Lincolnshire Landlords Electronic Newsletter Issue 16 December 2014 We would like to wish all our landlords a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 1. Update on the Rogue Landlord Project in Boston 2. multiple occupation and the use of attic rooms 3. Don t let domestic disasters ruin your Christmas 4. Energy Efficiency - ignore it at your peril 5. Home fire safety checks clutter and hoarding 6. Landlords and Water Bill Liability 7. Instructing a new Agent? A number of items on this quarter s newsletter from Boston covering their rogue landlord project, guidance for landlords and letting agents and news on recent and planned changes from the Government. Update on the Rogue Landlord Project in Boston Following Boston Borough Council s decision not to introduce compulsory licensing across the private rented sector the Council has been concentrating its efforts of finding rented properties which have or offer poor conditions and where the management of the property does not meet the required standards. Demand for rented properties in Boston is extremely large for a number of reasons; this has led to rent levels far in excess of most found in the East Midlands let alone Lincolnshire. Unfortunately it does mean that properties in poor condition are being rented out to both provide accommodation but in many cases for profit. Multiple occupation and sub-letting appears to be very high in Boston mainly because tenants on the low average wages found in Boston have to co-habit to afford the high rents. Since February 2014 the Council s housing enforcement officers have visited nearly 150 properties and issued a similar number of notices. Most landlords/property owners are prepared to work with the officers when problems are found but in 24 cases more formal enforcement has had to be taken. This includes issuing improvement notices & prohibition notices and for the worst cases the Council are now looking to prosecute in a small number of cases. These include running unlicensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), breaches of the regulations relating to HMOs and non compliance with improvement or prohibition notices. The partners on the project (the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, Lincolnshire Police and Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue) have also been involved on a number of inspections;
this has led to prohibition notices being issued on fire safety grounds, ongoing investigations into the activities of a number of labour providers and arrests for criminal activity. Boston Borough Council would prefer to work with landlords if enforcement officers encounter any problems in or with their properties so if for any reason you are contacted please engage with us. If you have any queries or questions you can contact the Private Sector Housing Team on 01205 314563 or email housing.dept@boston.gov.uk Food for thought: As a landlord or property owner do you know what is happening at your property? We are finding a number of cases where the owner assumed their agent was looking after the property and checking on the tenants on a regular basis. When issues are encountered by the Council we would take action against the responsible person. If the absence of a bona fide agreement between the owner and agent it will be the property owner that is the focus of our attentions. Please be aware that ignorance is unlikely to be a defence make sure you know what is happening with your property Guidance on multiple occupation regulations and the use of attic rooms which could create a licensable HMO Private Sector rent levels in Boston are such that house sharing is very common. Whether it is because the property has been split in a number of rooms or people from more than one household take the tenancy together. This could have consequences for the landlord in that regulations for the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation 2006 will apply to the property and if, as is often seen with certain older properties in Boston where there is an attic room on the storey that is in use, it means it could be a licensable HMO. The management requirements cover all HMOs (not just 3 storey ones) and lay down requirements for a range of aspects. Landlords are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the regulations; in Boston, we are finding a number of properties where the regulations are being breached. If convicted fines are up to 5,000 for each offence. The regulations can be found via the link below http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/372/pdfs/uksi_20060372_en.pdf Attic rooms are also a common feature of our rogue landlord work in the borough. Visiting properties which are already in multiple occupation we find that the attic room on the 3 rd floor is also in use as tenanted room. This automatically makes the property a licensable HMO and subject to additional requirements. Where we find these properties the owners will have two options to avoid enforcement actions; apply for a HMO licence costing around 450 and carry out all works required to meet the relevant standards or apply for a three month Temporary Exemption notice whilst the tenant in the attic room is given the appropriate notice and then works are carried out to put the attic room out of use. Fines for running an unlicensed HMO are up to 20,000
The attached guidance was given recently to all the letting agents in Boston; landlords may find it useful also. Food for thought: If you have any property which is being used as HMO there are a number of considerations. Management Regulations, licences, planning permission and building regulations. It is always best to check with your local Council. Don t let domestic disasters ruin your Christmas As we head towards the festive period and the risk of cold weather increases, this is the time to start thinking about checking your properties to ensure that tenants are safe from fire and they avoid heating breakdowns and potential water leaks. The risk to property damage increases in the winter as tenants heat their homes and celebrate Christmas by putting up decorations in and round the property. The risk of fire increases with homes being decorated with Christmas trees, fairy lights and candles and overloading electric sockets or multi-sockets. Tenants are seven times more likely to have a fire in their home so it is essential that smoke alarms are fitted and are working properly. A burning Christmas tree can rapidly fill a room with fire and deadly gases with devastating consequences Watch the video on the Fire Service website to see just how quickly a tree can burn http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/christmas Tenants may also hope to save money on high energy bills by turning off the heating when they go away for a few days to visit family or friends. In freezing weather, pipes can freeze up and burst, causing damage that may not be discovered immediately if the tenant is away. Encourage your tenants to leave the heating on low if the weather is likely to be freezing but make sure water pipes and tanks are properly insulated. Heating breakdowns will mean a dismal Christmas, both for you and your tenants. No hot water and no heating is no laughing matter at any time of year but it could be dangerous in cold weather and no landlord wants their holiday interrupted by having to arrange repairs, with the probability of high call-out fees over Christmas. No-one wants their celebrations cut short by having to sort out repairs that could have been prevented. If you are intending being away yourself over Christmas, make sure your tenants know how to contact you or someone who can resolve any issues, arrange repairs etc in your absence. And if you use a letting agent to manage your properties, make sure they have emergency out of hours access to tradesmen but also know how to contact you as well. Here are some winter guidelines for landlords to protect tenants and their properties: Smoke Alarms Check that smoke alarms are fitted in all properties and that they are all working properly. Replace batteries as necessary. Better still, have a suitable hard-wired alarm system fitted. Insulation: Ensure water pipes and the water tanks are lagged and insulated.
