Back in 2015 when the anti-landlord tax changes introduced by Tory ex-chancellor, George Osborne started to be introduced - we produced a simple calculator for landlords to help them understand the step by step introduction of income taxes on their expenses as well as their income.
Now those changes are complete and ALL of your finance charges are taxable, we have simplified and updated the calculator so it works in todays taxation environment.
Lots of items at 20% off this month. Use your Tradepoint card and the extra 10% gives you a net 28% saving. If you have lost, mislaid or need a new card, click here. (The brochure is also available under 'Useful Documents' in the PDPLA members area)
The rollout of coverage of ultrafast internet by Digital Home is accelerating with fourteen thousand homes to be added in the next couple of months as the rollout in the north of Portsmouth gains pace. Members can benefit from 2 months free subscription if they install 3 properties in January 2022.
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) For Healthy Homes and Buildings met this month, primarily to discuss updating the Decent Homes standard for the Social Rented Sector but one of the outcomes could be greater regulation of the Private Rented Sector (PRS).
Apart from not getting clobbered again in the budget (well, not so obviously as usual of late), more good news in that the renters reform bill and the removal of Section 21 has been delayed again.
Our friends at Portsmouth Mediation Service have a new 'restorative' service for landlords and tenants caught up in disputes. Read on for more detail.
PCC periodically produce an email newsletter for local landlords. This goes direct to the few landlords registered with their 'Rent It Right' scheme but if you want to receive it directly then drop an email to
Remember as a landlord, you can offer 900Mb broadband with industry leading whole home WiFi in your properties at discounted prices using our solution agreed with Digital Home. This month lots of new roads in the Somerstown area and the 'ladders'
Members may have seen the sensationalist coverage of a possible 'tsunami of evictions' in the local press. Even though several key PDPLA members had their say, the overall feel of the coverage was that landlords were once again portrayed as the villain of the piece. So, what are the facts?
Having missed the target to get new legislation passed by over a year, HMRC have had little choice but to delay 'Making Tax Digital' for landlords until 2024. Our message to landlords remains unchanged - do nothing until it is clear what is required and even then, do not change the way you do things just to comply with HMRC.
In their leaflet, "Renting and Universal Credit - A guide for landlords and letting agents" the DWP says "This outdated practice – known as 'No DSS…..'" Unfortunately, it is far from outdated, landlords are reluctant to take benefits claimants for perfectly logical reasons and the list is growing.
The consultation for the Portsmouth local plan is underway and its findings will affect us all – from now until 2035 – so it is worth spending 10-15 minutes looking at what is proposed and sharing your views.
After reluctantly approving the 591 student bed development in Arundel Street in August, Portsmouth councillors are now being asked to approve a further 59 bed development in Staunton Street. The good news is that this new development is wholly comprised of standalone 'bedsit' studio apartments, ranging from 28-34 sq metres – so if student demand is insufficient, these units will be perfect for the homeless and most vulnerable that the Council is working so hard to get into appropriate housing in an area already densely occupied with similar residents (as we all know that PCC's definition of 'Mixed and Balanced Communities' typically means everyone in the street having the same tenure as everyone else).
I need to move urgently / I cannot do references because (insert daft reason here) / I just need somebody to give me a fresh start / I have lived in lots of places in the last few years / I stopped paying my rent at the last place because (insert daft reason here) - If you hear any of these excuses, ever, alarm bells should ring.
If you want to know why, you obviously missed Alwin Oliver's presentation at our September meeting.
A report suggesting improvements to the Tenants Fees Act to make it easier for tenants with pets to find homes has been sent to the government (MHCLG) supported by a wide range of organisations including the PDPLA. Why is there a problem with this act?
- 1 in 5 landlords have stopped allowing pets since the introduction of the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
• 55% of landlords impose blanket No Pets clauses in rental contracts
• Only 7% of landlords actively market their properties as pet friendly
• Rescues seeing more pets surrendered because of rental issues
See the full report below...
Lots of offers for members this month in addition to the normal 10% discount. If you need a new card, click here.
Ahead of the governments planned white paper on how the Private Rental Sector (PRS) should operate and be regulated due to be published this autumn, the NRLA has worked with landlord groups around the country including the PDPLA to produce our own version of this document outlining longer term solutions to many of the problems in this sector.
Following on from last months news item (see it here) about the member who had been told to replace his triple glazing with single glazing as his property was in a conservation area, the Planning Inspector in Bristol has reviewed the case and sided with the council, so the landlord now has no choice but to remove his expensive windows and replace them in accordance with the stipulated (and in our view outdated) council instructions.
