Rents to be frozen from April 2012

Rents to be frozen from April 2012

10:27 AM, 6th February 2012, About 12 years ago 21

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The National Landlords Association announced Friday – “We have just learned from the Department for Work and Pensions that LHA rates are to be frozen from April this year.”

If you are thinking “Thank goodness my tenants are not on benefits” don’t stop reading because one P45 can change all of that. I didn’t take tenants on benefits but I now have two tenants on LHA because of unavoidable changes in their circumstances. This means no rent increases for at least another year and that is on top of reductions due to recent changes in LHA.

Anything that forces some rents down will have a knock on effect on all rents, which is why Government are taking this very risky action.

We still have a couple of weeks (until the end of February) to increase the LHA rates, after that there will be nothing that landlords can do. Please complete this simple form from VOA and email it to the address provided.

This is not for landlords who have tenants on the LHA rate, it is for those of us who are getting rents that are above the LHA rate because those rents will increase the average. Once this information is given to the VOA they are legally bound to include it in the calculation for the rate of Local Housing Allowance (LHA). Please ask every landlord you know to do this and, in particular, those who let to students and are achieving a high single room rate. There will be thousands more people on the shared room rate in the coming months because of the rise in the age at which a person becomes entitled to self contained accommodation and the LHA rates are usually well below the level at which landlords can provide good accommodation.

Please do not leave this to someone else, one day you may be very glad that the rates in your area reflect a rent close to that on your AST, but if that rate does not increase before April it will be too late.

The NLA will be updating members as soon as more information is available. They are working to understand the impact this change is likely to have on landlords and tenants.

Read the full NLA report here

Please complete this simple form and email it to the address provided.


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Comments

6:18 AM, 8th February 2012, About 12 years ago

Mary are you suggesting that it would be good practice to notify the VOA every time we take on a tenant regards the rent charged.
Most public spirited Landlords would wish to advise the govt as to the market rents they are charging.
If this has an effect on LHA rates then so much the better for LL who wish to take on LHA claimants.
Having a realistic LHA rate also supports market rents aswell.It would be an ideal if every LA and LL advised as to the rents being charged and then perhaps the LHA rates would not be as low as they are.
Also what do we do if we have a lodger as opposed to a formal tenant.
Should that be notified aswell?

Mary Latham

14:23 PM, 11th February 2012, About 12 years ago

Yes Paul it is vital that ALL landlords send their rent info because that will increase the LHA rates before they are frozen.  Once the rate is set for March, based on Feb info., we will be stuck with that rate until April 2013. If your tenant looses his job in the next year and does not get enough LHA to pay your rent you will know why.

Good question about lodgers - given them the details and let them decide.

I am tweeting and naggin every landlord I know to do this and I really need as much help as possible to spread the word because we only have TWO WEEKS LEFT TO DO THIS

17:31 PM, 11th February 2012, About 12 years ago

It's almost a bit late in the day; but better later than never.
Do you possibly have a link for the forms etc to report the rents to as personally I do not know the process to report my rents.
With the advent of online LA a lot of rents which wouid have been reported by LA are not being advised by private LL.
I am one of those guilty LL as I have manged to souce tenants at very little cost via referral and online tenant source etc and of couse nobody knows what my rents are that I have achieved .

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

17:43 PM, 11th February 2012, About 12 years ago

Hi Paul, Mary did include a link to the forms in her article. To make it stand out a bit more I have made it bold and orange.

18:09 PM, 11th February 2012, About 12 years ago

Cheers for that Mark; it seems I have to be led to the trough before I can drink!?

18:12 PM, 11th February 2012, About 12 years ago

A small query Mark; do you know whether advices to the VOA are shared with HMRC.
This might be a factor in private LL not advising the VOA. for whatever reason!!!

Mark Reynolds

18:26 PM, 11th February 2012, About 12 years ago

Hi Paul, I may be wrong but I am guessing that they will be - especially in this current climate where they need to get as much revenue in as possible - 

18:37 PM, 11th February 2012, About 12 years ago

Hmmm....I was thinking the same?
I'll have to give it a bit more thought before I commit myself!?

Mark Reynolds

18:46 PM, 11th February 2012, About 12 years ago

 @449c791427e8b8869bbb6612780fdfe3:disqus said: I am tweeting and naggin every landlord I know to do this

don't I know it! 🙂

Mary Latham

18:49 PM, 11th February 2012, About 12 years ago

Paul thank you for saying out loud what other landlords are thinking. This is my thinking

When I renew my road tax I simply put my car reg. into a box and bingo everything else auto fills. If I cannot hide my little car I don't hope to hide a house.

Any landlord who thinks that he can hide his rental income from HMRC may shortly find out that he is wrong.

"Buy to let landlords evading tax face a crack down from a new HM Revenue and Customs task force." Posted here in November 2011

http://www.property118.com/index.php/landlord-tax-cheats-targeted-by-hmrc-task-force/20248/

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