A warning from the Council of Mortgage Lenders has warned of catastrophic news for many homeowners as their properties will be uninsurable and unmortgageable due to the ongoing flood issues.

Their concerns are so great that they have written to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and advised of the impending critical problems that could affect 200,000 homes in the UK. From June 2013, many properties will have no insurance unless there is an agreement reached between the insurance industry and the government.

The CML has suggested that even if insurance is obtainable it will be at an inflated cost and may affect the ability of people to move in the future, remortgage or sell their properties.

We will update you with any updates when we receive them.

Thanks

Mike

We all know that the most important service that you get from your landlords insurance is when you have to make a claim. After all, this causes lots of stress and anxiety, your tenants may be on the phone needing action, you need to ring the insurers etc. Here we provide some (hopefully) helpful tips:

1) Keep your insurance documents in a safe place. This sounds obvious but we do hear of cases where this has does not happen.
2) Read your documents carefully. Again a very simple thing but one that can cause confusion, for example if you are unsure of what cover is provided you should speak to your broker/insurer.
3) Keep your tenants informed. Tenants will normally have no problems in times of stress if you as a landlord keep the lines of communication open. It will also make the tenant much more amenable to assisting with events as they progress.
4) Be honest with the insurer & provide all details possible. You can only be expected to provide information to the best of your knowledge. Claim forms should be completed with care and if you are unsure, speak to the insurer.
5) Report the claim ASAP, most insurers ask to be informed within 30 days (or 7 in the case of loss of rent, riot etc) or within reasonable timescale. Make sure you are aware of the reporting procedure.

We hope you find these tips of use to you but as mentioned above, it is always best to check your wording.

Have a great day

Mike

As a landlord, you have legal obligations to ensure the safety of gas appliances and installations on your property.

Gas – the dangers

They are two principal dangers arising from gas in the home:

• poisoning;
• uncontrolled combustion leading to fires and possibly explosions.

Currently, approximately 20 people each year are killed by carbon monoxide poisoning arising from gas supply systems or gas appliances*.

Principal accountabilities

As a landlord, the law holds you accountable for the safety of the gas installations within your property.

That does not necessarily mean simply the appliances but all of the gas pipe work from your domestic supply meter onwards. You are also responsible for ensuring the regular servicing and maintenance of your gas systems in line with frequencies defined under law.

You are also required to conduct a gas safety inspection prior to new tenants taking possession of your property and you must provide them with a copy of the certificate indicating that you have done so.

Servicing and inspections must include flues and any other equipment associated with the provisions of ventilation and venting.

You must respond promptly to tenants requests for repairs or inspections to gas appliances that are perceived to be not functioning correctly.

The tenants are, of course, legally responsible for ensuring that they use gas appliances in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and safety advice. It may also be a requirement that you have available the original manufacturer’s operating manuals as if they are not available, some tenants may legitimately make the point that they cannot be asked to comply with instructions that they have not been able to see.

In terms of gas safety inspections and any related work, a Gas Safe registered engineer must be used. Under no circumstances should you or your tenants, even consider repairing or maintaining gas equipment unless this is considered part and parcel of normal usage as defined by the manufacturer’s operating guide.

Gas and insurance implications

Your landlord insurance policy may typically contain causes relating to your needs to comply with legal requirements relating to the use of gas and safety.

Failing to do so may put elements of your cover or possibly your entire policy, at risk.

This is not an area that it might be advisable to make assumptions about, so if you have any insurance related questions on gas and gas safety, we would be happy to offer further comments in detail.

You may find a useful and far fuller / more detailed discussion of all these issues on the following government site.

*Source:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Planning/ChoosingTradersAndServiceProviders/DG_4018095

During my daily search across the Landlords media yesterday, I noticed that this week is Safe Agent Awareness Week and their website,www.safeagents.co.uk.

This week is about highlighting urther the risks to consumers of using agents who are not part of Client Money Protection Schemes and informing on how these risks can be avoided; namely ensuring that they only sign up to letting agents carrying the SAFEagent logo.

Whilst all agents are regulated, this campaign promotes agents whom are part of Client Money Protection Schemes.

Why not log onto their site www.safeagents.co.uk to see what we mean?