Heating Advise tenants to keep their heating on if they are going away on a minimum of 15 degrees. It s sensible to open the loft hatch also, this allows air to circulate and helps to prevent pipes freezing and bursting in the loft. Boiler servicing Ensure that gas and oil boilers are serviced every 12 months. If the property is to be empty for an extended period it is sensible to have the heating/water system drained down by a qualified contractor. Chimneys Ensure they are swept once a year by a professional chimney sweep, ideally before the tenant starts using the fire. Energy Efficiency - ignore it at your peril As we approach the end of another year, we may be thinking of Christmas celebrations or even looking forward to planning next years holidays. What should not be ignored though is that 2018 is fast approaching when the Government intend introducing minimum energy efficiency requirements for private rented properties. The Energy Act 2011 contained prospective legislation that could prevent properties with an Energy Performance Certificate of lower than an E-rating from being let out after April 2018, unless property owners took action to improve the performance rating of their energy-inefficient buildings. Since then, everyone has been waiting for more details about the proposals and, in July this year, the Government published two consultation papers on minimum energy performance standards: one for domestic properties (i.e. residential); and one for nondomestic properties (i.e. commercial). The consultations sought views on the merits of the proposed legislation, as well as giving tenants of privately-rented residential property a right to request consent from their landlords to carry out energy efficiency improvements. In addition, the Labour party also issued a Green Paper consultation on energy efficiency which included a new target of improving all private rented properties to an EPC rating of C by 2027. We now await the outcome of the consultation from the Government but if you have any properties that have an EPC rating of F or G, you should start acting now to improve them to the minimum standard. Watch this space for further news. Home fire safety checks clutter and hoarding The best way to save lives from fire is to prevent a fire happening in the first place with prevention measures and good housekeeping, some examples being: Provide sufficient facilities for the removal of household waste to prevent a buildup within the premises Ensure the electrical supply is safe Ensure the tenants know what the fire escape plan Install smoke alarms and regularly check they are working
A growing problem for Fire and Rescue is properties which are cluttered or where excessive hoarding occurs. Everyone has different ideas about what constitutes a cluttered home. To some, a few papers out of place causes concern; to others, it is only when they cannot move freely down narrow pathways between piles of papers that a problem registers. To Fire and Rescue, excessive clutter in a home is a major fire hazard; when a fire breaks out the risk to the life of the tenants is much greater and the property may be seriously damaged before a rescue can be made. The International OCD Foundation have undertaken some research into hoarding and have created a series of pictures of rooms in various stages of clutter. These can help landlords identify whether a clutter issue is becoming a problem. In the attached document, clutter that reaches the level of picture 4 or higher should trigger a conversation between landlord and tenants to try to resolve the issue. Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue want to work with landlords and tenants to reduce these dangers. If you have any tenants who have a tendency for clutter and hoarding, which you have not been able to resolve, you can request, with your tenants knowledge, a Home Fire Safety Check to be conducted by Fire and Rescue. You can also request a Check where tenants are at a greater risk due to their circumstances, e.g. those with mobility issues, medical issues, or addictive dependencies. Landlords and Water Bill Liability Ever since the Water Industry Act 1999 made it illegal for water providers to disconnect supplies from households in the UK, even if they failed to pay their bills, the issue of unpaid invoices has been a significant one. The water industry has worked with the government and the letting sector to design a national landlord portal. Its purpose is to help water companies ensure that the person benefiting from water and sewerage services at a rented property pays the amount due. Landlord Tap is a new portal designed to help Landlords keep the water companies informed. The portal will provide a system for recording information about tenants in rental properties in England and Wales. Landlords, and their managing agents, will add information about their new tenants. This will be stored securely by the Landlord Tap and then made available to the supplying water companies, so that they can collect water and sewerage charges. Signing up to the scheme means that you can register your properties and tenant details quickly and easily and because you are in charge of the account it can always be kept up to date. From your account you can: Add new properties to your portfolio; Change tenant details, including changes of tenancy; Notify that a property is empty; and Inform on properties you sell or stop managing
It doesn't matter which company you are registered with as the portal informs all water suppliers and will provide water companies with the details of those responsible for the payment of water and/or sewerage charges for a tenanted property. Unpaid bills cost the water companies millions every year, which is costing the rest of us on average another 15 on our bills. Hopefully, by reducing the amount of outstanding debt, everyone s charges can be reduced. Instructing a new Agent? Before 1 October 2014, you could only refer an unresolved dispute to a redress scheme if your letting agent chose to be a member of a professional association. Only some letting agents were members of a professional association. What are letting agents redress schemes? Letting agent redress schemes provide a free, independent service for resolving disputes between letting agents and their customers. Landlords and tenants can use the schemes. From 1 October 2014, the three government-approved letting agent redress schemes are: The Property Ombudsman https://www.tpos.co.uk/ Ombudsman Services http://www.ombudsman-services.org/ Property Redress Scheme https://www.theprs.co.uk/ The decision made by an independent redress scheme is binding on all parties. The object of this regulation is to provide an accessible and impartial route for dispute resolution if complaints are raised about letting agents by landlords OR tenants. Local authorities will have the power to issue fines of up to 5,000 to agents who fail to join an approved scheme. If you are a Landlord looking to engage a new agent please check that they are registered with one of the above schemes, OR alternatively opt only to use members of UKALA, ARLA, NALS or RICS which all require redress and a range of other client protections. For more information: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-redress-schemes-conditions-for-approval