x
By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies to enhance your experience.
STAY CONNECTED!
    
newsletter-button

Pat's  Personal Profile View my company profile

icon
Pat Gan
Director
1809  Profile Views

About Me

.

my expertise in the industry

letting

Pat's Recent Activity

Pat Gan
There is no deterrent for people like her.

From: Pat Gan 23 April 2024 09:15 AM

Pat Gan
The situation for 3 people, again depending on the council, Merton were looking for PAT test, EICR and gas safe with smoke alarm in each floor and CO alarm near gas boiler and EPC. They are looking for the same for standard rental too.

From: Pat Gan 19 April 2024 16:05 PM

Pat Gan
Andrew, If they are related - no. If one is a friend and other two are related -yes. Check what the local authority has defined on the website. In the past, this would not fall under an HMO. Some boroughs are introducing licensing all properties in most of their wards. Just received an email from Brent, except Wembley Park, all other wards will need a license to rent there. Merton is doing the same. So, check your council website. Croydon used to license all rented properties, that has been stopped, but they do have article 4 direction for HMO.

From: Pat Gan 19 April 2024 15:47 PM

Pat Gan
If we had a body that truly represented us, they could wipe the floor with generation rent for comments like this. Instead they can blame us for famine somewhere across the world and no one would bat an eye lid.

From: Pat Gan 19 April 2024 10:26 AM

Pat Gan
This is akin to living in a country ruled by a dictator. We don't want small landlords, lets get rid of them and put big corporations in their place. If that's the case let's get rid of all small businesses. plumbers, electricians, dentists, nursing homes, shops, builders, roofers etc etc etc. What we need in a democracy is a regulatory body that regulates a market. NRLA is neither a regulatory body nor a representative of landlord's interests. Generation rent, rightly or wrongly is representing it's members and no one is representing us and no one is representing the good tenants. We need to create a landlord's association with a sole purpose of representing the landlords. We should flood the media with statistics and counter the anti landlord groups arguments, bring all these groups to task by showing them for what they are. (They are a representatives of bad tenants). We must present alternative solution that supports good tenants and landlords and help deter bad tenants or landlords. Prevention is better than cure. Brent council took my money but gave me an HMO license without even visiting the place. We need active participation by the regulatory bodies to help landlords do the right thing from day one. The body can monitor rouge tenants and safeguard other member landlords from them.

From: Pat Gan 19 April 2024 10:17 AM

Pat Gan
The way they worded it was if the property is less than 3 storey and you rent to less than 5 un related people, it doesn't need a HMO license.

From: Pat Gan 19 April 2024 09:17 AM

Pat Gan
Yes, it is because now they want to make money out of it. So they will impose what ever they can get away with.

From: Pat Gan 19 April 2024 09:13 AM

Pat Gan
Probably not now, but then it was. I had spoken to both Brent and Merton to clarify before I rented too.

From: Pat Gan 19 April 2024 09:11 AM

Pat Gan
I don't know this case but I can imagine how this happened. Under the global HMO rule you can rent up to 4 households 4 people in a property of 2 story (ground and first floor) without an HMO license. One of the tenant's son joins her from uni during summer holiday. This makes it 5 people of 4 households and require mandatory HMO license. I found them and kicked them out. If the council raided the place before I did find them, I would be in this situation too.

From: Pat Gan 19 April 2024 08:15 AM

Pat Gan
That's exactly it Ellie, you have a niche market that works, it is little bit more work but pays. On the planning side, if current legislation permits you to continue with out planning, see if it permits you a retrospective planning approval. If that is possible, it may be a better safeguard. All the best.

From: Pat Gan 17 April 2024 10:38 AM

Pat Gan
The one thing I would like all of you to understand is that we are judging tomorrow's market based on today's market factors that we understand. It is human nature. However, the truth is the tenants attitude will change too, we will have to work with the tenants more, the tenants also has to work with us more but ultimately we hold the final say. Like: You tell the tenants, it is too much of a hassle renting this place and you are going to move in - it will be a nightmare to find new places and so they would rather comply with your demands within reason than fight you in court. The councils are already struggling, so currently if you get kicked out for non payment they take a harsh view. In the future they may want to see the details of why you got evicted before deciding on the service they offer, another deterrent that stops tenants from misbehaving. The rental market will never be the same again, but, there are always opportunities if you search for them.

From: Pat Gan 17 April 2024 10:28 AM

Pat Gan
Good Morning Ellie, I agree with you 100%. However, I don't want people to throw in the towel. In any aspect of life, one only loses when one gives up. It is important to have a plan and execute as needed. My plan is simple, sell all standard rentals, keep two flats to gift to my kids, one is at uni and other is already working and enjoying life. As soon as they both are ready take responsibility they will have the flats. I will keep the HMOs as a regular source of income and something for me to do. I have a good relationship with my tenants, so when ever I had to move them on, it has been easy. When you do get a bad apple, you can use means available at your disposal. For example, I have a WhatsApp group for each HMO, there is a ring Doorbell and a Ring floodlight camera at the back garden. All the tenants have access to the ring app. Prevention is better than cure. I recently sent a message to one house that I will be serving S21 notices, they have accepted the message as notice before the actual S21 notices were served. In HMOs where we have a problem tenant I will have WhatsApp messages and the tenant testimony to get rid of problem tenants. It is becoming more problematic to manage your properties, it has happened to other sectors, the profits are not as good as before but there is money to be made. Corner shops made a lot of easy money in the early 80s as Supermarkets only opened during the daytime weekdays and half day on Saturday. Now they are open 24hrs, smaller versions on every high street and still the corner shop survives. IT industry were booming the government brought in IR35, we all complained and to add insult to injury, they brought in cheap it workers from India, I went to countries where they were paying good money and kept going. Please don't give up hope, zoom out, look at the bigger picture and be positive. We humans have unbelievable resilience, believe in our ability come through any adversity. Best wishes to you all.

From: Pat Gan 17 April 2024 09:59 AM

Pat Gan
No Michael, It's a fake sale, you advertise it, but you don't sell it. One of the conditions under which you get the property back from tenants is if you are going to sell it. That rule states that you cannot put it back on rent for 3 months. I suspect landlords will use this loophole when S21 is gone.

From: Pat Gan 17 April 2024 06:36 AM

Pat Gan
Martin, You are absolutely right. This happens all the time.

From: Pat Gan 16 April 2024 11:07 AM

Pat Gan
Nick and Ellie, As you know the conservatives have realised the problem and are trying to kick it into the long grass, Labour will bring it in. You can evict tenants saying you are advertising the property to sell. Advertise it, after 3 months you can rent it again. This is better than any useless S21 all the way to Bailiffs scenario. Now, normally if you have a good understanding with the tenant and they are paying your rent and keeping the place well, why would you evict them? We can't make any concrete decisions until we know exactly what is coming in.

From: Pat Gan 16 April 2024 10:21 AM

Pat Gan
Micheal, My right tenant in my HMO is a young professional, with a career a head of them, don't want a bad credit score or criminal record. So, in order to attract such a tenant, you have to have your HMO close to tube, in very good condition with good facilities. Charge them 1k pcm for a room and use your rent rise clause to up the rent when you have to. They will stay with you as long as they need to. They don't cause problems and even when you get the odd bad apple, these tenants will want that bad apple out. They will support you. Having said all that, I agree S21 is a disaster for the industry. However, you can evict tenants if you need to sell or for your relative to move in. So, I am keeping properties where I can apply either of those rules. Getting rid of ones where I am likely to get problem tenants.

