PR activity report for Dec 14 /Jan 15 May 2012
Press releases/feature articles and comment written and distributed this month December (FEATURE) – Landlord Investment Magazine - Dealing with bad tenants…and avoiding them altogether 9th December - “Court delays costing landlords thousands” says Landlord Action January (FEATURE) – PropertyDrum Magazine 23rd January - Landlord Action hosts “Rumble with the Agents” 29th January - BBC’s Inside Out set to highlight landlords' growing plight with renting to social sector Press cuttings Press Cuttings from December 2014 Date Publication th 25 November Property Reporter
Title Special Feature - Retaliation eviction: preventing the misuse of Section 21
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Circulation: 12000 AVE: £454.25 Circulation: 13000 AVE: £750.36 Circulation: 25000 AVE: £2546.10 N/A
December
PropertyDrum
Landlord Action – DCLG action
December
December
Property Investor News Landlord & Buy to Let Magazine Property Reporter
Revenge Eviction Bill Defeated in Parliament Retaliatory eviction bill kicked out of Parliament Great news for landlords as ‘Revenge Eviction’ Bill defeated
1st December
Property Industry Eye
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1st December
Landlord Today
Teather’s ‘revenge evictions’ Bill fails after filibustering Revenge eviction bill fails on a technicality
2nd December
Letting Agent Today
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3rd December
Property Investor News
Landlord group "delighted" at eviction bill failure Section 21 accelerated possession procedure now online
4th December 10th December
Lincolnshire Echo (Property Echo) Property Reporter
Landlord Action delighted as revenge eviction bill defeated Landlords losing thousands over long court delays
Circulation: 20660 AVE: £ 855.36 N/A
10th December
LandlordZone
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10th December
Property Industry Eye
Court Delays Costing Landlords Thousands Tenancy eviction process ‘in utter chaos’
10th December
Property 118
Landlords are losing thousands as court delays become critical
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10th December
Choices Today
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10th December
JungleDrum Newsletter
Are court delays costing landlords thousands of pounds? Court delays "costing landlords thousands", says Landlord Action
December
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10th December
PropertyWire
January
January
Landlord Investor Magazine UK Landlord Magazine Residential Property Investor The Negotiator
25th January
Property118
January January
26th January 26th January 29th January
Landlords facing serious court delays on evictions due to cuts Dealing with bad tenants…and avoiding them altogether Accelerated possession online Chaos as county courts struggle with flood of possession claims Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay
Landlord Action hosts “Rumble with the Agents” Landlord Today Landlord Action hosts “Rumble with the Agents” Property Reporter Who wants to punch an estate agent Landlord Zone BBC programme shows Buy-to-Let not all plain sailing Total Number of Cuttings Total AVE
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Retaliation eviction: preventing the misuse of Section 21 Line Spacing+-AFont Size+- Print✉Forward to a friendFEATURES
SPECIAL FEATURE 25 Nov 2014 LINKEDIN 0 TWITTER 16 [SPECIAL FEATURE: Paul Shamplina, Landlord Action]
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When letting a property, a landlord has a care of duty to provide that tenant with a comfortable and safe environment in which to live. During a tenancy, it is the landlord’s responsibility to carry out any necessary maintenance and repair work that may be required in order to uphold the condition of the property. The majority of landlords behave dutifully and respond promptly to complaints about repairs, with a recent government report even stating that 83% of tenants said they were happy with the service they received from their landlords. However, there are a very small number of landlords who would rather evict a tenant than go to the trouble of carrying out such repairs , this action has been dubbed ‘retaliation eviction’. A proposed Private Members Bill has been put forward by Sarah Teather MP, to stop rogue landlords serving Section 21 notices and evicting tenants who complain about disrepair issues, instead of carrying out these repairs. Two weeks ago, Paul Shamplina, founder of tenant eviction company Landlord Action, attended the Houses of Parliament to give evidence on this Bill to a cross-party Committee of MPs. The bill is due to be heard in Parliament on the 28th November . Having worked with landlords for over 25 years, Paul says each eviction has to be considered on an individual basis in order to determine the correct procedure. He has concerns about how this issue, which he says only accounts for a small number of cases, will be tackled without negatively impacting those landlords who have a genuine reason to exercise the use of a Section 21. Paul says “I believe in applying pressure to rid the market of rogue landlords who exploit tenants is imperative. I am, however, also aware that these landlords are in the minority, leading me to have two main concerns:
