme would be controversial, as it would be unable to guarantee tenants that they could stay in their homes for life, a right possessed by existing social tenants. Under such a scheme, the private owner would lease the homes to the HCA for a fixed period, after which they would revert to private ownership. "It would break the link between subsidy and bricks and mortar," the source said. Chartered Institute of Housing policy director Richard Capie said new forms of affordable housing tenure needed to be explored, but such an arrangement could prove problematic. "What safeguards would be put in place to ensure social tenants do not have the rug pulled from under their feet (when the lease ends)?" he said. From Regeneration Newsletter

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COURTS ASKED TO DEFER POSSESSION OF RENTED ACCOMMODATION IF LANDLORD DEFAULTS The property industry is broadly supporting a joint campaign recently launched to protect tenants who face sudden homelessness because their rented accommodation is repossessed, but issued a reminder that it was often the non-payment of rent that caused landlords financial problems in the first place. Shelter, Citizens Advice, Crisis and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) are calling for a change in the law that would mean courts would have the power to defer the possession to allow the tenant to find other suitable accommodation. As the law stands, most tenants whose landlords are repossessed have none of the legal rights that usually protect tenants from losing their homes without notice. Advisers report seeing cases where the first the tenant knows about the situation is when they come home to find bailiffs in their home. When looking at the potential problem of repossession for private tenants, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) believes it is important to distinguish between different groups of occupiers. The largest group of private tenants will have a landlord who has taken out a buy-to-let mortgage. If the landlord fails to keep up their mortgage payments, a lender will often put in place a receiver of rent to accept the tenants‘ rental payment for the lender instead. CML figures show this is a widely used approach by lenders to private landlords in the Buy to Let market, and it avoids the need for court action for possession during the tenancy

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO GAS SAFETY From 1st April 2009 the Gas Safe Register has replaced CORGI gas registration and is now the official industry stamp for gas safety. It is law that anyone carrying out gas work that is within the scope of regulations is on the Gas Safe Register. The Gas Safe Register is also to be used for a range of gas safety campaigns so you will start to see it more and more. The Health and Safety Executive, responsible for regulating gas safety in Great Britain, will oversee the Gas Safe Register. So please remember, if you have any gas appliances at your premises, be they mains gas or LPG – boilers, fires, catering or laundry equipment – it is now law that anyone carrying out servicing, annual safety inspections, replacement or installation work is on the Gas Safe Register. If you would like to know more about these changes and how they could affect you, please contact QES on 01726 891 981 and we will be delighted to help.

period. The second group of customers are those tenants who are unknowingly renting properties under owneroccupier mortgages without the lenders‘ knowledge or consent. The CML shares the concern of advice agencies that these customers can be disadvantaged through no fault of their own. CML director general, Michael Coogan said: ―Everyone sympathises with those tenants who are paying their rent, and fulfilling their obligations, but who find that their landlord has not been paying their mortgage and not told their lender that they are renting out the property. ―Good tenants should not be disadvantaged, and nor should lenders, by the irresponsible behaviour of a small minority of landlords. We look forward to working with the government and advice agencies on effective measures to help the modest number of tenants affected.‖ From Residential Landlord website

RICS CONSULTING ON ACCREDITATION OF VALUERS AND FEES The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is seeking views on the possible introduction a specialist accreditation and regulatory scheme for RICS valuers. The purpose of the scheme is to clarify the competence and standards of RICS valuers, with RICS proposing that only those who join the scheme will be able to market themselves as RICS accredited valuers. The consultation proposes that the scheme will apply to all RICS valuers undertaking valuations in accordance with RICS Valuation Standards and will be made mandatory by 2010. The full consultation document can be found on the RICS website. Responses are invited before 12 June 2009. In another consultation, RICS is also seeking views on the transparency of fees charged by professionals working in property. It is particularly keen to gather information on declaration of insurance remuneration and commissions, service charges in leasehold property, commission on letting renewals, valuation fees and arrangement of fees for security loan valuations. The present consultation is very much an information gathering exercise, with RICS keen to ascertain more than anecdotal evidence of the transparency of fees and identify areas for best practice. Details of the consultation can be viewed on the RICS website. The deadline for responses is 17 July 2009. From the BPF

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CHECK YOUR GAS CERTIFICATE TODAY! A landlord of two properties has been jailed for three months for breaching health and safety regulations by failing to provide an up to date record of gas safety for his premises. Geoffrey Knipe, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive said ―None of our requests were complied with and no checks had been made to ensure the gas installation was safe‖. On top of the jail sentence the landlord was also fined £24,480 with costs of £13,481. ―Aside of any maintenance highlighted by an inspection, these checks should have incurred a minimal cost‖ says Mike Quest, managing director of water hygiene and gas safety company QES. ―Unfortunately this isn‘t an isolated case and I think that the scale of the sentence and fines shows the intent with which the Health and Safety Executive are tackling this issue‖. It is important to note that all landlords are legally obliged to ensure that gas safety certificates are up to date. If you would like any advice or assistance with your gas safety and compliance obligations please call

QES today on 01726 891 981 and one of our team will be delighted to assist. All QES engineers are on the Gas Safe Register so please act today. It could be the most important call you make all year. Andrew Howell Marketing Manager QES Ltd. www.qes-ltd.com Mobile: 07766 167 465 Office: 01726 891 981 Fax: 01726 891 929

CLOSURE ORDER DELIGHT NEIGHBOURS spoke of their delight this week after hearing that two men had been thrown out of their rented Dawlish flat after a groundbreaking Police Closure Order. For more than six months residents in Oak Park Villas were subjected to a life of misery by David Johnson, 30, Simon Goy, 35 and their visitors. On Tuesday, South Devon magistrates sitting in Newton Abbot agreed to impose a closure notice for six weeks – the joint first in Devon alongside another in Plymouth on the same day. Soon after the hearing, police and Teignbridge Council staff went to the premises, allowing the two men to collect personal effects before the locks were changed and the windows and doors boarded up. Both Johnson and Goy have left the district. Recalling the nightmare, Mrs Thomson, a dispenser, told this paper that, as well as the windows, her front door was boarded up and they moved into the bedroom furthest away from the two men‘s flat, which was the only room left with light. ‗Until they moved in next door we had no problems. It was a lovely quiet place to live and all the neighbours used to go out into the garden and socialise,‘ she said, adding that it stopped because of the havoc they were causing. She said their windows were smashed, vehicles vandalised, the two men‘s kitchen windows were broken, loud music was played – sometimes all through the night – there was a lot of fighting between the two and recycling caddies were thrown off the balcony and

smashed. Mrs Thomson claimed there were also drugs and alcohol problems and that a dealer used to knock on the door, while ambulances called regularly two or three times a week. Another neighbour, Kate Partridge, said it had been a nightmare since the pair moved in. ‗I do not think I have seen them sober since they moved here. They do not have any respect for noise, they are constantly slamming doors and cupboards and you hear them threatening people on the phone. ‗I had a double glazed front door, a reinforced security chain with five extra bolts and double glazing installed. ‗When Jane‘s glazier began work on her broken windows they threatened to beat him up,‘ claimed Ms Partridge, who works in the Highways Agency control room. Because the two women were afraid to venture out if the two men or their visitors were around, they used to phone each other to say the coast was clear or otherwise. ‗It has just been terrifying. You could tell when things were about to turn nasty. ‗It used to be a quiet place to live and we are looking forward to it being like that again. I do not think it has really sunk in yet,‘ said Ms Partridge The two women had a special word of thanks for Andy Davies, Teignbridge Council‘s anti social behaviour officer and the police. ‗We are very fortunate that they have put in so much hard work to get this resolved,‘ they said. From Newton Today

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HCA LAUNCHES A PRIVATE RENTED SECTOR INITIATIVE On 1 May The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) launched an expression of interest process for a new initiative, which could potentially attract significant investment into the housing market by encouraging institutions to fund new homes specifically for private rent. The objective of the HCA‘s Private Rented Sector Initiative (PRSI) is to create an opportunity for investors – like pension funds – to enter the private rented sector on a large scale for the first time. At a point in the economic cycle where there is strong investor appetite for low risk investment, focused on income distribution and a longer-term investment horizon, many believe that this is the perfect time to expand the private rented sector. The initiative will form a key part of the package of proposals at the heart of the Government‘s forthcoming response to the Rugg Review of the private rented sector. The HCA is seeking to work with financial institutions and other investors to develop a long-term funding model for new private rental housing in England. It is anticipated that the potential investment could come from sources such as pension funds or overseas investors which have not traditionally been involved in UK residential letting. The PRSI could have the potential to help kick-start stalled schemes and lead to a significant increase in high quality new homes for rent, managed in a consumer focused way, which would in turn help to make private rental an option of choice for consumers and relieve pressure within the housing market. Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency, said: ―Our initiative is one of many innovations we have used to attract new investment, kick-start stalled housing schemes and mitigate against the effects of the market downturn. ―To date, achieving scale has been one of the main barriers to attracting institutional investors into the housing sector. We believe there is an opportunity now for the HCA to work with developers and house builders

to offer a pipeline of projects for the PRSI, which could result in a positive outcome for all stakeholders. ―But it is only potential at this stage. We will engage with the private sector to develop a market driven proposition which is attractive to investors. Projected rental yields and the current market suggest that the time is right, and that is why we are engaging with the market to develop the proposition further.‖ The principal focus for the HCA‘s initiative is to facilitate the building of new homes for rent, but with the potential to consider recently built homes as ―seed assets‖. It is envisaged that such new funding will invest in homes predominantly for private rent, with the possibility of supporting a smaller component of intermediate rent. The investment return profile of the initiative is therefore primarily income focused, with the potential for longer-term capital growth. The HCA will consider support it can give to ensure that new investment into the sector is viable, which may involve some form of limited financial support to stabilise the portfolio and create confidence for investors during the initial years. It is anticipated that development risk for schemes supported by any new investors would remain with the house builders. Crucially, the PRSI could provide a source of pre-sales for projects with suitable product, which in turn could help to reduce the speculative nature of house building and unlock funding on stalled schemes. Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: ―This paves the way for a new kind of private renting that could support new development as the housing market recovers and offer the public real quality and choice in private renting, at little or no cost to the taxpayer. "The task now is to stimulate interest in the HCA‘s proposals, encourage some innovative bids and ensure that we create some attractive proposals that provide solid returns for investors and more importantly, tenants. To make this work, we do need to reflect on the different financial structures of private rented housing, ensuring that we do anything we can to draw in this vital new funding.‖ The HCA has appointed DTZ as a specialist property advisor. The full EOI document is available to download from the HCA website or from the CRLA website (www.crla.org.uk). From the BPF.

