From today (June 1) the minimum notice period for tenants facing possession notices has reduced from six months to four.

Further changes to so called section 8 notice periods (on the grounds of rent arrears) come into force on August 1 2021.

Property Manager Joe Rocks, said the change comes as the ban on evictions ends and experts are forecasting as many as one million people may now face eviction due to rent arrears.

“Since the pandemic started, no evictions have taken place so there is bound to be a back-log of legal actions.

“We are in the fortunate position that the majority of our tenants were able to continue to pay their rent or come to a satisfactory arrangement.

“As a result of the change, the government has updated the notices online. Any notices issued from today need to use the new notices and landlords need to be very careful as using the incorrect form will result in an eviction case being thrown out of court,” he said.

There are concerns nationally over the impact on tenants facing eviction and growing calls for the government to offer assistance.

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA, said: “As the private rented sector moves out of lockdown measures, the chancellor has failed to provide tenants with the support they need. This is especially the case for the majority of those in rent arrears who do not qualify for benefit support.

“Without urgent assistance, many tenants face the prospect of losing their home needlessly as landlords struggle to shoulder the cost of arrears. Affected tenants also potentially face the negative impact of damage to their credit scores.

“The government needs to develop a financial package which ensures that benefits cover the rents of those in receipt of them. For those who do not qualify for benefit support, an interest free, government guaranteed tenant hardship loan should be established, similar to those in Wales and Scotland.”

A recent survey of landlords has shown average rental yields have increased to 6% – the highest recorded in three years according to Paragon Bank who commissioned the study.

A Portsmouth landlord whose property is let through Chinneck Shaw is a great example of what is happening with the local market.

He has a two bedroom property in Fratton that he bought for £175,500 (pictured) and it is being let at a monthly rent of £925 per month – providing a rental yield of 6.32%.

Just under 900 landlords took part in the survey and the responses highlighted two key observations.

Location for the rental property is crucial. The highest average rental yields are currently achieved by those managing lettings businesses in the South West (6.7%) and North East (6.6%).

And there was a correlation between yields achieved and the size of a landlord’s property portfolio.

Rental yield is the term used to describe the return on a property investment from a rental perspective. To calculate rental yields ,you need to divide annual rent by the value of the property and then multiply the result by 100 to get a percentage return on investment.

According to the study, landlords who operate portfolios containing 20 or more properties responded saying they are able to generate average yields of 7.1%. 

Property Manager Joe Rocks commented: “It is encouraging to see average yields of 6% and we are still seeing high levels of tenant demand for homes to rent.

“All this has been achieved as we journey through a pandemic and major uncertainty. This goes to show how buoyant the market is and underlines the confidence investors have in property.”

This week the Debt Respite Scheme, approved by Parliament in October 2020, has come into force.

The aim is to help people who are in debt, which includes rent arrears, to help better manage finances, seek professional debt service advice and reach sustainable solutions.

The Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 pauses enforcement action from creditors, such as letting agents and landlords, and freeze charges, fees and certain interest on qualifying debts for up to 60 days. 

There is also an alternative way into the scheme for people receiving mental health crisis treatment. A mental health crisis moratorium lasts as long as a person’s mental health crisis treatment, plus 30 days.

Property Manager, Joe Rocks, said: “This new piece of legislation is important and a good step for tenants or anybody suffering genuine hardship and struggling to keep up with their rent and bills. It is an opportunity to ring fence the debt and come up with a sensible plan to pay it back. 

“Landlords need to be careful of contacting any tenants who have set up a Breathing Space otherwise they will face penalties. It is important to have good procedures in place to not fall foul of the new law.

“They also need to be mindful of a small number of the tenants who may try to take advantage of this situation to avoid paying the rent. This new piece of legislation is another example of why it is important to employ the services of a good managing agent to ensure compliance and to keep abreast of ever changing legislation that affects the private rental sector.”

A Breathing Space moratorium can only be accessed once every 12 months, but there is no limit to the number of times that an individual can enter a mental health crisis moratorium.

Just look at this lovely old auction poster we found in our basement dating back to 1984.

This is a great example of what Chinneck Shaw is all about.

Continuity, attention to detail, service with a great big smile – we’ve built our reputation on all of these.

And guess what, 37 years later we still manage the property advertised in the auction poster.

In fact, we’ve just re-let this home to a new family and so the circle continues.

If you would like to find out more about our services, please take a look at our new website where you can find information covering every aspect of rental properties.

After many months of planning, we are delighted to reveal our new look.

As one of Portsmouth’s longest established businesses – we started trading in 1883 – we wanted our rebrand to reflect our history and our position based at the heart of our island city.

The re-brand is designed to capture the essence of living in a waterfront city and Portsmouth’s nautical heritage has been the inspiration for the energetic new design.

Director Neil Shaw explained: “We have been looking at how we present our company for sometime and like everyone else, our view of living in Portsmouth was affected by the lockdown.

“We were influenced by the clear blue seas that were captured in images of Southsea during the first lockdown and the importance of being able to walk by the shore.

“Websites have taken on an even greater significance during the pandemic as they quite literally became the shopfront for countless businesses. That was true for ourselves and we wanted to be able to showcase the technology we have been using during the lockdowns to market properties.”

The new look website goes live in April and will include 360 degree tours of properties and the full marketing experience for both properties for sale and rental.

“Even when the restrictions are eased, websites will continue to be the first means by which people will look at properties so we needed to make our site the first port of call for home-hunters in Portsmouth,” said Neil.

Eagle eyed naval enthusiasts are sure to spot the use of nautical flags to convey messaging as part of the re-brand (even the logo combines the flags used to convey C and S). In the coming months, the team will be using their artwork to convey hidden messages as part of a fun social media campaign.

“It all comes down to communication and the flags were an important way for the Royal Navy to send messages.

“There’s nothing twee about our new design – we have abstracted the flags and plan to use them in a fun way,” added Neil.