“Firstly, the complexities with determining what is deemed ‘reasonable repair’ with regards to works to be carried out on a property,and how quickly it should be carried out, require consideration on a case by case basis to avoid landlords’ possession claims being unnecessarily thrown out. Good landlords should be dealing with complaints from tenants as soon as possible before they are referred to environmental health officers at the council. If the proposed Bill comes in, these officers will serve improvement notices on landlords preventing them from serving a Section 21 for 6 months from that point." “Secondly, I am worried that the Government hasn’t set aside enough resource for more man power from Environmental Health Officers around the country as there has been a lot of cuts recently. Only on Tuesday last week I questioned the Housing Minister, Mr Brandon Lewis, on the subject of rogue landlords. My proposal to him, was not about retaliation eviction, but that rogue landlords need to be named and shamed. Landlords should be prosecuted by the Councils for non- compliance and a “three strikes and you’re out” rule should also be implemented, meaning that the landlord would have a banning order preventing them from renting out properties in the future.” Unfortunately, there will always be rogue landlords who will not comply with housing standards, although more and more is now being done to empower tenants to make the right choice of property and landlord, in order to force these people out of the market. However, dealing with an enormous amount of possession cases every year, Paul says “the causes are rarely black and white.” Considering just a few scenarios he encounters, Paul acknowledges “There are amateur landlords, who may not have made financial allowances for future maintenance and can’t afford to carry out repairs if the tenant has stopped paying rent. It can be a chicken and egg scenario.” “We also see problems with tenants that do not pay the rent for months on end, and then just before a court case, compile a list of repairs that have never previously been reported to try and string out a court case. We have also had scenarios where tenants have deliberately damaged a property to show a defence at court. Obviously, if there has been a list of correspondence and communication whereby the tenant has asked of repairs and the landlord has failed to carry these out, then quite rightly they should be able to defend the case at court.” Another big problem that Landlord Action comes across is landlords being granted rights of access to carry out repairs. “Landlords cannot just let themselves into the property, and sometimes tenants will make it difficult for them to do so.” Other scenarios might include when a reasonable landlord has not had his rent from a tenant for months, and has in his eyes carried out repairs, or if the tenant is on LHA and can’t afford the rent or has debt, the landlord will revert to Section 21 proceedings just to get his/her property back. “They are often prepared to write off the arrears just to avoid a messy, and often long-winded, court case which can last months and months and cost thousands” says Paul. Three weeks ago, Landlord Action conducted a telephone survey with 100 landlords that had instructed them to serve Section 21 notices. The results found that only 2% of landlords had served a Section 21 because the tenant had asked for repairs to be carried out. 28% served notice because there were rent arrears and 15% needed the property back so they could sell, 13% needed to move back into the property, 11% wanted to re-let to another tenant to obtain more rent and 8% said the tenant wanted to be evicted so they could be re-housed by the Council. Paul continues: “You have to realise that Section 21 is non-fault and landlords do not have to give a reason why they want their property back, so actually, most of the time tenants may not know the reason. With property prices in London rising by as much as 10% this year, many Landlords simply want to sell and take advantage of the market, especially when a lot have been
stuck in negative equity for so long. Others have more personal reasons as to why they want possession, as highlighted in our survey. Landlord Action is calling for there to be very clear guidance on how tackling ‘retaliatory eviction’ will be put into practice, so that neither landlord nor tenant can abuse the system, with Paul concluding: “Yes, we want standards to be raised and tenants to live in acceptable properties, but we don’t want reputable landlords, the majority of whom do carry out repairs, to be impacted by a process which is not designed to prevent the use of Section 21, but prevent its misuse."
Landlord Action as well as other industry organisations heaved a sigh of relief as the Tenancies Reform Bill or 'Revenge Eviction' bill as it is better known, failed to pass in Parliament. Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action, who gave evidence at the end of October to the All Party Parliamentary Group, had this to say following the result: “This is great news for landlords. Whilst I fully agree that tenants need to be protected from the small minority of rogue landlords, there simply wasn’t enough evidence to support the need for more legislation, which would have impacted a large number of good, reliable landlords. In the 24 years I have been dealing with problem tenants, I have only ever heard of the words “retaliation/revenge eviction” in the last 18 months. Section 21 gives a landlord an automatic right of possession without having to give any grounds (reason) once the fixed term has expired. Shelter’s figures that 213,000 tenants have been served Section 21 notices as revenge evictions must be guess work because without surveying every landlord, it is hard to understand how they have reached this figure.” A landlord survey that was conducted recently revealed that only 2% had served a section 21 because the tenant had asked for repairs. 28% served notice because there were rent arrears and 15% needed the property back so they could sell, 13% needed to move back into the property, 11% wanted to re-let to another tenant to obtain more rent and 8% said the tenant wanted to be evicted so they could be re-housed by the Council. Paul continued: “Passing this Bill would have created a loophole for tenants to remain in properties for longer, lead to further rental arrears problems, stretched the resources of local authorities even further and lead to longer delays at court. Yes, we want to make sure tenants live in a safe and pleasant environment, but preventing the proper use of Section 21 i s not the way to do this and would simply tarnish good landlords with a bad name.” Landlord Action would also acknowledged the hard work carried out by RLA in relation to this Bill.