From: Pat Gan 16 April 2024 10:11 AM

Pat Gan
Sorry Annoyed, this is a never ending conversation and my point is, all the people, irrespective of what side of the argument they are, will hold on to every little positives they can. The obvious failures will be blamed on someone or something else.

From: Pat Gan 16 April 2024 09:30 AM

Pat Gan
The removal of S21 is not the end of the world, I am getting rid of large houses that are not converted to HMO and not possible to now because of Article 4 direction issues, Keeping the 2 bed flats as those tenants will remain for long time and HMOs I am keeping too. The reason I get rid of large houses is because most people can't afford to rent them in London, so the wrong type of tenant will come and I will lose the ability to evict them using S21. I will gift the flats to my kids when they are ready. HMO tenants are not going to stay for long, so, do it right and have the right tenants and you don't need to worry about evicting them.

From: Pat Gan 16 April 2024 09:20 AM

Pat Gan
The tenants complained to the council because he was doing building work while he had tenants living there. I would have avoided this problem by getting rid of the tenants and doing the works while it is empty. I have given S21 notice to all the tenants in one house, I am planning the works to start as soon as they leave in 2 months. Tenants are fickle, they will complain about everything. His greed was trying to keep the rent coming in while doing the work. I used to do IT projects all over Europe and US, in between projects, I used to do development work on the properties I owned. So while I was away in foreign countries doing my job, I would do all the planing, employing architects to builders and providing S21 notices. Then I will take time out from my IT work and get stuck in sourcing materials and getting the work done to the standard I want. Then I would rent the property out. With regards to HMO licensing application, once you have made the application, you can rent. These people are playing a certain game, they do the work, then apply for retrospective planning in order to get more than what they will otherwise get under normal planning. A guy bought an old supermarket building near my house, he had planning to convert it into bedsits-he built an extra story on top of what was approved and rented it all to council tenants. The council took him to court and he had to modify the additional story to have a recess. Still, he has an additional storey by doing it this way. I will point out that it is possible to achieve the same results by employing the right planners extra. However some people just do it this way, so, if they are fined, it is part of their building costs.

From: Pat Gan 16 April 2024 08:55 AM

Pat Gan
I see the same signs as when people wanted Brexit. Every one who wanted it had their version of a reason. Now, most admit it's a failure, however, now they blame the government for doing a bad job of it. The same will happen when they abolish Section 21. Those who know what's happening take action to minimise the damage. Those who don't sleep walk into trouble, but then it's too late. Those who wanted it will never admit, the removal of Section 21 is a bad idea.

From: Pat Gan 16 April 2024 07:23 AM

Pat Gan
Greedy Pig, He isn't punished harshly enough. This is the kind of person we don't need in society.

From: Pat Gan 16 April 2024 07:12 AM

Pat Gan
There is money to be made in 6 bed HMOs but you have to do it right and keep up the ongoing maintenance etc.

From: Pat Gan 15 April 2024 13:28 PM

Pat Gan
I could do that for long term like 5-10 years, They maintain the place, they let the place etc. When I get it back in 5-10 years, they pay for me to fully refurb the place at the going rate at that time of receiving the place back and they pay for the renovation void period too.

From: Pat Gan 15 April 2024 12:37 PM

Pat Gan
It doesn't make business sense to rent to councils. They don't pay the going rate, so the tenant tops it up with their benefits. Then the tenant doesn't use the heating or keeps all the windows closed causing damp and mould issues. Or they may sublet to have enough money to pay the rent and live. In short they end up recking the house. Why would any sensible business people want to deal with people who can't afford to pay. We want well behaved people who can look after our property, with zero anti-social behaviour and good income to pay the rent on time.

From: Pat Gan 15 April 2024 12:31 PM

Pat Gan
Who are the victims here? Tenants are the real victims here. We choose who we rent to as we own our property unlike you living off the state probably.

From: Pat Gan 15 April 2024 11:31 AM

Pat Gan
We don't even know if that is true. It might be a ploy to get other landlords onboard saying 50 Landlords actually like this scheme. Any clued up landlord knows what needs to be done and a free health check is to scare the ones who don't know the rules into submission. These councils don't realise, most of the novice landlords are either now clued up or moved on. We should just let the councils rot in hell.

From: Pat Gan 15 April 2024 09:31 AM

Pat Gan
Sorry Robin, In my experience, the councils are more of a problem. They charge more to remove bulky items from landlords than from tenants or residents, they force the landlords to evict tenants through s21 then courts and bailiffs. They don't want PRS, they want council homes, they don't want HMOs, but if you have them they will use them. The councils have never worked with the landlords, they have always used the landlords and dump them. If the councils actually worked with their Landlords, there won't be a need for licensing removal of s21 etc. The councils want us gone. They will have to deal with big boys with muscle to dictate their terms.

From: Pat Gan 15 April 2024 09:18 AM

Pat Gan
HMOs are already being controlled in London boroughs with various versions of Article 4 direction. In most places one will need planning permission to convert to HMO.

From: Pat Gan 15 April 2024 08:38 AM

Pat Gan
Good news, as usual some will take this on and learn from it. That's just life. When more and more councils show their desperation, the media will eventually run stories of the desperate situation in housing caused by government and local authority licensing and legislation like s24 and removal of s21 etc. They will have to become more landlord friendly for future landlords, that might only be big corporations and their built to rent properties.

From: Pat Gan 15 April 2024 08:06 AM

Pat Gan
Conservative party has been privatising everything, they are privatising NHS through the back door. They created the small landlords as we know it now. They brought in ASTs and so on. There is always a backlash against all types of privatisation. Right now, it is against small Landlords. So they are trying to appease the tenants and creating a mess in the process. They hope large companies will take our place. It is another failure because, tenants want cheap and good accommodation, which cannot be provided by large companies as they have investors to satisfy. Where as Small landlords don't always increase the rents each year. The small landlords in general want good tenant, looking after property, paying their rent on time. So tenants are loosing the very people they could have relied on for cheaper rent. Why, because some are naive, some are jealous or envious and some have ideological issues such as housing is a human right and health is a human right and son. Ultimately once the small private landlords are gone, some will admit their mistake, some will blame the tenants, some will blame the small landlords and some will blame incompetent government. The fact is PRS for small landlords will be gone soon. So prepare and move on.

From: Pat Gan 13 April 2024 11:35 AM

Pat Gan
They won't have a register for tenants but we should. Make it one of the condition of tenancy. I would go further, they would need to pay via a system that will update the credit agency. That way if the rent is paid one day late or not in full, it will negatively affects their credit ratings. If they pay as they should, it will improve their credit ratings and help them with mortgage applications when they finally move out and purchase their home.

From: Pat Gan 11 April 2024 10:35 AM

Pat Gan
The rental sector is not going to become a mess after the introduction of S21, it is already a mess in anticipation and other changes that have come in. I am putting a property in croydon on the market and the agent advised me that the croydon council are offering £5000 incentive + Market Rent + maintenance for 2 years to landlords - No thank you

From: Pat Gan 11 April 2024 10:11 AM

Pat Gan
Michael, Spend some money and discuss these points with a financial advisor. I assume you have properties in your name. Find out how to take them into ltd company, save money on CGT etc. You can ask the financial advisor about the rules governing pension pots etc.

From: Pat Gan 10 April 2024 19:35 PM

Pat Gan
Please don't discuss these matters on here or anywhere else online. Please ask your accountant to give you details of a good financial advisor with understanding of property matters. They will advise you how to move properties in your name to your Ltd company. when this is done the initial value of the property is the value at which it was transferred to company (ie current value). Meaning if you off load them thereafter, your gains are negligible. But, don't take my word for it please talk to a financial advisor.