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CHANCELLOR URGED TO CUT VAT ON LONG TERM EMPTY HOMES LACORS and the LGA have written to the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, calling for VAT on empty properties to be slashed to five per cent. This could help encourage owners to bring some of the 300,000 long term empty homes back into use. In the letter, the Chairman of the Local Government Association, Cllr Margaret Eaton, called for the introduction of a standard VAT rate of five per cent on the refurbishment of homes that have been empty for at

least six months. Currently, VAT is reduced to five per cent after a property has been empty for two years. It is estimated that by reducing the period to six months, thousands more homes could be brought back into use and the government would benefit from the increased revenue this could generate – effectively making the proposals cost neutral. From LACORS

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TRIBUNAL SERVICE TO CARRY OUT TWO REVIEWS LACORS met with the RPTS on 23 March. At that meeting they announced that they will conduct two reviews, later this year, to look at administrative (procedural) issues and at legal issues. The RPTS Board will be considering a paper, with recommendations for the reviews, at its June meeting. It is hoped that these reviews will lead not only to more

consistency in procedures but to standardisation of forms, etc. LACORS hopes to arrange a further meeting with the RPTS President during the summer, to discuss local authority input into both reviews, and we will keep colleagues posted. From the BPF

DELIVERY PLAN NEEDED TO UPGRADE ALL BRITAIN‘S HOMES A delivery plan backed by financial incentives to upgrade all Britain‘s homes by 2030 needs to be put in place now, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in its response to the Government‘s draft Heat and Energy Saving Strategy consultation. Brian Berry, Director External Affairs at the FMB said: ―The Government‘s aim to upgrade all Britain‘s homes by 2030 won‘t succeed unless the financial incentives are put in place to create a new market for greener, more energy efficient homes. Householders have still to convinced of the merits of spending thousands of pounds on energy efficient improvements with little prospect of seeing a return on their money. ―If the Government is serious about its commitment to upgrade our homes it needs to introduce some financial incentives such as cutting VAT to 5 per cent for home improvements; council tax rebates and/or the introduction of green mortgages.‖ Berry added: ―Britain could learn from Germany which lends money to local banks who provide ten year loans to people who want to retrofit their home. In 2007, the German Government lent 850 million Euros which resulted in 5 billion Euros of retrofit. On this basis the UK could achieve the transformation of the private housing stock for around £1 billion a year of government money.‖ He concluded: ―More detailed information is also needed to help householders understand the entire process of retrofitting homes from start to finish. At the moment it is difficult even for the most enthusiastic to know what

can be done to make their homes more energy efficient. ―Better use of EPCs would be a good start as would the creation of a national database of EPC ratings to help understand the overall condition of Britain‘s housing stock and assess where help is most needed.‖ From Housingnews.co.uk

BOOKEEPING WHY HAVE THE WORRY OF KEEPING YOUR ACCOUNTS IN ORDER, LET ME HANDLE THEM PROFESSIONALLY AND CONFIDENTIALLY. ALL ACCOUNTS ENTERED AND COLLATED READY TO GIVE TO YOUR ACCOUNTANT AT YEAR END WILL SAVE YOU A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF MONEY AND TIME. OR PERHAPS YOU JUST HAVE HOLIDAY RENTALS AND WOULD LIKE A DETAILED YEARLY ACCOUNT OF INCOME.

Secretarial services also available. Tel: Christine 01803 314750 for more information

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GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO RUGG REVIEW The full response document is available to view on the CRLA website but a few bullet points prepared by BPF follow: The response is a document which does not comment on all of Rugg‘s recommendations but the statements set out a basis for further work. They are a ‗starting point‘. Government wishes to see a strong PRS and does not want to regulate the sector too highly. A national register of private landlords will be established – we already know this. All tenancies should take the form of written agreements. Assured Shorthold Tenancy threshold to be raised to £100k. Full mandatory licensing of private sector letting agents and managing agents will be introduced. Investment in the sector to be guided by the HCA‘s Private Rental Advisory Board (Liz Peace (Chief Executive of the BPF) has been invited to sit on this). Regarding the tax changes put forward by Rugg – the statement is that they are ‗aware of the proposals, and will continue to keep them under review‘. The government will aim to create a more sophisticated understanding of the sector and there will be research to better understand how the sector operates. Local authorities should be encouraged to explore ways in which to improve their engagement with landlords in the PRS (lots of recommendations here including for them to include the PRS in local housing strategies). Each Local Authority should develop a more coordinated approach to securing private sector tenancies for low income households.

The government aim to improve the coverage for accreditation schemes. There will be a separate consultation on whether to change the planning rules on HMOs – a sop to the ‗studentification‘ lobby. The government will establish several ‗task and finish groups‘ to look at specific issues identified in the consultation. From the BPF

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INDUSTRY CALLS ON TREASURY TO SUPPORT POSITIVE NEW MOVES TO REGULATE LANDLORDS AND AGENTS The British Property Federation (BPF) has reacted positively to the government‘s response to last year‘s review by Dr Julie Rugg of the private rented housing sector. Thoughts and quotes on specific areas of interest to the property market are outlined below. There is no mention of the proposed reforms (cuts) to housing benefit which will now be consulted on after the elections. For more info call Andrew Teacher at the BPF on 020 7802 0113. GENERAL RESPONSE Positive, but measures will only work with support from other gov’t depts. ―The government now seems willing to grasp the opportunities of putting home rental on a more professional footing. Officials have shown they are serious about forming a strategy for the sector and supporting a more business-like approach. This can only be a good thing. ―The BPF has long called for licensing of letting agents to protect landlords and tenants alike. It‘s in our interest to protect tenants, because ultimately our members‘ business depends on their reputation. We welcome the fact that the government now shares the consensus to make it happen. However, unless other government departments – specifically the Department of Work and Pensions and Treasury – show their support it won‘t happen. ―A coherent package and an effective registration scheme for landlords is vital, but until we get that support we will not know how far this goes towards the vision and strategy the sector needs.‖ STUDENTIFICATION NIMBY’s charter shown to be only tiny issue, any reform would harm poorest students ―Rugg illustrated that out of 8,000 English wards, 59 had densities where student housing comprised more than 10 per cent of all households. It‘s hard to see how the government intervene through the planning system to tackle this small issue without riding a coach and horses through its own regulatory principles. It would need to discard the very rules that ensure legislation is targeted and proportionate. Doing so would put a significant constraint on the provision of very affordable accommodation which would hit the poorest students the government insists it wants to help get to university. ―Rugg stuck the first nail in the coffin of this NIMBY campaign to deprive the worst off in society of somewhere to live. Through this consultation it is about time we now sealed the lid shut.‖ LICENSING OF LETTING AGENTS Welcome move which we hope will lead to protection for everyone soon ―This is a welcome boost for the BPF‘s campaign to get proper protection for landlords and tenants. There are

some excellent agents out there who are members of professional bodies, such as the ARLA, RICS, or the industry accreditation scheme, NALS. Use of such agents ensures that landlords‘ money is protected and tenants have access to independent redress. We want all landlords and tenants to have such protections and hope that a swift move to licensing of all letting agents can now result.‖ REGISTRATION OF LANDLORDS Cautious welcome, but success is reliant on a joined up approach from govt which isn’t obviously there at this stage ―We are cautious of backing these reforms until we see clear support from all government departments. We have backed the concept of landlord registration because Rugg's thoughtful proposals were for the policing mechanisms to link up with various transactions landlords have with the government. By linking the regime to things like benefit claims, access to the courts and tax returns, an effective system could be ensured. But it‘s hard to see from this paper that Rugg's recommendations carry the uneqivocal support of other government departments and until that is forthcoming landlords cannot confidently offer their backing. ‖ TAXATION The tax system is a web of contradictions that are currently undermining UK housing policy "The fiscal framework for landlords continues to be full of contradictions. The government has been advised to put the private rented sector on a business-like footing, yet doesn‘t tax landlords like a business. Ministers now seem keen to encourage institutional investors into the sector, yet still wants to tax them unfairly for stamp duty purposes (gaining virtually nothing), potentially undermining the very concept of significant housing investment coming forward. The government wants decent homes, yet charges full VAT on repairs and maintenance, even although European law allows for flexibility to charge lower rates, encourage more work, higher standard and more jobs. None of these contradictions make any sense at all. There is some excellent support for landlords from CLG in this document, but landlords will feel that other Government departments are simply not stepping up to the plate." THE LAW COMMISSION WORK Fully supportive, and launching free agreement at www.bpfagreements.org.uk ―Having a clear, fair, written tenancy agreement may not seem like the most toe-tapping of subjects, but it‘s the bedrock on which a decent sector is built. The BPF has put its money where its mouth is and is launching a tenancy agreement that focuses on spelling out clearly the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants. It can be accessed by anyone for free from www.bpfagreements.org.uk In this day and age of easily (Continued on page 12)

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accessible forms no one should be relying on an oral tenancy agreement and we remain very supportive of the Law Commission‘s work to put tenancies on a more consumer law footing and are therefore pleased to see this aspect of its work being taken forward." From the BPF

LOCAL HOUSING ALLOWANCE FAILING BOTH LANDLORDS AND TENANTS Local Housing Allowance (LHA) was introduced for new tenancies in April 2008 when it replaced the old housing benefit system. Under the new rules, instead of rent being paid directly to private landlords to cover housing costs, it now goes straight to the tenants. In practice, research has shown many tenants are failing to pass on these payments to landlords. This is causing major problems. In the most serious cases, landlords are facing repossession because rent money does not arrive. The research shows that 52% of landlords surveyed have decided they would not let, or be ‗less likely‘ to let, to LHA tenants. A further 43% of those landlords who have already tried the new system said they would now be leaving this failing market because of increased uncertainty about rent payments. The NLA believes the LHA is now actively contributing to a shrinking of housing supply for benefit claimants, and more pressure is being placed on social housing. As always, this will affect the most vulnerable tenants and increase homelessness. With a forecast £2.6 billion being spent on LHA during 2009/10, the NLA is calling for immediate action.

