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Landlords Defence
Services For Letting and Managing Agents
Providing Agents with a comprehensive range of White Label services to help both Agent and your Landlord Clients avoid massive Penalties and Fines. Ensuring you and they become - and remain - compliant with the Legislation and Regulations
Legislation and Regulations Can Be Overwhelming.
The Good News is Help is Close At Hand!
Take a look at how we can help.
Pre-Licence Property Audit
A very high proportion of rental properties – be they single let or HMO – are not fully compliant with the
Housing Act 2004
The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation England Regulations 2006
Armed with this, and of course, putting plans in place for the works to be done, you can submit your licence application with certainty.
HMO Design
Have a property that you want to make into HMO?
What is the best layout for your target type of tenants?
What is the optimal fire detection system for you to deploy?
How can you fit-in the required number of kitchens, sinks, food cupboards, cooking appliances, fridges and freezers?
Should you put tea/coffee stations in individual room?
Should you put fridges in bed rooms?
Which walls and ceilings need additional
fire protection?
Fire extinguishers? Fire blankets? Emergency lighting? Emergency exit signs, Safety glass required in windows? Window Restrictors?
Protected escape routes. Means of escape windows
Adequate cost-effective heating and water for baths and showers
En-suites and kitchenettes – Council tax inspections
So many things to get right…
Whether it’s a 3 / 4 person not (yet) licensable property,
One where an Additional HMO licence is required
Or a 5+ person Mandatory HMO licensable HMO, you NEED your plans to be complete before you approach the Council for a licence.
Because even on a 3-person HMO you’re liable to fines under the HMO Management Regulations.
You really need to have compliance “designed-in” to your HMO from the outset ensure you don’t get massive fines later.
Compliance Audits
To judge whether they can fine you, Councils use HHSRS – the Housing Health and Safety Rating System – to assess whether you have breached any of the HMO Management Regulations.
Remember that all HMOs – even those consisting of only three people – MUST comply with the HMO Management Regulations.
Councils are not just targeting ‘rogue’ landlords with their £5,000 per breach (or up to £30,000 if severe) Civil Penalty fines. Even good landlords who make a mistake are being prosecuted.
Landlords Defence can assist by coming into your HMO and performing a full compliance audit – reporting to you what works need to be done to make your property fully compliant – before the Council inspects and fines you!
We can also assist with managing or sign-off of works and final compliance re-audit to ensure you’re as compliant as can be.
Licence Application Service
Selective Licence
Mandatory HMO Licence
Additional (criteria) HMO Licence
Section 257 Licence
Selective + HMO Additional
Even when your property is fully compliant with the Legislation and the Regulations, we all know that there are right and wrong ways to fill in Government forms.
With a long track record of applying for Licences for our own and our clients’ properties we have a lot of experience in filling them in the ‘required’ way.
This isn’t a substitute for doing the right things in terms of maintenance and management, but it sure makes things go far more smoothly and successfully.
Far better than you ‘guessing’ what to put and how to be ready for the Council’s inspections.
PLUS – while Council’s Housing Officers will often – as part of a licence application – DEMAND that you do EXPENSIVE things that they they feel would be good to do, often there is no legal basis to require you to do them.
This is where Landlords Defence really does DEFEND you against unnecessary and unfounded demands!
Schedules of Works
If you have an Improvement Notice from the Council,Or if we’ve completed a Compliance Audit on your property
Or if you’re simply wishing to do have improvement works undertaken, our experienced property developers can draw up a full ‘schedule of works’ for agreement by the Council and to be used to obtain builders/trades quotations.
Full Management of Building Works
Mybe you’re not expert at commissioning and managing building works.
Our experienced property developers can manage the whole process for you from the initial audit, preparation of Schedule of Works, obtaining quotes and vetting contractors, auditing and
signing off works for payment and for quality to ensure compliance.
If building regulations are involved we will also manage that process for you and ensure all permits, permissions, gas, electrical and buildig control certificates are obtained and checked for correctness.
Bespoke Agreements
Company Let Agreements
Common Law Tenancy Agreements
Management Agreements
Licences to Occupy
Serviced Accommodation Occupation Licences
Whatever your requirement for
Legal Agreements our property specialist legal specialists will first of all help you to understand what is and is not the most applicable agreement for your specific circumstances.
And frequently that means its not the AST your letting agent told you is the only legal agreement.
But you don’t know what you don’t know and that’s where you need specialist help. And thats exactly why we’re here to help you!
Managed Compliance Services
Compliance with the legislation and regulations, particularly in HMOs from 3 persons upwards, is a dynamic requirement.
Best-in-class HMO landlords are now committed to fortnightly or even weekly inspections.
Old fashioned quarterly inspections a
no use whatsoever!
We can now provide a fortnightly or weekly inspection service on a ‘done for you’ basis.
Please contact us to discuss your requirements from one HMO property to large portfolios.
Alternative Licence Holder Service
Sometimes things happen and your health or other factors mean that youre no longer considered by the Council to be suitable to hold an HMO or Selective Licence.
You’ve then got a major problem because if you don’t hold the necessary Licence you’re in breach of the Housing Act and liable to BIG
penalty fines.
And if youre not considered suitable (or if you yourself decide you’re not really able to take responsibilty for all the compliance issues a Licence demands) you need to find someone else to take on that function.
That person needs to be a highly competent Licence-holder in their own right. And trustworthy.
Because we at Landlords Defence are property owners and investors ourselves, we have the right sort of people on-tap. We can affect the introductions and the necessary legal agreements for you.
Not something your solicitor would be able to do!
Building Works Inspection and Sign-off
Our experienced property developers can inspect building works you’ve commissioned on your property(s)
We will audit the works and and sign them off (or otherwise) against the schedule of works, and required quality levels.
We can also check that all the necessary electrical, gas safety and building inspection certificates have been obtained.
For Licence applications and on-going compliance.
Testing & Certifications
Gas
Electrical
Fire Detection Alarms
Emergency Lighting
PAT
EPC
Furniture
Legionella
Health and Safety – HHSRS
Asbestos
The time is coming when all housing will require testing of all of the above – and Landlords Defence is rea
to help with all of them.
Compliance on all of these fronts NOW means better, safer homes.
It means safe and protected occupants.
Which means that you as a property owner, landlord or manager are also safe in the knowledge that the tests are complete and certified by competent and authorised professionals.
All of which makes you a better landlord, owner or manager and far less likely to suffer ounartive Civil Penalties and Fines
Overseas Landlord Licence Holding
A growing number of Councils require that the holders of Selective and HMO Licences for properties in their jurisdiction must be UK resident.
It may well be that this is becasue they know how difficult it is to contact overseas landlords and that they have very little power to force them to take action.
Whereas, of course, UK-based Licence Holders are much easier
hold to account and prosecute where they chose to.
We can provide a UK Licence-holder service for overseas landlords to enable them to be able to obtain necessary Licences and operate their UK rental properties legally.
Let’s Get Started
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