Welcome to the New Year 2024

2024 brings the magical milestone of the 50th year of iHowz supporting landlords.

And what a year it is going to be for them, but before we go into that, lets briefly review what we have achieved for you, as a member, during 2023:

Review of 2023.

Activities and Campaigns:

Parliamentary Action on the proposed changes to Section 21 and Section 8.
  • Whilst it had been in the election manifesto, the first sign the Conservative Government were serious on abolishing the Section 21 was in the ‘Levelling Up’ White Paper.
    Our principal concern was, and remains the unintended consequences of increased homelessness, by losing the Section 21, a prediction that unfortunately appears to be becoming true, even before the S21 is abolished.
    iHowz responded with our own White Paper, and wrote to all MPs.
    A resume can be seen here Section 21 Notice: The Unintended Consequences of Losing it
  • We followed up on this with a full briefing to MPs and Lords in the House of Commons on November 22nd where we instructed Andrew Butler KC to present our case.
    A resume can be seen here, and here, and a video of the proceedings here (note it is 42 minutes long).
  • We are working with MPs and Lords to have appropriate amendments laid in Parliament to improve the Renters Reform Bill as it passes through.
  • Work continues, and we will keep you informed.
Renters (Reform) Bill, RRB.
  • Whilst we have initially concentrated on arguing the case for the retention of the Section 21, or similar, we are also incorporating our concerns on the proposed loss of the Fixed Term tenancy agreement.
    Combined with the ability for the tenant to give two months’ notice at any time, we are increasingly concerned this will cause havoc, especially to student landlords.
    To this end we are working with MPs to table appropriate amendments to the RRB.
  • Another matter that we are keeping an eye on in the RRB are the proposals for landlord registration, redress scheme, property portal and an independent landlord Ombudsman.   Our concern is to ensure joined up thinking on these, not the normal disjointed Civil Service working.  Some of this work is being carried out jointly with Propertymark. 
Energy Requirements for landlords.
  • Whilst we accept that landlords will have to make their contribution to Net Zero, we have been concerned for some time that the lack of guidance/information from the Government has meant landlords have not known what to do or when, leading to the potential that some landlords will have completed some work that may prove to be incorrect.
    This campaign actually started in October 2021 when we sought clarity.  It is fair to say that such clarity is still sadly lacking.
    You can see an in-depth review of this subject in our article Net Zero Plans: Still No Clear Guidance for UK Landlords.
Licensing

We have had notable success in the past:

but licensing schemes are now being proposed at a rate we cannot show here.

With the LGA (Local Government Association) reporting in early December that  1 in 5 councils are in danger of bankruptcy –  we can only see more Councils applying for the easy option of raising funding from compliant landlords.

We are pushing for large licensing schemes to be banned once the key data is available on the Property Portal, which is proposed as part of the RRB.

 

Taxation and Finance

We have written to the Chancellor prior to the budget (here).

Member Representation and Meetings:
  • As highlighted above, we made a successful presentation to MPS and Lords highlighting our concerns regarding the Renters (Reform) Bill and offered our proposals to ensure the bill will result in a fair and workable PRS.
  • We were pleased to have positions on committees/meetings designed to work together in the industry:
  • As well as our regular landlord meetings and events, we also had a panel position at the last keynote panel session for the National Landlord Investment Show. Additionally, we were a judge for their awards ceremony.
  • We have also been giving evidence at:
    • National Universal Credit Review, conducted by the Department of Work and Pensions
    • Southampton City Council review into improving the rental market in Southampton.

 

Member Communication
  • We provide regular member communication via our weekly eNews, which highlights news articles, campaigns, legislation as well as meetings and events.
  • During the year, we made improvements to the website to make logging in easier. We have also worked on improving our social media and other online presence. If members have things they would like to share, they are welcome to follow, post or link to our X, facebook and LinkedIn accounts, or message info@ihowz.uk .
  • We also sent out our Spring, Autumn and Winter printed newsletters with features and commentary.

 

Plans for 2024.