Currently, a landlord must wait for eight weeks of rental arrears before the local authority can take action and an automatic ‗trigger‘ pays the rent directly. In reality, arrears can be as long as three months before the landlord receives their first payment. If the landlord chooses to try and reclaim the lost money, they must pursue the tenant privately through the courts. Contrary to the Government‘s intentions, LHA tenants now have less choice as landlords opt out of this part of the market because they simply cannot afford to house the most vulnerable tenants. If the Government is not going to return to direct payments to landlords, the NLA is today calling for the ‗trigger‘ to be reduced to four weeks before direct payment kicks in. If landlords are opting out of this part of the market, where will these families go? The situation is now becoming very serious. ―Empowerment is about giving people the right to choose. The current situation is not sustainable and the Government must act to ensure that LHA tenants are not further disadvantaged.‖ From Residential Landlord website

TENANTS PUSH FOR LICENSING OF LANDLORDS Impatience at the lack of progress on the licensing of private landlords was aired at a private sector housing conference organised by Camden Federation of Private Tenants last week. The government-commissioned Review of the private rented housing sector, by York University‘s Dr Julie Rugg and David Rhodes, was published last October. It called for the licensing of private landlords and the mandatory regulation of letting agents. Dr Rugg expressed frustration at the meeting over the lack of movement on the recommendations. Kevin Thompson, CIEH policy officer, said ministers

had not said how they planned to turn the recommendations into policy. ‗The last survey of English housing showed what problems remain in the private rented sector and we know that the current model of local authority enforcement alone can never tackle them in any reasonable time frame,‘ he said. ‗There is broad agreement on some of the Rugg proposals and whilst we need a lot more discussion on some of the details we need to push this agenda forward – and fast.‘ From Environmental Health News

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WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS FOR JOINT OWNERSHIP OF BUSINESS PROPERTIES? Let's look first at the reasons for joint ownership? To reflect actual ownership and business involvement To help with Capital Taxes and Income Tax, by making more tax free allowances available to set against Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax, and reducing the values by fraction of discounts (e.g. a 50% stake could attract a value discount of up to 15%) To assist with business succession planning – creating separate stakes that can be dealt with as gifts or, on death, independently from shares of other co-owners For certainty e.g. on a breakup in a marriage or civil partnership, joint ownership is an official, binding record of stakes in an asset's value for settlement purposes. A sole owner in a long marriage and business relationship with a spouse, will not be able to use that sole ownership to defend the spouse's claims. The spouse's stake exists because of the long relationship and the row will be over how big that stake is. This is a dispute which could be avoided by the clarity of defined fractional, joint ownership. To assist when a joint owner dies. Property owned by two or more people as "joint tenants" means that when one dies, no Probate formality is necessary to transfer the dead owner's share to the others. No Will is needed – the deposit of a Death Certificate with the Land Registry, achieves the changeover, without any fee. Speed can be vital after the sudden death of a business partner, for example, in dealing with the continuing availability of banking facilities. Joined ownership as "tenants in common" does not work in this way. So there are five good reasons favouring joint ownership. What type of joint ownership will be relevant in a business context? "Joint Tenancy" – up to four people can be recorded as the owners of one property in Land Registry terms, but a joint tenancy on business assets is most commonly used in husband and wife run businesses or businesses run by registered civil

partners: this is because of the ease of dealing with the share on death or divorce as I have mentioned earlier. "Tenancy in common" – this is joint ownership in separate, defined fractions – where the fractional stake passes by Will on death, through Probate, and not quickly and automatically as with joint tenants. This type of joint ownership will often reflect unequal contributions to the asset purchase in the first place, and an agreed division therefore, on realisation. A Contract should be signed by the owners, at the outset, to record their stakes ("Declaration of Trust"). Such a Declaration can be used to change those stakes, with relative informality, and not involving the Land Registry. A Partnership Agreement can also be used as a Declaration on the ownership of partnership assets, including land, and in the same way, can record change, quite simply and quickly. A Trust may also be created by a Will, when the person who made it dies. E.g. a farm or working land and estate may be left by a husband upon Trust for his widow for the rest of her life, to pass out of the Trust to his children on the widow's death. The aim here will be to protect a sizeable family asset, probably an inheritance itself, from being lost through a widow's remarriage. You will need to consider all these terms, options and factors in discussing with your advisors how best to arrange the ownership of the big value assets used in your business. David Charlesworth Michelmores Exeter

COASTLINE HOUSING Carly Wilkes of Coastline Housing has contacted me to ask for a list of landlords and letting agents in the Cornwall area, If you are willing to work with Coastline could you please contact Carly,

Email: carly.wilkes@coastlinehousing.co.uk.

Ruth Clarke

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BRITISH PROPERTY FEDERATION STANDARD TENANCY AGREEMENT The BPF have launched a new tenancy agreement which can be obtained from their website www.bpfagreements.org.uk It has been written in plain English and is relatively easy to understand. It has all of the standard clauses that you would expect. It is interactive and so there are different versions for the approved deposit protection schemes. You can even store certain standard items such as

addresses, on the site so you do not have to fill them in every time. If you want to you can sign up to the BPF's residential code of conduct. I think it is well worth a look. Even if you are half computer literate it is straightforward to use and the tenancy agreement itself is very comprehensive. Martin Follett Michelmores

FIRE SAFETY A LANDLORD has been fined £6,000 for not fitting fire safety devices in a block of flats in Radford. Simon Fields admitted failing to install a fire alarm, smoke detection system and self-closing devices on the doors at his flats in Belper Road, Radford. Fire fighters were called to a blaze in the ground floor flat in June last year. They had to lead a second-floor resident to safety. An inspection revealed there were no fire precautions in the flats or the common areas and inspectors banned the use of the first and second floors. Mark Huckerby, head of fire protection said: "This fire had the potential to turn into a very serious and fatal incident." "It could easily have led to a very different – and tragic – ending. "I hope that this prosecution will also serve as a potential warning to other landlords who may not take fire safety

WHAT IS A SECTION Apparently it is one of those quirky bits of planning legislation relating to the provision of accommodation for people coming from the area. If you are born in the district you get preference to be housed by the council. We have an interesting situation with a landlord who has built a number flats on the condition they are made affordable to local people. Apparently since Christmas (five months) a number of the flats have remained empty as the local authority have nobody to house. What‘s more they are refusing to release the owners from the planning conditions and allow them to house families who come from outside the district. Is this what is called protectionism (something the world’s economies are trying to avoid)? Surely this is something the new Cornwall Council must address. Or are we to have separate fiefdoms, residues of the old district councils,

as seriously as they should, and do not comply with the law." Fields, of Trowell Road, Wollaton, pleaded guilty to four fire safety charges at Nottingham Magistrates' Court. He was fined £1,500 for each offence and ordered to pay £3,772 in costs. The charges related to lack of smoke and fire alarms, self -closing doors and lack of emergency lighting in escape routes. Published 17th Feb 2009 in Nottingham.

106 AGREEMENT? where one district with excess accommodation refuses to house a needy family because they come from outside of the arbitrary blue line drawn on a map? John Poole

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POST The price of First and Second class stamps for standard letters weighing up to 100g would rise by 3p, to 39p and 30p respectively, from 6 April 2009 From Royal Mail website Apologies for the poor quality of the graphic showing the new post rates, it is the best I could get from the download. The CRLA is trying to keep the cost of postage to a minimum. You can help by agreeing to receive your newsletter by email in a .pdf format. Can we also send out other correspondence (such as invoices for membership renewal) to you by email? Please email Ruth Clarke at ruthclarkemail@aol.com if you would like to take up this option.

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FROM THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY GREEN PAPER ON HOUSING Private rented sector The private rented sector constitutes a significant component of the housing market, accounting for 13 per cent of the 22 million homes in England.82 Often unfairly seen as a fallback option for those who cannot afford to buy but are not sufficiently in need to qualify for social housing, the private rented sector plays a key role in meeting the accommodation needs of millions of households, many of whom greatly appreciate the flexibility and variety that the sector offers. Yet the sector has the potential to play an even fuller and more effective part in meeting the country‘s future housing needs. Private landlords could play an important role in bringing under-utilised or empty homes back into occupation. Individual landlords are also capable of delivering small developments and conversions on sites too marginal or too difficult for larger businesses to undertake. Single operators can quickly and effectively operate at low margins on Brownfield sites.

We will conduct a review of the private rented sector to examine how the sector can play an enhanced role in the housing market. As part of this review, we will look at how consistent and appropriate the current regulation of the sector is, as well as evaluating the cumulative effect of the statutory regulation on landlords. We will look to eliminate duplication and contradiction, and ensure regulation is proportionate to risk – focusing on public safety and rogue landlords. In so doing, we will end the uncertainty Labour have created about investment in private renting, re-establishing confidence and so encouraging the provision of much needed private sector housing for rent.

A copy of the Green Paper can be downloaded from the CRLA website www.crla.org.uk

HEADLINE POINTS FROM THE CONSERVATIVE GREEN PAPER The Conservatives launched their housing green paper on 7th March. Billed as a ‗Policy Green Paper‘, the party‘s housing strategy is by no means finalised, though it gives us the first thorough indication of where the party‘s thinking on housing related issues is going. Most importantly, and indeed worryingly, is the party‘s pledge to undertake a further review of the Private Rented Sector if they came into power. At the launch of the paper the Shadow Minister for Housing, Grant Shapps MP, made it clear that this review ‗will be internal‘ and not large, and he expressed a keenness to talk to landlord bodies during this review process. For convenience I have drawn out the main policies in the review relating to the PRS and the development of new housing stock – see below. Rather confusingly the paper is focussed heavily on planning issues and not surprisingly given existing Tory rhetoric has ‗local decision making‘ at the heart of many of its policies. The full Green Paper document has been attached as RPC_PA(09)13 to this email. Main policies – house-building. Incentivise new house-building by matching local authorities‘ council tax take for each new house built for 6 years. Allow the creation of ‗Local Housing Trusts‘ to give local people the freedom to plan development in their own communities up to a certain size (10% of a village/parish the upper limit). Relax the rules on ‗habitable‘ empty properties to allow more of them to be used to house those on local authority waiting lists. Allow greater access to local authority land databases to enable members of the public to

‗identify‘ vacant publicly owned land that could be made available for housing. Support the ‗Merton Rule‘ Social housing: Put in place a ‗Right to Move‘ scheme that would allow ―good‖ social housing tenants – those with a clean record of good behaviour – to ―demand‖ that their social housing landlord sell their current property and use the proceeds to buy another property of their choice. Unfortunately the scheme is only confined to properties in England, so buying a beachside property in Croatia in exchange for a RSL flat in Hackney would not be allowed. Offer ―good‖ tenants a 10% equity stake in their social rented property, which they can cash in if they wish to become a home-owner. Encourage greater flexibility of shared ownership provisions. Instigate a formal review of waiting lists policy, to make the system more ‗fair‘ and ‗transparent‘. Private Rented Sector: Scrap HIPS Entitle home-owners to £6500 worth of energy efficiency improvements, the costs of which will be recovered automatically from the household energy bill over a period of 25 years. Conduct a review of the private rented sector to examine how the sector can play an enhanced role in the housing market. This review will evaluate current regulation in the sector ‗as well as evaluating the cumulative effect of statutory regulation on landlords‘

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BUSINESS PROPERTY RELIEF

(―BPR‖) - HOW CAN HMRC JUSTIFY ITS STANCE?

