We are Tottenham
Kasey Keller
Sorry to have posted so much about this...
YES another TAX and even fines from Local Council..If you don't pay pretty quick..you
pay double + interest..sound familiar?
........................................
Britain’s swelling army of private landlords say they face “persecution” from local authorities who view them as “cash cows ripe for milking”.
They complain that local authorities are applying a range of new and unfair charges, making it harder for them to let properties responsibly and for profit.
The fact that there is little public sympathy for landlords, or those involved in buying to let, makes it easier for them to be subject to councils’ “stealth taxes”, they say.
Alan Ward, chairman of the Residential Landlords Association, representing 17,000 private landlords, described the new costs as “a creeping plague”. They push landlords to the point where letting is no longer viable, he warned.
Another landlord body, the National Landlords Association (NLA), with around 23,000 members, is equally vexed. Chief executive Richard Lambert said his organisation was gathering information toward taking legal action against a number of local authorities, to fight back against the rising costs.
Related Articles
Some councils offer “early bird” discounts for those signing up within a period.
Mandatory licensing for certain types of landlord – those who let to multiple occupants of a single property – has been in place since 2006. The new, selective licensing arrangements are introduced by local authorities voluntarily, and are viewed by those who buy to let as little more than a cash-raising exercise. Mr Lambert said: “Councils might say they are looking at this as a way of improving standards in the private rented sector. But the legal position is that money raised through a licence should cover only the administrative costs of that licensing process, and cannot be used to raise money for social or other spending. You cannot profiteer from a licensing scheme.”
Mr Ward said: “A councillor will say he has a problem in his area regarding, say, anti-social behaviour. He will go to a local council officer who in turn will suggest a landlord licensing arrangement as a way to pay. That is the pattern and it is gaining momentum.”
At a landlord conference last week it was suggested that one council had raised £6m in under two years through the register.
The other problem, landlords say, is that only the responsible ones sign up and pay. David Lawrenson of Lettingfocus.com, a consultancy for landlords and property investors, said: “Licensing in certain areas might work. But across whole boroughs it doesn’t. It can hurt legitimate, responsible landlords – and the rogue landlords simply won’t sign up. They will continue below the radar.”
The financial impact on landlords is difficult to assess. Mr Ward reckons the charges equate to between one and two months’ rent over the five-year period.
He said: “Assuming a landlord makes an average gross yield of 6pc on a property, and collects the roughly average national rent of £720. You are then talking about a return of £520 per year, all of which could be wiped out by one of these licensing schemes.”
There are now an estimated 1.2million to 1.4million private landlords. But that total includes many different types of landlord, from the many people who drifted into letting by accident when they couldn’t sell a property, to the professionals with large portfolios, often focused on particular sectors such as student lets or homes for young professionals.
As a group they are not highly mobilised, said Mr Lawrenson. “We are talking about a very large group of people here, the vast majority of whom are not represented by either of the two biggest associations. They have no power and no voice.”
It is not just selective licensing that is provoking anger. The second issue is council tax.
Under changes introduced in April 2013, local authorities were allowed to tinker with the application of council tax. In exchange for trimming back some of the money central government paid to local authorities to compensate for people who received help with council tax, the new legislation allowed local authorities some discretion in the discounts and exemptions they rewarded to property owners and tenants.
Landlords were affected by changes to the “Class C” exemptions. These apply to empty, unfurnished properties. Before the changes, the owner of such a property could be entirely exempt from council tax for the first six months, and then exempt from half the tax thereafter. It was a valuable concession for landlords whose properties were empty for a short period.
But from April 2013 councils were able to scrap this allowance, and make landlords pay the full rate.
Mr Lambert said: “We regretted this and consistently argued against it while it was being consulted on. Our concern was that landlords need a period in which to maintain their properties.”
None the less, the changes went through and many councils now apply the full tax rate on landlords from the moment a tenant leaves. And almost a year later there is now another concern – that some councils are being overzealous in their application of the tax. Trish Fowler and her husband, John, own 26 properties in the north Bristol area. Trish also acts as managing agent for several large blocks in which she owns flats. In this role she oversees 300-400 properties across eight sites, and knows many other landlords there.
She has found it incredible that South Gloucestershire Council has been charging landlords for council tax for just one day. “If there is just a single day’s gap between one tenant leaving and another signing up, the council will charge you,” she said. Apart from the paperwork involved, which she says is a nuisance, she also questions whether the council derives any benefit from chasing such small sums. She produced one invoice for The Telegraph where tax for one day was demanded, a total of £2.89. This was the single day rate for a Band A property in the region, where the full year’s tax would be £1,055.83.