OK - north to Landport.... 😁
Lots of new roads added to the Digital Home coverage network this month as large parts of Landport come online. Read on for full details and a reminder of the deal they have for PDPLA members.
Portsmouth South Labour MP, Stephen Morgan recently visited PDPLA Vice Chair Alwin Oliver with Portsmouth Councils Labour leader, Councillor George Fielding to discuss the challenges landlords face providing homes for tenants who have suffered financially during the Covid crisis.
As a result, Stephen asked questions of the appropriate government departments and as you can see from the answers received – being an opposition MP must be hugely frustrating and also, unfortunately the Conservative government does not understand the challenges landlords face trying to help tenants to stay in their homes.
You know what it is like, you wait 15 years for a Local Plan then 3 come along at once. This month Emsworth, Havant and Portsmouth all made progress on their local plans.
Why is it important – in theory, all local planning decisions are driven by the local plan. If an area needs a new doctors surgery before proposed housing can be added, expect this to be costed into Section 106 arrangements for the developer as part of any planning approval. Same for new roads and infrastructure.
Want to build something different – check the local plan – if it is not already within the definition of what can go into that area, it will never get approved.
If proposed government changes happen, you will not need planning permission anymore – if you propose something which is inline with the Local Plan, approval is automatic – so these Local Plans and their content are really important.
This month sees Digital Home launch their new online portal, further improving support to local landlords and a whole new group of roads have been added to their coverage in Portsmouth (as well as Bournemouth and Southend).
Portsmouth's Conservation Area policy has been thrown into question since local landlord, Mike West, was told to replace his energy efficient triple glazing with old style sash windows. Parts of Campbell Road are included in one of Portsmouth's 30 conservation areas as councillors, back in the late 2010's, sought to retain its look and feel as a 'leafy Southsea suburb' (their description).
You can argue whether it ever was so but looking at the photo above – you will note that although the houses were built as pairs, no two pairs were alike and today, no pair is the same as its twin.Can you tell which of these properties won a Portsmouth Society commendation for the restoration work and which is the law-breaking triple glazed abomination?
Lots of offers this month - but note only available until the 19th. And if you need another card, click here.
Members are reminded that whether they employ an agent or not, under current legislation, it is the landlord who is responsible to ensure that all paperwork is in order. Yes, this is illogical – you employ a professional to handle the paperwork, as it is so hard to comply given the huge amount of landlord focussed legislation we have to live with, and when the professional screws up it is you who foots the bill.
A group of MPs has suggested the government consider a "proportional property tax" to replace the current council tax, in a bid to fund the growing cost of social care. Unfortunately, this proposed change will appeal to all concerned EXCEPT landlords – and we can all guess what that means….
One of the roles of the NRLA is to host meetings with representatives of all of the UK associations representing landlords, to ensure that their focus when talking to central government is correct and actions across the industry are coordinated. The team meet quarterly and the PDPLA are represented by its chair, Martin Silman. His notes on the meeting follow...
The Chancellor is making landlords the scapegoats for the COVID rent debt crisis as he turns his back on the support the sector needs, says organisations representing private sector landlords, including the PDPLA and the NRLA.
With interest rates continuing at 'all time low' levels - is now the time to worry about whether you have the right mortgage deal? We would say yes, looked for a low fixed rate deal now as all the indicators suggest rates will rise (and they have already in the US)
Since we announced the Digital Home broadband deal for local landlords, we have had many questions about coverage, so included below is a map of current coverage and plans. Also, if you have already taken advantage of the deal, don't forget to send an email with the property address to
Freelance workers have transformed the workforce, making it more flexible, accessible, and diverse. While some companies have embraced independent workers in place of the typical employer-employee model, others have yet to make the shift. As landlords, we are already heavily dependent on 'one man band' workers but in case you have not considered why, do read on to learn about the many ways that freelancers can benefit your business.
The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a tariff charged by local councils which allows funds to be raised from new developments towards the cost of infrastructure to support development of the area. Havant has just announced its proposed new charges which are at least 50% higher for most developments.
Obviously as landlords, our primary role is to provide safe and secure homes for our tenants - you will want to turn a profit if at all possible, but in the eyes of the law any financial consideration is irrelevant. This focus was always there - government 'Housing Disrepair Guidance' has been available since 2001, but the recent 'Homes (Fit For Human Habitation)' laws have increased the number of organisations offering 'no win, no fee' legal representation so as landlords, you need to take extra care.
