A dog is for life and not just Christmas is a sentiment we can all embrace.

The soothing effects of having a pet at home are well known and the government’s update to the model tenancy agreement now makes it easier for tenants with pets to secure leases.

Changes to the agreement meant landlords could no longer issue blanket bans on pets.

Instead consent for pets has become the default position and landlords have to object in writing within 28 days of a written pet request from a tenant and provide a good reason.

The Dogs Trust explained one of the top reasons they saw dogs being handed in for re-housing was because of a change in circumstances which meant the owner was moving into private rented accommodation and their pet was not welcome.

In 2020, only 7% of landlords advertised their property as suitable for pets (GOV.UK). With such a small proportion of pet-friendly rentals, some tenants have no choice but to give up their pets.

The Dog’s Trust now hopes that under the new model tenancy agreement more tenants will be able to re-house pets that have sadly been given up for adoption.

Tenants will still have a legal duty to cover the costs of any damage caused by pets, but more tenants will be able to find suitable accommodation. 

Housing Minister Christopher Pincher MP said the change struck the right balance between helping more people find a home that’s right for them and their pet, while ensuring landlords properties are safeguarded.

If a landlord is open to taking a ‘pets considered’ approach then the model tenancy agreement can be really useful to ensure that they are taking into account all of the aspects of allowing pets in their property. 

According to the Dogs Trust, with more and more people becoming pet owners, adopting a ‘pets considered’ approach can increase demand for a property. You are also likely to attract long-term, responsible tenants.

The newly proposed Pet Protection Bill is also awaiting approval from Parliament.

The Dogs and Domestic Animals Accommodation Protection Bill is designed to help responsible pet owners find suitable rental properties.

Currently awaiting its second reading, the bill will allow dogs and other animals to be kept in rental accommodation in England.

The bill will help responsible renters and its focus is the protection and welfare of domestic animals. As well as giving tenants the right to keep pets in their rental property, the bill proposes pet owners have a certificate of responsible animal guardianship.

Certificates will be issued subject to a responsible ownership test, conducted by a registered vet, including:

• Microchipping (for dogs and cats)
• De-worming and de-fleaing
• Required vaccinations
• Ability to respond to basic commands

The bill also proposes that all information regarding an animal and its ownership be entered into a database – including mandatory microchipping for all dogs and cats.

If the proposed bill goes ahead, tenants will not have an unconditional right to keep a pet. Tenants can’t have a dog or domestic animal unless they hold a responsible animal guardianship certificate. If living in the rental accommodation puts the animal at risk, or causes danger or nuisance to people nearby, they will not be allowed.

Under the new legislation, landlords could also restrict their tenant’s right to keep dogs or domestic animals if they hold a certificate of exemption.

These would be issued if the property wasn’t suitable for an animal or the landlord or another tenant has a religious or medical reason not to come into contact with a dog or domestic animal.

The government has recently announced new rules on domestic fire and carbon monoxide alarms within all rented properties.

Key changes to the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 mean landlords need to ensure a carbon monoxide alarm is fitted in any room in their homes where there is a fixed combustion appliance, including a gas boiler.

When any new fixed combustion appliances are fitted a carbon monoxide alarm will need to be fitted by law – gas cookers are excluded from the new regulations.

Landlords in the social and private rented sector need to be aware they will be required to repair or replace smoke and carbon monoxide alarms once they have been informed they are faulty.

The main changes at a glance are:

• Smoke alarms will be mandatory in all social rented homes
• Carbon monoxide alarms will be mandatory in rooms with a fixed combustion appliance (excluding gas cookers)
• Carbon monoxide alarms will need to be fitted when any new heating appliance is added (excluding gas cookers)
• Landlords need to repair or replace faulty alarms

The All-PartyParliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG) has been pressing for changes to the regulations and according to Policy Connect they have welcomed the update.

John McNally, MP for Falkirk and a parliamentary officer for APPCOG, said:

“UK government appears to be making a step in the right direction, a progression to be welcomed, but “asap” needs a firmer target time.” 

Every year there are approximately 60 deaths in England and Wales from Carbon Monoxide poisoning.

According to the NHS website low level exposure to carbon monoxide poisoning can bring on symptoms similar to food poisoning or flu.

The main sources of carbon monoxide leaks will be incorrectly installed, poorly maintained or poorly ventilated household appliances and heaters and central heating boilers.

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that has no smell or taste. Breathing it in can make you unwell, and it can kill if you’re exposed to high levels.

The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are not always obvious, particularly during low-level exposure.

A tension-type headache is the most common symptom of mild carbon monoxide poisoning. 

Other symptoms include:

• dizziness
• feeling and being sick
• tiredness and confusion
• stomach pain
• shortness of breath and difficulty breathing

Long-term exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide can also lead to neurological symptoms, such as:

• difficulty thinking or concentrating
• frequent emotional changes – for example, becoming easily irritated, depressed, or making impulsive or irrational decisions

Breathing in high levels of carbon monoxide gas can cause more severe symptoms.