I get the impression that the Conservatives view the PRS as small beer, capable of only delivering small scale additions of stock. Thus, the document sees PRS landlords as having the capability to bring back ‗underutilised or empty homes into occupation‘ and undertaking ‗small developments and conversions on sites‘ which are marginal. There is no mention of the benefits that large professional portfolio landlords bring

BUSINESS PROPERTY RELIEF

– whether institutional or privately owned – and the capability of these groups to bring forward significant numbers of units for rent and encourage high management standards in the sector. James Anderson Policy Officer British Property Federation

(―BPR‖) - HOW CAN HMRC JUSTIFY ITS STANCE?

Every residential landlord I know, feels irritated, at least, by the fact that Business Property Relief, at any rate, is largely not available on the capital value of let properties for Inheritance Tax ("IHT") purposes. English tax law has for generations accepted the fair principle that at least some relief from IHT should be available on the value of items essential to carry out a business or trade. Farmland, farm stock, business capital, office equipment, offices, plant, machinery and factories are all eligible for a discount on their value, often 100%, for IHT payable on death or in lifetime transfers. For Income Tax, business travel, professional association fees, even some clothing costs can be set against tax as essential items needed wholly for work purposes. But, BPR is only available on the value of properties used for short term holiday lets, not long term letting – a sector which has expanded enormously in the last ten years in response to a demand for affordable housing, social change and as a result of landlord and tenant law being much easier to operate from a landlord's perspective. This sector looks sets to grow further as repossessions return in significant numbers. The Revenue's position stands on their view that such long term letting income is the fruit of passive investment. No distinction is made between landlords who use letting agents and those who do all the hard work, the decorating, the selection of tenants, the taking of emergency calls – who maintain offices, records and an administrative

machine that ensures compliance with letting law and safety essentials. Surely, the Revenue cannot continue to take such a view. People often report that direct discussions with the Revenue, where a landlord's actual role is made plain, evoke surprise and a more reasonable response, but the "party line" holds. Case law, similarly, does not make a distinction between active and passive property management by a landlord and has re-affirmed the Revenue's stance on many occasions. Where figures or values are big, property owners or their executors, have questioned this situation and achieved some success. The case of IRC v George (Executors of Stedman) is an example. Here, a caravan and campsite owner's estate was eventually allowed BPR on the capital value of most business assets. The investment aspect of the site was held to be only one component in the business, which clearly provided services actively, through the use of its assets. The Judge here concluded his decision with the remarks that: "I would add that I am happy to be able to arrive at this conclusion. I find it difficult to see any reason why an active family business of this kind should be excluded from Business Property Relief, merely because a necessary component of its profit-making activity is the use of land." It will no doubt take a few more test cases to gain more ground and achieve a fair change in the law. The sooner the better for such cases, as, for farmers, a cold wind is blowing in from Brussels which may

English tax law has for generations accepted the fair principle that at least some relief from IHT should be available on the value of items essential to carry out a business or trade

no quick change in the current situation we should all continue to lobby for a fairer treatment of residential landlord assets.

(Continued on page 18)

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- HOW CAN HMRC JUSTIFY ITS STANCE?

deprive them of the equivalent of BPR on their farm assets ("APR"). Why? – because mainland European farmers do not enjoy such concessions. If APR gets trimmed, BPR may also be vulnerable. In reality, against the background of bank rescues, extending tax relief looks to be a very remote prospect. So there will be no quick change in the current situation,

but we should all continue to lobby for a fairer treatment of residential landlord assets. David Charlesworth Michelmores Exeter

PROTECTION FOR PRIVATE TENANTS CAN‘T COME SOON ENOUGH Four leading housing charities have welcomed an announcement that the law is to be changed to protect private tenants who face sudden homelessness when their landlord is repossessed, but warn that there must be no delay in introducing this protection. Today‘s announcement by the Government comes in response to a campaign by the four organisations – Crisis, Citizens Advice, Shelter and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) – after they raised the alarm over the growing number of private tenants who face eviction because their landlord has defaulted on mortgage payments and the lender has taken possession of the property. This is often with little or no warning to the tenant, and through no fault of their own. The organisations estimate that thousands of tenants in the private rented sector could be at risk of losing their homes in this way and have been warning that urgent government action is needed to avoid a potential crisis. In response, over 100 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion calling for changes to the law to tackle the problem. As the law stands, tenants whose landlords are repossessed have none of the legal rights that usually protect tenants from losing their homes without notice. Advisers report seeing cases where the first the tenant knows about the situation is when the bailiffs knock on the door. In some cases their belongings have been put out on the street and the locks have been changed. In other cases they have no or very limited access to their things, including personal and valuable items. In one case a family with nowhere to go had to sleep in a car before moving into overcrowded and temporary emergency hostel accommodation a long distance from the children‘s schools. The organisations have been calling for a change in the law which would mean courts would have the power to defer the possession to allow the tenant to find other suitable accommodation and are delighted at the Government‘s response to their campaign. Leslie Morphy, Chief Executive of Crisis, said: ―Private tenants risk becoming the hidden victims of this recession and at Crisis we have been highlighting their plight for months. We are delighted that the Government

has listened. We now need this legislation to come in urgently. With the recession biting and repossessions soaring, this protection can‘t come soon enough.‖ Citizens Advice Chief Executive David Harker said: "We are delighted that the Government has responded to the concerns we have raised. In the last year Citizens Advice Bureaux have seen around 1,000 cases where private tenants were facing sudden homelessness because their landlord was being repossessed. It is clearly unfair that private tenants lose their right to two months notice to quit simply because their landlord has failed to pay the mortgage. The challenge now is to ensure that the new protection is put in place without further delay to stop any more people being fast tracked to homelessness." Sarah Webb, Chief Executive of CIH, said: ―We are pleased with this announcement to afford tenants, who through no fault of their own could become homeless, a much needed breathing space in order to secure alternative accommodation. We urge government to ensure these changes to the law are implemented swiftly and without delay.‖ Sam Younger, chief executive of Shelter, said: ―With many landlords facing repossession in the current climate, tenants have been coming to our advice services across the country desperately needing protection against sudden eviction. In many cases they knew nothing about it until the very last minute and have nowhere to turn. We hope the new legislation will be implemented soon so that it can start making a real difference on the ground.‖ From Shelter

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DISABILITY LAW The Government recently issued an Equality Bill, which received its second reading in Parliament this week. One of the issues of concern to us is that the bill seeks to extend indirect discrimination to disability law, which could have an impact on landlord possession (for example, in cases of rents arrears or anti-social behaviour by tenants). Part of the problem is that the legislation will simply contain the bare bones of what Government is seeking to do, without much in the way of specifics on how this will relate to the property sector. If we are to prevent landlords having to go to court to establish precedents, against probably in many cases legal-aided challengers, then it is important we get as much clarity in the

associated guidance to the legislation as possible. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is currently consulting on which guidance it should produce and prioritise. In a long list of potential guidance documents and codes of practice they do list a guide for landlords as on their to-do list, but we think it is important that should be prioritised for the reasons we have explained. If you agree, please type http://cecollect.com/ vf/7530r9491Z7166F61c99 into the address bar of your internet home page and towards the bottom of the page vote for 'A guide to equality legislation for landlords' and press 'submit'. Voting ends on 7 June 2009. From the BPF

IF I DIE WILL THE MORTGAGE COMPANY ALLOW MY SPOUSE/PARTNER TO CONTINUE WITH THE MORTGAGE? Firstly you would need to check the small print in your mortgage conditions. If one of you dies the mortgage lender may have the right to demand full repayment. Would they do that? Why wouldn't they? Lenders are now lending money at far higher margins than they were before, and new money to lend is a very scarce commodity. Chances are they could also lend to new borrowers at a lot lower risk too. Here's a good example: Mr X has a portfolio of 6 properties. Last year they were worth £1,366,000 and he had mortgages on them for £1,150,000. However, the properties are now only worth £950,000. At present Mr X is sitting pretty paying base rate plus 1.75% on his mortgages. His rental income is £8,350

per month and his interest payments are just £2,156.25. He is, therefore, cash flow positive to the tune of £6,193.75 per month. If Mr X were to die we have established that the lender would probably call the loans in if they could. Mrs X would probably be able to get a new loan at 3% over base to refinance the portfolio but only for 70% of £950,000, i.e. £665,000. Where would she find the other £485,000 to repay the existing lender? Upon realising this Mr X decided that he would prefer an insurance company to carry this risk than his family. Finding the right solutions really can be a matter of life and death. It is vital that the right money goes to the right people at the right time. From The Money Centre