Looking back at planning applications over the past 3 months, there is a lot of building work planned or underway (over 700 individual developments so far this year) which is good for the regeneration of the city but as in previous years, it is piecemeal with no matching upgrade to infrastructure or services. There was a Portsmouth City Local Plan produced in 2006 which was due to be updated in 2011, but for a number of reasons this has yet to been done. You can argue that without a tranche of money from central government there is little point in having a grand vision that can never be implemented, but unless the transport and services needs are articulated, they will never be achieved. This all becomes more pertinent with forthcoming changes to planning rules that could well state that anyone can build anything without the need for planning permission as long as it is in line with the Local Plan.
Prompted by the unrepresentative lobby group, the East St. Thomas Residents Forum, PCC took enforcement action against the institutional investment company that owned 6 HMOs occupied by 7 students. PCC argued that they were operating without planning permission. The decision of the Appeal Judge went against PCC and could mean that many, many of their recent decisions need to be revisited.
Members will be aware of the deal we have agreed with Digital Home, providing 900Mbps broadband and Wi-Fi with specialist 'landlord support and billing' at prices considerably better than those available to retail customers.
Do remember, if you have properties currently with Virgin, that you are able to leave their contract early without penalties when they hit you with their annual price increase.
NOAH, the UKs animal health industry representative body, has launched a campaign 'Securing the Right to Rent with Pets: Making One Health Housing a Reality', to help improve access to pets for people living in rented or socially owned housing. This includes encouraging wider use of the Government's recommended Model Tenancy Agreement and introducing new pet-friendly policies to protect tenants and property owners to promote responsible pet ownership.
One of our members used our 'questions@' service to seek advice on insuring his leasehold flat in case, for example, there was a leak in the flat above.
Read on to see the advice given by Steve Cox of insurers Boswells...
It continues to amaze us when we see the vast gulf in the treatment of landlords between local authorities – where 13 sq m is enough in Southampton, expect to be asked for 25 sq m in Portsmouth. Leave rubbish out in Portsmouth get a £10,000 fine, want to be a rogue – go to Havant.
Normally our April issue contains an article that is perfectly credible but untrue. Our April Fool tradition goes back to at least 2010. However, as the last year has been unbelievable, it should come as no surprise that this 'April Fool' substitute is the reverse – it is totally incredible but true. Here it is: Anyone can create an HMO anywhere without worrying about planning permission, property standards, facilities or the need for a licence.
After the sad case of a landlord in Gosport who lost a great deal of money, we have asked local MP's to help us get the Universal Credit process improved.
PCC have a duty to operate a scheme to licence any property which is used as an HMO for 5 or more people, but they continue to add unnecessary and unrealistic requirements without any apparent justification, review, consultation or approval. Yes, this time we are talking about fire alarms AGAIN but that is not the only issue.
In 1989, inflation was running at 8-10% and was a concern to governments but it was not something central banks were interested in. Then the New Zealand government set an inflation target for its central bank, much to the horror of unions and businesses who feared it would kill jobs, and within 2 years inflation was down to 2%. The rest of the world soon followed. Now with New Zealand house prices rising at 19% last year, are they about to do the same for house prices?
At our January meeting, Jonathan McDermott of TPX told us of the updates to permitted development which would, in the example I gave then, allow a property owner to add 2 storeys in the middle of a block however daft and incongruous it may look. My example was the block in Arundel Street, Portsmouth which had one 'mid-terrace' shop/office available which would have met the criteria. That one has not come to planning yet but just across the road, the site of the old U Need Us shop is to get the same treatment, with a conversion to residential and 2 stories added – we will watch with interest to see its progress through the system.
After last months article about the University of Portsmouth request that we reduce student rents (see it here), there have been further exchanges between the 2 sides.
When buying white goods for your properties, do you struggle choosing between A** and A***? Well, as of 1st March 2021 it all changes and under new rules, nothing will be good enough to get an A!
That was the question asked by long term member, Mary Mortimer, this month. How would you answer it?
It is a widely held view that private landlords are responsible for most evictions, yet official statistics indicate this is not true. Action in other areas would have a greater impact on homelessness than penalising landlords and making it harder for them to repossess their property when tenants default on their obligations.
Unfortunately, we have seen another example this month of a potential tenant duped into parting with a considerable sum by a criminal impersonating a bone fide landlord. This particular example used NLA sourced paperwork and logo's to establish credibility and used the Covid-19 lockdown as an excuse to do everything via social media. Before you ask how people can be so gullible, have a look at some of the detail and see if you would have fallen for it.