From: Pat Gan 09 April 2024 22:57 PM

Pat Gan
Most, Good, small landlords are like you, just making a living or adding to pensions etc. The conservatives don't want you - because you are keeping their potential tenants happy and at cheap rents away from their investors. The Labour party also don't want you - because you are making money out of people who can't afford to buy, you should be giving all your extra money you used to buy these properties to all the low life. Either one of these two will be in power, so sell up and move your money into other investments or cities like Dubai.

From: Pat Gan 09 April 2024 10:21 AM

Pat Gan
You are right, they are taking the market away from thousands of small landlords and handing it over to the big boys. Small landlords don't increase the rent each year, un professional, some bad some good blah blah blah. Large organisations will primarily use block of flats, leaving the precious match box houses of England for those families that can afford it. those who can't afford the flats will use HMOs. The sad reality is that people will get used to it. We will have increased mental health issues etc. But hey, who cares??

From: Pat Gan 09 April 2024 10:04 AM

Pat Gan
Michael, We don't know how many people were living there, if the licensing was mandatory or additional or what. We don't know if he had to get planning in order to license? However, the council was not interested in fixing the issue. They need money and so they will fine you. The problem with this is that half the people they evict cannot afford the new high rents and end up at the council. They often end up in council places where the HMO regulations don't apply. So the council has achieved their two goals, get rid of small landlord and made some money. I was offered £500 more to rent a terraced house to one of these agent/contractors who are supplying non-HMO ready property to the council to use as an HMO. So if the agent takes another £500, now the council is paying £3000 pcm for a house rented privately for £2000. Not only that, the house has no fire doors or smoke alarms in the rooms etc. So on the one hand they don't have any money and are playing dirty games to get it, while overpaying rents to accommodate the very people they evicted in houses that are no more suitable than where they were evicted from.

From: Pat Gan 05 April 2024 09:41 AM

Pat Gan
Thank you Nick for trying to get to reality, so quite clearly we are not spending anything close to even 1% and yet you said "Boat people are very high Priority to stop". You have just proved how low in importance dealing with Boat people are compared to other matters which affect the nation.

From: Pat Gan 03 April 2024 17:53 PM

Pat Gan
Nick, What ever their circumstances are, do you know what %age of our country's GDP is spent on them? Guaranteed to be less than 1%. Do you run your business worrying about something that is less than 1% or worry about the 99%. If you still worry about the 1% then there must be some other reason for it.

From: Pat Gan 03 April 2024 15:38 PM

Pat Gan
Nick, I don't know anything about Boat people either but I will not make derogatory comments about anyone. Know your facts, don't spread lies. You as landlords should know just because some Landlords use s21 get rid of tenants instead of fixing issues doesn't mean we all do the same. Because all the charities like shelter etc went on about it non stop, government is looking abolish s21. You talking about Boat people is the same thing - no facts / just unfounded opinion.

From: Pat Gan 03 April 2024 15:32 PM

Pat Gan
Nick, I know most ethnic minority immigrants tend to work within their communities, except highly skilled migrants working for NHS or IT companies etc. British born will work anywhere. Eastern europeans work in building trade and everywhere. Most of the immigrants are hard working. Once they are settled and they understand the laws of the land, then some of them will chose to exploit it. It is no different to any other British Citizen. Europeans emigrated to USA and built it while their families in Europe didn't see that level of growth. The simple reason is - only the ones that wanted to better themselves took the risk and travelled and are willing to put in more effort than anyone else. The Boat people are the same. Of course you will see differences in attitude between different communities too. I have seen so many EU builders with no regard or understanding of the laws. I have also seen them being exploited by their own and others. No one is perfect and we must not judge the book by it's cover. The government is trying to satisfy the rightwing conservatives. The people are being fed the immigration card again and again. We have so much more important issues to deal with. It is no different to brainwashing people.

From: Pat Gan 03 April 2024 15:06 PM

Pat Gan
Ok Catherine Wright, I grouped 3 types together to say they won't win elections in this country - your understanding seem to group them based on racism - I didn't say it or imply it. It is also wrong to say ethnic minorities can't be racist. Nick stating most of the European migrants are hard working - How does he know that? European builders working in peoples houses without understanding British laws and building control are a problem too. I wonder what kind of Brexit the Annoyed Landlord would have got to safeguard our fishermen when they sell their catch into Europe.

From: Pat Gan 03 April 2024 13:05 PM

Pat Gan
Hello Michael, What is the point? Do you think what the landlords say here changes government policies. This is a platform for disgruntled landlords to vent their frustrations. The people who should be taking action are NRLA. What can they do - Nothing? I have lived long enough to know bulls***t sticks. Look at the media now, the government is blaming illegal immigrants for everything - oh we have a immigrant crisis. Does anyone in the country understand the truth? - No, No chance, you are not allowed to think, you are pushed a narrative by the governments for votes or something else, the truth is irrelevant. One of the key reasons for Brexit is uncontrolled migration from eastern europe, now that Brexit is achieved, crippling the countries finances the focus is on the Boat people. The same thing is happening in rental market. Blaming landlords for lack of housing and house building program. It is a game of forcing people to focus on a side issue while not dealing with the real issue. The majority of people in this country are too stupid to understand this, some support labour, some support conservative and a few support the truth. Go talk to the fishermen who supported Brexit and went out of business after Brexit. Brent is celebrating screwing landlords, while they are on the brink of bankruptcy and using hotels to put up tenants. All Landlords must understand that the general sentiment in the country is that Landlords are making easy money, thanks to tv programs to you tube videos, etc etc. This falls within the English class narrative. The haves and the have nots, the north and the south, the landlords and the lease holders and Now Landlords and tenants. Once labour is in power it will get worse. Take the money out of this country and invest in US or Dubai or join the party of people building blocks of flats to rent. Small landlords will be wiped out. All the government policies point to this fact. So Michael and Jo and others on here, if you have time on your hands, do something worthwhile, form a charitable organisation and receive complaints from landlords and support them, you will see first hand the illegal behaviour of councils like Brent. But more importantly, you will have a database of landlord problems. Then you can also influence government with actual data to back it up.

From: Pat Gan 03 April 2024 09:33 AM

Pat Gan
I like the money in HMO

From: Pat Gan 30 January 2024 15:11 PM

Pat Gan
I always use VPN irrespective of where I am. This used be something we in the IT industry used to work on clients across the world. Now it is used more as security to stop hackers finding your ip address. This VPN element should be available with most virus software you would use like Norton. They are just as effective at no extra cost.

From: Pat Gan 12 December 2023 10:24 AM

Pat Gan
Brent council is run by Loony Left Labour: Criminality grows in lawless environments. I had a wonderful experience with Brent. I bought a house in auction and was advised it is in a good location for renting rooms. so I contacted the Brent council and asked about HMO licensing and advise on what I should do. I was told I don't need a license and can just rent the place. Couple of years later I saw a letter at the property suggesting that I may need a license. So I contacted Brent again paid the fees and asked them to come and inspect the place and advise on any thing I have missed out on. They sent me a license but didn't visit the place to inspect. so I called them and asked them to come and inspect my property, they advised they will do so and yet no visit. During this period I researched more about HMOs and wanted to extend develop the property, I was having so much trouble with planning my license was about to run out. So I gave all the tenants notice to vacate, some of them took longer to leave and during this period Brent raided my property and sent me a letter detailing their findings and asking for information on all the tenants that lived there. I read the law they cited in their letter and advised them that they are not following the law and they need to start following the law. They disputed it and proceed to send me letter of intension to fine me showing the fine amount and a discount of 20% if I paid up voluntarily. I promptly replied how they have not safeguarded any of my tenants as they failed to inspect my property and that they didn't follow the law in sending me these threats and told them to start all over. The day before their 6 month window was up a desperate sounding email came from the same looser at Brent council asking if I was going to pay. The response from me was the same as before. Soon after that I received a letter from Brent thanking me for paying a fine I hadn't paid. So who are the criminals here? They absolutely don't care about the tenants and more over they are playing into the hands of build to rent property developers. There are thousands of such flats in Wembley.