Teather’s ‘revenge evictions’ Bill fails after filibustering Written by: ROSALIND RENSHAW | DECEMBER 1, 2014 Print The ancient art of filibustering was employed in the Commons on Friday to put an end to any prospect of Sarah Teather’s ‘revenge evictions’ proposal getting through Parliament. Her Tenancies (Reform) Bill was talked out by two MPs – both Tories and both private landlords – who between them kept talking for two and a half hours. This was despite the fact that the Bill had cross-party support from both Labour and the coalition government. It appeared that on Friday, the Tory whips had been less than active in trying to get their MPs to attend the session – or make their own backbenchers behave. This was after an active campaign, single-handedly led by the Residential Landlords Association, which said that the Teather proposals could lead to some landlords finding it virtually impossible to take back possession of their own properties. The key proposal was that landlords would not be able to use Section 21 within six months of a tenant making a complaint about disrepairs. The RLA said that some tenants would make repeated complaints to string out the process of eviction, while not paying rent. Tellingly, ARLA entered the fray shortly before Friday’s debate, agreeing that some tenants would abuse the process. Whether the Government listened is not known, but backbench Tory MPs Christopher Chope and Philip Davies talked the Bill out. Davies’s speech was curtailed after an hour by deputy speaker Dawn Primarolo. Finally calling him to order, she said it was on the grounds of tedious repetition. Davies had quoted at length from the Conservative Party’s 1987 manifesto, before quoting from various minutes, office guidance papers and statistics. However, once forced to sit down, Chope then took over and spoke for a further 90 minutes In the end, just 60 MPs managed to vote on a procedural motion to put the Bill to the vote before time ran out – but 100 are required for such a motion to proceed. Filibustering is a tactic used by backbenchers to kill of legislation because they think it has been badly designed.
Predictably, Generation Rent reacted with fury, with director Alex Hilton saying on Twitter: “Prolific expenses claimer Christopher Chope MP talks out Revenge Evictions Bill. Taxpayers pay for his plush housing conditions.” Housing bodies such as Shelter, which claimed that revenge evictions were a large-scale problem, expressed their dismay. However, Paul Shamplina of evictions firm Landlord Action said: “This is great news for landlords. “Whilst I fully agree that tenants need to be protected from the small minority of rogue landlords, there simply wasn’t enough evidence to support the need for more legislation which would have impacted a large number of good, reliable landlords. “In the 24 years I have been dealing with problem tenants, I have only ever heard of the words ‘retaliation / revenge eviction’ in the last 18 months. “Section 21 gives a landlord an automatic right of possession without having to give any grounds (reason) once the fixed term has expired. “Shelter’s figures that 213,000 tenants have been served Section 21 notices as revenge evictions must be guesswork, because without surveying every landlord, it is hard to understand how they have reached this figure.” He acknowledged the role played by the RLA. RLA chairman Alan Ward said: “The RLA do not condone revenge evictions and want to see effective action to drive criminal landlords out of the private rented sector. “However, this Bill was badly drafted and missed its target. “It would have punished good landlords and allowed bad tenants, savvy with their rights, to play the system.”
Revenge eviction bill fails on a technicality Monday 1st December 2014 Landlords breathed a sigh of relief on Friday when the Tenancies (Reform) Bill, presented by Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather, failed to progress. Rather than fail on a vote, the bill failed on a technicality. MPs Philip Davies and Christopher Chope chose to “filibuster” it or “talk it out” while not enough MPs were present in the House of Commons to vote for the Bill. The debate started at approximately 9.30am and under parliamentary procedure only those Bills which are unopposed after 2.30pm may make further progress. Davies and Chope decided to ‘talk out’ the Bill. Those MPs supporting the Bill tried to stop them by bringing forward a closure motion, whereby the debate was ended and an early vote called. However for such a motion to be successful a majority, comprising 100 or more MPs, have to support it. It was only supported by 60 MPs and the debate on the Bill subsequently ended. The Bill needs to pass Second Reading stage for it to stand any chance of becoming law by the next election. It is now unclear whether the Government will commit more parliamentary time to debate this Bill and try to force it through. Following the result, founder of Landlord Action Paul Shamplina, who gave evidence at the end of October to the All Party Parliamentary Group, said: “This is great news for landlords. Whilst I fully agree that tenants need to be protected from the small minority of rogue landlords, there simply wasn’t enough evidence to support the need for more legislation, which would have impacted a large number of good, reliable landlords.” “In the 24 years I have been dealing with problem tenants, I have only ever heard of the words “retaliation/revenge eviction” in the last 18 months. Section 21 gives a landlord an automatic right of possession without having to give any grounds (reason) once the fixed term has expired. Shelter’s figures that 213,000 tenants have been served Section 21 notices as revenge evictions must be guess work because without surveying every landlord, it is hard to understand how they have reached this figure.” A recent survey of landlords that had instructed Landlord Action to serve Section 21 notices revealed that only 2% had served a section 21 because the tenant had asked for repairs. 28% served notice because there were rent arrears and 15% needed the property back so they could sell, 13% needed to move back into the property, 11% wanted to re-let to another tenant to obtain more rent and 8% said the tenant wanted to be evicted so they could be re-housed by the council. “Passing this Bill would have created a loophole for tenants to remain in properties for longer, lead to further rental arrears problems, stretched the resources of local authorities even further and lead to longer delays at court,” said Shamplina.
