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Mark Hughes

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my expertise in the industry

Mark's Recent Activity

If Polly Neate is so concerned about tenants ability to pay their arrears maybe her organization should set up an interest free loan scheme to help these unfortunate people pay back the debt to their landlords ...................THOUGHT NOT ..!!

From: Mark Hughes 25 September 2020 10:33 AM

THESE PEOPLE JUST DONT GET IT , A LANDLORDS PAYMENT HOLIDAY ISNT A HOLIDAY THAT MONEY IS STILL OWED AND INTEREST DUE TO THE BANK .SO WHY SHOULD A TENANT NOT PAY ANYTHING ?? "TENANTS WILL GET INTO MASSIVE DEBT" ......!! BANKS ARENT WAIVING MORTGAGE PAYMENTS FOR LANDLORDS JUST ADDING THE DEBT TO THE ALREADY LARGE DEBT THEY ALREADY HAVE . tHERES NO SUCH THING AS A FREE MEAL

From: Mark Hughes 08 April 2020 11:43 AM

maybe they would like to cover the arrears , i think not

From: Mark Hughes 24 March 2020 16:27 PM

From: Mark Hughes 17 February 2020 17:08 PM

many councils have tried and just as many failed , an utter waist of the public purse

From: Mark Hughes 13 January 2020 13:11 PM

we have also recieved such correspodance

From: Mark Hughes 09 August 2019 15:23 PM

"Improving standards" ,whilst admittidly there are some shocking landlords out there ( and local authorities come into that bracket ) the majority are honest and decent these improvements costs money the more the landlord is squeezed for aditional funds , no tenant fees increased agent costs no tax releaf the less they will have to improve their properties ......!!

From: Mark Hughes 02 August 2019 09:43 AM

Licensing in its essence is a good thing however the playing fields are not level the same fee is charged if you have a 1 bed flat or a 4 bedroom house , and what about the local authorities themselves!! some of the worst landords on the planet the upkeep of blocks lack of maintainence etc would see a private landlord taken to task pot calling the kettle me thinks, make everyone accountable private and public sectors alike and stop bashing the hard working decent landlords out there that provide an excellent service not provided elsewhere. Rant Over

From: Mark Hughes 20 March 2019 11:58 AM

This is a simple equasion , if tenants pay rent and look after the properties they live in landlords have no reason to evict , and this does not discriminate working or housing benefit, tenants of all kinds should have the same right to have a roof over their heads , however some both working or not just feel that they dont have to pay their way and the system unfortunatly protects them and its often the poor landlord that loses out.

From: Mark Hughes 12 February 2019 10:27 AM

notice is assuming that the government do not ban Section 21 notices

From: Mark Hughes 16 January 2019 17:41 PM

we all know how difficult it is to get tenants to agre even the most basic of dilapidations, are we looking at the next PPI with these ins backed schemes?

From: Mark Hughes 15 January 2019 11:27 AM

said as much last week christopher wheres the deterrent they werent even asked to repay the full ammount they stole ???

From: Mark Hughes 24 December 2018 10:56 AM

i think your missing the point as agents you are required to comply with legislation advertising your fees is one such piece of legislation,as i having a property liscence as a requirement the LA ask for certain information which includes ownership of the property if this has not been provided then the property will be unliscenced so both the landlord and the letting agent are in breach.as i said previously an agent that does not comply as the majority of good agent do needs to be rooted out fines are water off a ducks back to this type of company.

From: Mark Hughes 17 October 2018 09:52 AM

these stories are becoming more and more frequent £7500 fine probably 1 months rent a complete audit of the agents property stock should be undertaken to see how many other over occupied properties exist, if this was my company i would be laughing my head off and getting away with literelly murder.

From: Mark Hughes 17 October 2018 09:42 AM

absolutly discusting Barking and dagenham council should be closing these people down once is a mistake twice is a flagrent disregard of legislation and the fine probably a months rental income to the business, now is the time to act and send a real message out to all that disregard the law.

