TPO appoints new council chair

By Marc Da Silva

When a tenant paid his initial one month’s rent in addition to a tenancy deposit in exchange for the keys to his new rental property last year, he did not expect a few weeks after moving into the flat to be contacted by the landlord wanting to know where his money was.

When it materialised that the letting agent had had not passed on his deposit or initial rent payment to the landlord, the tenant issued a worthwhile compliant to The Property Ombudsman (TPO) which was upheld by the Ombudsman, who ordered the letting agency to pay the money owed to the landlord totalling more than £4,000, together with £250 compensation to the tenant.

But to make matters worse, the London-based company failed to pay the award, despite the fact that TPO members are required to comply with any award and direction given by the Property Ombudsman and accepted by the complainants.

Failure to pay the fine subsequently resulted in the agency’s expulsion from the residential agency ombudsman, which means that the company in question cannot legally trade as a letting agency, because as many of you will undoubtedly know, it is mandatory that all letting agents and property management agents register with one of three government-approved redress schemes, none of which will allow previously expelled agents to join.

Although in most cases disputes are resolved without a formal referral, these government approved schemes, run by The Property Ombudsman (TPO), Ombudsman Services Property and the Property Redress Scheme (PRS), provide fair and reasonable resolutions to disagreements between members of the public, including buy-to-let landlords, and property agents, ensuring that tenants and landlords have a straightforward option to hold their agents to account when required.

To help strengthen its offering, TPO has appointed Baroness Warwick, the current chair of the National Housing Federation, as the scheme’s new council chair, after Lord Best officially stepped down from the role after his eight-year term came to an end.


Baroness Diana Warwick (pictured beside) said: “I am delighted to succeed Lord Best in this important role and hope that the qualities and skills I bring will help to reinforce the commitment to high standards that he has fostered.

“I share the Property Ombudsman Scheme's values of independence and public service and strongly support its purpose in providing free, fair and impartial service to buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords of property in the UK.”

Reflecting on the appointment, the Property Ombudsman, Katrine Sporle, said: “I look forward to working closely with Diana who has spent many years helping the government make and shape laws, and debate public policy matters."

"She will be a great asset to TPO which aims to raise standards in the industry and protect consumers from unfair practices.”


https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/5/tpo-appoints-new-council-chair

House price inflation slows after stamp duty increase

House price inflation slowed in May to a rate of 4.7% a year as second home buyers and landlords fell out of the market, according to Nationwide Building Society, but it added that a more prolonged slowdown is unlikely.

The monthly increase in May was 0.2%, the same as April, helping to cut the annual rate from 4.9%. The average price for a home in the UK is now £204,368.

Investors in the buy-to-let and second home sectors rushing to beat April’s stamp duty increase drove up demand in March, which has since dropped substantially.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “In the near term, it’s going to be difficult to gauge the underlying strength of activity in the housing market due to the volatility generated by the stamp duty changes that took effect from 1 April.”

The number of residential property transactions surged to an all-time high in March, about 11% higher than the pre-crisis peak, said Gardner.

“House purchase activity is likely to fall in the months ahead given the number of purchasers that brought forward transactions. However, it is possible that the recent pattern of strong employment growth, rising real earnings, low borrowing costs and constrained supply will tilt the demand/supply balance in favour of sellers and exert upward pressure on price growth once again in the quarters ahead.”

Estate agents were cheered that the post-stamp duty slowdown was less than they feared.

Jeremy Leaf, a former chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and a north London estate agent, said: ‘The slowdown in price growth is not as bad a comedown as one might expect following the rush from landlords and second homebuyers . The figures are also indicative of a relatively strong underlying market.”

Total mortgage lending grew by just £281m in April, compared to the £7.4bn rise in March, the lowest increase since August 2012. New mortgage approvals dropped to 66,250 in April, down from 70,305 the month before.Separate data from the Bank of England showed that mortgage lending slowed dramatically in April after booming in February and March.

Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight said: “The strong suspicion is that housing market activity will be pressurised in the immediate term by a combination of weakened interest from the buy-to-let and second home sectors as well as heightened concerns and uncertainties over the UK economic outlook, particularly in the run-up to June’s referendum on EU membership.

“Consistent with this, the RICS reported the first fall in buyer enquiries in April since March 2015. Furthermore, buyer enquiries fell at the fastest rate since August 2008. Consequently, house prices are likely to be soft for the next few months.”

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jun/01/house-price-inflation-slows-stamp-duty-increase