SECRETS TO SUCCESSFUL
PROPERTY INVESTMENT
The Blog...
Welcome to The Blog page of Secrets to Successful Property Investment. This is the place to find all updated information relating to investing in property. New posts will follow on from previous posts, so please scroll down for new info. If you have any questions you'd like me to address, please contact me here and I'll do my best to answer them within the blog.
January 2021
The Abolishment of Section 21?
The Section 21 notice, giving landlords the right to evict their tenants, has been around since 1988 when The Housing Act introduced assured short hold tenancies for tenants renting properties. Section 21 of the Act, which is more commonly referred to as a Section 21, stipulates that a landlord may give their tenant notice to quit their property in what is known as a 'no fault' eviction. This means that neither the landlord nor the tenant have a problem with the tenancy, but for whatever reason, the landlord requires their property back.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, if a landlord wanted to evict their tenant with a Section 21 notice, they were obliged to give the tenant two months' notice. Since August 2020, the government have extended this to six months before a landlord can evict a tenant.
You can read more about this on the PIMS website here.
There is now pressure on the government to abolish the Section 21 all together. The argument put to the Secretary of State for Housing is that tenants should have the right to remain in their accommodation indefinitely, providing they adhere to the terms of their agreement. The abolishment will go ahead, but it looks as though this won't become law until at least the end of 2021.
David Cox, Chief Executive for ARLA Propertymark, the regulator for letting agents says of the abolishment of Section 21:
'If Section 21 is scrapped, Section 8 must be reformed, and a new specialist housing tribunal created. Without this, supply will almost certainly fall which will have the consequential effect of raising rents and will further discourage new landlords from investing in the sector.'
I'm a bit sit-on-the-fence with this one to be honest. Having brought up a family in rented accommodation, I know just how important it is for families to have the security that they are not going to be evicted from their home. As a parent, to think that they might have to move areas, move schools etc., is a horrible feeling and one that no family should have to go through.
Having said this, there are many reasons why a landlord might require their property back. They might have no choice but to sell it. They might want to live in it themselves. The landlord might have died and the property becomes part of their estate. They may have financial troubles. Is it fair and right to insist that those landlords are unable to give notice to their tenants?
As it stands, it still takes months to evict a tenant through the English legal system and as Mr Cox states, changes will be needed if they go ahead and abolish the Section 21 notice.
March '21
Mandatory Electrical Checks Coming Up
As of July last year, a new rule for landlords came in that if you created or renewed a tenancy, you had to have an electrical safety inspection (EICR). As of 1st April 2021, all rental properties are required to have this check, regardless of whether it is a new or an existing tenancy.
Electrical safety checks need to be carried out by a qualified electrician and not just someone who knows how to change a plug, so landlords need to start looking at electrical companies now if they haven't already done so.
When a property has had its EICR, the electrician will give you a copy of the report. If the report tells you that you have to have work done in order to pass the safety checks, you have 28 days to get the work done and retested. You are required to provide a copy of your EICR to your tenant, letting agent if you use one and the local authority if they ask for it and keep a copy for your own records. Certificates last for five years.
It's very important that all your properties are checked and certified. If you don't you could be facing a fine of up to £30'000 for each breach of regulation, not to mention putting your tenant's life in danger.