From: Mark Hughes 16 October 2018 17:21 PM

Absolutly Agree , most councils have never recocgnised section 21 notices always telling tenants to stay where they are and effectivly breaking the law so its no supprise they want to see them gone. Meanwhile its the PRS landlords that pick up the cost, in my considerable experience landlords serve sec 21 notices very rarely unless posession is required for extenuating circumstances . In such cases people are not vulnerable, i would be curious to know how a public sector rental provider goes about removing a tenant for antisocial behaviour or non payment of rent if the do not use the letter of the law ? Oh I forgot it probably doent apply to them ,Ha ha ha

From: Mark Hughes 11 October 2018 12:49 PM

Didnt Harringay council try something similar last year... Are they still trading , Err NO...!!! Go Figure

From: Mark Hughes 04 July 2018 11:52 AM

this is still a penalty to good law abiding landlords, and as for Newham council and many others i suspect the same licensing criteria does not apply ? and their management of council blocks and property is appauling at best if standards are to be bettered then this should apply to all. Including the properties on the old olympic site which are excempt from any such licensing because they are owned by the Quatar royal family??????

From: Mark Hughes 22 June 2018 09:32 AM

Arla propertymark will not take these large agencies to task for fear of losing the huge revenue stream they generate from membership fees for the business.

From: Mark Hughes 11 June 2018 10:16 AM

Carterstones were renowned for this type of practice i have dealt with a number of landlords that have fallen victim to these organised sub-letting gangs via this agent.

From: Mark Hughes 05 April 2018 10:36 AM

What else would you expect from the BBC

From: Mark Hughes 21 February 2018 09:56 AM

From: Mark Hughes 13 February 2018 11:35 AM

we havent used a PDQ machine or taken cash for years nearly everyone has the facility to do direct bank transfers these days, or set up standing orders for rent if people are using credit cards to pay rent one must question their finacial suitability?

From: Mark Hughes 17 January 2018 09:57 AM

As an agent working within the borough of Newham I am not against the licencing scheme as it has helped to raise the standards of property in the area however the scheme is very unfair by its nature and a 60% hike in fees is totaly unjustified, if a property owner of a one bed flat @ £1100 pcm who has to go overseas to work for a couple of years, they pay £800 for two years no refund ,landlord two has a 4 bedroom house £2000 pcm pays the same £800 , a fairer way would either be a changing scale per bedroom or a pro rata payment year on year, as the same fee would be payable in year 4 to a new landlord for a year as it would have been at the start of the scheme.... Also professional sharers as well as student housholds not find it very difficult to rent in the borough as the council now restrict such housholds under current legislation quoting anti social behaviour as the reason, and by the way this was the reason given to me by one of Newhams licencing team as the reason the E20 postcode is exempt from the scheme, depriving Newham council of in excess of £2,000,000 worth of revenue council tax payers of Newham eat your hearts out . Not very fair at all NEWHAM COUNCIL

From: Mark Hughes 05 December 2017 17:47 PM

I have been a great believer in manditory licencing & training within our industry and indeed have myself passed ARLA,s Level 3 I welcome the intervention of the government to make this so , however it is ok for these large corporate agencies with in house training depts that can absorb the cost of such training but for smaller agents and one man operators training is yet another cost to be absorbed when our ability to cover costs is being taken away by a government that is determind to bring us to our knees!! As qualified agents will this allow us to charge more for our professional services? I doubt it?

From: Mark Hughes 06 November 2017 12:32 PM

Im sick of the of the constant attacs on the letting industy when the majority offer a great service for the fees charged, once our industey is driven into the ground will the government turn its attention to other industries ripping off the general public, Ticket websites chrging £7.00 per ticket to print and post ( or even e tickets where no work is involved at all) ? banks charging extortionate interest rates forcing more people into poverty? insurance companies that just throw a figure into the air with no justification , airlinesand holiday companies quadrupeling thier fairs during school holidays. I could go on but its us hardworking letting agents that are going to feel the pain for the sake of a outdated political parties quest for more voters. Rant Over

From: Mark Hughes 01 November 2017 09:52 AM

Well said Craig W

From: Mark Hughes 18 September 2017 10:07 AM

Credit checks will always be subjective depending on which credit refrencing agency the company taking the references uses, a potential tenant could have a CCJ or IVA regestered with one agency eg Equifax , but that may not show up if they use experion it really does depend which credit agency the debtor uses this in itself creates a lottery so any information obtained on a potential tenant may be wholey inaccurate, there is no central regester of bad debt in the UK....!!

