31st March 2020

Dear Tenant,

I hope you and your families are well.

Firstly, our thoughts are with the people and communities that are affected by COVID-19. The safety and wellbeing of our tenants are top priority to us.

The outbreak has affected everyone worldwide. It is still ongoing and we are monitoring the situation as it is updated daily.

We are writing to you with an update to the current situation and how this affects our relationship as managing agents and tenants. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak we are currently unable to work as normal following the latest government guidelines. We sincerely apologise for this inconvenience, and we ask for your patience during this difficult time.

The Government has issued the following guidance to letting agents

• Letting agents have been deemed non essential and are required to shut down.
• All non essential maintenance and works should be addressed after the end of the lockdown.
• Property inspections are non essential and should be avoided

There are more details of the works we can carry out at the bottom of this email.

The government has now issued guidance on moving into a new home during the COVID-19 pandemic – although written for buyers and sellers, the guidance also applies to renting.

In short, the Government has strongly advised that home movers should stay put unless for contractual reasons a property rental or sale must proceed and neither side can agree to delay.

Other comments for agents:

• In the new emergency enforcement powers that the police have been given to respond to coronavirus, there is an exemption for critical home moves, in the event that a new date is unable to be agreed.
• Where the property is currently occupied, we encourage all parties to do all they can to amicably agree alternative dates to move, for a time when it is likely that stay-at-home measures against coronavirus (COVID-19) will no longer be in place.
• Agents should advise clients to be patient and not to exchange contracts unless the contracts have explicit terms to manage the timing risks presented by the virus.
• In line with advice for certain businesses to close, agents should not open branches to the public during this period, or visit people’s homes to carry out market appraisals
• (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-advice-on-home-moving-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak)

For tenants the government states

• Homebuyers and renters should, where possible, delay moving to a new house while measures are in place to fight coronavirus. If moving is unavoidable for contractual reasons and the parties are unable to reach an agreement to delay, people must follow advice on staying away from others to minimise the spread of the virus.
• (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do#can-i-move-house)
• Home buyers and renters should, where possible, delay moving to a new house while measures are in place to fight coronavirus (COVID-19).
• Our advice is that if you have already exchanged contracts and the property is currently occupied then all parties should work together to agree a delay or another way to resolve this matter
• If moving is unavoidable for contractual reasons and the parties are unable to reach an agreement to delay, people must follow advice on staying away from others to minimise the spread of the virus.

Tenants:

If you would like to know the current guidelines, please click here https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus The government is updating us of any changes in legislation, you can watch this daily between 4pm and 6pm on most news channel such as BBC or sky etc, or even online.

You can also stay updated as well as check if you or anyone in your household has any symptoms on the NHS website https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ Or https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19 Now more then ever there is a high call waiting time so if you can complete online please do. If not please call 111 or 999 in an emergency.

The Government has also released specific guidelines for tenants living in houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) that explains how long the entire household needs to spend self-isolating after the symptoms are first noticed.

These guidelines might seem counter-intuitive because in some cases people who haven’t experienced symptoms will have to self-isolate for longer than people who definitely had coronavirus. But it’s very important to stick to these guidelines because they are the only way to guarantee that you’re not either an asymptomatic carrier or still in the incubation period:

• If you live with others and you are the first in the household to develop symptoms, you must self-isolate for seven days from the moment the symptoms were noticed
• If one of your housemates develops symptoms, they must also self-isolate for a full seven days from the moment their symptoms were first noticed
• Housemates who do not develop symptoms have to self-isolate for 14 days from the moment the symptoms were noticed for the first time

If you have a change is circumstances, your hours have been reduced or you have lost your job please use https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Coronavirus_help this will help you know what benefits you are entitled to during this crisis

The government is expected to pass a bill with more details affecting rented property this week and we await that information. Currently all rents are still liable to be paid. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss this further.

Office

Our Office hours are being reduced from Monday 30th April and will be 12midday to 5pm. The main line 0207 435 6100 will be opened during these times, you are still able to leave a voicemail.

Alternatively, you can report repairs by either email contact@fyplondon.co.uk or whatsapp 0755285945. We also have GNB software where you can report your repairs online.

For all maintenance visits, during this period priority will be given to these with urgent maintenance such as Gas Safety Certs, Boiler and Appliance Breakdowns, Security etc following government advice. Non urgent work must be delayed as per government guidelines. For any other maintenance please report to the office as stated above. Please bear in mind that access will be the main issue. You will be given the contractors number and will have to contact them for an appointment.

Regards

Find Your Place (UK) Ltd

Property inspections, maintenance and repairs

Gas safety

The Gas Safe Register website says “In the event you are unable to gain access to the property, e.g. persistent refusal of access due to vulnerable tenants self-isolating, you will be expected to be able to confirm this in writing

Gas safety inspections can still be completed, but only with the express consent of both engineer and tenants (the Government guidelines permit travel to and from work where it cannot be done from home). Engineers must take sensible precautions, based on government guidance:

• Use personal protective equipment, frequent handwashing with soap or use of alcohol hand sanitising gel
• When visiting a property, confirm before entering whether anyone is anyone is self-isolating, or has been in contact with anyone who has been diagnosed with Coronavirus or has recently gone into self-isolation.
• If the answer is ‘yes’, the inspection will have to be cancelled and rescheduled.
• If the engineer visiting a property feels in any way uncomfortable with the situation, they can withdraw from the inspection and reschedule for a later date.

If access cannot be obtained and where an inspection is delayed, we will be sure to complete it as soon as possible after the lock down period ends.

Tenants who are self-isolating: if a tenant is self-isolating after displaying symptoms the inspection should be postponed for a minimum of 7 days (if they live alone) or 14 days (if there is more than person in the household) from when they started self-isolating

Tenants shielding themselves from the community: If a tenant have been told to "shield" themselves as they are at a very serious risk, the inspection will be postponed until after the 12 week period.

Electrical testing

HMO electrical safety certificates: the advice here is the same as for gas safety. is the same as gas safety. We will make reasonable attempts to gain access to complete the certificate; where delayed complete the certificate as soon as possible after the lockdown. The same principles for self-isolation and shielding (see above) also apply.

Fire alarms

Alarms in communal areas: testing or inspecting alarms in communal areas is still possible, provided all precautions are taken to avoid contact with other people. Any scheduled tests will continue as usual.

Alarms in tenancy properties: the tenancy agreement will usually require tenants to check these themselves on a monthly basis.

Fixing faults: If you identify a fault in a fire alarm following a test/inspection, these should be dealt with provided all precautions are taken to avoid contact with other people. Please let us know if your alarm doesn’t work

Property inspections

These are not essential during the lockdown and should be avoided.

Repairs

Repairs will depend whether they are “essential” or not. Essential repairs might include things like a severe leak causing damage to property or electrics such as a burst water mains pipe, or a broken boiler leaving a property without heat or hot water.

If a repair is not essential, these should be noted and addressed after the lockdown.