On 1st November the Government published a draft Tenants Fee Bill which outlines plans to make big changes to the way landlords let properties in England, by banning tenant fees.
When this bill is brought into law it - which is likely to happen early next year - it will become illegal to charge tenants fees for referencing, inventories and the various other fees associated with letting out property.
Summing up the draft Tenant Fee Bill
As a landlord, you’ll have a unique set of circumstances and you’ll find you may experience issues that none of your other landlord friends are likely to have experienced. That’s not to say the issues landlords face can’t be categorised. Most of these categories of problems can be prevented by taking certain steps.
Most landlords want to do the right thing by their tenants. As the home of good landlords we always encourage landlords to look after their tenants. There may be times when you want to give your tenants a gift but this can cause a great deal of questioning on the part of landlords.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer will deliver the Budget on 22nd November and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan wants the autumn financial statement to bring good news for Londoners.
The dust has settled since the Bank of England announced their decision to raise interest rates for the first time in 10 years. Since then we’ve had a number of conversations with buy-to-let landlords who are considering their options following the announcement.
This morning (1st November 2017) the government has introduced the draft Tenant Fee Bill. This draft bill provides information about the government’s plan to ban fees paid by tenants to letting agencies and agents.
A tenancy guarantor guarantees rent payments and other tenancy obligations that make up the tenancy agreement. Legally, tenancy guarantors are said to stand surety. Whilst a guarantor must be at least 18, they can come from any walk of life and can have different relationships with a tenant.
It will be unsurprising to many landlords that a large proportion of their tenants have a limited understanding about their rental rights. In fact, many landlords letting property have little understanding of the law related to letting out property either.
As a buy-to-let landlord, there are two financial benefits to investing in property.
The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has carried out a survey of 3,000 landlords and their findings suggest landlords are considering their position. It’s likely that more than one in five landlords are thinking about selling off one of their investment properties in the next 12 months. Data also suggests that those landlords not selling will likely dramatically increase rents to cover their costs.
Whilst many landlords around the country are concerned about the changes to the taxes, it appears London landlords are not put off by the changes, seeing the long-term nature of their property investments as beneficial.
As a landlord, you will always be on the lookout for the best tenant. One who doesn't make a fuss or always pays their rent on time. Which is fair enough. And pretty obvious really.
