Tenants Charter – Mr Pickles, have you gone completely mad?

Tenants Charter – Mr Pickles, have you gone completely mad?

11:16 AM, 1st October 2013, About 11 years ago 67

Text Size

Tenants Charter

Open Letter to Mr Eric Pickles – Communities Secretary – re Tenants Charter

Dear Mr Pickles

Have you gone completely mad?

I am reading in The Times Newspaper today that you are to announce a “Tenants Charter” which will allow tenants to demand two to five year tenancy agreements.

Do you realise that most buy to let mortgage borrowers would be in default of their mortgage contracts if they were to offer tenancy agreements with fixed terms longer than 6 or 12 months?

Do you realise that most modern leases (e.g leasehold flats) contain conditions on subletting not exceeding 12 months in term?

There is a very good reason why mortgage lenders have these conditions in their mortgages. It is because it is so difficult to obtain possession when a tenant reneges on a contract. Bad payers are regularly getting away with up to 5 months of rent free living. Theoretically a landlord can apply to obtain possession by serving two weeks notice once a tenant is two or months in arrears on rent. However, after that 10 weeks has expired it can take several months to get a Court date. Even when a possession order has been granted it then takes several more weeks before bailiffs can be appointed to enforce the order. If you want landlords and mortgage lenders to provide greater security of tenure to tenants then you are going to have to sort out the possession rules for landlords first.

Section 21 of the housing act transformed the UK Private Rented Sector which was in rapid decline until the 1988 act was introduced. Forcing landlords to offer long term tenancy agreements will force the PRS back into the dark ages and reduce incentive for further investment into the sector.

Does Government not recognise the need for a healthy PRS?

Does government not realise that a huge sector of the working population rely on the housing flexibility the PRS provides in terms of job mobility?

Do you have any idea of how your speech today could destabilise the Private Rented Sector?

I totally understand that good tenants, particularly young families with children of school age, need a fair deal and it cuts both ways in that most landlords want good tenants to stay long term. It makes economic sense for landlords to have quality long term tenants,

So why have you not even considered promoting the Deed of Assurance?

Perhaps you are unaware of the effectiveness and simplicity?

A Deed of Assurance is a document in which a landlord promises to pay an agreed level of compensation to a tenant if possession is obtained within a given time period. 

A Deed of Assurance is a relatively simple legal agreement which sits alongside an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement “AST”. It is a separate agreement between landlord and tenant which does not affect the landlords rights to serve notice or to obtain possession, therefore it does not affect the rights of a mortgage lender either. However, it does offer tenants peace of mind.

From a tenants point of view, a Deed of Assurance provides far more flexibility than a long term tenancy because they are only tied in for 6 months and can then move on if they need to. What a Deed of Assurance offers in addition to an AST is peace of mind.

The compensation amount offered by the landlord is negotiable but obviously the idea is to agree something which is meaningful to both parties. For example, I offer to pay anything between £1,000 and £5,000 compensation if I obtain possession within the agreed period, providing the tenancy conditions have been observed impeccably by the tenant of course. If tenants fail to pay rent on time or breaches other contractual terms within the tenancy agreement their right to claim compensation for being evicted during the Deed of Assurance is forfeited. I have been offering a Deed of Assurance to my tenants for a few years now and I am delighted to report that my relationships with new tenants have never been better.

I do not expect a reply from you Mr Pickles but I do hope you will consider the implications of acting on the advice of the people who have been influencing you up to this point.

Yours sincerely

 

Mark Alexander


Share This Article


Comments

Jay James

18:37 PM, 2nd October 2013, About 11 years ago

but of course you would all give equal support to like for like regulation of tenants wouldn't you?

yes or no?

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

18:44 PM, 2nd October 2013, About 11 years ago

My tenants wouldn't dream of renting from a corporate landlord, they are very happy with me and that's why my average tenancy period is now similar to the average time an owner occupier lives in the same house 🙂

There are no corporate landlords in Norwich that I know to anyway.
.

18:48 PM, 2nd October 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Jay Jay" at "02/10/2013 - 18:37":

Of course...i believe that should a tenant not beach any terms of their contract...then the laws should be drafted in their favour ....should a tenant breach those yerms then tje landlord should be able to redress in an efficient and expedicious manner.

