Industry News


Private landlords planning to sell properties at a record rate


Te number of private landlords planning to sell rented properties has reached its highest rate on record despite this coinciding with demand from tenants continuing to grow. Polling by research consultancy BVA-


BDRC found that in Q1 2023, 33% of private landlords in England and Wales said they planned to cut the number of properties they rent out. Tis is an all-time high recorded by BVA-


BDRC and is up from the 20% who said they planned to cut the number of properties they let in Q1 2022. By contrast, just 10% of landlords now say they plan to increase the number of properties they rent out. Te planned disinvestment comes despite


demand being at a record high. According to the research, commissioned by the National Residential Landlords Association, 67% of landlords said demand for properties from prospective tenants was increasing. In every region of England and Wales


more than 70% of landlords said demand had increased, with the East of England recording the highest levels of demand. Te NRLA is warning that the supply crisis


is set to deepen further without action by ministers. It is calling for the Government to undertake a full review of the impact of tax rises on the sector and develop new, pro- growth policies. Alongside this, when ministers end


Section 21 repossessions, landlords need confidence that where they have good reason to end a tenancy – such as for tenant anti-social behaviour or rent arrears – the courts will consider and process such cases swiſtly. At present it takes an average of around six months between a landlord seeking to possess a property via the courts to it actually happening. Ben Beadle, chief executive of the


National Residential Landlords Association, said: “Renters are bearing the brunt of the supply crisis. Without change, matters will only worsen over the coming year. Te Government needs to reverse its damaging tax hikes on the sector, which have discouraged the provision of the homes tenants desperately need. “Moreover, responsible landlords need


to have confidence that they can take back possession of their properties swiſtly and effectively when they have good reason to when Section 21 ends.”


Ombudsman highlights good practice decisions to promote positive learning


I


n a change to its normal critical reporting of service failures by social landlords, the Ombudsman has published a selection of good


practice cases it has seen recently to share where other landlords can improve their services. Te examples selected are intended to show


where the sector is getting things right. Learning can oſten be found where landlords get things wrong, but the watchdog says there are plenty of lessons in good practice casework too. Te Ombudsman is looking to increase a positive


complaints learning culture from its work with landlords. Among the chosen cases are: • How AnchorHanover dealt with a pest infestation case effectively. Te landlord was proactive and attended the home the day aſter the report, visited regularly to ensure the pests were eradicated and included a follow up inspection. On top of this, the landlord cleaned and disinfected the home and allowed the resident to stay elsewhere during the works. And while the eradication was dealt with well, the landlord recognised it should not have put the resident in that position in the first place and offered appropriate compensation.


• A case involving a rent arrears letter being sent in error by One Manchester and how the landlord offered reasonable redress. When it realised its error, the landlord apologised to the resident and reassured her that the account was not in arrears. It also followed the Ombudsman’s Dispute Resolution Principles in making things right by offering explanations to the resident and evidencing learning to prevent a future occurrence.


8 | HMMJune/July 2023 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


• How Guinness Partnership responded well to a sink blockage. In this case the landlord responded within timescales on multiple occasions, visiting the home and attempting to fix the issue. When that did not work, it took steps to arrange a CCTV survey to further explore the problem. While it was not able to facilitate it due to a lack of options, it respected and tried to get the resident rehoused during this time. Tis showed the landlord took the residents’ concerns seriously.


• A case involving bpha where despite the resident not being satisfied with the final outcome, the landlord acted well throughout. Te complaint was about the installation of a wood burning stove. Te Ombudsman found that the landlord apologised when an earlier request was not dealt with clearly enough and reopened the request to fairly look at the issue. It communicated effectively during the case, meeting the resident in person to explain its decision. It also looked into alternatives with the resident and evidence the learning it could take from the complaint.


Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Every month we share cases where we have found landlords responding well to complaints to provide learning across the sector. Oſten these cases demonstrate clear communication, effective records and swiſtly putting things right where they have gone wrong. I encourage landlords to learn from these examples of good practice to help extend fairness across social housing.”


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