Greater Nottingham Landlords Electronic Newsletter - www.nottslandlordinfo.co.uk Partner logos

Issue 19 - April 2010

Welcome to the April 2010 edition of the Greater Nottingham Landlords' Electronic Newsletter.

Contents

  1. Greater Nottingham Aligned Core Strategies - Option for Consultation - February 2010 - Nottingham City, as part of Greater Nottingham, will have to accommodate significant housing...
  2. News from Broxtowe Borough Council - Empty Home Strategy,Landlords Forum & Choice Based Lettings...
  3. Nottingham City Council Landlord Liaison Panel Meeting Minutes - Apologies,Matters arising, Corporate engagement team presentation etc...
  4. Nottingham Core Housing Market Area - Private Rented Sector Research - Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners (NLP) have been commissioned by the local authorities...
  5. East Midlands Property Owners - update on USE CLASSES ORDER - You will be aware that the Government has been working on amending the Use Classes Order (UCO) so that any landlord looking to change the use of...
  6. Nottingham Credit Union - The answer to your housing benefit prayers - Are you fed up of continuously late rent payments?...
  7. AST THRESHOLD WILL INCREASE TO £100K IN OCTOBER - AND IT WILL BE RETROSPECTIVE - The Government has informed the National Landlords Association that on 1 October 2010 the Assured...
  8. National Landlords Association update - Budget Statement 2010 - With perhaps the most hotly contested General Election for years only weeks away, the Budget 2010 was always ...
  9. EMLAS Landlord Road-shows - dates released for 2010 - The long awaited Landlord Roadshow is about to open its doors to landlords in the East Midlands. This is the fourth event organised directly for Landlords by Decent & Safe Homes (DASH) and promises to be focussed event on services and information for landlords and letting professionals ...

Greater Nottingham Aligned Core Strategies - Option for Consultation - February 2010

Nottingham City, as part of Greater Nottingham, will have to accommodate significant housing and employment growth over the next 20 or so years, whilst also enhancing the built and natural environment and improving the quality of life of residents, workers and visitors.

The Core Strategy is an important planning document which will determine the development of the City over the next 15 to 20 years and will be used to assess future planning applications. It is being prepared in partnership with the surrounding Borough and District Councils so that the future development of Greater Nottingham is planned in a consistent and comprehensive way.

We are now looking for your views on the Option for Consultation document.

A useful summary leaflet on the plan, with a link to the full document, can be viewed online - www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=16093&p=0

Comments on the plan may be made via an online questionnaire - www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/static/csio/preferred_option.htm

Please note that this consultation runs until Monday April 12th 2010.

For further information please contact a member of the policy team

Email: ldf@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Tel: 0115 915 5197

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News from Broxtowe Borough Council

Empty Home Strategy

The Empty Homes Strategy will be put before Cabinet on the 27th of April 2010, for formal adoption. A draft Enforcement Policy has been put out for consultation and will also be submitted to Cabinet for approval in the near future.

Landlords Forum

Just a reminder, we are holding another Landlords Forum on the 13th May 2010 starting at 6.45pm in the Town Hall Foster Avenue Beeston Nottingham. If you are a Landlord in Broxtowe and would like to attend please contact Miss D. Bloomfield on 0115 9173554.

Choice Based Lettings

Broxtowe, Gedling and Rushcliffe Borough Councils are proposing to develop a sub regional Choice Based Lettings scheme and joint housing Allocations Policy. The formal consultation period has begun and documents and further information can be found on all three council websites.

Choice Based Lettings allows applicants of council and registered social landlords (and tenants who wish to transfer) to apply for vacancies which are advertised. Typically, available or soon-to-be-available properties will be advertised weekly or fortnightly using media such as posters, websites, in council offices and other community buildings. Housing applicants will then be able to 'register their interest' in a property - this is sometimes known as 'bidding' for a property.

The Borough Councils currently operate the First Lets scheme www.firstlets.org.uk which advertises private rented accommodation within the area. The intention with the new Choice Based Lettings scheme is that Private Rented and Social Rented properties will be advertised alongside each other.

Please go to www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/doc.asp?cat=10945 to see the consultation documents. The consultation survey is available to complete on-line or can be downloaded and posted back to us.

