Industry news


Second landlord prosecuted by Rent Smart Wales


A Cardiff landlord who ignored the Rent Smart Wales scheme has been fined more than £3,500 for a series of non-compliance offences. Landlord Shelley Bailey of Wotton-Under-


Edge, Gloucestershire was prosecuted under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 for breaking the law requiring all private landlords with properties in Wales to register and all self- managing landlords and agents to become trained and licensed. Acting on reports about her failure to


comply, Rent Smart Wales officers attempted to contact Ms Bailey to inform her of the requirement to register herself and her seven Cardiff properties and, as a self-managing landlord, to complete training and become licensed. Ms Bailey failed to take any steps to comply


and was issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice of £150 in April, but her failure to pay led to the prosecution by Cardiff Council, who operate the scheme on behalf of Welsh Government. She was found guilty of 21 offences in her


absence at Cardiff Magistrates Court, fined £3,580 and ordered to pay £457 costs. Cabinet Member for Housing and


Communities, Cllr Lynda Thorne, said: “Rent Smart Wales was established to drive up standards in the private rented sector, protecting tenants and ensuring landlords and agents are fit and proper and aware of their rights and responsibilities.” She added: “Landlords and agents had a full


year to comply before the November 2016 deadline when enforcement powers became active but despite this some landlords believe they can continue to flout the law and side- step complying. This case shows that we are actively seeking out those who fail to comply and are working with Local Authorities across Wales and others to identify cases of non- compliance. We're keen to hear from tenants and neighbours who have concerns about unregistered landlords and properties.” She concluded: “As we see with this


prosecution, the sanctions for failing to comply with Rent Smart Wales are serious and the fine imposed reflects the complete disregard for the scheme shown by the landlord. It should be a stark warning to all those who are yet to comply and I encourage any unregistered or unlicensed landlords or agents not to delay. Come forward and comply without delay.” Further information about the scheme can be found at www.rentsmart.gov.wales


One in three houses with consent not getting built


pressure for new properties of all tenure types, according to new research. The figure for phantom homes is equivalent to


M


nearly one in every three homes in England (32 per cent) that have been granted planning permission in the past five years. London is faring particularly badly with over


100,000 unbuilt homes (48 per cent of the number with consent), but the regions of the North West and Yorkshire & Humberside are also performing well below the national average, with 38 and 34 per cent of consents unbuilt, totaling more than 73,000 homes. Shelter is warning the current housebuilding


system encourages developers to sit on land and drip feed new homes onto the market, keeping prices high for individual buyers and volume purchasers, like housing associations and councils. The charity has called on the Government to


get tough with developers by giving councils the power to tax those who do not build homes fast enough, as well as granting planning permission to developers based on their track record.


PROFITS Shelter’s report revealed that in the same five-year period, the profits of the country’s biggest housebuilders (Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, Berkeley Group and Bellway) have soared by an astronomical 388 per cent from £674m in 2011 to a combined £3.3bn in


2016. In addition developers’ profit margins have increased with payouts to shareholders having risen to £936m in 2015. Anne Baxendale, head of communications,


policy and campaigns at Shelter, said: “Housebuilders are trickling out a handful of poor quality homes at a snail’s pace meaning there are simply not enough affordable homes and ordinary working families are bearing the brunt. “While people across the country struggle with


eye-wateringly high housing costs, developers’ profits are soaring into the billions. Time and again we hear that red tape of the planning system being blamed but the real problem is a system where developers make more profit sitting on land than they would by building homes. “It’s clear our housebuilding system has failed


the nation but the Government can turn things around by supporting a whole new approach. Shelter’s New Civic Housebuilding model listens to the needs of communities and gives more powers to councils to get developers building the high-quality genuinely affordable homes we need.”


ore than 320,000 homes with planning permission have not been built in the past five years despite overwhelming


L&Q reports record surplus


Giant landlord L&Q has announced its biggest ever trading surplus of £332m following its merger with East Thames, up £53m on the previous year. At the end of a busy year in which L&Q also


bought strategic land business Gallagher Estates, announced a joint venture with Trafford Housing Trust in Manchester, set up a new care and support arm L&Q Living and formed a 20,000- home development partnership with the London mayor Sadiq Khan. Turnover in 2016/17 increased 20 per cent to


£756m, while L&Q’s operating margin on its social housing lettings increased to 50 per cent. Total assets net of current liabilities rose to £10.8bn from the previous year’s £8bn. The board also approved plans to integrate the operations of L&Q and East Thames and to create


a new regional structure by April of next year. The merger with East Thames is forecast to


provide £38m of efficiencies by the end of 2020, allowing the association to set up an investment fund of £250m for “community investment”. Waqar Ahmed, group director of finance at


L&Q, said: “Britain’s housing crisis will only be solved if organisations like L&Q forge relationships with like-minded partners and put forward bold, long-term plans.” “The strategic partnerships formed during


the year have significantly changed L&Q in terms of size, geography and customer profile, but we have reaffirmed our social mission to make sure that at least half of the new homes we build are genuinely affordable to people on low incomes.”


www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM September 2017 | 17


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