Slides from National Landlord Day alternative breakout sessions

1. Welcome to
National Landlord Day
Conference and exhibition 13 November 2018
Sponsors:
National Landlord Day

2. Investing in training
Elspeth Boyle
Landlord Accreditation Scotland
National Landlord Day 2018
National Landlord Day

3. Investing in training
Elspeth Boyle
LAS Director

5. Investing in training
=

6. Investing in training
Core Standard training programme
Courses are free to attend for all SAL
members
Attend as many as you wish
Your investment is your time

7. Investing in training
Best Practice training
SAL member invests £73 for the course
=
£6 per month
£1.40 per week
20p per day

8. Investing in training
AGE TICKET PRICE
Student (valid student card
required)
£8.00 - £10.50
Senior (ages 60+) £7.50 - £11.00
Adult (ages 18+) £10.95 - £13.95
Family (1 adult, 3 children
or 2 adults, 2 children)
£26.00 - £35.60
Odeon cinema ticket prices 2017

9. The Private Residential Tenancy
(PRT)
My new tenant wants me to
agree to a lease for a year
Can I do that?

10. The Private Residential Tenancy
(PRT)
Yes you can agree to this
Tenant could still give you notice
earlier
Landlord can’t hold tenant liable for
rent if they leave earlier than the
year

11. The Private Residential Tenancy
(PRT)
My tenant moved into the
property 4 weeks ago. I want to
increase the rent now.
Can I do that?

12. The Private Residential Tenancy
(PRT)
Yes you can
Rent increases limited to once in a
12 month period with 3 months’
notice, using the “rent-increase
notice”

13. The Private Residential Tenancy
(PRT)
I want to use my own tenancy
agreement, not the model tenancy
agreement
Can I do that?

14. The Private Residential Tenancy
(PRT)
Yes you can. You can still use the contractual
terms that were in your original tenancy
agreement
But, must include the mandatory terms
included in the PRT
Notice will be as prescribed by the Private
Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016

15. The Repairing Standard
My tenant has tampered with the
smoke detectors and one isn’t
working now
Do I have to fix this?

16. The Repairing Standard
The Repairing Standard states:
Landlords should ensure that smoke
and heat alarms are regularly
maintained in accordance with the
manufacturer's recommendations
The landlord would be required to fix
the system but the tenant would be
liable for cost

17. The Repairing Standard
The fridge freezer has a plug rather
than a hard wired socket and is
surrounded by a kitchen unit
Do I have to get this PAT tested?

18. The Repairing Standard
Yes, the appliance does need to be
tested as there is a lead and a plug,
even though the appliance is not
particularly portable

19. Health & Safety Regulations
I’ve heard that it is a legal
requirement for a landlord to test
for Legionnaires’ disease at their
properties
Is this right?

20. Health & Safety Regulations
No, but every property you let
needs to have a risk assessment
There is no requirement to carry
out testing
Landlords can do this themselves if
they feel confident doing so

21. Health & Safety Regulations
I organised a gas safety inspection
to be done but the gas safe
engineer contacted me to tell me
that he couldn’t do the inspection
because there was no credit on the
pre-payment gas meter.
Can I leave this now until the
tenant resolves this?

22. Health & Safety Regulations
No, it is the landlord’s responsibility
to get the test done, so if necessary,
the landlord would have to clear
the debt on the meter
The landlord can pursue the tenant
for the cost of the gas

23. Gaining entry to a property for essential
repairs
I need to carry out essential
maintenance work at my property, but
the tenant is refusing to allow access
even though the lease requires them
to allow access for maintenance work
Can I give them a deadline and after
that just go in to get the work done?

24. Gaining entry to a property for essential
repairs
No, the landlord does not have the
right to enter the property without
the consent of the tenant
The landlord can use the Right of
Entry process via the First-tier
Tribunal Housing & Property Chamber

25. www.housingandpropertychamber.scot/apply-tribunal/right-entry/right-entry-faqs

26. www.housingandpropertychamber.scot/repairs/repairs-faq

27. Don’t take our word for it
“excellent presentations, very useful information and reinforcement of
documentation”
SAL member since 2014. Courses attended 7
“the course contributed to my current knowledge very well and I am sure
it will be of great help should I experience any difficulties with my tenants
in the future”
SAL member since 2015. Courses attended 15

28. Don’t take our word for it
Sent: 24 October 2018 15:39
To: Info at Landlord Accreditation Scotland
<Info@landlordaccreditationscotland.com>
Subject: course tenancy agreements and notices
Hi, Apologies, I forgot to submit my event registration form yesterday. I wanted to
say that, although I do consider myself a very experienced and knowledgeable
landlord (40 years next year), I attribute it to the excellent training I received from
Landlord Accreditation. I always learn something and Elspeth is an excellent trainer
and keeps the pace up excellently, I don’t know where she gets the energy.
I would like to have more training, particularly managing unruly tenants and fellow
landlords who do not do their share of repairing.
All the best Elaine Crawford