From: Pat Gan 11 December 2023 10:17 AM

Pat Gan
Yes I do worry Nick and hence why I didn't take them up on their offer. My point was more about the fact that these councils are desperate for homes, so they will have to wake up at some point or go bankrupt.

From: Pat Gan 07 December 2023 16:16 PM

Pat Gan
Vibha, Don't get out of London, just choose the right option. I had been contacted by an agency that supplies emergency housing for councils offer me £2000 pcm guaranteed for the term of my choice in an area where rents are typically £1600-£1800 pcm. Just imagine how much the councils are paying these agents. Probably around £2500 pcm. This is not sustainable, something has to give. An en-suite room I started renting for £550 pcm is now rented at £1050 pcm. I am not adding any more but getting rid of ones that aren't worth the bother and keeping a few in my limited company. I can chose to expand if ever the options become more landlord Friendly.

From: Pat Gan 07 December 2023 11:18 AM

Pat Gan
I live in Borough of Hillingdon where we still have the old system or actually the council collects the rubbish. We have tough nylon bags supplied by the council at no cost to resident to collect green waste, black bags for general rubbish, clear bags supplied by council for recycling, food waste bins and biodegradable bags supplied by the council. All the rubbish collected weekly. What a pleasure. I rent properties in Croydon, Merton, Brent and Harrow - where collection fortnightly and they won't take if the lid is open or some contamination etc. Common denominator is contract with Viola - Nightmare.

From: Pat Gan 07 December 2023 10:53 AM

Pat Gan
Exactly, every monkey is getting on the back of Landlords for absolutely no reason.

From: Pat Gan 07 December 2023 10:38 AM

Pat Gan
James Stupid Turner, Brent Brought in Article 4 direction for HMOs and has overpaid by some £9 million to house people in Hotels - They have got themselves to blame Brent has never inspected my property yet happy to take the money for license. So who have they protected - No one I have enough evidence to sue Brent, why should I waste my time and effort to help dimwits like you. Keep supporting these trash and be homeless.

From: Pat Gan 07 December 2023 10:26 AM

Pat Gan
Ellie, I don't where your properties are, I would charge more if people wanted to stay short term. It wouldn't stay empty as in London the demand is high. I have been offered higher than asking rent to cover for their lacking in other areas. I will not accept higher rent in those circumstances. My son and his two friends have been trying to get a central London 3 bed flat starting at £4500 pcm and above and the agents have been trying to create a bidding war there. They want to enjoy the London that never sleeps and walk home, then they have to pay those prices.

From: Pat Gan 06 December 2023 10:50 AM

Pat Gan
Michael, weather we like it or not, the PRS is being killed off to accommodate the build to rent brigade by the conservative and is supported by life of envy Labour. We need social housing stock - that is a fact. This will help the old landlords to retire and keep more of their money and help the councils get more desperately needed council homes. Any policy worth pursuing has to benefit both parties. It is all well and good worrying about how much HMRC will be loosing on CGT, the government will be gaining by not using Hotels and paying exorbitant prices for an accommodation which isn't fit for purpose. I think it is one of the most humane way of dealing with this problem. Only because the government and councils are incapable of building new council housing stock.

From: Pat Gan 20 November 2023 11:01 AM

Pat Gan
I like that idea, but need to be implemented across the country. 10000 is not enough to cover London. It is much better than paying billions on hotels. He should incentivise landlords to sell to councils by giving them a break on capital gains to sell to council. As for funding, where there is a will, there is a way.

From: Pat Gan 20 November 2023 06:40 AM

Pat Gan
Yes. People also don't want HMO on their street. I saw a new HMO close to mine, within 6 months rubbish overflowing from the bins, people using the front garden as living room etc. So, I do understand the people not wanting HMOs. However the councils are desperate for rooms, a number of so called agents have contacted me and offered rents over and above market prices to house council tenants temporarily. Let the desperation kick-in and they may change their minds on HMOs.

From: Pat Gan 09 November 2023 18:41 PM

Pat Gan
In London, I know of two boroughs that have brought in article 4 direction and forced landlords to get planning permission to convert to HMOs. Planning department aren’t handing out permissions. These 2 councils, Brent and Croydon now have a huge shortage of rooms for the workforce in the area.

From: Pat Gan 09 November 2023 16:47 PM

Pat Gan
The British fishermen wanted Brexit. Do you know what their plight was once they had their Brexit. Go visit them. Fining the landlord is not the solution. Educating tenants on their responsibilities as much as inspecting and educating the landlords. In this case as an agent is involved, the landlord may not have known the exact details of the situation. So the council should be contacting the landlord and work them.

From: Pat Gan 08 November 2023 11:40 AM

Pat Gan
It is a large 22 bed HMO in one of the most expensive areas in the entire country. The landlord and agent most likely has been making a lot of money and didn’t manage the property. This is why I manage my properties. I also think if the council is acting on behalf of tenants then, they should have inspected the property before licensing and at least once during the 5 year licensing period.

From: Pat Gan 08 November 2023 09:28 AM

Pat Gan
The real problem in the uk is that it has a large working class population with no qualifications. So they bring in short specific courses to get these people into employment. Quality of their standard is low and we have to go with whatever they deem right. One day they are the losers at school and the next they are BT engineer, gas safe engineer and so on. It really is an insult to the word engineer.

From: Pat Gan 02 November 2023 08:50 AM

Pat Gan
All landlords must bring your rents up to market rents

From: Pat Gan 31 October 2023 07:51 AM

Pat Gan
I think all the landlords have to accept the fact that S21 will be removed as it is part of conservatives election pledge. Labour will do worse. It is time for NRLA to come up with solutions that work for landlords. So far, I have not seen any. If S8 is the only option, then system must be setup in a way a lazy landlord will have evidence to evict a tenant. What do I mean by that? Well, the procedures must by default provide evidence needed. Tenancy is for fixed period of say 5 years (so no one is quaking in the boots about eviction). However, students, HMOs to have 1 year fixed term tenancies. Late payment recorded, 3 late payments = eviction, one month of non payment= eviction, any mould or property degradation in quarterly inspection should be grounds for eviction, deposit should be split into one for rent protection and other for damage protection. Or Tenant must have rent and damage protection insurance for the duration of tenancy with the landlord as the benefishery. Court process needs to be landlords filling in a form online or otherwise with evidence and court granting it. No expensive lawyers or delays. S21 is not the be all and end all as long as we have comprehensive reforms to support the landlords. For me a landlord tenant register is a must and must not be allowed at any cost to have a landlords only register. In any negotiation if you are not willing to give anything then the negotiation will fail. We need a register of tenants with their history of what ever they have done. So Landlords should be asking for a tenant register.

From: Pat Gan 30 October 2023 09:19 AM

Pat Gan
Good news, but when?