Commenting on the Bill’s failure RLA chairman Alan Ward said the RLA doesn’t condone revenge evictions and wanted to see effective action to drive criminal landlords out of the private rented sector. However, he added that the Bill was badly drafted and missed its target. “It would have punished good landlords and allowed bad tenants, savvy with their rights, to play the system. There is now an opportunity for the campaign groups to work with landlord representatives and local authorities to come up with a workable solution to tackle the small minority who practice retaliatory eviction,” said Ward, “Enforcement of current regulations is key. The RLA has already discussed ways in which councils can identify those landlords who operate under the radar with ministers, MPs and local government representatives.” Campaign group Generation Rent blamed lack of MP support for the Bill failing. Alex Hilton, director of Generation Rent, said: “Only 60 MPs were prepared to leave the comfort of their homes to protect the safety of 9 million renters. Bad landlords now remain free to turf out tenants in awful conditions and tenants will continue to put up with mould, damp and faulty wiring for fear of eviction. “This is an outrageous, feudal situation that is untenable. If MPs now don’t reincarnate these provisions in the Consumer Rights Bill we will know they are prepared to throw renters to the wolves.”
Landlord group "delighted" at eviction bill failure Tuesday, 02 December 2014Written by Graham Norwood Despite the sensitivities regarding revenge evictions and the poor publicity they bring on the private rented sector, one landlord organisation claims it is “delighted” at the failure of an MP to secure legislation to try to prevent the problem recurring. The Tenancies Reform Bill presented by Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather, aimed at stopping 'revenge evictions’, last week failed to secure enough votes to continue making progress in Parliament and go on to become law. Now Landlord Action founder Paul Shamplina, who gave evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group looking into the issue, says this failure is “great news” for landlords. “Whilst I fully agree that tenants need to be protected from the small minority of rogue landlords, there simply wasn’t enough evidence to support the need for more legislation, which would have impacted a large number of good, reliable landlords” he says. “In the 24 years I have been dealing with problem tenants, I’ve only ever heard of the words “retaliation/revenge eviction” in the last 18 months” he says. “Section 21 gives a landlord an automatic right of possession without having to give any grounds once the fixed term has expired. Shelter’s figures that 213,000 tenants have been served Section 21 notices as revenge evictions must be guess work because without surveying every landlord, it is hard to understand how they have reached this figure.” A recent survey of landlords that had instructed Landlord Action to serve Section 21 notices revealed that only two per cent had ever served one because the tenant had asked for repairs. Some 28 per cent served notice because there were rent arrears and 15 per cent needed the property back so they could sell; another 13 per cent needed to move back into the property themselves while 11 per cent wanted to re-let to another tenant to obtain more rent and eight per cent claimed the tenant wanted to be evicted so they could be re-housed by the local council. “Passing this bill would have created a loophole for tenants to remain in properties for longer, lead to further rental arrears problems, stretched the resources of local authorities even further and lead to longer delays at court” says Shamplina.
Section 21 accelerated possession procedure now online UK News 3 Dec 2014 The Government has launched a new service which will enable landlords to start the process of evicting tenants using the Section 21 accelerated possession procedure by filling out an online form. This was an idea which was first put forward by leading tenant eviction firm Landlord Action, as part of its role on a Government Think Tank to help speed up evictions. Paul Shamplina, Founder of Landlord Action, said: “We are always campaigning to make life easier for landlords, especially through the distressing time of trying to regain possession of a property. We are pleased that the Government has listened to our initial ideas regarding making accelerated possession forms available online, as I really feel it will make a difference.” Landlord Action had previously found that too many landlords, who did not have legal representation, were making mistakes in their applications to court, which then led to subsequent delays. The new service is designed so that everyone can use it, with complex legal points explained in plain English and questions that are designed to gather information relevant to each landlord’s situation as well as check their eligibility for making such a claim. Shamplina said: “Our solicitors are dealing with hundreds of claims for landlords seeking possession through Section 8 and Section 21 accelerated claims, where landlords don’t want the hassle of form filling or the risk of getting it wrong. This new online N5b form will go a long way in helping to prevent the most common mistakes landlords make, which often cause costly delays.“
Landlords losing thousands over long court delays County courts which are under-resourced and swamped by the volume of new possession claims are to blame for landlords losing out in costly delays. Landlord Action believes that in the last three months alone it has become such a problem that chasing up cases with the courts is now a full-time role for one member of their in-house legal team. Most of the residential possession claims are dealt with in the county courts and enforced by county court bailiffs. However, Government spending cuts, an ever growing number of possession cases (predicted to be up 15% on last year, according to Landlord Action) and the enforcement by some courts that bailiffs must no longer act alone, only in pairs, have combined to create serious delays in the eviction process. According to Julie Herbert, Head of Legal at Landlord Action: “We are forever chasing courts for updates on possession orders, Notice of Issues or bailiff appointments. By the courts’ own admission, cases are getting overlooked, administrative errors are being made and there are simply not enough bailiffs to support the number of cases, leading to long delays.” This is having serious implications for landlords who are not only losing thousands of pounds in unpaid rent but racking up more legal costs the longer a case goes on. Some landlords, who are unable to meet mortgage payments as a result, even face possible repossession, in addition to the added risk of their property being left uninhabitable by current tenants, where communication has broken down. One Landlord, Mr Waller, has had severe delays with his case as a result of the courts losing his claim, twice. Landlord Action finally obtained a hearing date, which took place on 24th November. Mr Waller said: “Our eviction case has been delayed for almost a year due to severe maladministration by the courts; files were repeatedly lost and the inefficiency we and Landlord Action encountered was astounding. This has been a deeply frustrating experience for us as landlords, but an even more harrowing one for our tenant who desperately wants to be rehoused by the council and needs a court order. We're in an impossible catch 22 situation, which only the courts can resolve. The negligence and insouciance of certain individuals are quite literally destroying people's lives." Ms Herbert of Landlord Action says another common frustration is when a possession order has been granted and a bailiff appointment confirmed, but the tenant makes a last minute application because they have nowhere else to go. “The standard procedure is that a hearing has to be considered by a judge. We recently learnt that many of these applications don’t even reach a judge, who would have the authority to strike out an application based on the information already provided. Instead, the knee jerk reaction o f court staff is to set down a hearing date, in which everyone is dragged to court, only for a judge to pass that the application has no merit.” This flaw in the system can delay the whole process by as much as 2-3 months. “We are currently acting on a case where this has happened, and rather than the landlord having his property back by the end of November, there is now a hearing in January 2015” adds Julie.