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Nottingham City Council Landlord Liaison Panel Meeting Minutes

Tuesday 16 March 2010 at EMPO offices

Apologies: Mr Buxton, Cllr liversidge, Jonathan Potter, Tom Glanz

Present:

Landlords - Christine Darvill, Jeff Somers, Paul Rowland, Angela Lyons, Brian Kirkland, Danial Donen, Shad Ali. Irfan Ahmed

Agent - Dan Walker

Nottingham City Council - Lisa Dawkins, Tony Leafe, Daniel Junor, Jock Cockcroft, Lorraine Raynor, Shane Neville, Graham de Max

2. Minutes of the meeting held on January 19th 2010 - nothing to add

3. Matters arising - nothing to add

3a. Corporate engagement team presentation - Lisa Dawkins and Tony Leafe. The team offer advice and guidance and work alongside Nottingham Insight and their website. Lisa and Tony will eventually have a presence on the website. At the moment Nottingham CC have not got a Consultation Policy that includes things such as timescales, who to consult, etc. They actually want to know how we would like to be consulted. They do have Engagement Principals/Strategy that can be circulated which is probably similar to a Consultation Policy. They do not have control over consultation activity but aim to ensure that no consultation takes place with the team becoming involved and giving advice. Going forward there will be a database of all proposed, current and closed consultations which will be available for everyone to view. There will be a database of all proposed consultations. The main launch at the end of the month. To find it type into google - 'nottinghaminsight'

Lorraine wants the landlords to think about what they want the council to do and what expectations that they have.

4. Nottingham City's Private Sector Housing Strategy - Graham De Max. This agenda item is classed as information sharing. Graham bought in further copies of 'Vision Sharing' and we were looking at the chapter called Transforming Neighbourhoods. He states that there is an overall imbalance in the housing market with a lot of rented property. The council want to transform neighbourhoods and to get buy in from landlords to raise standards in the PRS. A separate student document is being prepared and as soon as it is ready it will be circulated.

5. The Private Rented Sector Research - Daniel Junor. This item is classed as information sharing and research. Background - Greater Nottingham area is to undertake a piece of research to investigate the role the private sector plays in the housing market in this area and what drives the sector in terms of both supply and demand. The research involves surveys of 1000 private rented tenants and landlords, as well as consultation with local authority housing officers and other stakeholders. Letting agents can become involved in May. The survey is being carried out by outside agents and the final draft should be available in June to July The link www.nlpplanning.com/nhma/ will take you to the survey. It has 23 questions and should only take you about ten minutes to complete and can be completed anonymously if you wish. The individual results will be automatically submitted to them and not disclosed to any third parties.

They want to hear from many different landlords and hope that the survey will provide them with a valuable insight into the sector in Nottingham and surrounding local authority areas. All surveys should be completed and submitted by 9th April 2010.

6. Update on licensing - Shad Ali. Nottm CC have decided to evaluate information, reassess it and revisit it in the future. General consent regime - Local Authority will be able to introduce selective and additional licensing locally and not have to go back to central government. He stated that during the interim landlords will be very willing to meet with the council to address any issues. Lorraine added that she is preparing an action plan that will go to the Executive Board, probably some time in May.

7. Planning - use of class order - Shad Ali and Shane Neville from NCC Planning department. Shad asked the question - 'how will NCC planning department interpret use class orders? Dan Walker is to provide the minutes for this point as it got extremely complicated and a lot of it is not yet set in stone. Lorraine - will Grant Butterworth be at the next meeting to discuss planning policy?

8. Disputes involving 'Fit and Proper Person' - raised by Angela Lyons. One question asked was how long do you stay unfit and un-proper if that decision was made by the council. Apparently it is worked out on a case by case basis, e.g. criminal convictions, previous prosecutions, etc. The council expect large portfolio landlords to be of a higher standard than a new landlord. The is no solid guidance at the moment but they are looking into it.

9. Council Tax queries and 12 months exemption - raised by Angela Lyons. There is no one available at this meeting to answer specific questions. Lorraine will arrange for an official to attend the next meeting.

10. AOB Lorraine stated that the Council are going through a restruction and she is now part of the Communities team.

Unipol is arranging landlord training and dated will be cascaded out.

Next meeting to be held at EMPO office, 18 May 2010.

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Nottingham Core Housing Market Area - Private Rented Sector Research

Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners (NLP) have been commissioned by the local authorities of Ashfield, Broxtowe, Erewash, Gedling, Nottingham and Rushcliffe to undertake a piece of research to investigate the role the private sector plays in the housing market in these areas and what drives the sector in terms of both supply and demand.

The research involves surveys of private rented tenants and landlords, as well as consultation with local authority housing officers and other stakeholders.

Aims of the Research

The Survey

The link www.nlpplanning.com/nhma/ will take you to the survey.

