For years, most landlords have accepted that stronger enforcement against rogue operators is necessary and inevitable. Few would argue that genuinely unsafe housing, unlawful evictions or poor management should go unchecked.
However, a recent Property118 article highlighted something many landlords may have overlooked. Some councils are now openly discussing how future enforcement activity will be funded, with civil penalties and prosecutions forming part of the long-term picture.
That should not necessarily alarm landlords, but it should make them think when something as simple as forgetting to state the rent when advertising a property could cost you £3,000 and the fine for re-letting a property within the restricted period after using Section 8, ground 1A starts at £25,000.
They are expected to investigate complaints, enforce standards, monitor compliance and report on their activities. All of this costs money. If central government funding proves insufficient, councils will need to find ways of meeting their statutory obligations.
It is already being described as “payment by results” by some.
Nobody knows exactly how this will play out over the coming years. Councils may receive additional funding. New systems may improve efficiency. However, landlords would be wise to recognise the direction of travel.
Enforcement activity is increasing, expectations are rising and the margin for error is shrinking.
For many landlords, particularly those already considering retirement or reducing their portfolio, the question is no longer how to remain compliant, it is whether they still want to take the risk.
If You’re Leaving The Sector, Does Evicting First Really Make Sense?
The traditional thinking is simple. Recover vacant possession, put the property on the market and then find a buyer.
The problem is that this approach creates risk before a sale has even been agreed.
The moment a tenant leaves, the rent stops. Mortgage payments continue. Insurance continues. Maintenance continues. Council tax may become payable. If the property needs work before sale, additional costs follow.
At the same time, there is no guarantee how quickly a buyer will be found or whether a sale will proceed smoothly.
This is particularly relevant under the new Section 8 Ground 1A possession process. If possession is obtained on the basis that the property is being sold, landlords need to be confident that they can finance their vacant properties for at least 12 months from the date the tenant leaves.
If you market, re-let, or even list a property on a short-term let site like Airbnb during those 12 months, it is a criminal offence or carries a automatic civil penalty up to £40,000 and councils now have greater enforcement responsibilities under the Renters’ Rights Act.
The Benefit Of Keeping Tenants In Place
A tenant paying rent is normally an asset, not a problem.
While the sale progresses, the landlord continues receiving income. The property remains occupied and looked after. The costs and uncertainty associated with empty property are avoided.
Most tenants understand that landlords sometimes need to sell. However, serving an eviction notice inevitably changes the relationship.
Likewise, of course, a landlord telling their tenants they intend to sell (or worse still the tenant finding out themselves) before selling can also cause friction.
Once a tenant is told they must leave, their priorities naturally shift towards finding somewhere else to live and protecting their own interests. The result can be uncooperative tenants who refuse access so properties cannot be photographed for listing, and/or tenants who refuse or sabotage viewings.
Selling to an incoming landlord who is happy to buy with the tenants in situ can be a way around this but generally speaking; the smaller the pool of possible buyers, the smaller the sales price they will pay. The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) estimate sales with a tenant in situ commonly attract a 5–10% discount compared to selling with vacant possession to an owner-occupier.
Which is why we do things differently.
A Better Way To Sell
We focus on securing committed buyers while tenants remain in place but instead of selling despite tenants’ or selling ‘around’ tenants, we make it our business to be in the tenant’s best interest to help us sell. We listen to their problems and their cooperation guarantees our help in resolving the problems.
Confident in tenants’ cooperation and our record in arranging vacant possession*, we then open up the sale to owner occupiers as well as investors and incoming landlords to allow competition to drive up the sales price.
*Of course, we will use Section 8 if necessary but since the Renters’ Rights Act has been enforced, every tenanted property we have sold has either been sold with the tenant remaining in situ, or the tenant has left after voluntarily agreeing a Deed of Surrender.
Crucially, tenants trust us as impartial brokers – they understood that our role is not to take sides or pursue our own agenda, it is simply to find a practical solution that honestly worked for everyone involved.
In many cases, buyers are happy to purchase with tenants in situ, but if a buyer wants vacant possession, sellers can relax know the sales is secured from day 1 by a non refundable deposit that stops buyers pulling out or trying to renegotiate the sales price further down the line. And that they will continue to receive rent until the tenant leaves and the sale completes.
This approach gives landlords something increasingly valuable: more certainty and less risk.
Sellers normally walk away with 85 – 90% vacant possession value and as well as finding the right buyers, the best prices for tenanted property, and securing the deal; we manage the entire sale for you, including tenant liaison, organising repairs where required, auditing and renewing certificates, dealing with any compliance issue and chasing surveyors and solicitors to ensure conveyancing is completed as fast as possible – allowing landlords to sit back while we solve each and every problem anyone throws at us.
If that sounds like a sensible plan to you, talk to us today. You have nothing to lose and lots to gain. We operate a no sale, no fee policy.