Court Delays Costing Landlords Thousands Landlord Action says court delays through under-resourced county courts being overwhelmed by the number of possession claims being put forward, are resulting in costly delays for landlords. The leading tenant eviction service says it has become such a problem in the last 3 months, that chasing up cases with the courts is now a full-time role for one member of their in-house legal team. The vast majority of residential possession claims are dealt with in the county courts and enforced by county court bailiffs. However, Government spending cuts, an ever growing number of possession cases (predicted to be up 15% on last year, according to Landlord Action) and the enforcement by some courts that bailiffs must no longer act alone, only in pairs, have combined to create serious delays in the eviction process, according to Julie Herbert, Head of Legal at Landlord Action. “We are forever chasing courts for updates on possession orders, Notice of Issues or bailiff appointments. By the courts’ own admission, cases are getting overlooked, administrative errors are being made and there are simply not enough bailiffs to support the number of cases, leading to long delays.” This is having serious implications for landlords who are not only losing thousands of pounds in unpaid rent but racking up more legal costs the longer a case goes on. Some landlords, who are unable to meet mortgage payments as a result, even face possible repossession, in addition to the added risk of their property being left uninhabitable by current tenants, where communication has broken down. One Landlord, Mr Waller, has had severe delays with his case as a result of the courts losing his claim, twice. Landlord Action finally obtained a hearing date, which took place on 24th November. Mr Waller said: “Our eviction case has been delayed for almost a year due to severe maladministration by the courts; files were repeatedly lost and the inefficiency we and Landlord Action encountered was astounding. This has been a deeply frustrating experience for us as landlords, but an even more harrowing one for our tenant who desperately wants to be rehoused by the council and needs a court order. We’re in an impossible catch 22 situation, which only the courts can resolve. The negligence and insouciance of certain individuals are quite literally destroying people’s lives.” Ms Herbert of Landlord Action says another common frustration is when a possession order has been granted and a bailiff appointment confirmed, but the tenant makes a last minute application because they have nowhere else to go. “The standard procedure is that a hearing has to be considered by... a judge. We recently learnt that many of these applications don’t even reach a judge, who would have the authority to strike out an application based on the information already provided. Instead, the knee jerk reaction of court staff is to set down a hearing date, in which everyone is dragged to court, only for a judge to pass that the application has no merit.” This flaw in the system can delay the whole process by as much as 2-3 months. “We are currently acting on a case where this has happened, and rather than the landlord having his property back by the end of November, there is now a hearing in January 2015” adds Julie. About Landlord Action: Landlord Action is a UK based organisation helping landlords, letting agents and other property professionals. As a champion for landlords, it has campaigned extensively and was instrumental in getting the law changed to make squatting a criminal offence. It was founded in 1999 as the first ever fixed-fee tenant eviction specialist, they revolutionised this area of legal practice. They have now acted in more than 28,000 problem tenant cases and are considered the authority in this field.
