landlord order to pay £2,340 for unlawful eviction

A West Oxfordshire landlord has been prosecuted by West Oxfordshire District Council for the unlawful eviction of a tenant. Jaroslaw Piotrowski of Witney Rooms Ltd was prosecuted by Oxford Magistrates Court on Tuesday 11 November for illegally evicting Damien McClure at the property he rents to him at Fieldmere Close, Witney.

Piotrowski changed the locks preventing McClure accessing his accommodation and he failed to provide a key, despite numerous requests made by council officers on McClure’s behalf.

Piotrowski was fined £400, the maximum amount for this offence, and was ordered to pay £1,550 costs, £40 victim surcharge and £350 in compensation to McClure

Cllr David Harvey, cabinet member responsible for private sector housing, said: “Landlords cannot ignore the law and assume they can evict tenants without going through the correct procedure. This case sends out a clear message that the council, when its advice and guidance is ignored, will use its powers to prosecute landlords who disregard the law and that we will provide assistance to anyone living in private rented accommodation facing similar issues.”

http://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/news_features/Oxfordshire-landlord-order-to-pay-%C2%A32-340-for-unlawful-eviction

Southampton HMO yielding 13% for sale by auction in December

Situated a short distance from Southampton Universities Highfield Campus, this freehold semi-detached property would have started life as a family home, but in more recent times has provided four letting rooms and a one bedroom ground floor flat with separate access from the rear. It is currently let under the terms of Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreements and is currently producuing a rental income of £21,960. You would obviously need to check planning and licencing status before the auction date of the 17th Dec. It's guiding £165K / £170K and returns an attractive yield of c13% based on guide. It will definetly sell on the day at maybe c10%. Nice bolt-on to a portfolio or one for those chasing yield in a difficult student market.
http://www.cliveemson.co.uk/listing_view.asp?Lot=102&Auc=174

So you want to become a Buy 2 Let Landlord in Southampton ?

Southampton has been tipped as a Buy to Let investment hotspot by a number of analysts. Rightmove (the property portal) and Oxford Economics have predicted that the city’s property prices will rise by 43% over the next 5 years. Earlier this year HSBC listed Southampton as the number 1 Buy to Let city with an average return of 8.73%. So should you look to invest and what do you look for in a good long term Buy to Let?

Well there are a number of basic factors you will need to consider before looking for your ideal property investment:

• The timescale of your investment is it 3, 7 or 15 + years?
•  Are you after property price growth or a good monthly income? (It’s very difficult to get both  - you tend to trade one off the other – capital growth V’s rental yield.
• What your budget is and will you be taking on a mortgage?

If your investment horizon is under 5 years you should really stick to more prime properties, your rental yield will be lower at around 5.5% but you will have a very attractive asset which should sell quickly when the time comes to exit. 

Chasing higher yields can be very rewarding but a yield of 8.5% attracts this return because of greater risk. Your tenants will most likely include under graduate students, tenants in receipt of benefits and multi lets to workers and professionals. This requires hands on management, you need to keep fully abreast of all the regulations, your wear and tear will be significantly higher and you may need a full refurbishment every 3 or 4 years. It’s not for the faint hearted but we work with a number of landlords who are very successful in these sectors.

If that’s not your cup of tea but you still want a good yield try a 3 bed ex council house in SO 16, 18 or 19. We have secured really good tenants for these properties who stay long-term and make the property their home. Yields here tend to be 7.25%. Capital growth may not be as strong as more prime areas but it should still be good.

As you move more into the Shirley / Hill Lane areas you can find some nice 1 bed units at around the £110,000 which will yield 6.5% to 6.75% and these properties should still be well positioned to benefit from capital growth. Moving to more prime areas such as Banister Park, Westwood Rd and Ocean Village will see gross yields fall to 5.5% to 5.75%. These units should benefit from very good capital growth as long as your entry price is right!

