Property Management Ealing Archives | Blue Crystal Property Management

Choosing the right Block Management in London

Are You Getting the Right Support for Your Block? Article Summary Managing a residential block in London takes more than arranging cleaners and repairs. From fire safety to financial reporting, effective block management ensures your building remains compliant, efficient, and safe for residents. Why Block Management Matters in London Managing a block of flats in […]

What are tenancy disputes?

Residential tenancy dispute What are tenancy disputes? Tenancy disputes are the formal method of resolving complications between a landlord and tenant. Tenancy disputes have the potential to be devastating to relationships between tenants and landlords, making the prevention of such an occurrence a necessity. By learning how to successfully avoid disputes, the conditions and communications […]

Is buy to let investment right for you

A buy to let property investment is right for you of you prefer investments that are more tangible than stocks and shares. Are willing to tie up your money for a long period of time You accept that property prices can go down as well as up You are willing to take the risk that you may not earn a profit on your investment You understand and accept the additional risks that go along with borrowing money to buy a property You understand and accept the costs and time involved in owning and running a property and the impact that this will have on your potential return. When you become a landlord, you’re effectively running a small business and this comes with important legal responsibilities.

Eviction ban extension for landlords

As it stand, a landlord can only gain possession if they have leave from the court or an exemption, which only applies to arrears of over six months, severe anti-social behaviour or domestic violence cases. The purpose of this advisory guidance is to help landlords and tenants understand the implications of the Coronavirus Act 2020. The Act provides protection to social and private tenants by delaying when landlords can start proceedings to evict tenants. The provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020, which increased the required notice period length, have now been extended through legislation. Ban on commercial evictions extended to 30 June and bailiff enforced eviction ban extended to 31 May to protect residential tenants. Business owners – many of whom have had to cease trading entirely during lockdown – are being given extra support after the government extended the ban on commercial evictions for a further 3 months, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced today (10 March 2021).

How to recover unpaid service charges

The leaseholder is required by the terms of their lease to pay the service charges and ground rent as determined by their lease in advance of the anticipated year’s expenditure. Any non payment will result in a breach of the lease. The landlord or resident management company would be required to collect the service charges and should initially try proactively to seek to get them paid, for example, finding easy ways for payments to be made, i.e. direct debit or making a concession as long as a precedent is not set. Many leases allow late payment interest fees to be charged by the landlord where leaseholders breach their lease by late payment. If you are a Residents Management Company, a Managing Agent or even a Landlord, then statistically, service charge arrears are the main causes of disputes between freeholders and leaseholders. A service charge is the cost of providing services for a property which usually contains multiple dwellings. In the vast number of cases these charges are 'fair and reasonable' and expected by the leaseholder and usually include some or all of the following: General maintenance. Building Insurance. Security, heating, cleaning and lighting of shared areas. Repairs Landscaping and general gardening. Provision and servicing of lifts. Management Costs. Reserve fund contributions.

Electrical Safety Regulations for rental properties

Government announced its proposed new regulations for electrical safety in the private rented sector in England. The regulations are due to come into force from 1 July this year for new tenancies, and 1 April 2021 for existing tenancies. The regulations are to be passed by both Houses of Parliament before they are finalised and come into force. Regular inspection of electrical installations – at least every five years – will be mandatory for all properties privately rented in England. There are some exceptions, for example lodgers living in shared accommodation with a landlord or their families though the vast majority of private rented properties will come under the new regulations. Electrical installations must be inspected by a ‘qualified person’ at least every five years, and more often if the most recent safety report requires it. The new regulations will replace the existing section of the HMO Management Regulations on fixed electrical installations, to ensure consistency across the sector.

What is rent guarantee insurance

If you are a landlord, letting a residential property, then you are at a risk of rent default by your tenant. Even if you have had the best checks and references carried out, you can never predict a tenant falling on hard times or losing their job or becoming ill and then not being able to pay the rent. Would you be in a position to cover your expenditure and costs over a period of time if this happened to you? In the current economic climate, many landlords are finding their rent default rates increasing, as many tenants struggle with unemployment, lower salaries and increased bills. Rent Guarantee Insurance will cover you against your residential tenant defaulting or failing to pay the rent, taking away some of the stress associated with being a landlord.

Mandatory electrical safety certificates for rental properties from 1st July 2020

Landlords must ensure mandatory electrical inspections are carried out in rental homes by qualified inspectors as of 1st July 2020. Landlords can face tough financial penalties if they fail to comply with the new regulation, which is part of the government’s commitment to drive up standards in the sector. This is to put measures in place to identify the minority level of landlords who rent out unsafe properties. A transitional period will apply in the first two years, where the new rule will affect all new private tenancies in the first year and then extend to all existing private tenancies in the second year. Properties with an existing electrical installation condition report (EICR) will not be required to replace it for five years from the date they were carried out. For new and fully rewired properties, an Electrical Installation Certificate can be presented in place of an EICR provided the date of the next inspection mentioned on the certificate has not elapsed.

