What will the new leasehold reforms, announced last week, deliver for leasehold property owners in Leeds? Here’s what we know so far.

Now, ‘leasehold reform’ may not be the sexiest of subject matters, but if you are one of the 4.3 million people in England who owns a leasehold property, don’t doze off as these changes could significantly impact you.

Background

England’s medieval leasehold laws are loathed by leaseholders who have dubbed them ‘fleecehold’ laws. Key gripes include:

- The

Type' landlords are' into Google, and the words that come up next are pretty unflattering.

According to the global digital giant, the most commonly searched phrases are 'landlords are parasites' and 'landlords are leeches'.

A few other choice terms – that we're too polite to use here – come up as well, but you get the drift.

There is a common public perception that all landlords are modern-day Fagins, renting out flea-ridden hovels at rip-off prices.

This raises two questions:

With high Covid-19 rates reported in the UK, more lockdowns being announced across the globe and America in chaos you'd be forgiven for wanting to pull the duvet over your head and stay in bed.

But because we're eternal optimists at Harris Real Estates, we know better times are coming for Leeds and we've rounded up three feelgood stories to give us all a little hit of hope.
Walking Down Memory Lane.

A website is offering a lifeline to the millions

Even though we’re in lockdown, criminals are still out there trying to swindle people, so if you plan to buy a new home in Leeds in 2021, please heed UK Finance’s latest warning about an email scam that is on the rise.

Here’s how it works. Fraudsters hack into the system of a conveyancing firm and monitor their emails. When a deal nears completion, they send the buyer an email that looks like it has come from the conveyancing solicitor. There

Here’s a question for you.

What happens when you have a national lockdown in winter?

Well, there a few things but one that’s guaranteed to happen is heating bills rocket.

More people are at home whether to work, learn or stay safe, which means the thermostat gets turned up to keep everyone warm for longer than usual.

The good news is the National Energy Foundation charity has shared eight tips to keep the costs down and cut the amount of

Picture this: It’s 4pm on Christmas Day, and you’ve just snuggled down on the sofa to watch a bit of telly. Your belly is full, and your lids are heavy after a Mistletoe Margarita or two (or three, but who’s counting?). Then your phone rings. It’s your tenant – and there’s a problem. 

A pipe has burst in the flat that they rent from you and there is water everywhere. You need to get a plumber on it straight

 2020 is the year things went nuts in the property sector, with activity in Leeds and the rest of the country screeching to an abrupt halt for several weeks, before blasting back into action as buyers emerged from lockdown with a new set of priorities.

Here are four talking points from the year.

1. Race for space

Lockdown 1 served as a turning point for many people who, after spending months cooped up with their nearest and dearest,

Life is a daily merry-go-round of decision making.

What to eat for breakfast?

Which coat to put on?

Which queue to stand in at the supermarket (socially distanced, of course)?

Some decisions are a lot more impactful than others.

Especially when you are a landlord with a rental property.

The two biggest choices for you as a landlord, which we are about to reveal, can have substantial knock-on effects on your health, wealth, and happiness.

The choice is yours

One thing that seems almost Covid-19 proof is the desire for people in Leeds to move home. The local rental property market has proven resilient this year, with people looking to rent new places to call home.

Below are five tips that’ll come in handy if you’re looking to rent.

1. Prepare Properly

Consider when you want to move and where you want to rent. Research the areas and the properties in your price range. Create a clear budget and include moving

Buying a new home can be an exciting prospect, but often in the thrill of the search, buyers fail to budget for some of the costs that are part and parcel of the process.

Consumer champion Which? estimates moving costs on average of £10,000 (that’s excluding deposit), although this figure varies depending on the value of the new property.

By starting with a clear picture of all the fees you’re likely to incur, you can avoid any last-minute

 Should tenants be allowed to keep pets in rental properties? It’s a thorny subject that is back in the spotlight after an MP called for landlords to be more flexible on the issue.

Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell argues that preventing tenants from being with their beloved pet companion is cruel and discriminatory.

“For most people, being separated from your dog is really no different than being separated from your brother or your sister,” he says.

Mr Rosindell

If you’re contemplating putting your home on the market next year, there’s one thing you can do right now to maximise your chances of getting a great deal.

Before you get carried away in a giddy rush of festive fever and adorn your house in flashing lights and sparkly tinsel, take a deep breath and pause for just a moment.

You may be planning to kickstart the sale of your home in January – once the silly

First-time landlords often make the rookie mistake of underestimating the amount of paperwork involved in letting a property.

Many assume that once the ink dries on a tenancy agreement, they’ve got the paperwork sorted – but nothing could be further from the truth. 

Record-keeping is an integral part of a landlord’s duties and falls into two categories: 

• Documents that you must keep. Landlords are required by law to keep records covering things such as safety

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced a ban on bailiffs carrying out eviction enforcement during the lockdown in all but the most serious of cases.

While the courts are continuing to hear eviction cases, under the new rules announced last week as England returned to lockdown, bailiff enforcement action cannot be implemented until January 11, 2021, “at the earliest”. 

Mr Jenrick says the move protects those who have found themselves in financial difficulty through no fault of

On Saturday we received confirmation England will go into lockdown from Thursday, November 5 until at least December 2.

So, how will this affect people in the process of moving or thinking about selling in Leeds?

Well, firstly it's good news from a property moving perspective because the Housing Minister Robert Jenrick confirmed in a tweet on Saturday evening that the market was still very much open for business.

QUESTION:

'Can I still move home?'

ANSWER:

'Yes

 Moving can be stressful ­– some people rate it right up there with divorce in the aggravation stakes – but there are ways you can take the drama and disruption out of the process.

The first step is to acknowledge that buying a new home is likely to be one of the biggest purchases you make in your lifetime.

And if you plan to sell a property to fund your next move, you’re effectively carrying out two

In this terrifying three-minute true story, we reveal how a Leeds family endured a nightmare experience when selling their home.

In the beginning

The Thomas family were like many you’ll know in Leeds.

There was mum, dad, two young children and a black cat called Lucky.

They were popular with their neighbours and active members of the local community.

And that’s why people were disappointed to learn they were selling up and moving on due to Mr Thomas getting

Tier 2

What the Tier System Means to Landlords and Tenants in Leeds

The tier system announced by the Government this week to combat the increase in Covid-19 cases has caused some concern from landlords and people who are looking to move.

The good news is that it shouldn’t.

This is because even in the highest tiered areas which the Government has said are at very high-risk, people can still move. Albeit with extra safety precautions which we’ve been