Coronavirus: Everything landlords need to know

In times of uncertainty, one of the best ways, as a landlord or agent, that you can protect yourselves and your tenants is to make sure that you have all the information you need.

The Government has issued new legislation and guidance designed to help landlords support their tenants through this difficult time. The National Landlords Association (NLA) and Residential Landlords Association (RLA) issued a joint statement for landlords, while LandlordZONE has also been sharing up to date information and advice.

This post will wrap up everything that landlords and agents need to know about coronavirus. If you have any useful articles, advice or tips you’d like to share with the community, please send them to us by Twitter or LinkedIn.

And remember: ‘Stay alert. Control the virus. Save lives.’

Minimising the health risks

The highly contagious nature of COVID-19 means that each of us has to do our part to combat its spread. There are a number of things that landlords and agents can do to help.

 

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms vary in intensity from person to person, but in the majority of cases the most noticeable symptoms are: 

  • A fever or high temperature
  • A persistent dry cough
  • Loss of taste or smell
  • Breathing difficulties

 

What’s the Government’s advice?

The Government introduced a new temporary lockdown on 5 November, which lasted until 2 December  2020. 

Following 2 December, England returned to a three tier system Find the full details of the winter plan at GOV.UK, and some important excerpts below. 

Tier 1: Medium alert 

  • Rule of six applies indoors and outdoors, with exceptions for single households and support bubbles. 
  • Everyone who can work from home should do so. 
  • Early years settings, schools, universities and colleges remain open. Registered childcare, other supervised activities for children and childcare bubbles permitted. 
  • Bars, pubs and restaurants must be table service only, with last orders taken by 10pm and closure by 11pm. 
  • Retail, entertainment and personal care establishments can all remain open.  

 

Tier 2: High alert 

  • No mixing of households indoors, with the ‘rule of six’ applying outdoors. 
  • Everyone who can work from home should do so. 
  • Early years settings, schools, universities and colleges remain open. 
  • Registered childcare, other supervised activities for children and childcare bubbles permitted. 
  • Pubs and bars must close unless operating as restaurants, with last orders and closure times the same as for Tier 1. Alcohol can only be served with substantial meals. 
  • Retail, entertainment and personal care establishments are all open. 

 

Tier 3: Very high alert 

  • No mixing of households indoors, or most outdoor places, apart from support bubbles. Maximum of six allowed in some outdoor spaces, such as public parks. 
  • Everyone who can work from home should do so. 
  • Early years settings, schools, universities and colleges remain open. Registered childcare, other supervised activities for children and childcare bubbles permitted. 
  • Hospitality businesses must close, unless operating for takeaway, drive-through or delivery. 
  • Retailers can remain open, while indoor entertainment venues must close. Personal care establishments can remain open.  

What should landlords do if they develop symptoms?

If you develop symptoms, follow the Government’s advice and self-isolate for a minimum of seven days from the moment the symptoms are noticed. Other members of the household should self-isolate for 14 days from the moment symptoms are noticed, even if they don’t display any symptoms.

In most cases, the illness is not long-lasting. However, if you don’t feel like you can cope with your symptoms at home, or they don’t improve after seven days, contact 111 Online and seek medical advice.

What should you do if one of your tenants develops symptoms?

If you haven’t already, you may want to share the Government’s advice with your tenants. This advice includes how to stay safe and what to do if you develop symptoms.

The Government has also released specific guidelines for tenants living in houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) that explains how long the entire household needs to spend self-isolating after the symptoms are first noticed.

These guidelines might seem counter-intuitive because in some cases people who haven’t experienced symptoms will have to self-isolate for longer than people who definitely had coronavirus. But it’s very important to stick to these guidelines because they are the only way to guarantee that you’re not either an asymptomatic carrier or still in the incubation period:

  • If you live with others and you are the first in the household to develop symptoms, you must self-isolate for seven days from the moment the symptoms were noticed
  • If one of your housemates develops symptoms, they must also self-isolate for a full seven days from the moment their symptoms were first noticed
  • Housemates who do not develop symptoms have to self-isolate for 14 days from the moment the symptoms were noticed for the first time

This diagram may help explain it a little more clearly:

 

What should you do if one of your tenants is high risk?

From 1st August, you can visit the homes of ‘high-risk’ or shielding individuals for routine inspections or maintenance work.

Landlords and tradespeople visiting homes should still exercise caution and observe social distancing.

High risk tenants who live alone may struggle with everyday things like buying food. If you have high risk tenants, you may want to contact them and see if they need any help, particularly if they don’t have others to support them.

If you do decide to help one of your tenants for whatever reason, you need to be very careful. Make sure that any provisions that you buy are left outside the house and that the tenants don’t get within two metres of you when collecting them from you.

It’s also good practice to make sure that your hands are thoroughly cleaned before handling any goods you buy and drop off for them.

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Can you visit your tenants or properties?

Landlords can visit tenants and properties for repairs or routine inspections during the new restrictions. Tradespeople can also enter homes. 

However, social distancing still needs to be carefully observed. The health and safety of your tenants is the most important thing.

You can find detailed advice for working safely in other people’s homes on GOV.UK.

Make sure you check in advance whether anyone in the home is self-isolating or has been in contact with someone who had coronavirus. If the answer to either of these questions is ‘yes’, think carefully about whether the work can wait until after their self-isolation period. If it can, it absolutely should.

Gas safety inspections can still be completed with the express consent of both engineer and tenants. Engineers entering a property must use personal protective equipment, as well as committing to frequent hand washing or use of hand sanitiser. They must also check before entering whether the tenant is self-isolating themselves, or has been in contact with anyone with Coronavirus or who has recently entered into self-isolation. Engineers may also withdraw from the inspection and reschedule if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe. 

