Category Archives: Landlord

More Cardiff Rooms Please

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Cardiff Landlords we need more rooms to rent for professional tenants

Cardiff landlords do you have a vacant property that is suitable to let on a per room basis?

Do you already have a licensed or unlicensed House of Multiple Occupancy in Cardiff?

We are running at full capacity and need more rooms for professional tenants. We have just rented our last two rooms in professional house shares and achieved the following monthly rents:

  • Ensuite Room £550 pcm including bills
  • Double Room £450 pcm including bills

If you would like a free market appraisal from a company that specialises in renting rooms to professional tenants across Cardiff on a per room basis, please complete the contact form below:

Cardiff Professional House Share Needed

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We need more rooms to rent in Cardiff for professionals
Cardiff landlords we need your professional rooms to rent

Cardiff landlords we have pre-referenced professional tenants looking to rent a room in house shares near University Hospital Wales and Cardiff Bay.

We have professionals looking for a house share close to University Hospital Wales
We need rooms close to UHW for housemates looking for a professional house share in Cardiff

We offer a competitively priced tenant find service and just charge £150 per tenant.  This includes accompanied viewings, credit check and AST.

We have a number of professionals looking to rent a room in Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is a high demand area for professionals looking for a room to rent in Cardiff

If you have a vacant room in Cardiff, we can provide a quality pre-referenced professional tenant for just £150.00.

If you are a Cardiff landlord with a vacant room in a professional house share, contact ASAP to minimise your void period by calling 0845 496 0000 or email info@roomsincardiff.co.uk

Or alternatively complete the contact form below to arrange a call from one of the team.

Your Cardiff HMO in Safe Hands

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Employing any of our House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) services you can rest assured your property and rental income is in safe hands.


We are a Rent Smart Wales accredited letting agent, a member of The Property Ombudsman Scheme and a member of the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) that employs Client Money Protection (CMP).

If you would like to discuss any of your services  email info@roomsincardiff.co.uk

Telephone 0845 496 0000

or complete the form below to receive a call from one of our experienced HMO managers

More Reasons for Private Rented Sector to be Scared

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The Department for Communities and Local Government and Housing Minster, Brandon Lewis MP have played another “blinder” and hammered home yet another nail in the coffin for the Private Rented Sector (PRS) in the form of “Pay to Stay”.

Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis, said:

 “It’s not fair that other hard-working people are subsidising the lifestyles of higher-earners to the tune of £3,500 per year, when the money could be used to build more affordable homes.”

 “’Pay to stay’ will ensure that those tenants on higher incomes who are living in social housing have a rent that reflects their ability to pay, while those who genuinely need support continue to receive it.”

Here is the link to The Department for Communities and Local Government press release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fair-rents-will-ensure-higher-earning-tenants-pay-to-stay

 

So why is the “Pay to Stay” bad for Private Rented Sector?

Housing Associations can now charge full market rent to tenants who have a household income in excess of £30,000 per annum, the very same tenants the Private Rented Sector (PRS) is looking to attract, but which is more appealing to a tenant a private landlord or a Housing Association?

My guess would be a Housing Association is the more attractive option for a host of reasons but the most obvious being:

  • Tenants will be able to buy their Housing Association property after just 3 years with a 35% discount if it’s house and a 50% discount on a flat

So for professional working tenants currently renting from a PRS landlord making the switch to a Housing Association landlord makes sound financial sense.

Next question where are all the low income and tenants in receipt of benefits going to be housed?

You can also read about other ways Government Attacks Private Rented Sector

Government Attacks Private Rented Sector

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Landlords and property investors across the UK have come under attack from most sections of society with the most serve attacks coming from Government in this year’s Summer Budget and Autumn Statements.

So Rooms in Cardiff have put together a handy resource for landlords and investors operating in Cardiff property market.

Summer Budget 2015 & Autumn Statement 2015

Summer Budget 2015 was where the most damage was inflicted. Hot on the heels of an outstanding success at the general election the Conservative party began to set out their stall and plans for the PRS and how they plan to remove small scale landlords via taxation:

Mortgage interest relief for buy-to-let homebuyers to be restricted to basic rate of income tax as it is, the tax relief will be halved for those paying the highest tax rates. The removal of mortgage interest relief will be gradually phased in from 2017-18 enabling landlords to claim relief to 75% their finance costs and reducing 25% each year until 2020-21 where only basic rate relief will be available, essentially higher rate tax paying landlords paying tax on their turn over and not profit.

Removal of 10% Wear & Tear for Furnished Lettings To take affect from 6 April 2016 the ‘Wear and Tear Allowance’ is to be replaced by a new ‘Replacement Furniture Relief’ (RFR) for all landlords whichever type of property, furnished or unfurnished.