Landlords are losing thousands as court delays become critical
Paul Shamplina - Published on 10/12/2014 Under-resourced county courts are exasperated by the number of possession claims being put forward, resulting in costly delays for landlords. It has become such a problem in the last three months, that chasing up cases with the courts is now a full-time role for one member of our in-house legal team. The vast majority of residential possession claims are dealt with in the county courts and enforced by county court bailiffs. However, Government spending cuts, an ever growing number of possession cases (predicted by us to be up 15% on last year) and the enforcement by some courts that bailiffs must no longer act alone, only in pairs, have combined to create serious delays in the eviction process. We are forever chasing courts for updates on possession orders, Notice of Issues or bailiff appointments. By the courts’ own admission, cases are getting overlooked, administrative errors are being made and there are simply not enough bailiffs to support the number of cases, leading to long delays. This is having serious implications for landlords who are not only losing thousands of pounds in unpaid rent but racking up more legal costs the longer a case goes on. Some landlords, who are unable to meet mortgage payments as a result, even face possible repossession, in addition to the added risk of their property being left uninhabitable by current tenants, where communication has broken down. One Landlord, Mr Waller, has had severe delays with his case as a result of the courts losing his claim, twice. We finally obtained a hearing date, which took place on 24th November. Mr Waller said: “Our eviction case has been delayed for almost a year due to severe maladministration by the courts; files were repeatedly lost and the inefficiency we and Landlord Action encountered was astounding. This has been a deeply frustrating experience for us as landlords, but an even more harrowing one for our tenant who desperately wants to be rehoused by the council and needs a court order. We’re in an impossible catch 22 situation, which only the courts can resolve. The negligence and insouciance of certain individuals are quite literally destroying people’s lives.” Another common frustration is when a possession order has been granted and a bailiff appointment confirmed, but the tenant makes a last minute application because they have nowhere else to go. The standard procedure is that a hearing has to be considered by a judge. We recently learnt that many of
these applications don’t even reach a judge, who would have the authority to strike out an application based on the information already provided. Instead, the knee jerk reaction of court staff is to set down a hearing date, in which everyone is dragged to court, only for a judge to pass that the application has no merit.� This flaw in the system can delay the whole process by as much as 2-3 months. We are currently acting on a case where this has happened, and rather than the landlord having his property back by the end of November, there is now a hearing in January 2015
Are court delays costing landlords thousands of pounds? Wednesday 10th December 2014 Under-resourced county courts are struggling to deal with the number of residential possession claims being put forward in the last three months, resulting in costly delays for landlords, according to tenant eviction firm Landlord Action. Figures from the organisation say that the number of possession cases is up 15% on last year and this combined with government spending cuts and bailiffs no longer working alone in many counties, is creating serious delays. “We are forever chasing courts for updates on possession orders, Notice of Issues or bailiff appointments. By the courts’ own admission, cases are getting overlooked, administrative errors are being made and there are simply not enough bailiffs to support the number of cases,” said Julie Herbert, Head of Legal at Landlord Action. Landlord Action says that landlords are now losing thousands of pounds in unpaid rent and legal costs, meaning some are unable to meet mortgage payments. One Landlord, Mr Waller, has had severe delays with his case as a result of the courts losing his claim, twice. “Our eviction case has been delayed for almost a year due to severe maladministration by the courts; files were repeatedly lost and the inefficiency we and Landlord Action encountered was astounding,” he said. “This has been a deeply frustrating experience for us as landlords, but an even more harrowing one for our tenant who desperately wants to be rehoused by the council and needs a court order. We're in an impossible catch 22 situation, which only the courts can resolve. The negligence and insouciance of certain individuals are quite literally destroying people's lives."
JUNGLEdrum News Court delays "costing landlords thousands", says Landlord Action Under-resourced county courts are struggling to cope with the number of possession claims being put forward, resulting in costly delays for landlords, according to Landlord Action. The tenant eviction service says that chasing up cases with the courts is rapidly turning into a fulltime role for one member of their in-house legal team. The vast majority of residential possession claims are dealt with in the county courts and enforced by county court bailiffs. However, Government spending cuts, an ever growing number of possession cases - predicted to be up 15 per cent year-on-year according to Landlord Action - and the enforcement by some courts that bailiffs must no longer act alone, only in pairs, have combined to create serious delays in the eviction process, according to Julie Herbert (left), Head of Legal at Landlord Action. She said: “We are forever chasing courts for updates on possession orders, Notice of Issues or bailiff appointments. By the courts’ own admission, cases are getting overlooked, administrative errors are being made and there are simply not enough bailiffs to support the number of cases, leading to long delays.” Herbert claims that the delays are having serious implications for landlords who are not only losing thousands of pounds in unpaid rent but racking up more legal costs the longer a case goes on. Some landlords, who are unable to meet mortgage payments as a result, even face possible repossession, in addition to the added risk of their property being left uninhabitable by current tenants, where communication has broken down. One Landlord, Mr Waller, has had severe delays with his case as a result of the courts losing his claim, twice. Landlord Action finally obtained a hearing date, which took place on 24th November. Waller said: “Our eviction case has been delayed for almost a year due to severe maladministration by the courts; files were repeatedly lost and the inefficiency we and Landlord Action encountered was astounding. This has been a deeply frustrating experience for us as landlords, but an even more harrowing one for our tenant who desperately wants to be rehoused by the council and needs a court order. We're in an impossible catch 22 situation, which only the courts can resolve. The negligence and insouciance of certain individuals are quite literally destroying people's lives.” Herbert of Landlord Action says another common frustration is when a possession order has been granted and a bailiff appointment confirmed, but the tenant makes a last minute application because they have nowhere else to go. She continued: “The standard procedure is that a hearing has to be considered by a judge. We recently learnt that many of these applications don’t even reach a judge, who would have the authority to strike out an application based on the information already provided. Instead, the knee jerk reaction of court staff is to set down a hearing date, in which everyone is dragged to court, only for a judge to pass that the application has no merit.” This flaw in the system can delay the whole process by as much as three months. “We are currently acting on a case where this has happened, and rather than the landlord having his property back by the end of November, there is now a hearing in January 2015” added Herbert.
