Jail for men who 'made up' VAT returns for franchise lettings branch

A man who submitted false VAT returns for the Lincoln franchise branch of Martin & Co for a period of six years has been imprisoned.

Craig Williamson was one of two men jailed over what was described in court as “shambolic” book keeping. 

In total, and including VAT returns undertaken by Williams for Lincoln Car Sales Ltd in addition to the Martin & Co agency branch, the pair evaded paying more than £340,000 in VAT.

An investigation in 2014 also found out that Williamson stole some £35,000 from the agency; he has already served a 20-month sentence for that offence.

The Lincolnshire Live website, which had a reporter at Lincoln Crown Court attending the hearing on the two men, says VAT investigations began in May 2014.

The court heard the prosecution say: “At Lincoln Car Sales there wasn’t any kind of financial system. Documents were seized and the investigators were able to unravel what had been going on.”

Williamson admitted submitting 23 false VAT returns relating to Lincoln Car Sales and the prosecution told the court: “[Williamson] admitted he had concealed cash payments from customers.”

He also admitted fraudulent evasion of £13,700 of VAT by submitting false returns for Martin & Co between June 2008 and July 2009.

Williamson has now been jailed for 18 months.

During the time of the offences the Lincoln Martin & Co branch was run by Mark Creswell, who admitted being knowingly concerned in the evasion of £148,000 of VAT by allowing the submission of false VAT returns between June 2008 and August 2014.

Creswell also admitted evading paying £16,581 of income tax between April 2009 and April 2014 by failing to declare his true income. 

Creswell has now been jailed for 12 months.

Meanwhile Williamson has repaid £10,900 to HMRC and Creswell has repaid all the money he owed using his savings and by remortgaging properties he owns.

https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2018/10/jail-for-men-who-made-up-vat-returns-for-franchise-agencys-lettings-branch

Study reveals where Help to Buy is being used the most in England

New research reveals which parts of England have the highest number of homes bought using the Government’s flagship Help to Buy scheme by the end of March 2018.

London has the highest number at 12,206, followed by Greater Manchester at 7,280, the West Midlands at 7,074, West Yorkshire at 6,530, Cheshire at 6,391 and Essex at 5,915.

The study from Fasthomes.org also shows that the locations which remain firmly in the middle with neither the highest or lowest number of property transactions include Staffordshire at 3,737, Cambridgeshire at 3,631, West Sussex at 3,578, Derbyshire at 3,444) and Nottingham at 3,270.

At the bottom end of the scale, the areas with the lowest number were Bristol at 808, East Sussex at 732, Herefordshire at 309, Rutland at 255 and the Isle of Wight at 187.

The research also analysed the percentage increase each location has displayed since the start of the scheme and those with the highest increase in the number of homes sold under the governmental scheme are Herefordshire at 3000%, Oxfordshire at 1,460%, London at 1,360.53%, Norfolk at 1,064.29% and Cumbria at 766.67%.

Although Herefordshire had the fourth lowest number of properties sold using Help to Buy equity loan, the county highlighted the most significant increase since the first quarter of 2013.

A breakdown of the figures for London shows that Barnet had the most properties sold with the scheme since 2013 at 914, followed by Havering at 785 and Greenwich at 732.

In contrast, it comes as no surprise that Kensington and Chelsea had just two sales, the City of London also had just two and Westminster third last with 32.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/study-reveals-where-help-to-buy-is-being-used-the-most-in-england/

Housing Secretary of State promises to be bold in boosting innovation and new home building

Housing is the top priority for the UK Government with Secretary of State James Brokenshire pledging to be bold and radical in terms of boosting homes and revamping planning.

He told the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham that barriers to home building will be removed and he also announced that there will be a new Homes Ombudsman.

Brokenshire said that brownfield land should be prioritised for development but planners and developers also have to consider land that’s already built on and build upwards but added that green belt and the environment would be protected.

‘But we need to be smarter on how we use land and the space available,’ he explained, adding that he will publish proposals to permit people to build up on existing buildings rather than build out and give Councils greater powers to deliver garden communities.

Katrine Sporle, the Property Ombudsman, welcomed the news about a New Homes Ombudsman. ‘We have always agreed that new homes should be covered by an Ombudsman, as consumers have no idea that when they buy a new home directly from a developer they will have no access to a redress scheme. This announcement will mean the housing market becomes a fairer place for all involved,’ she said.