From: Pat Gan 30 October 2023 08:21 AM

Pat Gan
People who sublet only do it to subsidise their rent or to make profit at the landlords expense. Subletting Leeds to overcrowding deteriorating the property, increasing chance of mould, vermin etc. Absolutely NO.

From: Pat Gan 30 October 2023 08:18 AM

Pat Gan
Nick and Ellie, I agree with you both. The thing that is missing here is a think tank type organisation which takes into consideration the concerns on both side and comes up with a solution. Instead we are left with doggy politicians who are trying to pamper to politics of envy. This is where a good NRLA could make a difference.

From: Pat Gan 27 October 2023 12:28 PM

Pat Gan
Ellie and Nick, The government created AST not so long ago, we are now creating something new. Hence why I am disappointed with NRLA. We can give a person 5 year contract with 6 month break clause. Just because we end S21 doesn’t mean we can’t have checks and balances. Using a payment system will affects their credit ratings and a landlord and tenants register helps the landlords more than the tenant. We know for every bad landlord there may be a 100 bad tenant. So let’s have a system that exposes bad apple and make it easier to evict them than it is today. Why spend 6 months to evict someone when you can do it in 2. But the most important point of the register is that it becomes a deterrent. Having effective deterrent is far more useful than AST. Today, a tenant can leave you with 50k worth of damage and move somewhere and do it again there. Wouldn’t you rather have a register where you can check the way tenant has behaved in previous tenancies. The current system, any body can write a reference saying they were the previous landlord. If we have to register by law and if you don’t, you have no rights as a landlord or tenant, I know which side all the good landlords and tenants will choose.

From: Pat Gan 27 October 2023 11:23 AM

Pat Gan
The problem here is that NRLA failed miserably in providing any leadership in tackling this issue of non fault eviction. They should come up with comprehensive ideas, put them to its members and take the data to the government. We can have symbolic removal of S21 with a comprehensive market that serves the tenants and landlords well with modified S8 and landlords and tenants register that can show real history of tenant and landlords behaviour, However NRLA have been sleep walking.

From: Pat Gan 27 October 2023 09:04 AM

Pat Gan
I commend you for trying, in politics, as in life you get nothing for nothing. In other words, assuming you get 10000 signatures, then what? What does it change? As it is you have a few hundred signatures. This is something the NRLA should be asking their members and presenting to the government. As in the case of Brexit, the facts are ignored and the sensationalised sentiments are followed. In Brexit uncontrolled immigration was the problem and with this People making money by renting homes is the problem. The government are doing all this because there are people in this country who dislike Landlords for making perceived easy money. They don’t understand that we could put our money into other investments. The government is pampering to them.

From: Pat Gan 27 October 2023 08:37 AM

Pat Gan
Yes Michael, There has been continuous attack on private landlords. We need a union to properly represent Landlords. The s8 can be modified with some other changes to be more effective than s21. s21 takes about 6 months to get rid of a tenant.

From: Pat Gan 27 October 2023 02:28 AM

Pat Gan
What makes you think this is going to make any difference. The bill is to attack private Landlords. This is a normal behaviour of low class people in this country, they use a party called labour. The fact that conservatives are doing it is because there is support from public for this. Precisely like Brexit, a conservative ideology which was supported by Labour supporters as the jobs you don’t need much education for such as building trade, factory work etc were being taken by eu migrants. So the Conservative Party, the media are all obsessed with migrants of one form or another while there are delays in every sector. There is a shortage of parts and Labour in the car industry, supermarkets are still struggling to get certain items in. I can go on. Main contributor to these problems are Brexit. Why do landlords have to do gas safety checks every year and not owner occupiers. Do the government think the tenants are like vermin and will attack the gas equipment? Or Do they think the equipment may deteriorate to unsafe levels within a year. If so, why not check all gas equipment in all house holds. Or Do they think that tenants are a higher class of beings that should be protected? The class war in this country is real, they want to destroy private housing market. The council houses or housing associations are not being discussed. THIS IS BECAUSE LOW CLASS PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY HATE THE SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE, PERIOD.

From: Pat Gan 26 October 2023 15:16 PM

Pat Gan
Does anyone remember when EPC was introduced. The main purpose of that reform was to change the property sales process, EPC was just a minor point. The main point of that reform was to stop people backing off after accepting an offer. Once the estate agents body made it clear that the bill will destroy the housing market, the only thing that was left behind was EPCs. Which was then extended to the rental sector too. It will take the Banks and the likes of NRLA to specify the problem with these reforms. It won’t happen until the government specify the reforms. We already have a delay to reform the courts- that’s like how long is a piece of string? Stupid Labour can say what ever when they are in opposition, but as government, they wouldn’t want to take the country into recession at the first point of asking. In 22 years of renting properties, I have used s21 once and S8 twice, each time to evict tenants who were in breach of the tenancies. Now I have included annual rent rises as part of the new contracts and increased rents across the portfolio. I have had some agents who supply properties for councils offer me the same as the market rents. So if you add their cut on top, the councils are paying through the nose to house people on temporary basis yet they haven’t changed the rent they pay their tenants. Even Labour have to wake up to the stupidity eventually. When government can’t explain their stupidity, they point the finger at people with no voice - the immigrants.

From: Pat Gan 26 October 2023 08:36 AM

Pat Gan
Nick, If you have a drug dealer next door to you, you will have no problem. You will only have a problem if the police catch the drug dealer and prosecute him using legal aid??

From: Pat Gan 24 October 2023 21:05 PM

Pat Gan
Nick, If you can’t see that the government is trying win voters by trying remove s21, then you can’t understand why these boat people are being targeted either. It is all done to appease certain section of their supporters or public to win votes. I am not sure either policy is working for them. They can keep people preoccupied while they make a mess of the country.

From: Pat Gan 24 October 2023 14:04 PM

Pat Gan
Ellie, I doubt the renters reform bill will work. If it isn’t for the conservative landlord MPs, we may not had this delay with excuse of reforming the courts. The problem we have is that there is no one really representing the landlords view. We need a body to put the type of ideas forward as levelling the playing field. The problem with section 8 is that it need reforming and the second is providing evidence. The portal is a good place to obtain evidence of not just your situation but history too. If NRLA are in talks with the government, they should put in this type of idea in and make s21 a non issue. Non of us use s21 to kick out a good tenant anyway.

From: Pat Gan 24 October 2023 10:33 AM

Pat Gan
No Ellie, I worked in the IT industry at a corporate level and have had to accommodate changes all my life. My role was to go to companies and improve the way the worked. Make what they believed to be impossible, possible. I also worked in different countries and understand there are far better ways of doing things. When I started in the property sector, I was shocked. The level of incompetence and unprofessionals in the housing sector is beyond belief. The councils are a joke. The planning department are egotistical con-merchants, letting agents are the biggest waste of money, I can go on. So now, I manage all of my properties myself.

From: Pat Gan 24 October 2023 09:11 AM

Pat Gan
Nick, this point about people in boats. Do you have any idea about them. It is not their fault or problem that this government is making scapegoat out of them and stupid people in this country follow the government bulls**t. This is why we have Brexit, stupid leading the stupid. It is the conservatives ideology that is costing Britain money not the people.