These may include:

• impaired mental state and personality changes (intoxication)
• the feeling that you or the environment around you is spinning (vertigo)
• loss of physical co-ordination caused by underlying damage to the brain and nervous system (ataxia)
• breathlessness and a heart rate of more than 100 beats per minute (tachycardia)
• chest pain caused by angina or a heart attack
• an uncontrollable burst of electrical activity in the brain that causes muscle spasms (seizures)
• loss of consciousness – in cases where there are very high levels of carbon monoxide, death may occur within minutes

Please keep an eye out for future Chinneck Shaw blogs regarding a deadline date for the new regulations.

With the UK property market continuing to perform at record levels, opportunities for investors can be found in both residential and commercial. But the question remains the same – where should I invest my hard earned money?

According to experts both markets are continuing to perform well despite being impacted by the pandemic.

While a commercial investment may offer a higher yield, the recovery timeline as a result of the pandemic is set to be far longer than the residential rental market and residential property investment remains by far the dominant force when it comes to availability, affordability and total sector value.

Chinneck Shaw Property Manager Joe Rocks said: “As with all these things, a balanced approach offers the best return for a property portfolio holder.

“However we would always encourage people to look at residential over commercial.”

The latest major industry survey seems to back up this position too. The State of the Lettings Industry Report from Goodlord and Vouch provides a temperature check of the market and involved 550 agents and 1,700 tenants.

Their report highlighted tenants are reporting strong signals of confidence around their finances.

The vast majority – 81% of tenants – said the pandemic had no impact on their ability to pay rent in the past year and the majority believe their finances are secure.

Most tenants predicted they would be staying in the rental sector for many years to come. Less than half of tenants said they would expect to own a property within five years.

According to Propertymark, the UK government has today confirmed that notice periods will return to pre-Covid lengths in England from October 1 2021.

All notices were increased to six months for most grounds including Section 21 notices (with exemptions for some serious cases)  as a result of the pandemic and the introduction of the Coronavirus Act 2020

Since 1 June 2021 until 30 September 2021 notice periods must be at least four months in most circumstances apart from exemptions for the most serious cases. Notice periods for cases where there are less than four months of unpaid rent, reduced to two months’ notice from 1 August.

Property Manager Joe Rocks, said:”This announcement will be welcomed by many landlords across the country. Of course landlords and agents sympathise with those tenants who have genuinely struggled during the coronavirus pandemic, unfortunately there are a minority of tenants who have taken advantage of the pandemic and some landlords are tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket. 

“With the changes of the notice periods back to pre-Covid levels it means that the landlords can minimise the delay in starting legal proceedings against tenants. With the Renters Reform Bill on the horizon expect further consultation and changes to notices and notice periods.”

The changes mean that for a Section 21 notice it will revert back to 2 months notice and a Section 8 notice will return to 14 days notice for tenants who owe 2 months or more rent arrears.

As one of Portsmouth’s oldest established firms, we have enjoyed a long and important relationship with Portsmouth Football Club.

Founder of the firm back in 1883, James Steele Chinneck, was also a director of the football club from 1938 to 1951 before becoming Chairman at the time of the second title win in 1950. 

He was famously photographed sat next to Field Marshal Montgomery at Fratton Park with Portsmouth FC’s championship winning side of 1948 to 1949.

Mr Chinneck was chairman of the club, while ‘Monty’ was president and still in his pomp after his decisive role in D-Day and the Allied victory in the Second World War.

The years under Mr Chinneck and Montgomery are remembered by many Portsmouth fans as the glory days. The club went on to claim the Division One title for a second consecutive season in 1949- 1950 as well as the Charity Shield in 1949.

“It’s such a great photograph and it still makes me feel proud when I see it,” said Neil Shaw, who runs the business today.

“The football club is so important to Portsmouth – it is the heartbeat of the city and our association goes back to what many see as a real high point for the club.

“When I look at that photograph I can see individuals whose families to this day we still act for – there is a huge amount of history between us.”

Over the years there have been many other links too – Mick Williams who helped to save the club when it nearly went into liquidation in 2012-13 is a client and Touchline Tony – the voice of Fratton Park – is a contractor Chinneck Shaw calls on for repairs. 

A keen player himself and an even more ardent football fan, Neil explained the close ties with the club remain to this day.

“For the past five years we have proudly sponsored a member of the women’s team and we are currently sponsoring defender Hayley Bridge,” he said.

Earlier this year when Chinneck Shaw were busy rebranding, they made sure to include a reference to the club they hold so dear.

“Over the years we’ve had many different connections and the ties are still as strong. When we had our recent re-brand, we made sure that the artwork in our meeting room reflected that strong association.