It has twenty-three questions and should only take you about ten minutes to complete and can be completed anonymously if you wish. The individual results will be automatically submitted to us and not disclosed to any third parties. We want to hear from many different landlords and hope that the survey will provide us with a valuable insight into the sector in Nottingham and surrounding local authority areas.

All surveys should be completed and submitted by 9th April 2010

All completed surveys will be entered in to a prize draw for a bottle of bubbly or £25 of M&S vouchers

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East Midlands Property Owners update on USE CLASSES ORDER

You will be aware that the Government has been working on amending the Use Classes Order (UCO) so that any landlord looking to change the use of a house from a private dwelling to a HMO (three or more unrelated individuals) will require planning permission. The UCO has now been amended to allow this to happen and the new legislation will take effect from April 6th 2010.

After April 6th 2010, if you rent a house or flat which was previously occupied by a single person or a family, to a group of three or more unrelated individuals, you may need planning permission. You will need planning permission if the new changed use is such to amount to a 'material change of use'. How these new rules will be interpreted and applied is far from certain and remains to be seen.

The law will not be retrospective so if on April 6th the house is occupied or if vacant last occupied by a group of unrelated individuals, you will not have to apply for planning permission.

The new law is intended to apply where there is a change of use of a house or flat (which has been previously been occupied by a family whether it is owner occupied or rented) to shared use between three and six unrelated individuals. It only applies where the new use of the house or flat is a shared use by unrelated individuals who are not members of the same family/relatives. This can include lettings by owner/occupiers of their own homes involving three or more individuals who are living with them. The new rules do not apply to the social sector (ie. lettings of Council houses or properties rented out by Registered Social Landlords). For planning consent to be needed there must be a material change of use. Use by more than six tenants may have needed planning permission under the old rule. This will continue to be the same and this also applies to the social sector as well as the private sector.

WARNING - Under the new rules there is an automatic right to change the use of a shared house or flat (occupied between three and six unrelated individuals) back to a single dwelling occupied by a family or a single person. This can be done without planning permission.

However, there is no corresponding automatic right to change the use back from a single dwelling to a shared house or flat without specific planning permission. This applies even though there was an established right for the shared use of the house or flat because it was used as such on April 6th 2010 (or even if you subsequently obtain planning permission for the shared use). There is therefore a risk that your house or flat could be worth less because it has lost the attached rights it enjoys for shared use.

If you are in the process of renovating a property that was not a HMO before April 6th 2010 and you are intending to use it as a HMO after April 6th 2010 EMPO suggests that you rent your property to a group of three or more unrelated individuals before that date otherwise you may need planning permission.

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Nottingham Credit Union - The answer to your housing benefit prayers

Are you...

Fed up of continuously late rent payments?

Do your...

tenants find it hard to manage their money?

Did you know...

The average landlords rent arrears connected to LHA is £4,442.90 (information sourced from NLA 2009)

We know some tenants find it difficult to manage money and prioritise spending so NCU has stepped in to lend a helping hand.

NCU's rent payment scheme...

We process LHA from council to you via your tenants NCU account. We can also process rent if your tenants pay privately without the aid of benefits. The money that is allocated for rent is kept in a separate part of a tenants account meaning it is guaranteed to make it to you as their landlord on time, every time. You will be paid by BACS payment into your Bank or Building Society account. All you need to do is get your tenants to become NCU members and complete the necessary forms; it’s really that easy.

How much will this cost me?

Just £5 per rent payment issued to you.

A discount of 10% is offered if you have 25 or more tenant and 20% discount for 50 or more tenants using the scheme.

Benefits for You:

Our 60 day change of tenant's payment details requirement means you can be guaranteed due rent and be prewarned of any changes.

You will be able to meet your mortgage commitments.

You won't have to chase due rent and you will have considerably less rent arrears and evictions.

You can write this payment method into tenancy agreements.

Your tenants can engage with financial services and banking products giving you more financially secure tenants.

If you are accredited with DASH (Decent and Safe Homes) you qualify for a 10% discount on the service.

Who is NCU?

NCU is Nottingham’s community savings and loans co-operative, promoting ethical finance and access to affordable credit for everyone in Nottingham’s communities.

Call NCU now on 0115 8283121 for more information or visit us at 69 Maid Marian Way, Nottingham. NG1 6AJ

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AST THRESHOLD WILL INCREASE TO £100K IN OCTOBER ... AND IT WILL BE RETROSPECTIVE

The Government has informed the National Landlords Association that on 1 October 2010 the Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) threshold will rise to £100,000. The rise will apply retrospectively.