If a tenant is self-isolating after displaying symptoms, inspection should be postponed for a minimum of seven days (if they live alone) or 14 days (if there is more than one person in the household).

If you have at risk tenants told to “shield” themselves from the community, you should consider the balance of risk presented by the gas system, with the risk to your tenant’s health. If you are satisfied that delaying the gas safety check will not put your tenant at risk, you can delay the check. However, if you feel that delaying the gas safety check will put your tenant at risk, you should contact them to let them know why you recommend the checks should go ahead; despite the fact they are shielded/vulnerable. 

Gas Safe Register has further information and advice.

If you have to postpone an inspection, document why you have done this and keep a clear record of your communications with tenants and the decisions that you’ve made.

Obviously, not visiting properties will make it impossible for agents to do house viewings for the time being. Some enterprising agents have started offering ‘virtual viewings’ in place of actual visits.

Agents who want to keep things moving during the lockdown might want to look into how they can use phones and video conferencing services to show potential tenants around properties without anyone leaving their home.

Can tenants move in or out?

Tenants can continue to move home throughout the new lockdown restrictions that began on the 5 November. Estate agents and removal firms can operate provided they observe all the necessary safety precautions.

They have also recommended that anyone who is planning on doing any of these things takes appropriate measures to make sure that everyone involved is safe from harm.

While it is your tenants’ responsibility to clean the property for the duration of their tenancy, if tenants are moving in or out, you’ll need to be even more careful than usual to ensure that the property is clean.

Be mindful that coronavirus can remain infectious for up to three days on plastic and stainless steel surfaces, which makes countertops, door knobs and white goods a serious risk. 

The Government has issued specific guidelines for letting agents to follow. Here are some of the key points:

  • Use an appointment system to manage office visits, similar to a dentist
  • Always ask whether tenants or customers are showing symptoms or self-isolating before agreeing to meet them or booking viewings
  • Don’t hold open houses
  • Do virtual viewings for the first viewing and in-person if they show real interest
  • Ensure a distance of two metres between yourself, tenants and customers and consider wearing a mask
  • Don’t drive customers to viewings
  • Wipe doors and surfaces before customers enter and make sure customers wash their hands immediately after they enter
  • Encourage existing tenants or owners to vacate the property while viewings take place

We recommend that all letting agents who are reopening review the Government’s guidelines.

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Support for landlords

On the 8 July Rishi Sunak announced new legislation, Green Homes Grant to support landlords and encourage them to invest in their homes.

 

Green Homes Grant

The Government has said that it will pay £2 for every £1 that landlords and homeowners spend on ‘green’ home improvements, up to a limit of £5,000 for the total costs of the improvements. The money can be used to pay for things like installing insulation, double glazing and replacing old boilers.

Eligible landlords will be able to apply from September when the scheme launches. It is expected to run for 12 months.

 

12 month stamp duty waiver

The Government has announced changes to the amount of stamp duty charged on second-homes and buy-to-let properties. These changes could potentially save landlords buying additional properties up to ÂŁ15,000.

Currently, buy-to-let landlords pay an additional 3 per cent on top of normal stamp duty on the first £125,000 of a property’s price, after which point they pay an additional 5 per cent. The rates continue to rise inline with the property’s price. 

Under the new rules, buyers will pay a flat 3 per cent on the first £500,000 of the property’s price. People buying a main home won’t pay any stamp duty on the first £500,000.

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Supporting tenants who can’t pay rent

The Government has introduced a range of temporary legislation designed to prevent renters from being evicted and landlords from falling into debt.

What legislation has been introduced?

Coronavirus will have a serious impact on the economy. Widespread job losses are expected, which may affect your tenants’ ability to pay their rent.

The Government has introduced legislation to protect tenants who are struggling to pay their rent by delaying when landlords can begin eviction proceedings. You can find more information on this in the ‘Evictions and Arrears’ section below.

The Government also introduced a ‘mortgage holiday’ of up to three months for landlords whose rental income is affected. The scheme was set to end after the initial three-month period, but it will now continue for a further three months. This means that landlords can apply to their lender for a payment break right up until the end of October.

It’s important to note that you can only apply for this if you’re able to prove that tenants in your buy to let property have been affected and you’re up to date on your mortgage payments.

Mortgage holidays are negotiated with the mortgage providers and not the Government, so you should contact your mortgage provider to learn more if you need to.

Lettings agents that have had to close because of coronavirus will also be exempted from business rates for the rest of the tax year.

Should you contact your tenants?

We always recommend that landlords maintain an open channel of communication with their tenants. It’s better for everyone involved.

Your tenants are likely to be feeling quite nervous and looking for reassurance wherever they can find it. Contact them in a way that makes them feel secure, remind them of the protections that the Government has put in place and ask them to contact you if they develop symptoms or their income is affected.

You may want to monitor rent payments more closely than usual. If payments are made late, reach out in a non-judgmental way to check everything is OK. You can find more information on maintaining a good relationship with tenants during this crisis.

The last thing that you or your tenants need right now is a dispute, so try to be positive, proactive and look for fair solutions that work for everyone.

“How to carry out those all-important check-out inspections is the most common question we are being asked,” Suzy Hershman, Head of Dispute Resolution at mydeposits says.

“Keeping those lines of communication open with your tenant and thinking ahead, you could arrange a video tour of the property on their last day where you can agree on the condition of the property, record any differences and negotiate, if necessary.”

mydeposits have created FAQs for landlords on coronavirus, with practical help on how to deal with your rental property in these unprecedented times.