Inheritance tax threshold to increase to £1m, phased in from 2017, underpinned by a new £325,000 family home allowance

The Autumn Statement 2015 had a further shock for Landlords and property investors with the introduction of higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for buy-to-let investors and second home owners, new purchases from April 2016 will be taxed an addition 3% above current SDLT rates so a £100K property will now pay £3K (was previously exempt) and a £200K property £10K in Property taxes previously £4K.

Here is the legislation taken from Governments Autumn 2015 Spending Review

 “Stamp duty land tax: additional properties – Higher rates of SDLT will be charged on purchases of additional residential properties (above £40,000), such as buy to let properties and second homes, from 1 April 2016. The higher rates will be 3 percentage points above the current SDLT rates. The higher rates will not apply to purchases of caravans, mobile homes or houseboats, or to corporates or funds making significant investments in residential property given the role of this investment in supporting the government’s housing agenda. The government will consult on the policy detail, including on whether an exemption for corporates and funds owning more than 15 residential properties is appropriate. The government will use some of the additional tax collected to provide £60 million for communities in England where the impact of second homes is particularly acute.”

Benefit Cap & Universal Credit

Benefits have been capped across the UK and there is now a limit on the total amount of benefit that most people aged 16 to 64 can get. The level of the cap is:

  • £500 a week for couples (with or without children living with them)
  • £500 a week for single parents whose children live with them
  • £350 a week for single adults who don’t have children, or whose children don’t live with them

You can find out information of the Government’s Benefit Cap and which benefits will and won’t be affected. Housing Benefit is also frozen for a four year period from 2016-2017 making it even harder for tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit to secure housing in Cardiff and across the rest of the UK when rents continue to rise in the PRS.

November 2015 is a big month in Cardiff as Universal Credit will also begin to be rolled out across the Welsh Capital (Cardiff Council Link to Universal Credit) although this is mostly likely to only affect single “new” claimants.

Rent Smart Wales is here!

We knew it was coming but not quite when, but it’s official it is up and running but seems to be having numerous issues with registering as landlords, agents and taking payments.

You need to determine whether you simply need to register with Rent Smart Wales, or whether you need to register and be licensed you can do so by visiting Rent Smart Wales. As a landlord with property in Cardiff you have two options:

Register Only: If you use a managing agent and do not involve yourself in the setting up of tenancies or day-to-day property management, you will only need to register.

Registration and a licence: If you find tenants yourself or take care of the day-to-day property management yourself, you will need to register and be licensed.

If you haven’t already been on the Landlord Accreditation Wales training course, you will need to do landlord training before being granted a licence. Currently, the required training can only be attained by attending a one-day course in person, but there will be online training available in the New Year.

Rent Smart Wales and Section 21 Notice

 No section 21 notice may be given if:

  • The landlord is not registered, or
  • The landlord is not licensed and the landlord has not appointed a person who is licensed to carry out all property management work in respect of the dwelling on the landlord’s behalf

Ouch! Landlords May Have Rent Stopped or Have to Repay Tenants

Yes Landlords may have their rent stopped via a Rent Stopping Order or your tenant may apply for a Rent Repayment Order! What is even more worrying the person who is alleged to have committed the offence does not have to have been charged or convicted of an offence for a rent stopping order to be made?

The effect of a rent stopping order is to stop, for a period, any rent payable by a tenant. Legally the tenant will be considered to have paid this rent and no rent arrears claim could be made.

Renting Homes Wales Bill

 The Renting Homes Wales Bill has been passed by the Welsh Assembly and is likely to receive Royal Assent in December 2015. The main points of the bill include:

  • All tenancies and licenses are replaced by two “occupational contracts”
  • Tenants will have a minimum 6 month occupation period
  • Landlords to ensure property is fit for human habitation
  • Joint tenancies will be treated differently if joint tenant wishes to leave tenancy the tenancy will continue in remaining tenants sole name

One major benefit stands out for Landlords. The Bill will enable landlords to repossess an abandoned property without needing a court order!

Also there may be trouble on the horizon for HMO landlords across Cardiff. On Friday 6 November 2015, the government published a consultation paper on changes to mandatory Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing in England. A new definition for HMOs could bring in smaller properties under mandatory licensing.

The Government is also considering a new national minimum room sizes along the lines of the statutory overcrowding standard in Section 326 of the Housing Act 1985 of 6.5 Sq. m for single rooms and 10.2 Sq. m for double rooms, here is a link to article complied by Residential Landlords Association

It seems that small landlords are under full scale attack and 2016 will be a challenging year for landlords, tenant and PRS as a whole especially in Cardiff where Universal Credit, Rent Smart Wales and Renting Home Wales Bill will all start to shape the PRS.