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ALCOHOLICS COULD SEE BENEFITS CUT Alcoholics face having their benefits docked if they do not get treatment, under government plans. Minister James Purnell has announced a review into the idea to be carried out jointly by the Department of Health and Department for Work and Pensions. Measures that require drug addicts to get treatment in order to keep receiving benefits are currently going through Parliament. Mr Purnell said they wanted to help people get the help they needed. Speaking on a visit to Dewsbury Moor in West Yorkshire, he said: "We have introduced a new policy that will mean heroin and crack addicts get treatment in return for benefits. "We will actually help them rather than simply handing them money which ends up in pockets of drug dealers. "But we can't abandon anyone to long periods on benefits without help to overcome problems. "So that's why we are going to look at the arrangements for alcoholics on benefits, just as we did for problem drug users, so that people get the help they need to get sober, to get their life back and get back to work." Mr Purnell has previously said that the plans to cut drug addicts' benefits would give them the chance to "turn their lives around". Shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May said

this latest review was "another smokescreen" to "deflect from Labour's failure to get to grips with our welfare system". She added: "Under James Purnell the system has gone into meltdown with more than 100,000 people claiming benefits because they are drug addicts or alcoholics. That's more than doubled from 48,700 since 1997. "The government has had more than a decade to sort this problem out so this is too little, too late. "The devil is always in the detail with Labour. Mr Purnell has failed to say when this will happen, how much it will cost and who it will exactly help." From BBC News The plan is not new - it was just "not noticed" when included in the Welfare Reform Bill earlier this year. "We kept it quiet", a ministerial aide explained, "so we could make a formal announcement later". Exploring the alcohol route is hardly a significant policy shift - a consultation paper issued in January included a table of the different kinds of "work-related activity" that ministers might insist jobless claimants undertake or face sanctions. There in the second box is "alcohol rehabilitation". In December James Purnell, Work and Pensions Secretary expressed his enthusiasm for the idea of targeting alcoholics : :

LANDLORD TOLD TO REPAY RENT A Bridlington landlord has been ordered to repay more than £8,000 in housing benefit to East Riding of Yorkshire Council after failing to licence her property as a house in multiple occupation. Antoinette Theresa Walker‘s property at 70 Trinity Road was divided into rented flats. Despite being prosecuted by East Riding Council for failing to licence her property early last year, and also receiving a previous fine for not having adequate fire precautions, Ms Walker had still not submitted the appropriate application by January. At a residential property tribunal hearing, she was ordered to pay £8,000 to the council – money that had

been paid to her in housing benefit in the previous 12 months. The tenants of the flats have also been successful in their claim for repayment of rent paid over the same 12 months and are seeking financial redress from the landlord. Russell Lee, senior EHO, said: ‗Ms Walker consistently failed to act and we were left with no alternative but to take further action against her.‘ The Housing Act 2004 allows local authorities and tenants to reclaim rent and benefit paid over the time period when a HMO remains unlicensed, up to 12 months. This can result in a greater financial penalty than a prosecution.

LOCAL HOUSING ALLOWANCE Prior to the launch of the Government's benefit reform green paper launch later this year, last week we met with Treasury Minister Kitty Ussher to put across our views on housing benefit issues. The main purpose of the meeting was to raise our profile on the subject, to stress the need for a change in the current benefit regulations to facilitate attachment of benefit and to express our dissatisfaction with the Government's stance on direct payment and

consultation on the revision of broad rental market areas (BRMAs). The minister was concerned about the inconsistencies across local authorities, and we were promised a new initiative shortly to improve local authority application of safeguarding policies. We also hope to hold a follow up meeting with the minister during the consultation phase of the benefit reform paper. From the BPF

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CUTTING CORNERS WITH GAS SAFETY CAN COST YOU THOUSANDS The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a warning to landlords about cutting corners with gas boilers after magistrates ordered an Essex man to pay £20,000 in fines and court costs. Former landlord Adrian Ellis admitted five breaches of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 when he appeared at Colchester Magistrates' Court (Town Hall court) on Thursday, 9 April. Magistrates fined Mr Ellis, who at the time of the offences was living at Lexden Road, Colchester, a total of £11,300 with court costs of £8,700. Mr Ellis was ordered to pay the total sum of £20,000 within 56 days or he would face a 12-month prison sentence. Mr Ellis had originally failed to appear in court in 2006 to answer the same charges and so a warrant with bail was issued for him. Mr Ellis was found and the warrant was served on him in March 2009. Mr Ellis does not currently let properties. The five charges against him relate to breaches of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998. £2,500 fine for carrying out work on a gas boiler without being competent to do so, breaching Regulation 3(1) £2,000 fine for the same offence at a different property, likewise breaching Regulation 3(1) £3,300 fine for neglecting to ensure a gas boiler was maintained in a safe condition, breaching Regulation 36(2)(a). The boiler was condemned by a HSE specialist. £2,000 fine for failing to ensure a record of any safety check in respect of a gas boiler was made and retained, breaching Regulation 36(3)(c) £1,000 fine for neglecting to ensure a copy of a safety check record was given to a tenant, breaching Regulation 36(6)(a) HSE inspector Matthew Tackling said: "People needlessly die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a lack of effective maintenance of gas appliances. Annual safety checks

must be carried out by a competent and registered gas engineer. Landlord Gas Safety Records should be received, checked and kept for a minimum of 2 years. Tenants must also be provided with a copy. "It is illegal for an unregistered person to carry out work on a gas appliance. When unqualified landlords try to cut corners in this way they are not only putting themselves at risk of prosecution and a large fine, they are also putting their tenants' lives at risk. Working with gas appliances is a difficult, specialised and potentially dangerous job and only fully qualified engineers should attempt it. "The HSE will not hesitate to prosecute landlords who fail to take their responsibilities for safety to their tenants seriously and to follow up on those who fail to co-operate with any investigation or fail to appear in court." From Health and Safety Inspectorate

All members and friends of the Association are invited to send in contributions for this newsletter. Please let Peter Lewis have a copy of your letter/article BY September 30th

BPF MEETING WITH HOMES AND COMMUNITIES AGENCY We met with Sir Bob Kerslake at the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to discuss the HCA's plans for an expression of interest exercise, which will seek to encourage institutional investment in the private rented sector. As some of you may have seen via press speculation, this is likely to provide support for some kind of rental guarantee and, together with the approach to affordable housing, seek to provide an investment which has a lot more in common with investment in student housing. The expressions of interest exercise should be launched shortly and we will let members know when that is the

case. The Federation has been doing some detailed modelling work to help support our own representations, with the kind support of Allsop LLP and we hope to make this more generally available to members at during the expressions of interest period. As well as institutional investment in the private rented sector, our meeting with Sir Bob also covered regeneration funding in the current climate, procurement and the impact of the Roanne case, tax increment financing (TIFs) and infrastructure funding. From the BPF

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BUY TO LET LANDLORD CONVICTED OF BENEFIT FRAUD A landlord has been convicted of benefit fraud amounting to more than £8,000 after failing to let the local authorities know that some of the tenants he received housing benefit for had moved on. Eugene Burton, aged 57, of the Mersey House Caravan Park, in Partington, near Manchester, pleaded guilty to being overpaid benefit between August 2005 and December 2007. Burton claimed the offence of falsely obtaining housing benefit amounting to £8075.00 had been a misunderstanding. Manchester Crown Court, He was sentenced to a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of

£500 at Manchester Crown Court. Judge Thomas QC said: ―The prosecution have accepted in this case that you weren't dishonest but your card is marked. I can't begin to think that if this happened again you would have any chance of saying the same thing, and I would have thought you would go to prison.‖ Council counter fraud officers were alerted to the matter by neighbouring local authorities and a data matching exercise. Executive Councillor John Tolhurst, said: ―We are determined to act firmly with people who defraud the system and protect public money.‖ From Residential Landlord website

LANDLORD FINED A landlord was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £250 prosecution costs, along with a £15 Government surcharge after an investigation into a fire at his property uncovered the fact it was not licensed. Fire-fighters had to rescue five people from the terraced house in Lincoln, in November last year after a blaze

started in one of the bedrooms. Timothy Williams, aged 45, who lives in Cheltenham, pleaded guilty to being in charge of a multiple occupancy property which was not licensed under the Housing Act 2004 when he appeared at Lincoln Magistrates' Court recently.

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UK SMART METER ROLL OUT MOVES FORWARD Hi tech meters will change our energy habits No more estimated bills or staying in for meter readings Easier switching between energy suppliers Suppliers will be able to offer cheaper off-peak energy All homes in Britain will have smart meters installed by 2020 under plans published recently. Great Britain will be the first country in the world to have an overhaul of this size for both electricity and gas meters. Smart meters enable meter readings to be taken remotely and together with a display device give householders real time information on their energy use. The new information smart meters provide will help consumers to see what energy they are using and how to save money on their bills. Smart meters will mean the end of estimated bills, no more having to stay in for home readings, quicker and smoother switching between suppliers and cheaper, easier prepayment. The Government has set out the different options for rolling out the revolutionary kit across Great Britain and on what the smart meters should be capable of doing. "Smart meters will empower all consumers to monitor their own energy use and make reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions as a result. Smart meters will also mean the end of inaccurate bills and estimated meter readings. "This is a big project affecting 26 million homes, and several million businesses, so it's important we design a

system that brings best value to everyone involved." Smart meters signify the start of a change in our energy habits. They are a key step towards future smart grids which have the potential to help our shift to a lowcarbon economy - making it easier for renewable generation to feed into the grid, including micro and community level generation and will support the decarbonisation of heat and transport through the greater use of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Suppliers will be able to offer more tariffs and services, such as 'time-of-use' tariffs, encouraging more efficient and economical energy use. The preferred roll-out option is the central communications model - where energy suppliers are responsible for the installation and maintenance of the smart meter but the communication to and from the device is coordinated by a third party across the whole of Great Britain. The other principal models considered are: Competitive model - where energy suppliers manage all aspects of smart metering, including installation and communication. Fully centralised - where regional franchises are set up to manage the installation and operation of smart meters with the communications to and from the meters managed centrally and on a national level. The consultation is open to the public and will run to 24 July 2009. Further information on how to take part can be found at http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/ cms/consultations/smart_metering/ smart_metering.aspx or on the CRLA website.

