The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, due to come into effect in October this year is still subject to Parliamentary approval but is widely agreed that it will happen. 

When it comes to tenant safety, nothing should get in the way. But similarly to electrical safety certificates/condition reports also still not required by law, it will come down to your own conscious as to how you wish to proceed as a Landlord with rental property in Wales. 

The draft legislation can be viewed here

If your property is managed by us and want to ensure your property and tenants are protected, please give us a call to arrange installation of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. 

If you are a tenant and you have a smoke detector in your property, we recommend that it is tested at least once a week to ensure that should the worst happen the alarm will work. If you don't have one then we recommend requesting one from your landlord or if you are managed by us, please do not hesitate in giving us a call to request one on your behalf. 

To summarise, profit from rental income will now only be taxed at the basic rate of 20%, so the ability to off-set the interest element of a buy-to-let mortgage against tax will no longer exist. Furthermore, Landlords with furnished properties will no longer benefit from the wear and tear allowance of 10%. In its place Landlords will only be able to off set actual expenditure during a tax year. 

Thankfully, the basic rate of tax will be implemented in stages over almost 6 years, so there is time to prepare for those tax changes. It is crucial that landlords take early independent tax advice on how the budget proposals will affect them, in order to implement a plan in a timely manner for when it does come into full force in 2020-21.

However, the wear and tear allowance will be taken away for the next financial year, so for those with furnished properties, it would make sense to hold off purchasing any furniture until after 6th April 2016. Alternatively, by letting a property unfurnished you could benefit from the council tax exemption (in a void period) instead ... before they take that away too!*

Overall though, it is another blow to the BTL investor market. It is disappointing that on one hand the government are keen to get Landlords to invest more into their properties, invest in more properties to let to keep rents down, but then they take away the available cash flow to do this. 

More than half of the under 40s will be renting homes from private landlords in the UK in 10 years' time, accountancy firm PwC has predicted, (House prices: Renting to overtake home ownership among young, says PwC) so it will be interesting to see how much of an effect, negative or otherwise, these changes will have to the supply of quality stock to the PRS over the next few years.  

We believe the Buy to Let industry is a business, Landlords are business owners even the 'accidental Landlord') and BTL mortgages should essentially be classed as business loans, (as residential mortgages get a much more favourable rate of interest) which should have tax relief on them. 

With yields (on decent properties that tenants what to rent) struggling to achieve over 6% in Swansea, we fear there is the threat that this will either forcefully drive rents up or deter Landlords from investing in their properties (being able to carry out timely repairs), or both. 

Read some more articles online here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/budget/11724804/Buy-to-let-How-todays-Budget-will-affect-landlords.html 

http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/landlords-tax-perk-to-be-reined-back-over-next-six-years/ 

 *Swansea council still offer 6 months exemption of council tax for unfurnished properties per year. Each council have their own rules on this, so if you have property outside of Swansea you may not have any or limited exemption rights.

1. Externally 

Present the property with kerb appeal: first impressions count, make sure driveways and front gardens are weed and rubbish free, bushes cut back and lawns neat. Paths and patios should be secure, gutters, fascias and windows should be cleaned, and front door locks should be in good working order.

2. Internally

Present the property with modern interiors, decoration and furnishings. We want to source the best professional tenants for you, and professional tenants in today's market expect the very best their money can buy to ultimately feel at home.

Remove all unnecessary items, such as ornaments, personal possessions and clutter from the property. Viewers need to visualise themselves living in your property and will expect to get what they see, so remove any items of furniture or appliances that you will not be including in the let.

3. Decor

Neutralise the decor: a lick of cream paint, new carpets and plain modern curtains opens the market to a much wider audience who can furnish with their own tastes and designs.

Dress the property sparsely with a dash of colour in removable items such as scatter cushions, mirrors and the odd pot plant which bring life into a room - setting the scene and creating a desired environment is important to welcome a prospective tenant into your property.

4. Cleanliness

Ensuring the property is clean is essential. Employ a professional company to get into those easy to forget areas. If you are not replacing carpets, we would recommend professionally cleaning all your carpets. This will prolong the life of the carpets and it is easier to request the tenants to do the same at the end of the tenancy if you have done it at the start.

5. Maintenance

Address all maintenance issues before marketing. Any obvious maintenance issues will put tenants off from committing to the property, therefore taking longer to secure a tenant. As soon as a tenancy has started, the tenants will soon find any problems that were not apparent.

We would recommend fully redecorating every 3-5 years and re-carpeting every 5-10 years. The life of a kitchen and bathroom is on average 10-15 years in a rented property.

All of the above helps secure a tenancy quickly and keep your tenants for longer. Starting your tenancy off on a clean slate sets a precedent as to how you wish your tenants to treat the property, is easier to manage at end of tenancy and prolongs the life of the property before it needs to be redecorated and re-carpeted again.

For more information about how we can help get your property let to your ideal tenant, please give us a call on 01792 430100! 

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