Rooms in Cardiff Guide to Reducing Bills in HMO & Multi Lets

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As multi let property owners, landlords and HMO managers for clients in Cardiff and across South Wales we are continually striving to reduce waste and utility bills while reducing our carbon foot print, so we have decided to share some of the practices we employ to reduce our gas and electricity bills and will be providing a number of useful guides.

We have Rooms in Cardiff spread across a number of houses in the city predominately let as professional house shares.  Our young professional target market expect their monthly rent to be inclusive of utility bills, broadband, council tax and water rates, but do forgot to turn the lights off from time to time.

 Our solution

We have fitted Passive Infrared (PIR) Sensors in communal areas such as hallways and landings.  A PIR sensor or PID (Passive Infrared Detector) is essentially a motion sensor which are fitted to the ceiling and used to control automatically activated lighting systems eliminating the need for light switches.

Benefits of PIR Sensors

PIR sensors offer a modern and stylish alternative to the traditional light switch and cannot be tampered with unlike Pneumatic Time Delay Switches which can be kept in the “on” position using tape or “wedging” with various materials such as matches and card.

The better quality PIR Sensors also offer the user a variety of settings such as length of time the lights remain turned on, range of detection as well as light sensitivity enabling an automatic lighting system that is environmentally friendly and will save money from the first day it is installed.

PIR Sensors are easy for a qualified electrician to install and cost varies from about £12.00 to £30.00 per sensor.

Choosing a PIR Sensor

I would recommend opting for a higher end of the price range PIR Sensor as they offer greater flexibility when configuring your automatic lighting system.  We initially opted for a lower priced sensor and found them to be over sensitive to light and actually kept coming on during daylight hours as well as being sensitive to changes in air pressure.  We found that the opening and closing of fire doors and the associated air movement actually set off our lower priced PIR sensors.

 Positioning of PIR Sensor

Be aware when positioning your PIR Sensors, if the area they are fixed receives very little natural light this result in the sensor behaving as if it were night and once again your sensor will trigger the lights to turn on during daylight hours.

PIR sensors are a modern way to providing lighting in communal areas of a HMO or multi let property while cutting electricity bills and our carbon footprint.  After trialling them in one of our Cardiff professional house shares we intend to use them in existing and newly purchased properties.

If you have any questions relating to using PIR sensors or anything elase HMO and Multi Let related feel free to contact us via email info@roomsincardiff.co.uk

Landlords lure Students with iPads & More

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Yesterday a post appeared on Property Tribes “London landlords lure students with iPads as university fees bite”.  The article was first published by Reuters news agency highlighting the incentives London landlords are offering to attract student tenants as student numbers are dropping in the capital due to introduction of university fees and tighter restrictions being imposed on the number of non-EU being able to obtain a Student Visa.

Student accommodation as always be looked upon as a safe property investment with excellent annual returns but is student housing reputation looking a lot more shaky?

The problem isn’t just affecting small landlords it’s proving problematic for corporate organisations too.  Irish owned O’Flynn Group, Carlyle Group’s Pure Student Living and Quintain Estates are among developers who have struggled to fill student rooms in London this year after the British government tripled maximum university fees to 9,000 pounds ($14,400), triggering a 12 per cent fall in numbers from Britain and the EU.

Investment in student housing has risen from 350 million pounds in 2009 to some two billion pounds in the first nine months of 2012, data from CBRE Group showed. Investors are attracted by high occupancy rates and stable income streams.

Read the full article from Reuters >>> here.

Back in September Rooms in Cardiff published a post titled “Cardiff Student Housing or Professional House Share?” which highlighted the fall in student numbers across the UK, Wales and Cardiff with the aim of providing an alternative use for large family houses, Multi Let property and House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) in the Welsh capital.

The aim of the post was to draw landlord’s attention to professional house share a real alternative to Cardiff Student housing.  There is huge demand for professional house share in Cardiff as well as fantastic annual returns as professional tenants require your House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) 12 months of the year.

As a landlord and owner of a House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) in Cardiff you are ideally placed to utilise your property more efficiently and take advantage of the growing professional house share market.  So if you are interested in moving away from Cardiff Student housing have Rooms to Rent in Cardiff why not contact Rooms in Cardiff to discuss how we can help you find professional tenants for your professional house share with our low cost, fixed price £120 tenant finder service.