SUBJECTS NOT CITIZENS ‗Licence to let will hit all private landlords‘, said The Times‘ headline on Tuesday. It didn‘t exactly scream; it just expressed mild indignation. The implication of the story was clear. A nefarious scheme was afoot, designed to impose yet more burdensome regulation on the ordinary, long-suffering businessman – in this case the landlord. What about the other side of the story? Tenants, in England and Wales, have ill-defined enforceable rights, security of tenure in the private sector is a distant memory and rents are entirely at the mercy of the market. Property condition is worse than in the owneroccupied and socially rented sectors, with half of private rented homes failing to meet the decent homes standards. Bothered by the poor condition of your rented property? Want to complain? Well, be aware that your landlord has the legal right to end your tenancy with a section 21 notice, without giving any reason. This deplorable state of affairs is indicative of the fact

that Britain‘s legal system gives primacy to property rather than individuals and that we are subjects, not citizens. The idea that people have ‗rights‘ at all is regarded as a dangerous and alien heresy by those who write for The Times. Change may be in the air (see Lord Best‘s views on page 9), but the government, which commissioned the Rugg and Rhodes review into the private rented sector, is now backing away from producing a green paper that could pre-empt legislation. The review‘s concept of ‗light-touch licensing‘ for landlords could have some mileage, although it would pose many practical problems. Unfortunately, with a general election due next year, time is running out for a new law to be put in place. And if the Conservatives win the election, we could hardly expect what would be regarded as landlord-bashing legislation and a change in the status quo From Environmental Health News

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REGULATING LETTING AGENTS We met with a group of stakeholders last week at a meeting chaired by Lord Best and organised by the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS). The purpose was to explore the Rugg review proposition of licensing letting and managing agents, and how this licensing might work in practice. The conversations covered a number of issues, including

who should be licensed, the process of application, codes of standards, redress and so on. Overall agreement was reached on a number of issues, and a second meeting has been scheduled for June. NALS will share the group's thoughts and discussions with the Government in the coming months. From the BPF

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THIRD OF FAMILIES IN NON-DECENT HOMES Non-decent homes:1,2 by tenure3 England 1996

2001

Percentages 2003 2004

2005

Private sector4 Owner-occupied Privately rented All private sector

2006 2006 (Fitness HHSRS definition) definition)

40 62 43

29 51 32

28 48 30

27 43 29

25 41 27

24 40 26

35 47 36

Social sector4 Local authority 54 Registered social landlords 48 All rented from social sector 53

42 33 39

40 29 35

35 26 31

34 24 29

33 24 29

32 25 29

All tenures 45 33 31 29 27 27 35 1 See Appendix, Part 10: Decent home standard, for explanation of the different definitions of decent homes. 2 The housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS) came into force in April 2006 and replaced the fitness standard as the statutory element of the decent home standard. The HHSRS will be used in future data on decent homes. 3 See Appendix, Part 10: Tenure. 4 See Appendix, Part 10: Private and social sectors. Source: English House Condition Survey, Communities and Local Government The replacement of the Fitness Standard with the HHSRS as the statutory criterion for the decent homes standard in 2006 has led to an increase in the proportion of homes classed as non-decent From Office For National Statistics

PEOPLE IN OVERCROWDED ACCOMMODATION SET TO SOAR The number of people living in overcrowded homes in England will soar by 15% to 2.6 million within two years as unemployment and repossessions soar during the recession, a leading campaign group warned today. The National Housing Federation, which represents England‘s housing associations, said an extra 350,000 people would be forced to live in cramped and unsuitable conditions by 2011, leading to widespread problems with health, children‘s education and damaged family relationships. The Federation warned that the situation could get even worse if the recession leads a sharp downturn in the construction of new affordable homes, with the latest estimates indicating that as few as 70,000 new homes could be built in England during 2009/10 – down from around 140,000 in 2008/9. There are currently 2.3 million people living in properties officially classed as overcrowded in England , and new research by the Federation predicts that figure will soar to 2.65 million within two years – as a lack of mortgages and rising unemployment forces families to stay in properties that are far too small for them. The problem is particularly acute for larger families of five or more people – with 20% currently living in overcrowded properties. But with not enough new

family homes being built, that figure is expected to increase sharply over the next two years, with one in four larger families predicted to be living in unsuitable homes by 2011. But smaller households of three or four people are also increasingly living in cramped conditions – rising from 170,578 households in 2003 to 248,412 in 2008. By 2011, that figure is likely to reach 280,000. Regionally, the problem of cramped living conditions is most severe in London, where 203,000 homes – 6.6% of all homes in the capital – are officially classified as overcrowded. In the South East, the second worst affected area, 66,000 homes are overcrowded, while the North West has 64,000 properties classed as overcrowded. As well as having a negative impact on family life, overcrowding can contribute to increased levels of homelessness and put enormous pressure on public services – as families are housed in expensive, and often unsuitable, temporary accommodation. Nearly 5 million people are expected to be on social housing waiting lists by 2010, while a wave of repossessions could further add to the crisis. The Government has pledged to build 3 million new homes by 2020, but the credit crunch has seen house building virtually grind to a halt.

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LOCAL HOUSING ALLOWANCE—QUESTIONS IN PARLIAMENT The following are questions raised at the House of Commons on 11 May 2009 Mrs. Linda Riordan (Halifax) (Lab/Co-op): What proportion of claimants in each local authority were classified as vulnerable for the purposes of paying local housing allowance in the past 12 months. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Kitty Ussher): The information is not available for the past 12 months. However, evidence from the nine local housing allowance pathfinder evaluations indicated that payments of local housing allowance were made to landlords in 12 per cent. of cases where local authorities assessed the claimant as vulnerable. Mrs. Riordan: There is a great deal of difference in the way that local authorities handle policies on vulnerability and rent arrears in their housing allocation. Many vulnerable people are left homeless and landlords are left with rent arrears. What mechanisms are there for making sure that local authorities apply their policies properly and are there any plans to change those mechanisms? Kitty Ussher: My hon. Friend raises an extremely important point. The guidance to local authorities on how to implement the regulations, and in particular the safeguards for vulnerable claimants, has been set out clearly. Indeed, we have provided comprehensive training and guidance material to local authorities. Like my hon. Friend, I too have been concerned that some local authorities are implementing the regulations differently from other local authorities, so we shall be reissuing the guidance. I want to make it entirely clear, and on the record, that local authorities by no means have to wait for eight weeks before reinstating direct payments to landlords. They can set their own policies in that regard and make direct payments much sooner if they think there is a likelihood that the rent will not be paid by vulnerable claimants. Steve Webb (Northavon) (LD): The Minister will know that the effectiveness of the local housing allowance scheme depends on the definition of ―local‖. If the local housing market is defined over a very large area, there will be parts where the rent is too high for anybody on benefit—no-go areas—and ghettoised areas where people on benefit have to live. Will the Minister commit to an early review of the definitions of local housing market areas to see whether that is happening and, if so, to redraw the local housing markets? Kitty Ussher: The hon. Gentleman needs to check his facts. In fact, 25 per cent. of the broad rental market areas are being reviewed this year; 14 of those reviews will be published quite soon and a further 18 in the next few

months, and 25 per cent. a year will be looked at. I have asked the Rent Service to prioritise areas where there was less local consensus and encourage them to involve all local authorities and interested groups, including Members, to make sure that consensus can be reached, precisely to solve the issues that the hon. Gentleman raised. However, I should also like to make it clear that local authorities have at their discretion a pot of money to ameliorate some of the effects case by case. In the vast majority of circumstances when Members have raised cases with me, the local authority has agreed the new boundaries, so the onus is on the local authority to ameliorate any unforeseen circumstances that follow. Mr. Jim Devine (Livingston) (Lab): Will my hon. Friend review housing benefit? Many of my constituents are trapped on benefit; they have been offered jobs but are afraid to take them because as a consequence they would lose their housing benefit, and then obviously their home. Will my hon. Friend look at that? Kitty Ussher: My hon. Friend is right to raise that point. It is precisely why shortly—in the next few months or so—we shall be starting a public consultation on what has so far been an internal review of housing benefit, designed to make sure that work incentives are at the core of the way we implement the benefit system. David Howarth (Cambridge) (LD): May I press the Minister on the timing of the reviews she mentioned in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Northavon (Steve Webb)? In Cambridge, there are 800 claimants whose housing benefit is being reduced because the area was drawn far too wide. A review has been under way since last year. The Minister mentioned local authorities. Cambridge city council has made its submission, backed by Shelter. How much longer do those tenants have to wait for their review to be completed? Kitty Ussher: I mentioned in response to the earlier question that 14 reviews were being fast-tracked. Cambridge is one of those and I expect to have recommendations about what should change, in anything, in the next few weeks. Any changes will, we hope, be implemented from 1 July. Andrew Selous (South-West Bedfordshire) (Con): It is now clear from reports across the country that not only tenants but charities helping the homeless are being very poorly served by the local housing allowance, so will the Minister agree to urgent reform of that allowance, which, frankly, is failing the very people whom it was designed to help? Kitty Ussher: (Continued on page 27)

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LOCAL HOUSING ALLOWANCE—QUESTIONS IN PARLIAMENT We always said that we would review the local housing allowance after two years, but the evidence so far does not bear out the hon. Gentleman‘s points. In the pathfinder evaluations, it was shown that 96 per cent. of customers had a bank, building society or Post Office account, and a quarter of those had been opened in order for those customers to pay their rent. We are talking about an important policy, giving more choice to tenants. It is an important part of our plans for financial inclusion. We will, of course, listen to all interested parties, but we do not currently have the evidence that the hon. Gentleman needs to make his point. Mr. Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op): There have been reports in the newspapers that the

expenditure on local housing allowance has been greater than was forecast, and that as a result the Government are considering whether those whose local housing allowance is more than the rent that they pay and who therefore benefit will lose that benefit. Can my hon. Friend report on that? Kitty Ussher: My hon. Friend is right that the local housing allowance has proved quite generous. That is not a bad thing, particularly in the current economic circumstances, but it is right in looking across the whole of Government expenditure that people should not be able to claim in excess of what they pay for their rent. Once the economic circumstances improve, the issue is to be