From: Pat Gan 24 October 2023 08:54 AM

Pat Gan
I know, there is no such thing as easy money. I make more money from HMOs than any other rentals. The reality is that I am not afraid of hard work. I have lived a privileged life too. Britain is a toxic nation where everyone wants to have their cake and eat it too. People who invest in houses aren’t financially savvy. It is bread and butter ideal British investment. I assume you have used advertising portals like SpareRoom or openrent etc. I also assume you use some sort of deposit protection scheme. You wouldn’t have used any of these in the past too. You have to move with the times and embrace new ways of working. All landlords when they started off in this industry would have made many mistakes. The first problem is lack credible information. I know I struggled to get credible information about HMOs when I started. British government and people’s ideological idea’s don’t work in practice. The reality is s21 is coming at some point. Negotiate a system that makes tenants just as accountable as landlords and get your rent paid and on time and all damages recorded and charged as if they don’t pay, they won’t be able move to the next property and cause the same problems. All the looney left charities will disappear. The rental sector will prosper. And tenants will have good homes to live in. Oh wait, there is only one problem, this is Great Britain, where delusional people are in love with old fire places and identical looking houses. The problem is many people in this country don’t want change in a changing world and will get left behind. I say embrace the changes and make it work for you.

From: Pat Gan 24 October 2023 08:30 AM

Pat Gan
The removal of S21 is a looney left ideology, which the conservative government has pledged to execute in order to get votes. Removal of s21 with the market as it is disaster. How ever, we can negotiate with the conservatives. So an implementation of policy which is a very non English way of thinking will help. Today, to prove you communicated with your tenant via letters etc in court is a problem. Where as if you communicate via a portal, your communication is recorded and proof if needed in court. It becomes a deterrent because it is recorded. We can’t put Cctv inside homes to record what the tenants are doing but, regular inspection can be recorded and loaded in this system. I accept, it is more work but it will clean up the letting industry, remove rogue landlords and tenants. The problem in general with people in this country is they know they need more housing but they don’t want it on their doorstep.

From: Pat Gan 24 October 2023 07:35 AM

Pat Gan
One point I forgot to mention, as NRLA are clearly talking to government, why are they not asking for tenant and landlord's register as part of the removal of S21. The evidence from this register can be accessed by courts etc to expedite problem resolution, including eviction.

From: Pat Gan 23 October 2023 11:54 AM

Pat Gan
I couldn't care less about section 21 being abolished as long as the following is done: 1. Landlords and tenants register. 1.a. All documents related to the tenancy should be loaded including pictures showing the condition of the property by landlord and pictures taken by tenants. 1.b. Any misbehaviour by either party to be entered in this register 1.c. In any future tenancy, the tenant must supply the Tenant ID for any potential landlord to check tenant history. 1.d. Likewise landlord should also supply their landlord ID for tenants to check the landlord's history. 2. All payments to be made via a system that records like credit card system. 2.a. This will ensure the tenants pay on time and in full. 2.b. This will provide a credit rating advantage for tenants. 2.c. This will also provide affordability test for tenants looking to buy their own property. 2.d. This will allow landlords to check the tenants attitude to paying rent. The above will simply eliminate the need for removing s21, as it will show how long each of the landlord's tenants are renting from the landlord. It will also show the reason the landlord used s21 to remove tenant. etc. If it becomes law and everyone followed it, there will be no hiding place for unscrupulous landlords and tenants.

From: Pat Gan 23 October 2023 11:51 AM

Pat Gan
To all the people on here commenting on this useless topic. This and another site called letting today looks very similar are bringing shelters intentions to the media. If you Google, you will not see anything about this in main media. Don’t hype lies as ordinary people will believe it to be true. This media outlet is part of the problem. Britain has a problem in the way, government including local authorities work and other government bodies work. In most cases they cause their own problems. Stop talking about renters reform bill unless we are going to criticise it for the damage it is actually doing. Instead we have 30 charities calling for reform - to a common man that sounds like a good thing as charities are asking for it. Once it’s done, they will realise the consequences. Will these charities house the homeless people -NO. So why listen to their opinion or worse publish it. This is like our fishermen wanting Brexit. They wanted no quotas on the fishing. Once they had the Brexit, there was no issue with quotas but they had no one to sell it to. It is the stupid leading the stupid. Brent brought in article 4 direction for HMOs and have apparently spent 13 million over the budget in housing people in hotels. A lot of this is happening in the uk now. It is only harming Britain.

From: Pat Gan 17 October 2023 08:49 AM

Pat Gan
Sandra, Tell us little bit about you: 1. Do you live in a council house? 2. Do you get any benefits from UC? 3. Have you ever owned a property? 4. Have you ever worked and saved for a property? 5. Have you ever run any business? 6. Do you know the purpose of running any business? 7. Have you seen the mismanagement of our money by every single council? 8. Do you know what taking responsibility is? 9. Why are councils not building council homes? 10. Brent council brought in article 4 direction, which meant one needed planning permission for HMOs. Landlords sold their HMOs and now the council has spent 13 million more to house people in hotels instead of HMOs. 11. Don’t advocate for something you don’t understand. Private landlords exist because there aren’t enough council houses. So ask your council to build more houses.

From: Pat Gan 16 October 2023 10:33 AM

Pat Gan
I Love it. Brent brought in article 4 direction and forced landlord’s out of HMOs and have ended up with 13 million over budget. They should thank Harrow, if not for them this lot will have bigger debt.

From: Pat Gan 16 October 2023 07:28 AM

Pat Gan
Another one that needs brain surgery. I certainly don’t think white people are workshy but there are always a proportion of every culture and background that are lazy, love the free money etc. just Google the proportion of ethnicity of England and wales and it comes up with 82% white and 18% black and others. What this shows is country is predominantly run by white English and Welsh people. The ethnic minorities usually but not always tend to work harder, go the extra mile to be successful. You can go to any country in the world and find this to be true.

From: Pat Gan 12 October 2023 13:21 PM

Pat Gan
I question the intelligence of the British people, why allow a policy of selling council houses at a discounted price with out replacing them. Money was available from the sale of the council houses. People didn’t question this conservative policy nor did the Labour Party? Labour could have changed the course when they were in power. At the end of the day no one cares until it starts to hurt them, then they look for scapegoats to blame.

From: Pat Gan 12 October 2023 13:08 PM

Pat Gan
You need brain surgery- oh no we need immigrants to do that too.

From: Pat Gan 12 October 2023 09:15 AM

Pat Gan
Not true, I have had contact with councils, Labour run, they want to destroy landlord’s business at any cost. They couldn’t care less about the tenants also.

From: Pat Gan 11 October 2023 09:04 AM

Pat Gan
What you are forgetting is that this country is run by rich aristocrats whose interests come first. The conservatives have created a large enough PRS and used landlords like us to do it. We are in this market largely because the social housing stock is being depleted for last 30-40 years. Now the market is primed for build to rent landlords to take over from us. So expect policies to support that narrative.

From: Pat Gan 11 August 2023 09:29 AM

Pat Gan
I would convert houses to HMOs where possible, keep flats and sell off all other houses. All new contracts will have an annual rent increment included. So the net effect is, it will be difficult for families to get houses, young families will cope with flats until they have to move to a larger property to accommodate a growing family. Others may not want to have children or have just one child. The biggest problem the western world faces is lack of Labour and this type of policies will add fuel to the already growing problem.

From: Pat Gan 31 July 2023 07:53 AM

Pat Gan
So the council licensed the property without appropriate works completed, then failed to check for the duration of the license and only went to take the landlord to court after the landlord failed to re license. So where is the care for the tenants by the council during the period when the property was licensed. The court should fine the council for not doing their job properly while the license was in force and ensuring the safety of the tenant. The tenants should take the council to court based on the outcome of this case for compensation as the council has provided licences to properties that should not have had them. The only reason council is taking this action is to gain money and only if the tenants take the council to court for negligence on their part, the councils will start to work with landlords instead of trying to fine them as a source of income.