It is going to be a very busy year for landlords:

The Rental Market
  • Rents: after a manic period of rising rents, Barret Kupelian, chief economist at PwC UK, said: “For 2024, we expect rental growth to moderate as the labour market and earnings, in particular, start to cool. However, we still think that rental growth will remain above historic rates for most of next year.”
  • Finance and Costs: although inflation and interest rates appear to be heading down, many mortgages will be expiring this year.
    Will landlords be able to take advantage of better deals later this year?
    iHowz will continue to push for fairer tax treatment, especially on S24 treatment of interest and finance costs.
    The other good news on costs is that the pandemic shortages have been overcome with reports that labour and materials costs have started to stabilize, with some falling
  • House prices: the Nationwide has reported that House prices across the UK are 1.8% lower than December 2022, and are suggesting they will be generally flat for 2024.
    For those looking to build their portfolios, 2024 could offer a once in a decade opportunity.
Legal, Regulatory and Political Risks
  • Renters (Reform) Bill: the Government are determined to get the RRB through before the General Election. It is important that all landlords, and their representatives help to get the best version of the Act as possible, else Labour will bring in their own version.
    If you think the current version is bad, imagine what a Labour version could look like.
  • Energy Efficiency: at the end of last year, the government announced a new initiative and launched a consultation on its proposal for a Home Energy Model: Future Homes Standard Assessment.
    We encourage members to take part in the consultation and let us know your views.
  • Other Planned Legislation:
    • Leasehold Reforms,
    • Planning,
    • Short/Holiday Lets
  • Taxation:
    • Confirmation of Making Tax Digital start date (expected 6 April 2026)
  • Licensing: predict the announcement of more licensing schemes as Council chiefs become desperate to avoid bankruptcy.
    If you are aware of a planned scheme or consultation, let us know
  • Elections: we know two things for certain:
    • Local elections are scheduled to take place on Thursday, 2nd May, 2024
    • The next General Election must take place before 28th January 2025, but the is most likely to be between late spring and autumn this year.

iHowz in 2024:

50 Years Representing and Supporting Private landlords:

2024 marks a very important milestone: we were established in 1974, so this is our 50th year of representing and supporting landlords.
We will be rolling out a series of events to mark this landmark year.

We would love you to share some of your stories or pictures, particularly, if you are a long-term member. Please email or post them to us. Members are also welcome to post pictures or accounts of meetings on our social media channels. Were looking forward to some real fashion statements – flares, kipper ties, big hair and lots of autumnal colours – as well as stories about lead pipes, wire fuses and paraffin heaters.
At the end of 2024 we will be giving a £50 Gift Voucher for the best contribution.

Representation:

Members can be assured that we will continue to represent landlords and will keep you informed of changes in the PRS.
We can only do this by building our membership and ask members to promote us to other landlords and agents.
We will be announcing a referral reward scheme soon.

Partner Offers:
    • Alan Boswell Group: As brokers they search the market for the best insurance deals and offer members savings on their insurance, including property, liability and contents
    • Mortgages for Business: Early in the New Year we will be launching a new initiative between us and our partners Mortgages for Business. Watch this space.
    • Trade Point: The card provides discounts on your repair, maintenance and other project materials.
      Don’t forget that the iHowz Trade Point card guarantees you a discount on all purchases, unlike their regular card, where discounts are dependent on the spend.
      Email us if you don’t have a card.
    • Other Providers: Details of our other partners can be found on the Members Area (log-in required).

 

Member Events and Training:
    • Member Meetings: These popular in person events are scheduled for Brighton and Southampton and we are working on getting the London meetings restarted. Details are available on the Meetings page of the website and in the published newsletter.
    • Online Meetups: We are bringing back regular online meetups.
    • Online Resources: Missed one of our meetings or meetups? As well as the documents and information on the website, don’t forget that many of our presentations are available on YouTube via the Videos button.

Accreditation, Training and Workshops:

We will be doing more work on landlord training and continuing to review and improve all documents.

 

2024 and Beyond.

The PRS has changed so much over our 50 years.

2024 will be a busy year for us all with many of the changes highlighted above.

iHowz wish their members a happy and successful 2024

Make the most of the opportunities by staying up to date to remain professional.

We are always looking for new ideas and team members to help us improve our member services. If you would like to be more involved in helping the team at iHowz, or know someone who has skills they would like to share, please message us by email via info@ihowz.uk.