Meanwhile, Björn Conway, chief executive of ilke Homes, said he hopes that Brokenshire will follow through with his pledge to be bold and that his proposals will boost innovation in the housing sector.

‘Offsite construction is ideally suited to drive this innovation. Yet, with planning approval rates for large sites stretching over an average of five years and an average single family home taking six months to build, we desperately need a revolution in our approach to both planning and construction,’ he pointed out.

He explained that his firm build high quality housing of equal standard to a traditional build in just two weeks and can install six homes a day onsite. ‘Only by looking at innovative ways to speed up the process of homebuilding will we be able to address the housing crisis and deliver the number of homes needed in the UK,’ he added.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/housing-minister-promises-to-be-bold-in-boosting-innovation-and-new-home-building/

Property sales to first time buyers reached a three year low in August

Home sales to first time buyers in the UK have reached a three year low, falling to 20% in August, the latest monthly report from estate agents shows.

The fall comes on the back of sales to first time buyers reaching 29% in June and 30% in July to reach their lowest level since August 2015, according to the housing report from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

The data also shows that the number of house hunters registered per member branch rose by 6% month on month from 303 in July to 320 in August.

Year on year however, demand is down 7% as there were 343 prospective house hunters registered on estate agents’ books in August 2017.

The number of properties available to buy fell for the first time since April, from 41% per branch in July to 40 in August while the number of sales agreed per branch increased marginally in August from eight to nine.

‘Every year the housing market slows down over the summer. In July first time buyers took advantage of these market conditions, with sales to the group rising to 30% and while we expected this to be short-lived, we hoped it would at least last the summer,’ said Mark Hayward, NAEA chief executive.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/property-sales-to-first-time-buyers-reached-a-three-year-low-in-august/

They're nearly here - new S21 notices come into effect on Monday

Changes to the Section 21 Notice come into force for letting agents and landlords on Monday. 

This will require all Assured Shorthold Tenancies, regardless of their start date, to comply with guidelines as to when and how a landlord can serve a Section 21 Notice, which enables them to terminate a tenancy agreement.

When issuing a Section 21 Notice, landlords and agents will now be required to use Form 6A. 

The form combines the two previous types of notices into a single notice for both periodic and fixed-term tenancies. 

Now the Association of Residential Letting Agents has put out a final warning that agents and landlords should stop using their existing notices next Monday.

In addition, ARLA is reminding the industry that under the Deregulation Act 2015, landlords and agents wishing to issue their tenants with a Section 21 notice should:

- ensure they have shared the ‘How To Rent’ guide with tenants;

- ensure the property has an up to date Gas Safety Certificate and the tenants have seen it;

- publish the property’s Energy Performance Certificate (except when the property isn’t required to have one);

- inform tenants which scheme their deposit is protected in;

- and where the property is licensed, provide a copy of the licence to all of the tenants.

To help members and non-members, ARLA Propertymark is offering a dedicated course on ending residential tenancies, which will aim to help letting agents understand the changes to the Section 21 notices, and what it means in practice. 

“When the changes come into effect, it’s important agents are executing effective Section 21 notices when necessary. There is a legal question over whether the additional documents need to be served on pre-October 2015 tenancies, but it’s very unlikely that a judge would throw out a case on the basis that an agent has provided the tenant with too much information. A test case before the courts is probably required to determine exactly what needs to be served for these tenancies” explains David Cox, ARLA’s chief executive.

“Therefore, we think that the safest course of action for letting agents is to serve all the documentation when issuing a Section 21 notice. The Deregulation Act 2015 makes the will of Parliament clear – these documents should be served – so it’s easier to comply with the spirit of the law rather than rely on a potential legal technicality.

“These changes highlight so clearly that the current system is a mess which must be simplified and improved. We call on the government to bring forward its promised ‘Call for Evidence’ on a new Housing Court and work with us to build a system fit for today’s private rented sector.”

https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2018/9/theyre-nearly-here--new-s21-notices-come-into-effect-on-monday

Rents rising across most of England, down in London, the North East and Wales

Private sector rents across England and Wales increased by 2.6% in the 12 months to August 2018, hitting an average of £861 per month, the latest research shows.

