Hopefully, as a landlord, your tenancies will be trouble free and it will not be necessary for you to go to court.

However, for example:

• You may need to evict your tenant

• You may need to get a County Court Judgment (CCJ) for rent arrears

• Your tenant may refer your notice of rent increase to the First Tier Tribunal

• You may be prosecuted by the authorities under the various regulations

Coronavirus rules

As you should know, all possession proceedings were stayed between March and September 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic and as a result of both that and the need for social distancing in the courts, there are now massive delays in all court claims.

Also, the notice periods for most possession notices has been changed to four months with effect from 1 June 2021 (with some exceptions) which are likely to remain until October 2021 – unless extended further at that time.

New court rules are in force as a result of the coronavirus pandemic to take account of the huge backlog of cases that have piled up during the long stay in 2020.

Our general advice is as follows:

• Contact the tenants and see if you can resolve things amicably between yourselves

• If this proves difficult, try one of the mediation services

• If agreement proves impossible and you need to evict, use solicitors

• If you decide to act in person in eviction proceedings – be aware that most Judges will be looking for an excuse to adjourn or dismiss your claim in order to reduce the burden of work on the courts and homelessness generally. So be very, very careful and double-check everything at least three times. Be aware also that saving money on legal fees at this time could easily prove to be a false economy.

• In most cases, if the tenant is in arrears of rent you should use the section 8 procedure based on rent arrears as your claim may (if the arrears are serious) be given priority under the coronavirus rules. This will not happen if you use the section 21 procedure, even if the arrears are actually very serious.

Covid-adjusted right to rent checks will remain in place until 5 April 2022, when the government will look to introduce a permanent online solution for carrying out right to rent checks remotely for all nationalities.

The government has extended the end date for Covid-19 adjusted right to rent checks until 5 April 2022, which comes as a result of positive feedback about the ability to conduct checks remotely. The government has now started to review the availability of technology to support a system of digital right to rent checks in the future, with the intention of introducing "a new digital solution to include many who are unable to use the Home Office online checking service, including UK and Irish citizens". This will enable checks to continue to be conducted remotely but with enhanced security.

Until 5 April 2022, if you are carrying out a temporary adjusted check, you must:

• ask your tenant to submit a scanned copy or a photo of their original documents via email or using a mobile app

• arrange a video call with your tenant – ask them to hold up the original documents to the camera and check them against the digital copy of the documents

• record the date you made the check and mark it as “adjusted check undertaken on [insert date] due to COVID-19”

You are no longer required to carry out retrospective checks when the adjusted checks end on 5 April 2022.

If your tenant has a current Biometric Residence Permit or Biometric Residence Card or has been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme or the points-based immigration system, you can use the online right to rent service while doing a video call – the applicant must give you permission to view their details.

This article is intended as a guide only. For full details, visit gov.uk.

We are aware that the new restrictions announced by the UK Prime Minister on leaving your own home and avoidance of any social contact will reduce the ability for landlords to arrange annual safety checks. Gas Safe Register are working with the HSE to provide new guidance specific to this 3-week period.

Landlords have a legal duty to repair and maintain gas pipework, flues and appliances in a safe condition, to ensure an annual gas safety check on each appliance and flue, and to keep a record of each safety check.

If you anticipate difficulties in gaining access as the COVID-19 situation progresses, you have the flexibility to carry out annual gas safety checks two months before the deadline date. Landlords can have the annual gas safety checks at their properties carried out any time from 10 to 12 calendar months after the previous check and still retain the original deadline date as if the check had been carried out exactly 12 months after the previous check.

You are encouraged to arrange your annual gas safety checks as early as possible, as a contingency against tenants being in self-isolation for a period of 14 days (in line with current guidelines), or gas engineers being unavailable due to illness.

The two-month period to carry out annual gas safety checks should provide adequate resilience in most situations.In the event you are unable to gain access to the property, eg persistent refusal of access due to vulnerable tenants self-isolating, you will be expected to be able to demonstrate that you took reasonable steps to comply with the law. This will need to include records of communication with the tenant and details of your engineers attempts to gain access.

Source: Gas Safe Register

Finally some good news for the housing market! Rightmove’s 2020 forecast predicts a 2% rise in the price of property coming to the market.

Read the full report here

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has announced that mandatory five-year electrical installation checks on private rented housing in England will be introduced in a phased approach.

Whilst the implementation date has not yet been clarified, MHCLG has stated its intention to introduce legislation as soon as possible.

Although dates are yet to be announced, it is widely anticipated that the new legislation will come in to force on 1st July 2020 for all new tenancies, tenancy renewals, and tenancies that continue on a statutory periodic basis, and for all existing tenancies from 1st April 2021.

The vast majority of rental properties do not have EICR’s, and there is concern that there simply aren’t enough electrical engineers to complete the millions of checks that will be required before April 2021.

Note, properties that already have a valid electrical installation condition report (EICR) will not need to replace it until five years have passed since it was issued.

Landlords around the UK have warned the government of the potential rental market crash, caused by tax change plans announced by the government. These plans were described as “reckless” by the National Landlords Association (NLA).

The NLA said that these changes are going to be catastrophic, with landlords already leaving the market in panic, which will only worsen rent prices.

They initially called out some changes made 5 years ago regarding tax relief on mortgage interest changes. George Osborne, chancellor at the time, decided to begin phasing out tax relief to a tax credit of 20% by April of this year.

The NLA has used figures from Zoopla to show the impacts these are already having, with private rents rising by 2.6% in the last quarter of last year. Tenancy demand also rose to 8%, alongside a 4% drop in the number of properties available in the UK.

NLA CEO Richard Lambert said that landlords are leaving en masse due to an all time low in confidence in the sector.

He said: “Five years ago, we warned the Government that its reckless plan to scrap legitimate tax relief on landlords’ finance costs would backfire, disrupting the supply of private rented homes.

“Now, in 2020, households across the UK are reaping the whirlwind sown by David Cameron as investors turn their attention elsewhere.

“The new government has an opportunity to break with the past and work in concert with landlords to ensure housing demand is met with good quality rented accommodation.

“We urge Sajid Javid to use his first Budget to tackle the inequity of the way his predecessors have taxed landlords.

“By focusing on Capital Gains Tax, extending rollover relief and reintroducing taper relief, landlords could be encouraged to reinvest for the long term rather than exit the market, thereby helping to avert an impending crisis.”

Sick of managing your own property?

Our fully managed service provides you with hassle free long term guaranteed rent each and every month. Find out how you can really benefit with our Guaranteed Rent Scheme by getting in touch with us. Click on the button below.