ARLA LAUNCHES NEW LICENSING SCHEME TO PROTECT CONSUMER INTERESTS Hundreds of thousands of pounds of consumers‘ money is lost each year to unprotected, unprofessional and unethical letting agents. In a survey by the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA), 95% of consumers revealed that they believe letting agents should be licensed and it is a shock for many to learn that there is currently no scheme in place at all. A growing number of tenants and landlords are losing out to cowboy agents in the following ways: Loss of funds through a lack of client money protection No professional indemnity insurance in place to protect a consumer from a serious error; Loss of monies due to the unlicensed agency holding the funds going into administration; Poor advice to landlords, for example about their legally-required deposit protection responsibilities, which can result in loss of the deposit for tenants and/or a fine for landlords; No commitment to best practice or any form of independent redress scheme for when things go wrong. To prevent the practices listed above, and offer assurance to consumers, ARLA is today launching a Licensing Scheme for its members, thereby establishing the highest standards for letting agents in the UK. Housing Minister Iain Wright will be speaking at the launch of the scheme in the House of Commons, saying that the establishment of competency and qualification standards will have wide-ranging benefits for consumers. Ruth Lilley, Head of Membership and Professional Development of ARLA, said: ―ARLA has lobbied the Government for 10 years to assist us in establishing higher industry standards. For too long the rental sector has been seen as the black sheep of the property market

with a lack of regulation of and a requirement for redress to protect the consumer when the agent‘s failings are to the financial detriment of that consumer. ―The ARLA Licensing Scheme will create the gold standard for letting agents in the UK, offering consumers best practice service and advice – as well as a commitment to the protection of their money.‖ As of today, all ARLA members will need to be licensed as part of their membership, which includes the following implications: Each individual member will hold a gold standard professional qualification relating to lettings; All members must undertake Continuing Professional Development Agents must ensure they have client money protection schemes in place to protect all tenant and landlord funds held by their office; All clients funds require to have an annual independent audit Agents must have professional indemnity insurance in place; Agents must sign up to an independent redress scheme; Agents must abide by a strict code of practice. None of the above is compulsory for letting agents as standard at the moment. ARLA‘s sister organisation, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) will follow suit with the launch of its own licensing scheme later this year. Additional quotes: Adam Sampson, Chief Executive of Shelter, said: "It is high time the government acted to introduce statutory licensing for all letting agents, something that Shelter has been campaigning about for some time. However, industry led best practice is a positive step in the right direction. We welcome ARLA‘s new licensing scheme and it‘s commitment to raising standards in the sector. (Continued on page 28)

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ARLA LAUNCHES NEW LICENSING SCHEME TO PROTECT CONSUMER INTERESTS ―All consumers should have the right to expect a professional letting service, and have access to redress when problems arise‖ Simon Gordon, Head of Communications, National Landlords Association said: We very much welcome this latest development as another push to raise standards within the private-rented sector. Letting agents are in a particular position of trust between landlords and tenants and their practices must be above reproach. The ARLA Licensing Scheme should go a long way to ensuring consumers are protected from poor letting agents and improve the image of the sector as a whole.‖ Letting agent and ARLA President David McMaster commented: ―As an agent, this is something I have been campaigning for four years. Having a license helps me to set my business apart from all the unscrupulous, untrained and unethical agents who I hope will one day be ousted from the market because of this scheme.‖ Paul Ramsden, Deputy Chief Executive, Trading Standards Institute, commented: ―The absence of Government regulation of letting agents has long been a concern for TSI. We have in the past, and continue to, call for tighter controls of this sector. In general, but even more so during these difficult times, people will leave themselves vulnerable to letting agents intent on reaping the benefits of the regulatory gap in which they operate. ―Though sometimes difficult, consumers, be they tenants or landlords, should seek out letting agents backed by

bodies operating OFT-approved codes of conduct to give themselves some level of protection. Whilst it is gratifying to see this increase of self-regulation amongst some sector operators, persons will continue to fall prey to unscrupulous letting agents until such time that a compulsory and robust system of regulations is introduced.‖ Richard Beamish, Chief executive of Asset Skills, the Sector Skills Council for the property industry, said: ―Letting agents often suffer unfairly with their public image despite most being honest, well run businesses. We have long pushed for minimum standards in estate agency and fully support ARLA‘s licensing scheme for letting agents. We believe it will go far in improving public perception of the profession.‖ Richard Capie, Director of Policy and Practice, the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: ―The UK housing market needs far-reaching wide-scale, holistic reform to deliver fair, affordable and flexible housing in the future. The Chartered Institute of Housing believes the Private Rented Sector is an essential part of the mix with huge potential to meet the aspirations of many people currently unable to access suitable housing. The licensing scheme represents a major step forward and will give greater confidence to tenants and housing professionals alike.‖ From ARLA

AVERAGE RENT HAS INCREASED The average monthly rental bill grew by £4 (1%) to £638 in March, according to Your Move. But it‘s not all bad news for tenants, as those who sign up for a lease now are saving £1,020 a year on their rent compared to those who signed up last summer. Rents are down £85 a month (12%) from their £723 peak in July 2008. This is only the second month of rent increases in the last eight months. Year-on-year average rents have fallen six per cent across the UK this time last year, average rents were £677. The cheapest rents in the UK are to be found in Yorkshire & the Humber where the average rental cheque is for just £491 a month, compared to rents of £850 a month in London - the most expensive in the country. But the largest falls in the last year come in the East of England, down £74 a month (10%) to only £655 in March 2009. Not all the regions have been so lucky. In the last year, rents have climbed six per cent in the North East and two per cent in the East Midlands. The North West saw the largest increase in rents, up eight per cent (or £36) to £507 a month, from £471 in March 2008. David Newnes, managing director of Your Move,

said: ―It‘s been a tough year for the housing market, but tenants have been the beneficiaries of the turmoil. Since last summer, anyone looking at renting a flat or a house has seen rents plummet. The lucky ones have bagged some absolute bargains and it‘s clear that those in the East of England are doing particularly well. ―Until last month, rents have been forced down as the UK‘s economic weakness has led to an increased supply of rental properties - and lower interest from tenants as the pool of migrant workers who normally rent, dries up. The jump in rents is down to demand rising and, at the same time, there is evidence supply is beginning to plateau. ―We saw three per cent fewer tenants register in London in March, compared to the same time last year, for instance. ―Confidence is certainly fragile in the housing market, but mortgage approvals were up again in February and this may have implications for the number of properties being made available to rent. It‘s still too early to predict, but this may signal a reversal in the downward trend in rents.‖ From housingnews.co.uk

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PRIVATE TENANT EVICTED BY COUNCIL A ―neighbour from hell‖ has had her home closed down by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council in the first landmark case of its kind in Wales to crackdown on anti social behaviour. The Council‘s Community Enforcement Team successfully closed 1, Chapel Row, Aberdare following a court order by Aberdare Magistrates under the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003. An investigation was carried out into a range of offences carried out at the property following a large quantity of complaints from residents, local members and South Wales Police Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is the first local authority in Wales to obtain a Premise Closure Order that is a new piece of legislation that came into power in December 2008. This means that the tenant has been removed and prohibited from entering the property, which was closed down to avoid further disturbances by herself and the visitors to the house. Once again, the case further highlights the way in which the Council is viewed as one of the leading local authorities in the country when dealing with anti social behaviour. Michelle Neal, aged 38, had been the private tenant of the property since February 2009 and faced three charges at Aberdare Magistrates‘ Court: that a person has engaged in anti-social behaviour on the premises in respect of which this application is made; and the use of the premises is associated with significant and persistent disorder or persistent serious nuisance to members of the public; and the making of a premises closure order is necessary to prevent the occurrence of such disorder or nuisance for the period specified in the order Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and South Wales Police have received complaints of anti-social behaviour associated with the property continually since Neal moved into the property. South Wales Police visited the property on 20 separate occasions since February 20th 2009 and the landlord was also contacted by both the police and Council on at least four occasions. At the time of the court application no action had been taken by the landlord of the property against his tenant to remedy the issues despite the warnings. A schedule of 29 incidents were reported to the Court which led to six arrests at the property. The incidents included loud arguing and shouting with demands for money, kicking of doors, punching windows, large congregations of young people outside drinking alcohol and blocking the entrance to houses, fighting, loud

music, verbal abuse and threats to neighbours. It was also reported that residents had been intimidated to such a degree that they were in fear of making complaints or coming forward to give evidence in court of the nuisance experienced. On another occasion individuals threatened to burn down a neighbour‘s house and a sofa was set alight outside the property. A male visitor urinated over the footpath to another house and exposed himself. Neal herself was also accused of a physical assault on a neighbour. In Court, Neal admitted to suffering from an alcoholrelated problem and that one of her visitors was a heroin addict. A number of persons were ejected from the property following the granting of a PCO, any one who now attempts to enter the property will be arrested and subject to a custodial sentence of up to 51 weeks and a monetary fine. David Jones, Head of Protection at Rhondda Cynon Taf Council said: ―This is a hugely significant landmark court case that sends a clear message to unruly tenants but also to their landlords. Tenants risk losing their homes if they engage in persistent antisocial behaviour and landlords risk significant loss of rent revenue if they do not take responsibility to control them. ―This is the first time a house has been closed in Wales using a Premises Closure Order. Home Office guidance shows that this measure should be used only as a last resort and that all other options have to be made or considered before such a case is brought to the Court. ―The fact that we have obtained the Order in this case shows not only the seriousness of it but also that all the partners have worked tirelessly to resolve this issue for the benefit of the local community using a range of alternative techniques before resorting to this extreme measure.‖ Inspector Steve Meek at South Wales Police added: ―This is an extremely serious case and one which I hope will send out a clear message to all communities that we simply will no tolerate such disgraceful behaviour. Should this occur elsewhere then the culprits can rest assured that they will feel the full force of the law. ―Thanks to the excellent partnership working between ourselves and the local authority we have eradicated a serious problem in the vicinity of Chapel Row, Aberdare and hope that peace and harmony has been returned to the lives of the neighbours who suffered considerable distress due to the serious of events that have occurred.‖ From Rhondda Cynon Taf

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BRITAIN‘S ESTATES ARE ‗SOCIAL CONCENTRATION CAMPS‘ Three decades of failed policies have destroyed the life chances of millions living in public housing, says a Millions of people have been condemned to live under "social apartheid" by 30 years of poor housing policies, a damning report on council estates will say this week. The 107-page report, to be published on Friday, condemns successive governments for pushing poorer people into what it condemns as "social concentration camps" set away from private housing, jobs and shops. Children born on such estates are more likely to end up unemployed, suffer mental health problems and die younger than their counterparts in private housing, says the study by the Fabian Society. Most damningly for the Government, it concludes that pledges by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair to end "no-go areas" and close of the gap between rich and poor have ended in failure. The report, entitled In the Mix, finds that by concentrating council housing in estates set apart from the wider community, successive governments have produced a situation where living in social housing is not just a sign of poverty but a cause in itself. It is blunt in assessing Britain's housing policy as "nothing short of disastrous". According to the Fabians, children bought up in social housing now have far fewer life chances than half a century ago, because they are concentrated on increasingly ghettoised estates. Those born after 1970 in council homes are twice as likely to suffer from mental health problems than those born in 1946 in public housing, 11 times more likely to be unemployed and not in training or education, and nine times more likely to live in a household where nobody has a job. The gulf between those left stranded on these estates and rich or even middle-income families is wider now than it was 30 years ago. In England and Wales, the average electoral ward is 16 per cent public housing, but in the poorest wards that figure rises to 70 per cent or more. By splitting up those living in public and private housing, successive governments have fostered suspicion towards those who live on council estates. Research for the study found that a third of those polled felt people living on council estates had "nothing in common with them", and 60 per cent of those believed that mixed housing would be a bad idea. It concludes that segregated estates have had a devastating effect on social mobility. "There is nothing inevitable about this correlation between housing and disadvantage. It has been caused by political and institutional processes – and such processes can be arrested and altered." The London Borough of Islington is widely considered the essence and epicentre of New Labour. It also illustrates the national gulf between rich and poor. The Andover estate, one of the biggest in the country, has now become a byword for deprivation, with high rates of unemployment and ongoing problems with drugs and crime. Tina Baillie, 41, first moved to the estate in north