Landlords f acing serious court delays on evictions due to cuts WEDNESDAY, 10 DECEMBER 2014 According to tenant eviction service Landlord Action it has become such a problem in the last three months that chasing up cases with the courts is now a full time role for one member of their in-house legal team. The vast majority of residential possession claims are dealt with in the county courts and enforced by county court bailiffs. However, government spending cuts, an ever growing number of possession cases which have increased around 15% on last year, are leading to overload. On top of this the firm points out that some courts are insisting that bailiffs must no longer act alone, only in pairs, and this has added to serious delays in the eviction process. ‘We are forever chasing courts for updates on possession orders, Notice of Issues or bailiff appointments. By the courts' own admission, cases are getting overlooked, administrative errors are being made and there are simply not enough bailiffs to support the number of cases, leading to long delays,’ said Julie Herbert, head of legal at Landlord Action. This is having serious implications for landlords who are not only losing thousands of pounds in unpaid rent but racking up more legal costs the longer a case goes on. Some landlords, who are unable to meet mortgage payments as a result, even face possible repossession, in addition to the added risk of their property being left uninhabitable by current tenants, where communication has broken down. One landlord, Mr Waller, has had severe delays with his case as a result of the courts losing his claim, twice. Landlord Action finally obtained a hearing date, which took place on 24 November. ‘Our eviction case has been delayed for almost a year due to severe maladministration by the courts. Files were repeatedly lost and the inefficiency we and Landlord Action encountered was astounding,’ said Waller. ‘This has been a deeply frustrating experience for us as landlords, but an even more harrowing one for our tenant who desperately wants to be rehoused by the council and needs a court order. We're in an impossible catch 22 situation, which only the courts can resolve. The negligence and insouciance of certain individuals are quite literally destroying people's lives,’ he added. Herbert of Landlord Action said another common frustration is when a possession order has been granted and a bailiff appointment confirmed, but the tenant makes a last minute application because they have nowhere else to go. ‘The standard procedure is that a hearing has to be considered by a judge. We recently learnt that many of these applications don't even reach a judge, who would have the authority to strike out an application based on the information already provided,’ she explained. ‘Instead, the knee jerk reaction of court staff is to set down a hearing date, in which everyone is dragged to court, only for a judge to pass that the application has no merit. This flaw in the system can delay the whole process by as much as two to three months,’ she pointed out. ‘We are currently acting on a case where this has happened, and rather than the landlord having his property back by the end of November, there is now a hearing in January 2015,’ she added.
Landlord Action hosts “Rumble with the Agents” Monday 26th January 2015
If you’ve ever wanted to punch your letting agent, now’s your big chance. On Thursday 21 May Landlord Action is hosting the biggest white collar charity boxing event to be brought to the property industry and is looking for participants. Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action, has been a keen boxer for many years and as well as putting himself in the ring, he is offering other property professionals the opportunity to try their hand at a boxing whilst raising money for The Rainbow Children’s Trust, an organisation providing emotional and practical support to families who have a child with a life threatening or terminal illness. With no previous experience required, Landlord Action are looking for a total of 14 willing participants that want to get fit, learn to box and be a hero for six minutes. Punch London Boxing Gym is partnering the event to provide a fully structured and supervised boxing training programme, from a novice to ring ready in just three months, as well as arranging the fight matchups for the night. With eight places already taken, remaining spaces are on a first come first serve basis. The evening itself will consist of seven fights, a sit down three-course meal with unlimited drinks, an auction, raffle, celebrity table and a disco afterwards. Channel 5 have also confirmed they will film the event. Shamplina said: “I have had this idea for a number of years and I decided that 2015 is the year it should finally happen. Knowing estate agents are a very competitive bunch, I know they will be up for a rumble in the ring, and it’s all for a fantastic charity, so I hope everyone will get behind it.” The event is open to agents, property professionals, suppliers and landlords. Those participating are asked to take a table of 10 or 12 to represent their company at the event. The event will be on Thursday 21 May 2015 at Holiday Inn, Avenue Banqueting, 58 Regents Park Road, London, N3 3JN.
Who wants to punch an estate agent?
