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When the details of the LibDem inspired Additional HMO Licensing Scheme in Portsmouth were announced we surveyed our members. 2 out of 3 respondents plan to leave the Portsmouth HMO market this year, reducing their portfolios by 348 rooms – extrapolated to the whole Portsmouth market, that could easily see 1,000 less homes in the city by year end.  

Many landlords are deciding to leave the shared housing market, but barriers to entry likely mean they can never be replaced. Once lost, rooms in shared housing are gone forever.

Summer is ending and whilst Covid may still be with us, any suggestion of sitting idly at home waiting for it to end has long since gone. Trades people have never been busier or harder to get hold of (do update our recommended suppliers when you use one), evidence of 'sofa surfing' is increasing – so if you have an uninvited tenant do make sure you are on the right side of the rules (though as a couple of members found this month, at present, eviction is not an option). And if you have experienced abuse of the 'no evictions' government policy, like the landlord with a property in Telephone Rd who has 5 students waiting to move in on 8^th Sept, but he cannot get rid of last years students as they have concluded that 'no evictions' gives them carte blanche to stay rent free, then do let us know.

If you sold a property in the area in the last decade, do remember to claim a rebate from Southern Water and, on a more positive note, this month sees the 1^st in a series of features on how to get your properties 'carbon neutral'- do read it and let us know what you need to help you become 'greener'. And finally, do please tell us what national issue is of greatest importance to you as a landlord – where should the NRLA be focusing. No need for a postcard, just click here and let us know This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Views within the PDPLA have been split – there are those who argue vehemently that we need a mediation option to avoid the high cost associated with obtaining an eviction and those who say it is a nice idea, but how could it work when the relationship has reached a stage where eviction is inevitable and anyway, it can never be a relationship between equals, so how could it work?

Well – the good news is that the proof is in the pudding and so far, it does appear to be working. The pilot, initiated by our own Alwin Oliver working with Portsmouth Mediation Service and latterly, PCC, appears to be bearing fruit.

The Government has given local authorities special funding to keep tenants in their homes where their circumstances have changed and they are struggling to pay the rent. Portsmouth City Council still has some of this funding available for this financial year. The application for assistance needs to be made by the tenant but can be supported by their landlord.

  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.

If you are wondering what the NRLA are doing to encourage the Government to treat landlords fairly as tenants hit hard times as a result of Covid 19 see https://www.nrla.org.uk/campaigns/coronavirus We are meeting with the NRLA and other regional associations on Tuesday to discuss what more we can do