“The message in the flags reads ‘Play-up Pompey – the famous Pompey Chimes, ’” he added.

If recent times have taught us anything, it is that technology allows us to work with people quite literally all over the world at the click of a button.

Managing properties on behalf of owners is no exception and at Chinneck Shaw we have landlords based in some pretty far-flung places.

The furthest is New Zealand, with others based in Canada, Ireland, France, Spain, Malta, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Accounts Manager Shelley Morris-Green, explained: “Obviously the modern world we live in helps with the way we can communicate with them, it doesn’t matter with time zones as we can pick up their emails the next day.”

While technology is key, it comes down to relationships and trust.

“Our overseas landlords are content for us to make emergency decisions, if we ever have to, and trust that we will always do what’s right.

“This means we have happy tenants living in properties for longer and happy landlords who are being very well looked after, despite sometimes being on the other side of the world,” added Shelley.

One of the many joys of living in Portsmouth is our proximity to the Isle of Wight and our rental team is lucky enough to look after a substantial number of properties there.

With a car hire scheme they can book in advance, the team hop on the hovercraft (the only public service like it in the world) and 10 minutes later they are in Ryde – the gateway to the Island.

Technology means they can manage much of the day to day activity without leaving their desk.

Properties can be marketed at the click of a button and thanks to our virtual tours, it is easier for prospective tenants to view virtually before visiting in person.

Existing tenants can pay rent online, report issues and speak to the team knowing there will always be a quick response.

Property Manager Joe Rocks explained: “With the easy links to the Island we can get over there quickly and at relatively short notice.”

We recently did an interview with Benny Read for the Chinneck Shaw newsletter about joining the team as an assistant property manager on the lettings team and visiting the Island to inspect properties has been a highlight so far.

“I’ve been involved in everything from inspections to inventories and I even got to visit the Isle of Wight recently to check out the property we manage over there,” he said.

Summing up Chinneck’s property management work on the Isle of Wight, Joe added: “It is no different to managing the properties we have in Portsmouth and Southsea, the distance is not a problem, we have a good team of contractors over there and we have been managing Island properties for over 20 years.”

From today (June 30) European Union, European Economic Area and Swiss citizens will need to use the government’s new ‘View and Prove’ online service to demonstrate their right to rent.

Landlords need to be aware of the changes and anyone who is from an EU country, the EEA or Switzerland and has successfully applied to the EU settlement scheme or for a UK visa will need to prove their right to rent.

Property Manager Joe Rocks, explained: “Tenants affected by the legislation need to login to the View and Prove service and follow the online advice to generate a share code.

“They need to share this along with their date of birth with their letting agent. We can then take this information and input into the government portal to confirm the tenant has the right to rent.”

The government’s guidance notes state that in future everyone will be able to register for a UK Visas and Immigration account (UKVI)  which will allow them to access the View and Prove service.

https://www.gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status 

Staying up to date with the latest news from Chinneck Shaw and the local rental market is so much easier if you subscribe to our newsletter.

The Letter has undergone a refresh as part of our rebranding and we hope you will agree, it looks pretty smart and is a really great read.

The quarterly publication gets sent out to our landlords and property portfolio holders and Property Manager Joe Rocks explained there is a real mix of stories.

“We include the latest insights on everything from rental yields to rental property demands and show how Portsmouth and Southsea is compared to the rest of the country.

“And we share the latest news from the Chinneck Shaw team,” he said.

Assistant Property Manager Benny Read features in the current edition talking about how he is enjoying the best of both worlds – developing his property management skills, while progressing his career in football.

Benny explained:”I play for Havant in the National League South but during the pandemic we haven’t been playing so it has worked out very well that I have my role as an assistant property manager on the letting team.”

You can see the latest edition here on our website. If you would like to subscribe please contact shelley@chinneckshaw.co.uk and state whether you would prefer a digital copy or we can pop one in the post to you if you give her your address.

News that compulsory mediation before eviction is being introduced by the government for the commercial sector only has raised some eyebrows.

Many thought the measure would be introduced for the residential rental market too – especially as up to one million tenants are likely to be evicted after not paying their rent through the pandemic.

At Chinneck Shaw we are firm believers in the power of talking through any challenges to find a mutually agreeable solution – and our informal mediation has led to many positive outcomes over the years.

Maintaining good communication with tenants means they are quicker to let us know if there could be a problem on the horizon and during the recent lockdowns, this proved to be invaluable.

Property Manager Joe Rocks explained: “Mediation is already used by many judges in an attempt to reduce the amount of cases of evictions in the residential market. 

“We naturally do this throughout the management of the tenancy to try and reduce tenants arrears .If tenants start to fall behind on their payments, we will talk to them to agree a payment plan to pay a set amount every month to reduce the arrears until they are in a position to get back to normal.”