Issue 23 - Dec 2010
Welcome to the December 2010 edition of the Greater Nottingham Landlords' Electronic Newsletter.
Contents
- Rushcliffe Borough Council Landlord Forum 2010 - In October, Rushcliffe Borough Council ran their annual Landlord Forum in West Bridgford, Nottingham....
- New timetable for Local Housing Allowance changes - The Government announced on 30 November that is it changing the timetable for implementing changes to Local Housing Allowance rates ...
- Energy Saving Trust - Landlord Insulation Program - The Energy Saving Trust offer free and impartial advice on the energy efficiency of your housing stock....
- Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas. Don't mistake the symptoms for a hangover - Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week was organised by the charity CO-Awareness and ran from 15th to 19th November 2010....
- Housing crisis fuelling boom in 'accidental landlords' - The rental market is seeing a return of the so-called accidental landlord as frustrated buyers are letting out their homes after being unable to sell them, research indicated today ...
- Lettings with a Difference at the Local Lettings Agency -A new service for landlords and tenants within Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire was launched on 11th October 2010 ....
- The Valuation office and Local Housing Allowance - The Lettings Research Team carries out research in the residential Private Rented Sector....
Rushcliffe Borough Council Landlord Forum 2010
In October, Rushcliffe Borough Council ran their annual Landlord Forum in West Bridgford, Nottingham. After liaising with neighbouring Local Authorities about upcoming events, it was decided to invite landlords form the Gedling Borough Council and Broxtowe Borough Council areas.
The event was a great success, with 44 landlords attending. The event was a relatively short event held in the afternoon as this is what landlords said they preferred. Speakers attended from DASH, National Landlords' Association, Rushcliffe Borough council, a local solicitor and Energy Saving Trust.
Feedback from the event was very positive with landlords finding the event a useful update. Landlords also suggested topics they would like to hear about at future events.
The next Landlord Forum will be hosted by either Gedling or Broxtowe Borough Council.
If you would like further details of the event, contact Adam Smith at Rushcliffe on 0115 9148415.
New timetable for Local Housing Allowance changes
The Government announced on 30 November that is it changing the timetable for implementing changes to Local Housing Allowance rates.
New claimants from April 2011: The caps and the reduction in Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile will now both come into force in April 2011 for new claimants.
Existing claimants: Existing claimants will be exempt for up to 9 months from the date their claim is reviewed by their local authority. This will allow them time to adjust any reduction in entitlement and in practice mean many existing claimants will not be affected by the changes until after January 2012.
The government has also indicated that it will be giving discretionary powers for local authorities to make direct payments to landlords in return for reducing their rents.
Energy Saving Trust - Landlord Insulation Program
The Energy Saving Trust offer free and impartial advice on the energy efficiency of your housing stock.
They can offer suggestions to improve your Energy Performance Certificates either over the phone or at your properties
You can also qualify for their discounted landlord insulation.
Loft £85 Cavity Wall Insulation £85
For more information contact the Energy Saving Trust on 0800 512 012 or email:
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas. Don't mistake the symptoms for a hangover.
Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week was organised by the charity CO-Awareness and ran from 15th to 19th November 2010. The aim of the week was to reduce incidents, fatalities and ill health due to carbon monoxide poisoning by raising awareness amongst consumers.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, poisonous gas produced by incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels, including gas, oil, wood and coal. Inhaling the gas reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen, leaving the body's organs and cells starved of oxygen.
Common sources of carbon monoxide in the home include faulty central heating systems, gas appliances and fires. Blocked flues and chimneys mean the gas can not escape and is inhaled by the unsuspecting occupant.
Carbon monoxide kills about 50 people each year in the UK and causes 200 cases of recorded non-fatal injury (Health Protection Agency).