Islington when she was 11, and lives there with her three children, Rick, 18, Abbi, four, and Vinny, two. Her boyfriend is in prison and she says she has been out of work for "quite a while" now. Her hopes for her children are simple and informed entirely by the cycle of unemployment on the estate. "What do I hope they do? Work." Although fiercely defensive of its residents, she blames the estate in large part for her life as it is now. "I wanted to do everything when I was younger: air hostess, modelling, the lot. But what am I doing? Fuck all! I'd move off tomorrow if I could: get a house and be somewhere different. But my kids love it and it's what I've got." The struggle to get work can often simply be a product of coming from a certain estate: tenants living there become stigmatised, often having trouble finding work simply because of the postcode they live in. Deborah Murphy is already terrified that her children will get stuck in the cycle of boredom, crime and unemployment that mars so many within. The 49-yearold, unemployed for several years, shares a small flat with her daughter Keshia, 18, and her four-year-old son Casey. "It's hard to make something of yourself here," she says. "I don't want my son to be here when he's 18 or 19 because there's nothing here. It's hard to get a job: if they find out what estate you're from when you apply it's really hard." Andrea Assanah, 29, has brought up her nine-year-old son Bradley on the Andover estate, but she spent her childhood on a mixed street of houses. "I would have loved that for my son," she said, "but I had to take what I could when this place came along. There is definitely a better sense of community on a street and you feel less cut off." The Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, said: "One of the saddest failings of the Labour Government has been its failure to really shift the life chances of Britain's poorest children. The Government has not only allowed social housing to wither on the vine, it has allowed the gap between the richest and the poorest in our country to turn into a chasm. It is a betrayal of everything the Labour Party was supposed to stand for." The shadow housing minister, Grant Shapps, agrees: "This report lifts the lid on the devastating impact of a failed housing policy that has led to an increasingly ghettoised social divide. This is bad for those directly disadvantaged and for society because it simply wastes lives." But a spokesman for the Communities and Local Government Department said: "No government has done more to tackle deprivation... This Government brought in major changes to planning policy last April which means councils must ensure a proper mix of housing to meet local needs." From The Independent

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BENEFIT APPLICATIONS STILL TOO CONFUSING A report published today established that many people have been unable to claim benefits because the application procedure was too long and confusing. The report by the Department For Work And Pensions (DWP) called for action to move application forms and other services online to facilitate communication with elderly and vulnerable people. "Labour's complex and confusing benefits system means that millions of people are not claiming the benefits they are entitled to, leaving many needlessly stuck in the cycle of poverty," shadow work and pensions secretary, Theresa May, said. "It is more critical than ever for millions of families struggling on low incomes to get the right information and easy access to the support the government can give them," she said, "unfortunately for too many people information produced by the DWP is complicated and obscure making the process of claiming benefits a nightmare." Application forms were still too long and guidance notes too complicated while computer-generated letters were also too long and confusing for some people. Although certain forms could be downloaded from the internet, most applications for benefits could not be made online which resulted in extra time and money spent dealing with them on the phone or face-to-face. Communication with customers, the report advised, needs to be simplified and modernised, and cost efficiencies from reducing the volume of printed leaflets need to be fully realised. The report said that four-fifths of applicants for pension credit were asked to post extra documentation to check that they were entitled to the benefit, a factor which discouraged elderly people from applying. Older people also seemed to misunderstand what was meant by the attendance allowance with 42 per cent of people unable to find out about eligibility criteria from official websites or taking far too long to do so. Computer-generated letters were thought to be very

long and poorly laid out, resulting in great confusion and delay in the application process. Examples included a 16-sides long letter with the signature box appearing on the sixth page and another application form, for disability living allowance, being 45 pages long. Tim Burr, head of the National Audit Office, which was in charge of the report said the DWP could "improve performance further by moving more of its services online. Where paper forms and letters are still necessary, it should make them more straightforward for the customer, particularly for the elderly and other vulnerable people." The government website, Directgov, also faced criticism as the report found basic searches about benefits could generate some 500 results. The most useful pages were not the first listed and people said they were confused and frustrated over the presentation. Finally, the report found that too few applications were computerised and those which were submitted electronically were still printed out and treated as paper applications. This meant that staff did not have access to all the details of the case as they could not see the paper version. The report concluded this might also lead to a number of inaccuracies and some delay. From Politics.co.

ESTATE AGENTS WHO TELL IT LIKE IT IS An estate agent's listings have been banned because of his unconventional descriptions. Tony Levene calls for more of this free and easy talk Estate agents: Would there be more of this is they gave honest descriptions? Saying letting agents don't need to be controlled is akin to condemning motherhood and apple pie. Even the Association of Residential Letting Agents concedes members need regulating.

But while the lettings agent sin list is long, few would have included "offensive language" on it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; until now. We're not talking about a string of obscenities on the current state of the property market. Instead, it's an attempt by an agent to inject humour and honesty into estate agentese. Jules Bending of the Real Ralph Bending, an estate agent in Glastonbury, has been banned from advertising in a local paper and taken down from property websites Rightmove and Primelocation.com for an unconventional approach to marketing properties. Here (Continued on page 32)

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PEOPLE IN OVERCROWDED ACCOMMODATION SET TO SOAR are some examples of his style: "Lease available for what can only be described as a prime piece of retail crumpet." "Three bedroom former school house with everything except the randy old teacher and fag butts down the loo." "Cheap but not particularly cheerful ground floor apartment." "Characterful as a vegetarian's fart, this Victorian beauty hums to the rhythm of a well soaked mung bean." It may not be to everyone's taste and there's a touch of innuendo, but how offensive is it? It's not obscene, racist or classist; it doesn't attack people with disabilities. And none of it contravenes the Property Misdescriptions Act – claiming a tenant could "stare out of the window at Morrisons superstore in sheer delight" is a matter of fact. Well, maybe not the delight part. Rightmove says Bending's listings on its site were

removed after "public complaints", although it's a bit confused over the nature and number of them, as well as what sort of appeal Bending was offered against the decision. Of course, these "members of the public" could be rival estate agents. Whoever they are, should they have the right to ban slightly colourful language in a world where bland is the norm? It all recalls the wonderful Roy Brooks, a now sadly late estate agent whose 1960s adverts in the Sunday papers for London properties scandalised his rivals with their honesty and jokes – he was not afraid to call a broom cupboard a broom cupboard rather than a "bijou flat". Bending's enemies in the business say he is "publicity seeking" – and it has certainly worked. But aren't they all? If not, why are they spending money on newspapers and appearing on Rightmove? Shouldn't more estate agents adopt his approach? From the Guardian Money Blog

TENANT DEMAND ACROSS ALL SECTORS FALLS SAYS RICS Tenant demand across all sectors continued to fall in the first quarter of this year although the pace of decline eased back, according to the RICS. It said in its RICS‘ Commercial Property Survey published today that it expects rental declines to accelerate on the back of a record increase in available floor space. The net balance of surveyors reporting a rise in available floor space rose at the fastest pace in the survey‘s history with 65% more surveyors reporting a rise than a fall in available floor space up from 57% in the last quarter of 2008. It said the ‘ongoing contraction in the economy and the continuing rise in available floor space have weighed on surveyor expectations for the rental outlook’. ‘Surveyors are now more pessimistic than ever before with 80% of surveyors expecting a fall than a rise in rents. The value of inducements (a lead indicator of future rental trends) rose at the fastest pace in the survey’s history as landlords continued to try to boost demand with incentives,’ it said. Forty per cent more surveyors reported a fall than a rise in occupier demand compared to 71% in Q4 2008 and all sectors remain firmly in negative territory for the sixth consecutive quarter but the pace of decline moderated from record lows. ‘This improvement offers some hope that the dramatic easing in monetary policy and fiscal stimulus measures are providing some support to the commercial property market by lifting business confidence,’ it said.

The immediate outlook for lettings activity remains poor as the net balance of surveyors reporting new occupier enquiries remained in negative territory. However 38% more surveyors reported a fall than a rise in new enquires for business space compared to 63% in the last quarter – the least negative reading in a year. The improving enquiry trend was most pronounced in the south. Oliver Gilmartin, RICS senior economist said: ‘Whilst indicators have moved off historic lows, the reality is that fundamentals in the occupier market continue to deteriorate as companies remain in consolidation mode. Landlords are ramping up inducements as they attempt to secure a letting with sharply rising available space exerting greater downward pressure on rents. ‘The investment market continues to see declines in transaction activity although at the slowest pace since the onset of the downturn. Whilst it is still too soon to point to an end in price falls, deal activity should be picking up by the end of the year as those with deep pockets move in. ‘Given the gloomy backdrop for the sector and expectation of further rises in vacant space, RICS is disappointed that the government failed to address the issue of empty property rates in the recent budget. This is encouraging the demolition of perfectly good buildings, discouraging speculative development and could result in more far reaching problems when the economy starts to pick-up again.’ From Property Week

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ADVERTISING RATES 500 copies distributed every two months targeting landlords in Devon Size and location of advert

6 issues

3 issues

1 issue

Page 468sq cm Back Cover £260.00

£150.00

£60.00

Page 468sq cm Inside

£210.00

£125.00

£50.00

Half Page 234sq cm

£110.00

£65.00

£25.00

Quarter Page 117sq cm

£70.00

£40.00

£15.00

Eighth Page 58.5 sq cm

£45.00

£25.00

£10.00

Enquiries to Christine—Tel 01803 314750 or email enquiries@devonlandlords.co.uk Notes:-