Have a great day

Mike

Well the weekend came and went, I made a snap decision to go to my Nan’s 86th birthday do which was fantastic. I don’t see her very often and it was a suprise to her as well! I decided to go for something different for diiner so chose Guinea Fowl with green beans, which was excellent!

I didn’t see much of the football yesterday as I was out with my partner, but I heard lots of people shouting so I knew City had won as we have a large United contingent in Westcliff!!

This week is a short week as I am to the Premier League Darts finals on Thursday and it’s out for my Dad’s 60th birthday on the Friday. Busy times!!

Have a great day

Mike

It is typically a difficult and occasionally traumatic experience – and one that may continue over an extended period of time.

These problems, however, may be hugely exacerbated if you fail to understand the legal principles involved and your rights as well as obligations in such situations*.

Basic principles

Once you have tenants in your property, you must accept the reality that you no longer have the degree of freedom to do what you will with your property, whenever you wish.

If you wish to evict your tenants, you must comply with the law and due legal process.

If you attempt to bypass these legal requirements or to place direct or indirect pressure on your tenants other than that authorised by law, you may be committing a criminal offence and be liable to prosecution.

Orderly evictions

Assuming that you have a relatively standard tenancy agreement, you may find that you are legally entitled to give your tenants two months notice in writing of your intention to possess your property. That presumes that the original period of the tenancy agreement has passed.

It might be debatable as to whether this is, legally speaking, an eviction, as it is being conducted entirely in accordance with the contract.

Contentious evictions

If your tenants refuse to accept your notice and/or simply refuse to vacate your property, you must apply to a court for a possession order. You may need to show a court that you have notified your tenants in advance of your intention to pursue a court order before your possession order will be granted.

If granted, there will be a court notification to the tenants that they must vacate the property by a specified date.

In some situations, a court may choose to suspend the possession order, meaning that the tenants may be free to stay in your property, providing that they comply with certain conditions as outlined by the court.

Physical eviction

Regrettably, in some cases some tenants may not comply even with a court possession order. It might also be the case that they fail to comply with the terms outlined by a suspended order.

In either case, you still have no right to move directly and take possession but instead must apply to court again for a warrant for eviction. If awarded, the court will arrange for bailiffs to evict the tenants by an agreed date.

Accelerated possession

It might be possible, depending upon the type of tenancy in place, to apply to court for a fast track possession process.

Although this may cut down the timescales considerably, in order to succeed your documentation must be in perfect order and you must be seen to have complied in full with the tenancy agreement.

Costs

Note that typical landlords insurance may not cover the costs of becoming involved in a legal battle to evict your tenants.

*Source:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Privaterenting/Problemsanddisputes/DG_189241

Well a busy week is nearly at an end, and the Cover4 Teams have worked exceptionally hard again to take on new business and renew what we have.

Our Cover4 Let Property newsletter is almost completed and we hope that you like the content. We do try and make these newsletters fun and informative, if you have any feedback please let us know.

A quiet weekend beckons, my son is unfortunately poorly but I am sure that he will battle on as ever, I am looking forward to the Premier League football on Sunday, I think QPR may yet spring a suprise…

Have a great day

Mike

It appears that an end could finally be at an end to the ongoing saga of the insurance industry’s dispute with the government over thousands of previously flood hit properties.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) are looking at two proposals from the industry, the first of which will allow for continued cover but with a cap on the annual premium to be paid. This would be levied by a subsidy on all other home insurance policies in the UK.

The second would see insurers transfer the risks, less a small retention, to their reinsurance markets.

With flood warnings around the country at present the announcement of a possible conclusion to this controversial stand off would be good for both the insurance industry and the besieged coalition government.

We await the results of the government’s findings…

Have a great day

Mike

Well yesterday was very busy for us, our web campaign only re-started on Sunday afternoon but we had lots of enquiries to ring out and the Sales Team were enjoying the hustle and bustle of business.

I also became an e-author for the first time yesterday (to tell the truth I had not even heard of this term until recently!) but it was a great project to inform and give insurance tips and hints to the general public.

Now that the football season is nearly over I will be finding myself at a loose end on Saturdays, but the good news is that the cricket season is underway and that there is some predicted sun on the way in Southend.

Have a great day all

Mike