From: Pat Gan 27 July 2023 07:43 AM

Pat Gan
I have had dealings with Brent council. They behave like scammers.

From: Pat Gan 27 July 2023 07:03 AM

Pat Gan
To late Estate agents. You fought back against change of legislation in the sales side and was left with EPC, you failed to fight against S21, so reap the benefits of loss of business. With the rise of internet based advertising, you’re letting business will continue to dwindle. The good news for you is more build to rent businesses and so you can continue to make money there.

From: Pat Gan 22 May 2023 07:34 AM

Pat Gan
Micheal, I purposely left out the detail dates etc you mentioned. The point I am making is simple. The conservatives created this BTL boom over a period of time but if you take out the time period, the sinister behaviour will be clearly visible to most people. Let’s take the 1979 election pledge to sell council houses at substantially reduced prices. On the face of it, it looks like a good policy to get the poor on to the housing ladder. Land ownership has helped distribution of wealth all over the world. So that in itself is not a bad policy. But no one thought of its consequences. If the policy was to sell at discounted prices and replace each sold with new developments such as sell one and use the money to build two new ones would have been progressive. Instead the policy was sell one do nothing, which created a shortfall of council houses increasing the need for private housing for rent. Once that environment is created, then you make it attractive for people to buy and rent using ASTs, to help this along further provide financing for ASTs. Now that we have a large enough market for the big boys to get involved. Curb the small landlords and the millionaire friends of the conservatives have a market they can be bothered to invest in. So how did this affect the ordinary people. The people who relied on council housing found their children didn’t have enough council houses for them - so they lost out. The average household found the house prices have gone up so much that their children can’t afford to buy houses and living with parents longer- so the children of average families lost out. The individual landlords made some money. The banks made a lot of money financing these properties The government made Money through various taxes Now the big developers are making money from their multitude of built to rent. This is happening in Britain in NHS for example, slowly NHS is using more private services to run it, more agency nurses, surgeons working for private medical services, private care homes and the list goes on. So, the government policies are not about helping tenants or Landlords, it is simply about creating environment to make money for their friends. If the the Labour Party is there to look after the poor then the could have corrected the housing issue by building council houses. They didn’t do it either as their interest is to take money from the rich give to the poor. - bit of a Robin Hood idea as opposed to fair and decent efforts to rectify the housing crisis. I can go on but, I don’t think there is any need. Understand what is happening and use it if you can, otherwise move on to pastures new.

From: Pat Gan 15 May 2023 07:29 AM

Pat Gan
It has made the likes of you homeless. Keep on laughing. Sad example of the people of envy.

From: Pat Gan 13 May 2023 21:34 PM

Pat Gan
If you look at buy to let market as a whole it was aided by selling off of council houses and creating the AST and buy to let lending - conservative policy. Now taxing landlords and driving them towards ltd company ownerships - Conservative policy Next is Large corporations owning and renting properties. So the conservative governments have effectively created a large enough market for their friends to benefit from. What do the alternative government in Labour do - just keep whining. Most of us Landlord’s have been taken for a ride. The simple fact is no government cares about what happens to landlords or that matter tenants.

From: Pat Gan 12 May 2023 08:23 AM

Pat Gan
Yes, this is exactly what they do, one council advised me that the section 8 notice is wrong and I need to provide section 21 notice with the tenants present with her. I told her to get a good education in law and that the tenants are going to loose their child due to her incompetence and put the phone down. The breach of contract was housing a child in an accommodation not suitable for children. The tenants left on the section 8 notice date.

From: Pat Gan 19 October 2021 11:59 AM

Pat Gan
This is a non-issue being made into a problem by naive landlord. We know council will not house anyone until evicted with a court order. A tenant after 10 years of being in one property wouldn't recognise the rental market. So help them move by explaining the rental market situation to them and the cost of eviction that they will have to pay etc. Tell them you will return their rent money of the month they move out to help with their relocation and that they can move anytime during the 2 month notice period. This has worked every time so far for me, only difference in my case is I return the difference between they moving out and next tenant moving in provided they cooperate with me with viewings.

From: Pat Gan 19 October 2021 11:52 AM

Pat Gan
This seems like false reporting and headline seeking as opposed to anything done by HMRC.

From: Pat Gan 11 October 2021 13:10 PM

Pat Gan
It is headline grabbing by the person who wrote this article.

From: Pat Gan 11 October 2021 13:08 PM

Pat Gan
When I started in BTL, I wouldn't have known to submit tax return. In my case I started earning more than 40k and started doing tax returns before becoming a landlord. There are a multitude of people not doing tax returns. What the government should be doing is a complete review of taxation to include all forms of employment. They should look at how the Netherlands and other European countries manage their taxation. Such review will never happen as it would be a vote loser.

From: Pat Gan 11 October 2021 13:06 PM

Pat Gan
Chris Clare, if we assume, as you say it is 14 landlords per 100, 000 people, the article is not making any point at all. It is like saying 14 cows have marking on them out of 100, 000 livestock.

From: Pat Gan 11 October 2021 09:40 AM

Pat Gan
I don't think they are scared but not interested, they just want the money from whoever they can get it from.

From: Pat Gan 11 October 2021 09:29 AM

Pat Gan
I think the government is quoting figures from insulation materials stolen from back of a lorry and insulated by cash in hand criminal.

From: Pat Gan 11 October 2021 09:21 AM

Pat Gan
14 per 100 000 is 0.00014% of landlords, that's not even a storey worth reporting.

From: Pat Gan 11 October 2021 09:10 AM

Pat Gan
The Government, generation rent and the likes are trying get the landlords to sell up and move on to other investments. Already the likes of Lloyds bank are looking to buy a portfolio of rental properties, build to rent is increasing too. The tenants supporting this activity is like the British fisherman story of supporting Brexit and loosing their livelihood after Brexit. I would love to let them have their cake and eat it and laugh at their despair when it happens, but remember it is the future generations that will suffer the most. So it is time to have a landlord's organisation that takes on the likes of generation rent to task by taking them on in media and if need be taking court action against them for misleading the public.

From: Pat Gan 31 August 2021 09:38 AM

Pat Gan
This is a systemic failure of British government and being blamed on the opertunistic immigirant who is solving a problem his community faces. Anywhere you find cheap services today, such as delivery, car wash, builders etc, there you will find under paid workers who cannot afford normal accommodation. So either one acts in the way this guy has done or the odd one in a better paid job or here with family (housing benefit) will be able to rent a house and sublet. So if the Government clean up the employment sector, the rental sector will clean itself out as no one wants to live in squalid conditions or share one bathroom with 10 or more strangers.

From: Pat Gan 20 July 2021 09:57 AM

Pat Gan
Sorry Licensing is a way for the council to make money. The good landlords will always do the right thing. The rogue LL like these will not pay licence. The only way to fix this problem is when councils and authorities actually do their jobs and held to account for their failure.

From: Pat Gan 24 February 2021 10:12 AM

Pat Gan
Why has the local authority not taken any action for 10 years since they asked her to install fire alarm? So, they are just as much to blame as this woman.

From: Pat Gan 24 February 2021 10:02 AM

Pat Gan
The problem here is the local authorities and their inability do anything right. How can these flats have building control completion certs without Electrical installation certs. Why were the flats allowed to be let without building control completion certs? I want to see the council building control or private building control being sued and any electrician who gave installation certs sued and so on. It is easy to sue the owner but there may be thousands like them and will have more in the future until local authorities and other controlling bodies start to do their jobs properly and in a timely manner.