However, London, the North East and Wales all recorded a fall in average rents while the South West had the fastest rising rents, according to the index from Your Move.

Across all regions, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the average property let for £912 in August, with the regions outperforming London with the biggest annual fall of 1.4%, taking the average rent in the capital to £1,271.

While London remains by far the most expensive place to rent in the country, there are some parts of London which offer much cheaper rents than others. When broken down into London Travelcard Zones, those in the more central areas of Zone 2 pay an average of £1,876 a month while those in the suburbs pay much less. The average rent in Zone 5 is £1,124 a month while in Zone 6 this figure is £1,251.

The data also shows that in the North East the average rent fell 0.7% year on year to £535 while in Wales the average rent fell marginally by 0.1% to £588.

The biggest rise was 4.1% in the South West to an average of £686, followed by the East Midlands with a rise of 2.7% year on year to £656. The South West was also the strongest month on month rise at 0.5%.

The index shows that yields for landlords were unchanged in each of the 10 regions covered but these figures varied on a regional basis with properties in Northern regions showing a higher percentage return than those located in Southern areas.

In the North East there was a yield of 5% in the year to August while in the North West it was 4.8%. London landlords saw the smallest percentage returns, recording 3.2% during August while the average across England and Wales was 4.4% in August, the same as in both June and July.

‘Regionally, the lettings market remains strong, with demand in the core market of two and three bed properties remaining high. However, there’s no denying that challenges still remain in London where pressure on rents has continued once again,’ said Martyn Alderton, national lettings director at Your Move.

‘It appears that there is less rental stock available this year compared to the same time last year. Whilst this could be the result of tenants staying in their rental properties longer or of landlords choosing to exit the market in light of recent legislative changes, it is also true that properties are letting more quickly than they were a year ago giving the impression of fewer properties available to rent,’ he pointed out.

‘In our experience, demand has not slowed, and when a suitable property comes to market, it is soon let. It’s this tenant demand that invariably affects rental prices, more so in some regions than others. The South West of England once again saw rent growth outstrip all other regions, buoyed by the popularity of its rural areas and the attractive city of Bristol,’ he explained.

‘Tenant finances and landlord returns have also remained steady, which suggests that landlords and tenants have reached a happy equilibrium on rents. Even for landlords in London, some areas of the capital city are still performing strongly,’ he added.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/deadline-for-lettings-agent-registration-in-scotland-is-just-a-few-days-away/

Annual price growth in Scotland at 3.9% is almost double that in England and Wales

Property prices in Scotland increased by 3.9% in the 12 months to July 2018, more than double the rate of growth recorded in England and Wales, the latest index data shows.

The average price is now £181,075 and Edinburgh and Glasgow accounted for a third of Scotland’s increase on a weight adjusted basis, according to the Your Move index.

However, on a monthly basis, prices in Scotland fell for a third consecutive month in July, dropping 0.4% but the index report says that while price growth has slowed in Scotland, the market continues to be supported by low interest rates and more affordable housing than most regions in the UK.

A breakdown of the figures show that prices in Edinburgh were up 4.6% annually to a average of £266,614, while growth in Glasgow was 4.1% to £159,700.

But overall growth was led by the Shetland Islands, at 14.6%, with increases across all property types, but particularly in detached properties. On the mainland, prices in West Dunbartonshire, which has direct trains to both Glasgow and Edinburgh, have increased 12.6%, boosted by sales of high value properties over £300,000.

West Lothian, another major contributor to the market, meanwhile, has also recorded double digit annual growth, with prices up 12%.

On a monthly basis, increases are led by Stirling, with prices up 3.7% in July to £208,077. It was one of two areas to set a new peak price in the month, with Renfrewshire the other. Prices there increased 1.4% in the month and are up 8.5% annually to reach £156,619.

When it comes to prices falls, the biggest are in East Ayrshire, the second cheapest area in Scotland, which has seen prices drop 3.1% annually, while the second biggest drop is in East Renfrewshire, the second most expensive area in the country where prices fell by 1.3%.

‘The market in Scotland is holding on. While everything is notably slower, almost all areas continue to show annual growth, and drops still remain modest,’ said Christine Campbell, Your Move managing director in Scotland.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/annual-price-growth-in-scotland-at-3-9-is-almost-double-that-in-england-and-wales/