Jay James

18:52 PM, 2nd October 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "James Tallis" at "02/10/2013 - 18:48":

drafting laws in any ones favour is not like for like

Jack Madethisup

19:16 PM, 2nd October 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Lucy McKenna" at "02/10/2013 - 18:15":

Hi Lucy

Don't worry, I know there are MANY good small landlords, who take a reasonable profit but don't exploit, and don't see tenants as vermin.

So far, I've never come across one in London, where the market is totally broken.

The letting agents' interest is in mutual distrust between tenant and landlord, as they can profit in various ways, and move tenants on. Given that tenants here are a dime a dozen... no need to take care of them. Then advice landlord to serve the "problem tenant" an S-21 when they ask for necessary repairs, etc.

A larger corporate landlord can easily absorb the occasional problem/void/major refurb and still pay the loans financing the units. This leads to, often but not always, better and more rational decisions.

Many small landlords simply live month-to-month on their mortgages and panic: Letting agents are too often happy to play on this, making things even worse. Some of them will say outright that it's basically a right as a landlord to make at least 5% ROI on top of appreciation. I think you can all see how that distorts behaviour.

Lucy, sounds like I'd LOVE to rent from you, and be able to make a home in one of your properties: I pay rent on time, keep my home nice, fix the things I can after talking to my landlord, if I can even reach my LL through my agent. The latter is often impossible. At least in London, your attitude is much rarer than I think most LLs believe it is. Same goes for Mark Alexander, and he's in Norwich.

Easy to miss that London and the rest of the country operate in different markets, with different *actual* mechanics.

Jay James

20:25 PM, 2nd October 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Jack Madethisup" at "02/10/2013 - 19:16":

It sounds like you very much have a point for London, where as you say, the market is quite different.

Even there, I'm sure we can get to a point where individuals who meet requirements can earn a living as lls and keep tenants reasonably happy.

We seem to be talking about / arguing for restrictions and controls on lls, to the point of missing the other parts of the equation, ie tenants and agencies.

--
What do you mean by "appreciation" as used in paragraph 5 above?

Jack Madethisup

20:34 PM, 2nd October 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Jay Jay" at "02/10/2013 - 20:25":

Appreciation = Increase in market/sale value of the property.

Frankly, I think if letting agents were regulated either into being professionals, or out of existence, the market would be immensely improved. Currently, most are simply parasites profiting on fear and arbitration on market imbalances.

They certainly don't make it easier for good LLs to make money, but they often enable and encourage poor behaviour.

Again, personal experience as well as from colleagues and friends who rent in London.

Jay James

20:55 PM, 2nd October 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Jack Madethisup" at "02/10/2013 - 20:34":

oops, I've come across that term many times.
Should have recognised it.
5 % ROI + capital increases seem ok to me, but certainly not a right or expectation.
It should be earned by one's efforts and developing good business.
Personally I would be happy with 8-10% ROI with zero capital increase, or some combination of the two that amounts to the same thing.
--
Your comments seem understandable given your exeriences, but again seem only applicable to London.
How would you feel if tenants were regulated into being professional or regulated out of existence?
I too would like to see crooks (including the equally bad tenants from outside London, as well as lls) treated in ways that are unprintable, but would like an opportunity to earn a living at the same time.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

20:59 PM, 2nd October 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Jay Jay" at "02/10/2013 - 20:55":

Only just picked up on something Jay Jay, are you a landlord or a tenant/homeowner who is considering becoming a landlord?

Jack Madethisup

21:25 PM, 2nd October 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Jay Jay" at "02/10/2013 - 20:55":

I actually do think 5% is OK, given that the person is actually being a good honest LL. Why do it if there's no profit, right? However, if the mortgage is getting paid off, and otherwise breaking even, that's a massive gain over time.

And yes, bad actors in all camps should be treated the way they're treating others.

Leave Comments

In order to post comments you will need to Sign In or Sign Up for a FREE Membership

or

Don't have an account? Sign Up

Landlord Tax Planning Book Now