Although carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas, signs that indicate incomplete combustion is occurring, resulting in the production of CO, include:
- Yellow or orange rather than blue flames (apart from fuel effect fires or flueless appliances which display this colour flame)
- Soot or yellow/brown staining around or on appliances
- Pilot lights that frequently blow out
- Increased condensation inside windows
If you think a gas appliance is faulty, turn it off, open doors and windows to ventilate and contact a gas safe engineer to check the appliance. In an emergency call the gas emergency helpline on 0800 111 999. If you feel unwell, seek medical attention straight away.
Preventative measures you can take against carbon monoxide exposure, include:
- Gas appliances and/or flues are installed and serviced regularly for safety by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Provide your tenants with a copy of the gas safety check certificate.
- Get your chimney swept at least once a year by a qualified sweep.
- Install an audible carbon monoxide alarm as a useful back-up precaution but they are not to be regarded as a substitute for proper installation and maintenance of gas appliances.
Six Oxford university students narrowly escaped death when a carbon monoxide leak was discovered in their student house. Their carbon monoxide alarm warned them of the danger (The Oxford Student).
Carbon monoxide alarms should comply with European standard EN 50291 and should be installed, checked and serviced in line with the manufacturer's instructions.
Further information can be found at:
www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/co/coawareweek.htm
www.fire-magazine.com/Content/Doc.aspx?id=964
Housing crisis fuelling boom in 'accidental landlords'
The rental market is seeing a return of the so-called accidental landlord as frustrated buyers are letting out their homes after being unable to sell them, research indicated today.
The Association of Residential Letting Agents said a third of its members had seen an increase in the number of properties being rented out during the third quarter because their owners had been unable to sell them.
Reluctant landlords became a phenomenon in the letting market during the 2007 to 2009 housing market downturn.
At its peak at the beginning of 2009, 94% of letting agents reported seeing an increase in properties coming on to the rental market because people had been unable to sell them.
The situation then was caused by people being reluctant to accept a lower price for their property than they thought it was worth, as well as a shortage of buyers due to the mortgage drought.
The current problems in the market are being caused by potential buyers adopting a 'wait and see approach' until the outlook for both the housing market and the wider economy is clearer, while those who do want to proceed are still struggling to obtain mortgages.
Figures released by the Bank of England today showed that the number of mortgages approved for house purchase had fallen for the fifth consecutive month during September, to the lowest level since February.
Ian Potter, operations manager at ARLA, said: "The rise of the reluctant landlord seems to reflect wider market uncertainty and instability.
"People are holding back from selling, perhaps strategically, to secure the best price, or more likely because they simply can't find a suitable buyer."
There was considerable regional variation in the level of agents who reported people were letting out their home after being unable to sell it, with 58% of agents in the North East reporting the phenomenon, compared with just 15% in central London.
The current uncertainty in the housing market has also led to a surge in demand for rented accommodation.
Earlier this month ARLA said the number of people looking to rent a property had soared to the highest level since the group began its survey nearly a decade ago.
The rise in renters had pushed up the cost of letting a home, as landlords struggle to meet the new demand.
LSL Property Services recently said rents had soared to a record high during September as landlords hiked the cost of letting a home for the eighth consecutive month to an average of £689 a month.
Lettings with a Difference at the Local Lettings Agency
A new service for landlords and tenants within Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire was launched on 11th October 2010. The Local Lettings Agency launch was held at the YMCA campus, Derby and was a great success
About the Agency
The Local Letting Agency is a partnership between the Decent & Safe Homes (DASH) project, Local Authorities and Derventio Property Management Service (DPMS).
The Local Letting Agency (LLA) will offer both a tenant matching service and full property management for landlords in Derbyshire and parts of Nottinghamshire. The main differences from traditional agencies are that the tenants are those in receipt of local housing allowance who are offered support to maintain their tenancy and any profits derived from the agency are recycled back into service delivery.
The aim of the scheme is to provide an increased choice in homes to let through a professional, cost effective and ethical service for landlords both large and small.