From: Pat Gan 23 February 2021 11:32 AM

Pat Gan
Having gone through converting properties to meet HMO standards and licensing I know the costs involved. In my case one council provided the license without bothering to inspect that property and another did everything possible to avoid dealing with me. I had to become a nuisance caller to force the council to provide an inspection date. My point is simple, there are laws and standards but the councils are unwilling to enforce them or have a simple process that people can follow. Under these circumstances many wouldn't bother. The works I have done are over and above council requirements. I set my standards and attract the right tenants. It certainly won't cost this guy 50k to fix the issues. People who live in such places do so as it may be cheaper or they don't have the income levels etc to get a better place. Little bit of money goes a long way with such people and there are other legitimate ways of getting around any tenant resistance. As for mould issues, my tenants are provided with washing machine and dryer and an external area where they can dry the cloths if they don't wish to use the dryer. Where I have found small mould build up during inspections usually in shower enclousres, I would treat them and show the tenants how to ensure it doesn't happen again. If I see mould after second inspection, I don't renew their contract. All new tenants only get a 6 month contract anyway. Another example of the council non-action is when I informed one council of a dangerous flat where the first floor external door Leeds to dilapidated stair at the back of the property. After several complaints the council put a dangerous building notice, the landlord removed the staircase. so now the tenants will fall from first floor to the ground floor. The council has taken no further action.

From: Pat Gan 18 January 2021 21:01 PM

Pat Gan
The reason for this problem is the council themselves. If the councils do their job from day 1, no such houses can exist. If this so called LL is smart, he could have fixed the place for next to nothing and there would be no news. He expected the council to sleep as they have done probably for many years prior to this and got done for it. He may also have ways to avoid paying this fine. I think the system is failing the law abiding in this country and are being used as a cash cow where ever possible.

From: Pat Gan 18 January 2021 14:28 PM

Pat Gan
John, You don't seem to understand the so called un professional landlord. Their way works irrespective of what ever the government legislation is out there. The ones who get caught are the innocent landlords who happen own a second property that they rent in good will and not understand the full impact of any issues that may rise. They won't be shaking in their boots either as they would be non the wiser until they have to serve such notice as section 21.

From: Pat Gan 11 December 2020 10:13 AM

Pat Gan
This is another bubble. These agents manage Central London to zone 3/4. The rents are sky high, the property prices are sky high and the agent fees are high. The people renting from them are rich or have rich parents. This survey is not representative of the country.

From: Pat Gan 25 November 2020 09:55 AM

Pat Gan
let's see what happens in a year

From: Pat Gan 17 July 2020 10:54 AM

Pat Gan
Mostly depends on the attitude of the tenant.

From: Pat Gan 26 June 2020 09:48 AM

Pat Gan
In the short to medium term, the rents will drop in London and the number of Landlords leaving the market will continue as people lose jobs and many industries restructure after covid forced shut down. As the businesses and employment recover and demand for properties increase, less landlords and rental stock in the market means rents will go up. However, it all depends on the economy, cure for covid -19 and sensible government policies. As far as I can see there are no alternative to PRS

From: Pat Gan 18 June 2020 10:19 AM

Pat Gan
Ultimately, the mortgages need to paid, bills need to be paid, the council tax need to be paid etc, so why doesn't the government put emergency funding into social services and help the tenants who need it. That way it will be the least spent on avoiding any problems due to this virus in the housing market.

From: Pat Gan 17 March 2020 10:57 AM

Pat Gan
What a stupid Idea, the esiest, cheapest and the most sensible way would be for social security to fund for those tenants affected by this virus. Any other Brian wave like this will result in tenants losing their homes and less landlords meaning more tenants on the road.

From: Pat Gan 17 March 2020 10:49 AM

Pat Gan
The tenants can only pay a certain amount, after that they either give Landlord trouble and get kicked out, end up in some doggy B&B through the council decide they don't want their children to live with addicts and move to rogue landlord's property or move to cheaper options with same rogue landlords. Which ever route they take the system will push these people to rogue landlords as that is all they can afford. So as long as you have people in this desperate situation rogue landlords will flourish. The reason this will not be dealt with is simple - it is mostly immigrant communities where this happens.

From: Pat Gan 20 December 2019 10:01 AM

Pat Gan
A landlord's register will be a way to make money for the councils. Croydon council charges around £750 or £800 to put you on their Landlord's register. You fill this form online and pay. After couple of years you will get a letter saying that your application has been accepted and you are in the register. It is only a way of making money out of landlords and nothing else.

From: Pat Gan 19 December 2019 23:24 PM

Pat Gan
Daniela, I laugh out of desperation than anything else. This country is divided by class or class based ideology. You as a landlord fall into the middle or upper class category in their eyes. It doesn't matter what this type of person does you won't be liked by the common public. This lady is in the situation she is in because she didn't cooperate with the council in fixing what ever she had, not because she was doing this. I can say this without knowing anything of this case other than what is in the article. If the council have no program of advising and working with potential landlords from the start, some will become rouge and some will become good landlords.

From: Pat Gan 19 December 2019 16:11 PM

Pat Gan
As a landlord, when I see such headline news I just laugh. The Judiciary are blind, the councils are lazy, powerless and useless, people are sleep walking like zombies. Britain needs cheap labour and rely heavily on immigrants. Where do you think these imimgrants live? They live in such over crowded houses. The agents will rent say 3 bed house to 3 people, let's say a couple and their relative, they will sublet and no body cares this happens. When such a slum tenant becomes a landlord or when landlords see they can make more money as in any event these people are going to sublet anyway, they will run it as an unlicensed HMO. When law-abiding landlords contact the councils about HMO, usually the only point of information is what ever they have on their website. When you apply, they take your money and don't contact you for months or years in some cases. I say these problems are created by the governments of the day and the councils, which intern is elected in by the people of this country. If I form a group that targets such slum homes and sue the councils, the landlords and the lead tenants. I can create a housing crisis, labour crisis and may be a recession?? As for this fine, if they employ the right lawyers, may get it reduced too as happened in a case in Birmingham. I think, every time such case ends up in court, the council must be made to pay 50% of the fine and costs for not having the correct procedures in place to stop this problem.

From: Pat Gan 19 December 2019 09:49 AM

Pat Gan
That won't happen as the council will end up housing the main tenant and pay for poor depressed tenant whereas the landlord will pay otherwise has a home that will pay.

From: Pat Gan 30 November 2019 20:52 PM

Pat Gan
solution is simple, problem is governments and councils, so money spent is money wasted.

From: Pat Gan 05 November 2019 11:43 AM

Pat Gan
Not that simple. Some people don't have passports and some people are arriving with home office documents etc and are being discriminated against by the industry. So these people simply are being forced to go to doggy landlords. The root of the problem is same - the governments and local authorities inability to do their jobs.

From: Pat Gan 18 December 2018 09:17 AM

Pat Gan
xxx

From: Pat Gan 28 September 2017 12:34 PM

Pat Gan
They should be looking improve the BTL products available for ltd copanies

From: Pat Gan 25 January 2017 11:15 AM

Pat Gan
No body is regulating anyone, the councils don't check the properties they are licensing. It is a Pathetic excuse to raise money.

From: Pat Gan 25 January 2017 08:47 AM

Pat Gan
Problem in UK is the politics and useless civil servants that work for the various government bodies. What is the point of licensing, when they don't check the property when you license it? No body goes after land lords who don't license the property Council uses this as a way of collecting more money from Law abiding Citizens and offer nothing in return.

From: Pat Gan 25 January 2017 08:44 AM

Breaking News
MovePal MovePal MovePal