From: Mark Hughes 14 September 2017 10:18 AM

How can the housing minister say a cap would be confusing???? 0 fees agent charges = breaking the law fees capped at £150 agent charges more = breaking the law The minister is an accountant isnt he ? surely even he can work that one out....!!

From: Mark Hughes 07 September 2017 10:07 AM

i work in Newham and rent a number of properties in council owned and managed buildings they are the worst landlord i come in contact with our owners are put through the mill to get the simplest of things managed, " to help the most vunerable" dont make me laugh...........!! As mentioned above funny how this surfaces when they are petitioning to renew the license in december, if you are a landlord looking for a license now you will be charged the same a someone who applied 5 years ago for 4 months do the council need a license ? dont think they would pass the test as fit and proper.

From: Mark Hughes 21 August 2017 12:40 PM

IMO and experience social housing providers and espescially local authorities are some of the worst landlords i have come across, it seems that private landlords are made to jump through hoops and pay vast ammonts of money for the privalege , yet local authorities can breach health and safety and good living standards for their tenants with impunity.

From: Mark Hughes 16 June 2017 09:01 AM

Too little too late me thinks

From: Mark Hughes 10 April 2017 10:32 AM

Then ARLA have a lot to answer for for not voicing their opposition strongly enough. Their probably more worried about all the subscriptions theyll be losing.

From: Mark Hughes 28 March 2017 09:55 AM

I totally agree with Michael and Julien above most but not all of the problems are caused by the tenants themselves not taking care of the envionment in which they live. And statistics can say anything "1/5 reported rodent infestation but 4/5's did not" ? you do the math

From: Mark Hughes 08 March 2017 10:14 AM

My concern from all this is if we (agents ) cannot take a fee what stops potential tenants making multiple applications with no recourse thus wasting our time and our clients money?

From: Mark Hughes 25 November 2016 10:31 AM

As a long time arla agent 10 years I have recently let my membership laps because the do not recognise the client money protection company we use UKALA which is accredited on the tenants how to rent booklet provided by HM Gov ? If you do not join their subscribed provider then you are not welcome as a full member as the company you work for cannot become a member agent . Reading above this is a pious attitude we want legislation but under our terms. I was proud to be a licensed agent but the bad taste left in my mouth does nothing for me to advocate an organisation that when incepted being a member meant something meant something. instead they have become a barking dog with no teeth.

From: Mark Hughes 13 July 2016 09:21 AM

Are we all walking around with targets on our backs? The property industry has in recent months been the subject of new legislation incurring costs that we are expected to absorb MP's petitioning for the capping / abolishing of agent fees, how about the BANKS with baes interest rates at around 1% why do banks and credit card companies charge 25% and upwards and get away with it surly this is profiteering on the grandest of scales, yet its us that bares the brunt of any profiteering campaign by all asunder.

From: Mark Hughes 30 June 2016 08:53 AM

We written Rebecca perhaps the associated press should enlist your help in a top 10 questions to put to these jumped up buffoons. all the conservative government want to do is to stop the man in the street making something of himself but bolster the coffers of the tax dodging institutions that probably fund most of the government.

From: Mark Hughes 21 April 2016 15:37 PM

Couldn't agree more John and also when all these MP's retire they end up with seats on the boards of the companies I think the phrase is nest and feathering :-)

From: Mark Hughes 21 April 2016 15:34 PM

Couldn't agree more Paul

From: Mark Hughes 05 April 2016 12:31 PM

The law is an ass suspended sentence....!!! this is a chance to send a clear message that life is precious he should have gone to prison. This is no deterrent for rouge landlords.

From: Mark Hughes 23 March 2016 10:21 AM

could not agree more

From: Mark Hughes 23 March 2016 10:17 AM

we have been waiting nearly 5 months for a tenant to be evicted under section 21 the courts in Newham just cannot cope. The councils etc should be sued for miss advising and costing landlords thousand of pounds in lost revenue and time.

From: Mark Hughes 23 March 2016 10:13 AM

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