How to increase the rent when the market rises

Increasing rent can be a complicated issue, especially with your existing tenants. However, often landlords need to increase rent over time, to keep up with the level of inflation or cost of living. It’s actually better to gradually increase rent rather than holding back for a couple of years and then increasing it by a significant amount- that will be a lot more difficult for your tenants to accept. So generally speaking, regular increases are normal and healthy. For periodic tenancy contracts landlords can typically only increase rent once a year without the tenant’s agreement. It is therefore imperative to find the right time to discuss rent matters with your tenant as you will only have one opportunity per year. It is adviced to approach this situation with sensitivity, as telling your tenants that you intend to increase their rent costs could cause anxiety if not done carefully, even if you are within your legal rights to do so. However, for fixed-term tenancies, which run for a set length of time typically ranging from six months to a year, landlords can only increase rent at the end of the fixed term, never during. The only exception to this rule is if there is a specific clause in your tenancy agreement that clearly states that you can increase the rent during the fixed term. A good reason to review your rent may be if the popularity of your area increases, are there are a lot of new developments being built. These can be viewed as indicators that it is time to re-evaluate your rent prices.

Electrical safety standards for England

Sections 122 and 123 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, electrical safety standards, come into force on 25 October 2019. This means we are finally one step closer to the introduction of mandatory electrical safety checks in the private rented sector in England and will see actual regulations very soon. An enabling power was contained in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 under Section 122 to allow the Secretary of State through regulations to impose responsibilities on private landlords to ensure that electrical safety standards are met in a property under their ownership, while a tenancy is in place. The Section also allows the Secretary of State to specify obligations that may be required of the landlord with regards to the frequency of checks and the expertise expected of any persons who undertake such checks. Section 123 provides for the enforcement of any responsibilities introduced under Section 122 including the use of financial penalties and rights of appeal. Following Royal Assent of the Housing and Planning Act on 12 May 2016, electrical and tenant bodies was established to provide recommendations on what the requirements for electrical safety in the private rented sector should look like.

The abolition of Section 21 notice

The UK Government has announced plans to consult on new legislation to abolish Section 21 evictions, which are also called no fault evictions in England. This will effectively create open ended tenancies, and lead to what the Government believe will be more effective means of getting their property back when they genuinely need to do so. Under the UK Government’s proposals, landlords will have to provide a concrete, evidenced reason already specified in law for bringing tenancies to an end. To ensure landlords have confidence the Government will allow them to be able to end tenancies where they have legitimate reason to do so. To this end, Ministers at Westminster will amend the Section 8 eviction process, so property owners are able to regain their home should they wish to sell it or move into it.

When do leaseholders have to pay for improvements?

Carrying out major works on a property or development is sometimes followed by a disagreement from one or more property owners who have an obligation to contribute to minor/major works. This can lead to a delay in the works starting due to the dispute itself, or because a property owner refuses to pay their share of the works. For the most part, Landlords and management companies are in a strong position when faced with such disagreements and can rely on the provisions requiring the property owner to contribute to such works in the relevant agreements (Leases or Transfers). However, what happens if the Landlord is faced with a dispute by a Leaseholder claiming that the works are improvements and not repairs, and are therefore not payable? This Legal Update will look at what a Landlord should consider before imposing charges for major works if an element of improvement is included in the schedule of works.

Ground rents are planned to be banned for new residential lettings

What is ground rent? Ground rent is rent paid under the terms of a lease by the owner of a building to the owner of the land on which it is built. Ground rent is exactly what it sounds like - a sum of money leaseholders pay the freeholder to occupy the land a leasehold property is built upon. Ground rent must only be paid if it's detailed in the lease. If it isn't, the landlord won't be able to recover any ground rent from the leaseholder. The government has just provided a fairly detailed indication of what steps it is to take to approach to ban ground rents, what it sees, as unfair practices relating to rents on leasehold property and the sale of leasehold houses. Ground rents will be restricted to a peppercorn in future leases and new long leases of houses will be banned, subject to limited exemptions.

Restrictions on serving Section 21 Notices

In recent years, we have seen many regulations over residential lettings, in particular Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs), many of which restrict a landlord’s ability to serve and rely on a Section 21 notice to seek possession of its property on non-fault grounds.The purpose of this week’s Legal Update is to serve as an aide-memoire of those restrictions, to ensure that landlords and their agents can rely on a Section 21 notice, and avoid difficulties down the line. It is, of course, still open to a landlord to serve a Section 21 notice where these restrictions have not been complied with, in the knowledge that it would not be a valid notice that could be enforced later. The restrictions which inhibit a landlord’s ability to serve a Section 21 notice are

How to exercise right to manage

How to qualify for Right to Manage In order to qualify for the, the premises must be a self-contained building or part of a building, with or without appurtenant property; contain two or more flats held by qualifying tenants (e.g. those with leases originally granted for more than 21 years); and have no less than […]

HMO Fire Safety and Health Regulations

In this article, we will explain what is involved in the HMO fire safety and health regulations and how you can comply as a landlord. In an HMO Fire safety is the landlord’s responsibility Fire safety within a rental property is of the utmost importance. Indeed, it is the landlords’ responsibility to be aware of […]