The proposal to increase the AST threshold had been broadly welcomed as an attempt to offer greater clarity and transparency for landlords and tenants. However, the NLA believes the proposals have the potential to be damaging to a significant number of landlords who entered into contractual tenancy agreements in good faith.

For reasons the government has not fully explained, it seems that a quirk of the process means the change will be retrospective and will be applied to existing tenancies. As a result, any tenancy with an annual rent between £25,000 and £100,000 in existence on 1 October 2010 will become an AST overnight.

Landlords and tenants will no longer be able to negotiate individual terms for their tenancy and the rights and responsibilities associated with the Housing Act 1988 will be extended to these higher rent properties.

David Salusbury, Chairman, NLA, said:

"Although we are still piecing together the facts, the retrospective nature of this change is highly regrettable, and it could have a wide-ranging impact on the letting of private residential property. For example, landlords in this higher rent bracket will have to protect deposits for the first time. If they fail to do so by October 1 2010 they could be in breach of the law. We are told the courts are being forewarned."

"The NLA believes the Government is rushing through this change without fully thinking through the consequences. We call for greater consultation to ensure this measure does not have a negative impact on the private-rented sector. We will continue to provide the most up-to-the minute help and advice on the issue to landlords and have published a guide to help landlords comply with the law. The NLA will continue the press the Government for further consultation."

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National Landlords Association update - Budget Statement 2010

...summary from the NLA Campaign Team...

In Brief...

With perhaps the most hotly contested General Election for years only weeks away, the Budget 2010 was always going to be of political significance.

Potentially, the 2010 Budget represented Alastair Darling's last opportunity as Chancellor to spell out exactly how a Labour government would affect economic recovery and a return to prosperity.

However, while excitement grew among the politicos, expectations of Treasury generosity were not high. Given the current level of public debt and the sobering predictions of cut-backs across the board, it is hardly surprising that Mr Darling has been true to his promise of a 'workman-like' Budget for 2010.

What we already knew was coming:

(Measures announced in last year’s pre-Budget Report for implementation in April 2010)

New announcements in Budget 2010

What's in it for landlords?

Not a great deal, Alastair Darling's statement revealed little of particular interest for landlords. Only two policy statements appear to be of direct relevance:

  1. The Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMA) used to calculate rates of LHA are to be adjusted to exclude the most expensive properties. This is likely to exert downward pressure on the top rates of LHA in some areas.
  2. From April 2011 a new 5 percent rate of SDLT is to be introduced for property transactions above £1 million. This is likely to apply to individual property transactions and portfolio acquisitions alike meaning that landlords making bulk purchases will face considerably higher tax bills.

The NLA View...

In the lead up to the Budget Statement the NLA lobbied HM-Treasury on five key issues.

  1. Capital Gains Tax (CGT): Landlords should be entitled to utilise 'roll-over' relief to encourage reinvestment of released capital gains. The current exclusion of residential property from access to this relief discourages landlords from reinvesting and from long term business planning. Released gains could also be used for renovating and modernising housing stock.
  2. Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT): The 'slab system', whereby tax is calculated according to fixed rates in arbitrary price bands, should be immediately reformed. Unlike most taxes, SDLT is neither regressive nor progressive and leads to inevitable distortions in property prices. In addition, where landlords make multiple transactions, each property should be treated individually for the purposes of Stamp Duty and not, as in the current system, as one bulk transaction.
  3. Value Added Tax (VAT): The VAT rate for renovations and home improvements should be reduced to the lowest possible rate of 5 per cent. Social landlords already benefit from significant funding provisions in order to meet targets for the provision of decent homes. Cost barriers should be removed which discourage landlord s from modernising housing stock.
  4. Council Tax: The way in which Council Tax is assessed for multi-occupancy dwellings varies greatly across the country. It causes unnecessary uncertainty among landlords and often leads to a failure to maximise affordable and much-needed accommodation. The NLA is calling for immediate Government clarification to ensure consistency across local authorities.
  5. 'Rent-a-Room' Scheme: The tax-free threshold for homeowners taking in lodgers should be extended from £4,250 to £9,000 per year in order to keep up with current rental prices. The NLA fully supports the Spareroom.co.uk 'Raise the Roof' Campaign which argues that the prospect of completing a tax return has become a major disincentive to homeowners who could provide much needed accommodation.

Although we may not have been entirely successful on these counts, the NLA will continue to press HM-Treasury on these issues and looks forward to making positive progress with the new Government following the general election - whichever party, or parties are in power.

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