The Launch
Linda Selvey - DASH Project Manager highlighted the numerous benefits the Local letting agency would bring to landlords, tenants, communities and local authorities including:
- Being a vehicle to bring empty homes back into use
- Providing landlords with support and assistance when dealing with the local housing allowance rental market
- helping create more stable communities by maximising the chances of a successful Landlord-Tenant relationship
During the launch event Tracey Brushett from Communities and Local Government (CLG) praised the new DASH, Local Authority, Derventio partnership.
The project is funded by the Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership and Director, Chris Allison commended DASH on impletmenting such a scheme.
How will it operate?
The Local Lettings Agency will assist landlords with the following:
- A fast tenant finding service
- A full professional property management service
- Additional benefits related to tenant support services plus a dedicated in-house housing benefit account manager reduced void.
- Signposting to advice, grants and other landlord incentives
- Free membership to the East Midlands Landlord Accreditation Scheme
- ...and much, much more..
If you are landlord and would like to know more about this service and how you can start receiving these benefits then please get in touch - call Michelle Howell on 01332 255621
The Valuation office and Local Housing Allowance
What do we do?
The Lettings Research Team carries out research in the residential Private Rented Sector (PRS). Our aim is to gather information about lettings from all areas of the PRS throughout England. Sources of information include estate and letting agents, private landlords, corporate landlords, Registered Social Landlords, tenants, Housing Benefit departments, and Universities and Colleges.
What is lettings information and why do we collect it?
Lettings information is factual information about properties let to tenants in the PRS. This includes the rent that a tenant has agreed to pay, and other information about the property, such as, address, property type, condition, and number of bedrooms and living rooms.
This information is added to our lettings information database and is used only by rent officers to determine the LHA, and to make statutory Housing Benefit (HB) and Fair Rent registrations. It is also used for research and statistical analysis.
Rent officers are required to continually collect lettings information and to consult the database as part of their work. The database is critical to our ability to make reliable, representative and robust decisions.
Current changes to the LHA system
Housing Benefit (Amendment) Regulations 2010
- Amendments to Housing Benefit legislation were laid in Parliament on 30 November.
- A weekly cap, will come into force for new claims in April 2011, so that Local Housing Allowance rates cannot exceed:
- The £15 excess provision will be removed
- The 5 bedroom LHA rate will be removed also.
- Local Housing Allowance rates will be set at the 30th percentile, which was originally due to be introduced in October.
- Benefit claimants affected by the changes will continue at their current rate of benefit until their claim is reviewed by their local authority.
- Then they will have a further period of transitional protection based on their Local Housing Allowance rate of up to nine months (although the £15 weekly excess provision will no longer be available once the claim has been reviewed).
- This will give people more time to adjust to a change in circumstances and many will not start to be affected until January 2012, and some will see no change until December 2012.
- £250 for a one bedroom property
- £290 for a two bedroom property
- £340 for a three bedroom property
- £400 for a four bedroom property
More information can be found on the website: https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/Secure/Default.aspx
Or please contact your local officer who is:
Naeela Altaf
Rent Officer, Lettings Research
VOA Rent Officer Functions
Ground Floor, Ferrers House
Castle Meadow Road
Nottingham
NG2 1AB
03000 500 908
Email: Naeela.T.Altaf@voa.gsi.gov
WE NEED YOUR HELP
Local Housing Allowance levels are determined by the actual confirmed rents in each BRMA. We can not use advertised rents. The LHA rates need to be representative of the entire BRMA. So we need to include rooms, student lets, joint tenancies, and flats over commercial premises, detached, semi-detached, terraced houses and flats from a wide variety of sources including private landlords to ensure the LHA rates are robust and reflective of the market.
Your data is:
- Held securely and confidentially
- Only accessible by Rent Officers
- Ensuring that the LHA reflects the market
- Giving confidence to all our customers and stakeholders
Giving information is easy, please either contact Linda at the Decent and Safe Homes project (DASH) on 01332 256907 or your local Valuation office 'Naeela' using the contact details above or log onto: www.voa.gov.uk/TRS-Transition.htm
© 2007. The Greater Nottingham Landlords’ Electronic Newsletter is run as a partnership