YES another TAX and even fines from Local Council..If you don't pay pretty quick..you
pay double + interest..sound familiar?
........................................
Britain’s swelling army of private landlords say they face “persecution” from local authorities who view them as “cash cows ripe for milking”.
They complain that local authorities are applying a range of new and unfair charges, making it harder for them to let properties responsibly and for profit.
The fact that there is little public sympathy for landlords, or those involved in buying to let, makes it easier for them to be subject to councils’ “stealth taxes”, they say.
Alan Ward, chairman of the Residential Landlords Association, representing 17,000 private landlords, described the new costs as “a creeping plague”. They push landlords to the point where letting is no longer viable, he warned.
Another landlord body, the National Landlords Association (NLA), with around 23,000 members, is equally vexed. Chief executive Richard Lambert said his organisation was gathering information toward taking legal action against a number of local authorities, to fight back against the rising costs.
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Some councils offer “early bird” discounts for those signing up within a period.
Mandatory licensing for certain types of landlord – those who let to multiple occupants of a single property – has been in place since 2006. The new, selective licensing arrangements are introduced by local authorities voluntarily, and are viewed by those who buy to let as little more than a cash-raising exercise. Mr Lambert said: “Councils might say they are looking at this as a way of improving standards in the private rented sector. But the legal position is that money raised through a licence should cover only the administrative costs of that licensing process, and cannot be used to raise money for social or other spending. You cannot profiteer from a licensing scheme.”
Mr Ward said: “A councillor will say he has a problem in his area regarding, say, anti-social behaviour. He will go to a local council officer who in turn will suggest a landlord licensing arrangement as a way to pay. That is the pattern and it is gaining momentum.”
At a landlord conference last week it was suggested that one council had raised £6m in under two years through the register.
The other problem, landlords say, is that only the responsible ones sign up and pay. David Lawrenson of Lettingfocus.com, a consultancy for landlords and property investors, said: “Licensing in certain areas might work. But across whole boroughs it doesn’t. It can hurt legitimate, responsible landlords – and the rogue landlords simply won’t sign up. They will continue below the radar.”
The financial impact on landlords is difficult to assess. Mr Ward reckons the charges equate to between one and two months’ rent over the five-year period.
He said: “Assuming a landlord makes an average gross yield of 6pc on a property, and collects the roughly average national rent of £720. You are then talking about a return of £520 per year, all of which could be wiped out by one of these licensing schemes.”
There are now an estimated 1.2million to 1.4million private landlords. But that total includes many different types of landlord, from the many people who drifted into letting by accident when they couldn’t sell a property, to the professionals with large portfolios, often focused on particular sectors such as student lets or homes for young professionals.
As a group they are not highly mobilised, said Mr Lawrenson. “We are talking about a very large group of people here, the vast majority of whom are not represented by either of the two biggest associations. They have no power and no voice.”
It is not just selective licensing that is provoking anger. The second issue is council tax.
Under changes introduced in April 2013, local authorities were allowed to tinker with the application of council tax. In exchange for trimming back some of the money central government paid to local authorities to compensate for people who received help with council tax, the new legislation allowed local authorities some discretion in the discounts and exemptions they rewarded to property owners and tenants.
Landlords were affected by changes to the “Class C” exemptions. These apply to empty, unfurnished properties. Before the changes, the owner of such a property could be entirely exempt from council tax for the first six months, and then exempt from half the tax thereafter. It was a valuable concession for landlords whose properties were empty for a short period.
But from April 2013 councils were able to scrap this allowance, and make landlords pay the full rate.
Mr Lambert said: “We regretted this and consistently argued against it while it was being consulted on. Our concern was that landlords need a period in which to maintain their properties.”
None the less, the changes went through and many councils now apply the full tax rate on landlords from the moment a tenant leaves. And almost a year later there is now another concern – that some councils are being overzealous in their application of the tax. Trish Fowler and her husband, John, own 26 properties in the north Bristol area. Trish also acts as managing agent for several large blocks in which she owns flats. In this role she oversees 300-400 properties across eight sites, and knows many other landlords there.
She has found it incredible that South Gloucestershire Council has been charging landlords for council tax for just one day. “If there is just a single day’s gap between one tenant leaving and another signing up, the council will charge you,” she said. Apart from the paperwork involved, which she says is a nuisance, she also questions whether the council derives any benefit from chasing such small sums. She produced one invoice for The Telegraph where tax for one day was demanded, a total of £2.89. This was the single day rate for a Band A property in the region, where the full year’s tax would be £1,055.83.