So now you have considered your investment timescale, the type of tenant and the yield you are after, you will now need to pick the right property. You should give serious consideration to the following:

• Size of the unit; a 350 sq. ft. 1 bed won’t get you your yield!
•  1,2 or 3 bedrooms,
• House or flat
• Freehold v’s leasehold
• Ensuites, parking, furnishings
•  Quality of the development
• Maintenance of the common areas

All of these factors and many more will impact on the quality of your tenant, the length of your voids, your yield and ultimate capital appreciation. When it is done right it can work like a dream and at Belvoir we can help you at each step of the journey.

If you would like to discuss any element of letting or managing your property or if you are starting out as a new landlord please do give me a call. We don’t sell property and so we are in a unique position to provide independent advice.

Southampton buy 2 let on Shirley Rd should achieve over 7% gross yield, tempting

This 2 bed flat located on Shirley Rd is a good size with an ensuite and parking. Its is well positioned being on a main bus route and is less then a quarter mile to Southampton Central Train station. It will appeal to a varied tenant pool including: sharers, post grads, workers and professionals. Rental wise you should achieve £775pcm which will give a gross yield of 7.15%, however it has recently had a £10k price reduction and has been on the market since the beginning of September, so I would say your yield show move above the 7.25% mark - tempting.

Medway landlord fined £20,000 for damp flat

Two Kent landlords have been fined £20,000 for leaving a flat so severely riddled with damp it posed a risk to tenants’ health.

Property owners Rattan Singh and Balbir Kaur of Henry Street, Chatham, left tenants living in damp conditions and without heating for more than two years.

Another of their flats in the same road, Dale Street, Chatham, was also without heating. Both properties were also lacking vital fire safety alarms.

Medway Council’s private sector housing team first raised informal concerns with the owners in December 2011, and requested improvements be made swiftly.

Despite follow up visits from the council’s “Rogue Landlord Unit”, Singh and Kaur failed to make the necessary improvements and were consequently issued with a formal legal notice in December 2013.

They made no attempt to carry out the work and appeared at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on 6 November where they pleaded guilty to 19 offences including failing to comply with notices under the Housing Act 2004.

They were fined £20,000 and must pay £600 costs as well as a £150 victim surcharge.

The prosecution by the council’s private sector housing team was undertaken following a successful bid for government funding to specifically tackle rogue landlords in Medway. This was the first case for the authority’s Rogue Landlord Unit which is investigating a number of other cases.

Medway Council’s director for regeneration, community and culture Robin Cooper said: “Landlords must remember that the properties they are renting out must be safe and free of risks to the health of their tenants. The council will not accept tenants being placed in danger through the deliberate actions of their landlords or agents.

“We will always try to work with co-operative landlords and support them in running their businesses. This case shows that those who don’t comply will be followed up and if necessary, prosecuted.” 

http://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/news_features/Medway-landlord-fined-%C2%A320-000-for-damp-flat

How ethical are our Landlords in Southampton?

Britain’s 1.4m private landlords are an ethical group with 77% of tenants rating their landlord as “good” or “excellent” according to recent research from Saga Home Insurance. Even so, 56% of tenants still felt their landlord could do more to help them by responding to enquiries more quickly, using better quality tradesmen to carry out maintenance work or providing 24/7 home emergency cover.
The benefits to doing so are substantial.That’s why Saga Landlord Insurance has released this free guide to being an ethical landlord, which is designed to demonstrate best practice and provide expert advice to landlords who feel they could do more.Download their guide at:
http://www.saga.co.uk/insurance/landlord-insurance/guide-to-being-an-ethical-landlord.aspx

Crackdown on Southampton HMO landlords to be extended into Shirley, Millbrook and Bassett

A SCHEME to crack down on rogue landlords in Southampton could be extended to other areas of the city.
The initiative to licence houses of multiple occupation (HMO) in Bargate, Bevois Valley, Portswood and Swaythling was launched last year.
And now civic chiefs want to extend the licensing to smaller shared houses in Freemantle, Shirley, Millbrook and Bassett.
Labour council bosses say the scheme, which sees landlords pay five-yearly fees of up to £400, has allowed them to tackle irresponsible landlords, drive up standards in shared housing and tackle concerns such as antisocial behaviour, noise and waste.

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/11608716.Crackdown_on_rogue_landlords/