Warren Lewis26 Jan 2015 Being billed as the biggest white collar boxing event ever brought to the industry, "Rumble with the Agents" is due to kick off on Thursday 21st May 2015. Landlord Action, hosts of the event, are inviting letting and estate agents to take part. A keen boxer for many years and Landlord Action founder, Paul Shamplina, plans to put himself in the ring to raise money for charity. As well as getting stuck in himself, Paul is offering other professionals from within the property industry the chance to 'come and have a go if they think they're hard enough' and try their hand at being a pugilist for the night. The event aims to raise money for The Rainbow Children’s Trust, a leading organisation providing emotional and practical support to families who have a child with a life threatening or terminal illness. Fancy trading blows instead of swapping contracts? With no previous experience required, Landlord Action are seeking 14 willing participants that want to get fit, learn to box and be a hero for six minutes. Partners of the event, Punch London Boxing Gym, will provide a fully structured training programme and will supervise throughout, transforming those who wish to sign up from novice to ring ready in just three months as well matching up As eight places are already taken, remaining spaces are on a first come first serve basis. The evening itself will consist of seven fights, a sit down three-course meal with unlimited drinks, an auction, raffle, celebrity table and a disco afterwards. Channel 5 have also confirmed they will film the event. Mr Shamplina comments: “I have had this idea for a number of years and I decided that 2015 is the year it should finally happen. Knowing estate agents are a very competitive bunch, I know they will be up for a rumble in the ring, and it’s all for a fantastic charity, so I hope everyone will get behind it.” The event is open to agents, property professionals, suppliers and landlords. Those participating are asked to take a table of ten or twelve to represent their company at the event.
Landlord Action hosts “Rumble with the Agents”
Property 118 - Published on 25/01/2015
On Thursday 21st May 2015, Landlord Action is hosting the biggest white collar charity boxing event to be brought to the property industry and is inviting letting and estate agents to take part. Paul Shamplina, Founder of Landlord Action, has been a keen boxer for many years and as well as putting himself in the ring, he is offering other property professionals the opportunity to try their hand at a boxing whilst raising money for The Rainbow Children’s Trust, a leading organisation providing emotional and practical support to families who have a child with a life threatening or terminal illness. With no previous experience required, Landlord Action are looking for a total of 14 willing participants that want to get fit, learn to box and be a hero for six minutes. Punch London Boxing Gym is partnering the event to provide a fully structured and supervised boxing training programme, from a novice to ring ready in just three months, as well as arranging the fight matchups for the night. With eight places already taken, remaining spaces are on a first come first serve basis. The evening itself will consist of seven fights, a sit down three-course meal with unlimited drinks, an auction, raffle, celebrity table and a disco afterwards. Channel 5 have also confirmed they will film the event. Paul Shamplina comments “I have had this idea for a number of years and I decided that 2015 is the year it should finally happen. Knowing estate agents are a very competitive bunch, I know they will be up for a rumble in the ring, and it’s all for a fantastic charity, so I hope everyone will get behind it.” The event is open to agents, property professionals, suppliers and landlords. Those participating are asked to take a table of ten or twelve to represent their company at the event. The Event will be on Thursday 21st May, 2015 held at Holiday Inn, Avenue Banqueting, 58 Regents Park Road, London, N3 3JN. To find out more information email Paul Shamplina on Paul@landlordaction.co.uk To obtain tickets please email rita@rumblewiththeagents.co.uk
BBC programme shows Buy-to-Let not all plain sailing 29 January, 2015 BBC’s Inside Out programme is set to highlight buy-to-let landlords’ growing plight with renting to the social sector. On Monday 2nd February at 7.30pm, the BBC’s Inside Out programme is covering “Buy to Let Pitfalls”, with the focus on landlords who have entered into the sector to provide a pension for themselves, but have run into difficulties. The show will feature a landlord whose portfolio of housing benefit tenants is causing him to scale back his investments following the need to instruct Landlord Action to handle two of the cases shown in the programme. Mr Brian Nixon, a builder from South East London by trade, has a portfolio of properties largely rented to tenants receiving housing benefit. One of Mr Nixon’s tenants is in £6000 arrears because she failed to fill out the necessary Housing Benefit forms, but never informed the landlord. Despite numerous warnings of eviction, the bailiff instructed to remove this tenant, who also had 14 other cases that day, is forced to wait around while the tenant collects what belongings she requires, leaving the rest to be dealt with by the landlord. In addition to the rent arrears, viewers will be left shocked at the state of the property on departure of the tenant who, after being evicted, went straight to the council to be re-housed. An aggrieved Mr Nixon uses some colourful language to vent his frustration. Paul Shamplina, Founder of Landlord Action, who is present at the evictions and can be seen on Monday night’s programme says “I have said it many times before, but a system where landlords do not receive housing... benefit directly from the council is simply not working. Years ago, renting to social housing tenants gave landlords a steady guaranteed flow of income, in return for supporting this sector by propping up the limited accommodation the council could offer. Everyone benefited. Now, we are seeing fewer landlords wanting to rent to housing benefit tenants because of cuts being made, the uncertainty with regards to Universal Credit and non-direct payment, particularly in the South-East where landlords could achieve far higher rent if they let to the private sector.” On the strength of the difficulties Mr Nixon has had with social housing tenants, he is now selling of the properties from his portfolio, meaning there are three less properties in the private rented sector being used for housing benefit tenants. Watch Landlord Action on Monday 2nd February, Inside Out, BBC 1 London or Sky Channel 954 or Freeview Channel 721 at 7.30pm – “Buy to Let Pitfalls”.