29. Where do I book?

30. Breakout sessions now available to attend
National Landlord Day
Short term letting – what’s all the fuss
about?
Top 10 things to look out for with landlord
Insurance
Could an empty home be your next
investment?
Quality (mid tenancy) data – are your
SSORTed?
Biosphere:
Ozone:
Showdome:
Salisbury suite:

31. Quality (mid tenancy) data –
are you SSORTed?
Thomas Ashdown
National Landlord Day 2018
Citylets
National Landlord Day

33. • produced quarterly for 12 years
• analysis draws on large volume and
breadth of data, around 50k properties
per year
• statistical expertise built up over many
years
• Citylets figures uniquely ‘mix adjusted’
at the macro level
• accepted by the industry as a key
barometer of the lettings market
Citylets market reports

34. • new self-serve system for property rental data
• displays report essentials- average quarterly rents and
TTLs – but over longer time periods of up to 10 years
• introduces context such as comparison with CPI and
overlaid with other financial indices such as ROS,
interest rates
• ‘Open Source’ approach to data providing flexibility to
produce and export charts in seconds
• FREE online 24/7 at citylets.co.uk/datahub
The Citylets Datahub

35. • granular analysis at the postcode
district & sector level
• investor grade information
• clients include Edinburgh and
Glasgow City councils
• informs decision making for
housing associations, policy
makers and property advisory
firms
Optilet Pro

36. • Citylets is launching a new rental database to capture mid tenancy rent rises/falls
• response to increased scrutiny of mid tenancy rent behaviour
• RPZs will be determined upon behaviour of this ‘closed’ market
• Citylets has 12 years’ analysis of advertised rents or ‘open’ market
• short hop to move to closed market
• operating to higher degrees of data security
New data for new PRS era

37. Pioneering use of blockchain in UK
• blockchain, or DLT, is a new way for data to be
transferred, corroborated and stored
• data is cryptographically stored and cannot be
corrupted
• contributors can only view what they have
uploaded and also the aggregated (anonymous)
outputs
• ability to view the behaviour of the closed market
at any level of granularity
• allows collaboration between competing
businesses on sensitive data whilst preserving
data sovereignty for each individual agent

38. • Wallet.Services co-founded by ex
commercial director of Microsoft Scotland
• winners of the Scottish Government
CIVTech programme and Scottish Cyber
Security Breakthrough 2017
• Wallet.Services undertook and published
the blockchain consultancy document for
the Scottish Government
• product operational within LGIS
Technology partners

39. Tenants
Edinburgh
letting agency
Local
authority
Zone-based
residential
letting
dataset

40. • property software firms such as LetMC and SME Professional have agreed
to provide data feeds to Citylets
Software support

41. • the project is being unanimously supported by all of the first ten agents
presented to
• agreed by industry that it should lead the inevitable - the gathering of the
data
Agent support

42. • the data is factual and accurate, supplied directly from the small number of software firms
used by letting agents
• assessment of rent changes is enabled by data analytics, over time and across
geographies
• project provides the relevant data directly from source without manual intervention
preserving data integrity
• the data is cheaper to collate, more accurate, quicker and provided in ‘real time’
compared to manual, periodic, labour-intensive surveys
• the data has the potential to check and balance data assertions offered by other
stakeholders solicited through other methodologies in active pursuit of RPZs
• data will allow forward guidance on mid tenancy rent changes
• data will put letting agents in control of their market whilst protecting tenants from the very
excess the legislation seeks to address….
• #SSORTed
Getting it SSORTed

43. National Landlord Day
Lunch is served in the Stratosphere area
Programme resumes 13:40 hrs
Please visit our exhibitors’ stands
Sponsors:
National Landlord Day

44. Breakout sessions now available to attend
National Landlord Day
Handling difficult situations
Reducing costs in implementing the letting
agent code?
Quality (mid tenancy) data – are your
SSORTed?
Understanding Universal Credit
Biosphere:
Ozone:
Showdome:
Salisbury suite:

45. Understanding
Universal Credit
Susan Johnston Sandra Robinson
Department for Work and Pensions
National Landlord Day 2018
National Landlord Day

46. Universal Credit Full Service
Scottish Association of Landlords
National Landlord Day 2018
Sandra Robinson
Susan Johnston

47. Topics to discuss
To provide relevant and up to date information for landlords
on the following areas:
1.Universal Credit overview
2.UCFS in numbers
3.Verification of rent
4.Alternative Payment Arrangements
5.Devolution – Universal Credit Scottish choices

48. UC aims to be transformational and alter the landscape of work for a
generation by fundamentally changing the behaviour of four key groups:
Jobseekers Employers
Jobcentre work coaches Local authorities
• it is the biggest modernisation of the welfare state in a generation;
• replaces the complex system of six main out-of-work benefits with one simple
monthly payment;
• offers unprecedented support, personalised for individual needs;
• claimants are better off when they move into work because Universal Credit
gradually decreases as they earn more;
• as a fully digitalised service, monthly Universal Credit payments adjust
automatically with wages and people can contact their work coach via their online
journal.
Universal Credit overview

49. Live service & full service
Main differences between the services

50. UCFS in numbers
26
service
centres
441
Jobcentres2.2m
claims
made
1,100,000
on
caseload
410,000
(37%) in
employment
530,000
female
claimants
All
Jobcentres
by end
2018
510,000
“searching
for work
regime”

51. UCFS in Scotland
3 service
centres
76
Jobcentres
255k
claims
made
122k on
caseload
41,000 in
employment
All
Jobcentres
by end
2018
58,500
“searching
for work
regime”

52. Verification of rent
To be eligible for housing costs the claimant must provide
sufficient documentation to verify:
• proof of residence in the property;
• proof of liability to pay the rent.

