We work hard on your behalf to stay on top of changing legislation and help you prepare accordingly. As you know, these days things are constantly shifting as the situation with Covid-19 evolves. We won't sugar coat anything – it’s important that you know exactly where you stand and what your options are.
Recent changes have direct repercussions to you and your rental income. For some, there will be a challenging period ahead.
With little warning, on 28 August the government tripled notice periods to 6 months, which then went into effect the very next day. These changes are set to last at least until 31 March 2021. With furlough schemes ending, this has put Landlords like you in a very difficult position. How?
This means that now you will need to give your tenants 6 month's notice to serve a Section 21 to retake possession of your property. The earliest this can be served is 4 months into a new tenancy.
For a Section 8 to be served with 4 weeks' notice, your tenants will now need to be in 6 months of arrears.
These timeframes also don’t factor in legal proceedings if your attempt to regain possession were to reach that stage.
The point is, you could soon be at risk of losing anywhere from 6 to 12 months or more of rental income.
Our thorough referencing process has always been very successful in finding great tenants. That being said, even the best tenants who have an impeccable record of paying rent on time might find themselves in a situation where they just do not have the funds to pay rent. We expect that the ending of furlough will have a massive impact on many peoples lives. We have not seen the full impact of Covid-19 on our economy yet.
Our position is this: your first step should always be to try to work with your tenants to find a solution. We’ve been humbled to see some really heart-warming acts of kindness since we all first went into lockdown. We also believe that you should do everything you can to protect yourself ahead of time in case things reach a worst-case scenario.
There are steps you can take now, like making sure that your property is covered with Rent Protection, that might make all the difference to you in the near future. We know that many of our landlords cannot reasonably withstand the loss of 6 to 12+ months of rental income as their mortgage payments and other financial commitments depend on a stable income.
If you do not feel prepared or are feeling anxious about what recent changes mean for you, we're here for you.
Just give us a call at 020 7644 2304 or send us an email. We’ll talk you through everything you need to know to stay proactive.
Keep checking back to see our latest advice on how you can stay ahead.