We can also provide landlords with a complete HMO Rent Guarantee scheme taking the complete hassle out of HMO and Multi Let management, with no void periods, no set up fees and no maintenance costs; we can provide a guaranteed rental income for a 12 month plus period.

Contact Rooms in Cardiff on 0845 496 0000 or email info@webletz.coc.uk to discuss how you can diversify into the professional house share market in Cardiff and across South Wales.

Multi Let and Help the Millions Who Live with Parents

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At Rooms in Cardiff we are always keen to promote the benefits of multi letting and creating a professional house share as an alternative use for your House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) and Student Housing, and now there is even more evidence that should help you switch the use of your House of Multiple Occupation (HMO).

The potential for landlords to diversify, capitalise and cash in on the multi let market is huge.   In the United Kingdom, more than 1.6 million people aged between 20-40 are still living with parents because they cannot afford home ownership and in May this year the Office of National Statics reported that 2.9 million people aged 20-34 were still living at home.

Rooms in Cardiff has seen a huge demand from professional tenants aged between 20 and 35 looking for Rooms to Rent in Cardiff and across South Wales, those people who are in gainful employment, earning a good salary who just cannot afford to get on the property ladder, but do not want to live with their parents for a multitude of different reasons.

If you are a landlord with property in Cardiff or South Wales and interested in finding out how you can capitalise on the growing demand from professional tenants who are looking to Rooms to Rent in Cardiff  why not email info@webletz.co.uk or call us on 0845 496 0000 or visit www.roomsincardiff.com

Rooms in Cardiff are a specialist provider of landlord services for landlords with House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO), Student Property, Professional House Share and Multi Lets.  Our services include:

Tenant Finder No Tenant No fee

Property Listing across multiple property portals

HMO & Multi Let Property Management & Property Services

HMO Rent Guarantee

Guaranteed Rental Income Cardiff

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The buzz around the property world at present seems to be “Rent to Rent” or as we like to call it Rent Guarantee.  Do not confuse this with Rent Guarantee Insurance as with our Rent Guarantee Scheme there is no set up costs and no excess charges and no small print which stops claims being made for the 90 days of the policy.

Our Guaranteed Rental Income Cardiff scheme is simple to understand and guarantees landlords in Cardiff and across South Wales piece of mind that they will receive a guaranteed rental income each month with no void periods and no hassle.

How Does Rent Guarantee Work

The flow chart on the left explains it best.  For “Rent to Rent” or Rent Guarantee to work three separate parties are needed:

The landlord this is the party who is looking for a guaranteed rental income for their property investment.

 Rooms in Cardiff: We provide The Landlord with a true rental market appraisal of their property investment as well as providing a Rent Guarantee figure we can provide each month of the contract term whether your property is tenanted or not.

 Tenant(s): If The Landlord agrees to Rooms in Cardiff Rent Guarantee figure and enters into a Rent Guarantee agreement then it is Rooms in Cardiff job to proactively search for professional and referenced tenants, set up tenancies and manage the property investment at no expense to The Landlord.

The contract between The Landlord and Rooms in Cardiff is a commercial Agreement or Management Agreement which outlines when the Rent Guarantee Scheme will commence, its duration and the Rent Guarantee figure The Landlord will receive.

Once a professional Tenant or Tenant(s) have been found and they have successfully completed Landlord Referencing, Employment Referencing and Credit profiling Rooms in Cardiff will enter into an Assured Shorthold Teancy (AST) for a 6 month period with the tenant(s) as well as conducting a thorough inventory and lodging tenant deposits with The Deposit protection Service as required by the Housing Act 2004.

If you are looking for a Guaranteed Rental Income Cardiff our no fuss and easy to understand Rent Guarantee Scheme is the perfect solution whether your property investment is an apartment, flat, bungalow, family home or house of multiple occupancy (HMO).

For a no obligation Rent Guarantee appraisal please email info@roomsincardiff.co.uk or call us on 0845 496 0000 to speak with one of our team.

Accidental Landlords

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Research by the Association of Residential Letting Agents suggests that 43% of its members have seen an increase in the number of accidental landlords, home owners who have to rent out their homes as they are unable to sell.

If you are an Accidental landlord in Cardiff or across South Wales and would like piece of mind and a guaranteed rental income we can help.  Our cost effective Rent Guarantee Scheme has not set up costs, no management fees and no void periods providing accidental landlords with a hassle free alternative to using a traditional letting agent.

Whether you are an accidental landlord with a flat, house or bungalow why not contact us to discuss how we can provide you with a guaranteed rental income in Cardiff and across South wales.

Email info@webletz.co.uk

Telephone 0845 496 0000