53. Verification of rent
Claimant renting in
the private sector
Claimant asked to bring in housing
costs/documents at
ID interview
Housing costs verifiedInformation requested
from claimant
if a private tenant.
If housing costs
unverified at end of
assessment period the
housing element is not
paid
No
Work coach clears the
rent verification to do
No further action required –
rent will be included in the
award of UC.
Yes

54. Alternative Payment Arrangements
Key messages
• a Managed Payment To Landlord (MPTL) minimises the risk of claimants failing to pay their
rent;
• when rent arrears occur a landlord can apply for an MPTL;
• in December 2017 claimant consent was removed from PRS APA requests;
• guidance to staff was also changed at this time to ask the claimant if HB had previously been
paid in this way prior to claiming UC;
• we are also working to simplify the process for requesting an MPTL.

55. Alternative Payment Arrangements
How we pay private landlords

56. How the choice is offered
• eligible claimants of Universal Credit will be offered the choice after they have received their
first payment;
• this means the offer will be made at the start of the second assessment period;
• the choice will be offered in the claimant’s online account in two stages:
–one for choosing to be paid monthly or twice monthly
–one for choosing to have the relevant housing costs in the Universal Credit award paid to
themselves or to their landlord
• if an Alternative Payment Arrangement has been applied prior to the time of the offer, the
corresponding choice will not be offered;
• the claimant can make just one or both choices.
Devolution – Scottish choices

57. Questions?

58. Breakout sessions now available to attend
National Landlord Day
Enforcing tribunal decisions – the role of
the sheriff officer
Understand your EPC and improve its
rating
Investing in training
Could an empty home be your next
investment?
Biosphere:
Ozone:
Showdome:
Salisbury suite:

59. Could an empty home be
your next investment?
Shaheena Din
The Scottish Empty Homes Partnership
National Landlord Day 2018
National Landlord Day

60. Scottish Empty Homes Partnership
Shaheena Din
National Project Manager

61. • funded by Scottish Government;
• hosted by Shelter Scotland;
• aim - address the approximately 37,000 long term empties (LTEs);
• how?
• sharing best practice and learnings;
• recommendations to Scottish Government.
Who we are and our aims

62. Where are our 37,000 LTEs

63. What does this look like as a %

64. How many are still empty after 12 months?

65. Relative passed away Not ready to deal with house yet
House is not selling I can't afford to do the repairs
Being a landlord is too complicated I don't want to think about this
Why do homes lie empty?

66. • remit - privately owned empty
homes back into use;
• work with owners and partners;
• develop local empty homes policy;
• consider local priorities;
• design an empty homes strategy.
How can an empty homes officer help?

67. Matchmaker Scheme

68. Matchmaker case study

69. Matchmaker case study

70. Local Housing Strategy
Each individual council will have their own LHS
Empty Homes Strategy
Some councils have a specific empty homes strategy
Private Rent Statistics
https://www.gov.scot/publications/private-sector-rent-statistics-scotland-2010-2017/pages/3/
Assessing housing need

71. HMRC notice 708
VAT – conversion of non – residential empty for 10 years or more -0%
VAT and empty homes work

72. Empty homes loan fund case study

73. Rural housing fund case study
• total project costs £689K;
• grant fund £295K;
• loan fund £61K;
• 7 units of affordable housing;
• former St Stephens School,
Blairgowrie.

74. • depressed markets;
• unrealistic buyer/seller aspirations;
• unforeseen costs;
• increased empty homes levy on council tax being passed to developer.
Buyer be aware

75. Edinburgh City Council private sector leasing example
• no private rented tenancy requirements;
• flexible leases (up to ten years) with the City of Edinburgh Council;
• excellent rates of guaranteed rent (paid quarterly and in advance);
• up to 110% of Local Housing Allowance paid (T&Cs apply);
• cost effective repair service.
Perth and Kinross lets example
• property and tenant management service;
• support with tenancy agreements, deposits and repairs;
• tenancy sustainment.
Other private sector landlord support

76. Scottish Empty Homes Conference 2018

77. Any questions?

78. National Landlord Day
Refreshments are served in the Stratosphere area
Please visit our exhibitors’ stands
Programme resumes 15:30 hrs in the Biosphere
Sponsors:
National Landlord Day