Rent Protection and CV-19

davidmcn

AdrianC said:

mystic_trev said:

Landlords who bought the premier rent guarantee service offered by lettings agent Leaders have been similarly abandoned. The service promises to cover rental payments if tenants fall into arrears. AN lives in the Philippines on income from a property let in Kent. He pays £36.86 a month for the guarantee and assumed it would protect him if his tenants fell behind with rent due to the pandemic. However, like RoomerFlex, Leaders has written to landlords informing them that the guarantee guarantees nothing when a pandemic is concerned, even though there’s no mention of pandemics in the list of exclusions. Unlike RoomerFlex, it’s not offering to refund the considerable cost of the cover to those who now find themselves unprotected. Leaders was contacted for comment.

It looks like many Rent guarantee Insurances will not be paying out when needed.

Interesting that that link is to the key info leaflet, rather than the full Ts & Cs. I guess from the wording that you've copied something from the press?

Here's the full Ts & Cs...
https://mr0.homeflow.co.uk/files/site_asset/image/3377/6212/PRGS_TACs_May2017.pdf?1502721680

The key in there is...

7 Exclusions
Leaders shall not be liable to make any payment under this Premier Service in respect of rental income arrears, legal expenses, alternative accommodation expenses or whatever:
...
7.2.6 the compulsory purchase, confiscation, nationalisation, requisition, destruction or restriction or control placed on or damage to any Property or the actual planned or proposed construction, closure, adaptation or repair of roads or bridges or the actual planned proposed construction, demolition or adaptation of buildings, housing or other works by or under the order of any intergovernmental, governmental, public or local authority

This will definitely count as a "restriction placed on the property", ergo they aren't liable, and it is covered in their Ts & Cs.

I'm not convinced that clause does exclude the OP's position, which seems to be simply that the students don't want to hang around in the university town. There's nothing legally prohibiting the property from being occupied. Lots of people are now discovering that their "force majeure" clauses don't cover circumstances loosely related to pandemics.

greatcrested

I'm very confused about whether the OP is concerned about

1) rent for summer term 2020 not being paid and whether his current insurance will pay out, or

2) rent for summer term 2020 not being paid and whether he can take out a new policy which will pay out, or

3) letting the property for academic year 2020-2021

If 1), the insurance quoted above does not seem to cover arrears. So the Op could simply sue the tenant for the arrears, assuming that the AST was a fixed term (OP has still not given details of the tenancy agreement!) which ends, in, say July or August.

If 2), of course not! If this were possible, no one would ever take out insurance for anything until the insured riskt happened!

If 3), how can anyone here know what universities will be doing come Sept 2020? Or where the current health crisis will have got to?

Adly812

greatcrested said:

I'm very confused about whether the OP is concerned about

1) rent for summer term 2020 not being paid and whether his current insurance will pay out, or

2) rent for summer term 2020 not being paid and whether he can take out a new policy which will pay out, or

3) letting the property for academic year 2020-2021

If 1), the insurance quoted above does not seem to cover arrears. So the Op could simply sue the tenant for the arrears, assuming that the AST was a fixed term (OP has still not given details of the tenancy agreement!) which ends, in, say July or August.

If 2), of course not! If this were possible, no one would ever take out insurance for anything until the insured riskt happened!

If 3), how can anyone here know what universities will be doing come Sept 2020? Or where the current health crisis will have got to?

 Yes basically to all of the above 😢

the AST was fixed until 23 August. 

most university accommodation on campus have refunded the students or given them payment holidays etc. However as a private investor I have opted to hold the tenant liable for the agreement, if they fail to pay the rent, they have a guarantor but I predict it will be a lengthy process of chasing the rent. The agents also wrote to all investors suggesting that it would also be a negative tone if we decide to take legal actions to chase the tenant (for future students).

and point 3) yes I’m PETRIFIED that next year the academic year is not looking promising.

i feel so deflated. I only just bought this flat. 

I knew it was high risk, but the 100% occupancy, the profits etc were all positive,.

who knew Or would have even guessed that the world would literally shut down causing this issue.