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Article by GoSimpleTax
You were still required to send HMRC your 2020/21 Self Assessment tax return and pay any tax owed by 31 January. However, due to coronavirus they announced they will waive late filing/payment penalties for tax returns submitted before midnight on 28 February if you can’t.
Tax returns treated as being received late have the following downsides:
So, the deadline has been and gone – you have not yet completed your tax return, let alone paid it. GoSimpleTax suggest you complete your self-assessment to know your tax liability and at least pay what you owe as soon as you can. You do not have to submit it, however, if you have done it why wait?
I have filed, but I am struggling to pay
If you cannot pay as your income has been affected by coronavirus you may be able to pay your self-assessment tax bill via a payment plan. HMRC have an online application for Time to Pay.
You can spread the cost of your latest self-assessment bill if
You can see if you are eligible and apply for a payment plan online, you do not need to phone HMRC.
If you cannot access the online service or are not eligible you should call HMRC at your earliest convenience to discuss your situation. The self-assessment payment helpline is 0300 200 3822.
Think ahead for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
With MTD for income tax over the horizon, it is mandated for 2024, begin converting to digital software. HMRC’s portal can be confusing – now is the perfect time to switch.
Digital software allows you to calculate your tax liability in real time if you chose to use it from April 2022 and update your finances weekly, monthly or quarterly. You can be one step ahead, plan your finances and spend more time concentrating on your business.
GoSimpleTax suggest submitting your 21/22 tax return on 6th April and then utilising software to stay up to date with your finances. Updating your tax return in real time. You will always be one step ahead and with the uncertainty of the pandemic it pays to be, as you are likely to be ready to claim any future help the government may offer.
To conclude, if you are yet to file or pay your 20/21 tax return, we advise you take action soon, whether that is to file and pay or to seek help from HMRC through the Time to Pay. Delaying is just putting off the inevitable – seek help if you need it.
Our software submits directly to HMRC and is the digital solution for Landlords to record income, expenses and file their self-assessment giving hints on savings along the way. Covering all self-assessment pages, not just property, GoSimpleTax does all the calculations for you saving you ££’s on accountancy fees.
Available on desktop or mobile application.
Use the tax year through to record income, expenses and submit your return for just £49.00 £36.75 (SWLA Member Discount)
The UK’s animal health industry representative, NOAH, has launched a survey for landlords on the topic of renting with pets. Article by NOAH (National Office of Animal Health)
Please complete the survey if you have 5 minutes to spare – landlords can put forward ideas and experiences that may impact future policy around pets in rented accommodation;
NOAH launched its campaign, ‘Securing the Right to Rent with Pets’ in 2021, seeking to improve access to pets for responsible owners in rented accommodation. As part of its campaign, NOAH is seeking the real-life experiences of property owners that do rent to pet owners, and exploring why others choose not to, and what changes might persuade them to change their policy.
NOAH is working to help change the rental market by improving access to pets for responsible owners. Sharing our lives and homes with companion animals significantly benefits people and animals; with people enjoying extensive health and wellbeing benefits, and animals enjoying the security and care of a loving home. NOAH is keen that these benefits are available to all – not just homeowners.
However, despite these clear benefits, NOAH understands that improving access to pets in private rented accommodation will only be achieved if a solution can be identified that gives appropriate protection to property owners. For some property owners, there are perceived fears about pets in properties, and a belief there is not enough protection in place to encourage them to remove restrictive tenancy agreements and ‘no pets’ clauses – this is something NOAH is actively working to tackle, so property owners can open up to pet-owning tenants with complete peace or mind.
As part of this mission, NOAH is engaging with property owners direct, to better understand the concerns around renting to tenants with pets; past experiences of having pets in their rental properties; and what (if any) policies they believe would enable them to confidently open up their homes to responsible tenants with pets.
NOAH’s Landlord Survey launched in early February 2022 and will run for a 3-month period. The data and insights collected as part of the Landlord Survey will be analysed alongside the results collected as part of NOAH’s Tenant Survey, which launched in November 2021 and came to a close earlier this month. The final ambition will be to produce a policy report containing NOAH’s recommendations to the Government on how access to pets in rented accommodation can be improved in a way that ensures property owners and tenants are fully protected.
All responses received as part of the Landlord Survey are anonymous, unless participants choose to share their contact details, and it should take no more than 5-10 minutes to complete.
Plymouth City Council is seeking to engage positively with landlords to improve homes without the need for enforcement.
Landlord Survey – Please complete if you have 5 minutes spare.
A pilot project is being run in five local authority areas (including Plymouth) across England and Wales. The purpose of the pilot is to raise awareness with private rented sector landlords on the possible advantages of adapting their properties and in raising awareness of grant funding opportunities such as the Disabled Facilities Grant if they have a tenant who requires adaptations currently in their property.
The aim is to improve understanding of some of the barriers landlords face in adapting their properties in your local area. Therefore, we would be extremely grateful if you could complete this short survey. The survey should only take five minutes to complete, all data is kept anonymous and will only be used for statistical purposes.
The survey information is being collated by the NRLA.
Landlord Survey – Local Authority Pilot Scheme (qualtrics.com)
https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/minister-of-state-minister-for-housing–2
The Rt Hon Stuart Andrew was appointed as a Minister of State (Minister for Housing) in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 8 February 2022.
He was previously Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip) from 13 February 2020 to 8 February 2022.
He was previously Vice Chamberlain of HM Household (Government Whip) from 28 July 2019 to 13 February 2020. He was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Minister for Defence Procurement at the Ministry of Defence from July 2018 to July 2019.
He was an Assistant Government Whip from 15 June 2017 to 19 July 2018 and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Wales Office on 9 January 2018 and 19 July 2018.
Stuart became MP for Pudsey, Horsforth and Aireborough in 2010. In 2012, he was made Parliamentary Private Secretary to Francis Maude MP.
In the 2015 general election, Stuart was re-elected and took on the role of Parliamentary Private Secretary to Patrick McLoughlin MP.
See the full document here; Levelling Up the United Kingdom: Executive Summary (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Levelling up is a moral, social and economic programme for the whole of government. The Levelling Up White Paper is a flagship document that sets out how we will spread opportunity more equally across the UK. It comprises a bold programme of systems change, including 12 UK-wide missions to anchor the agenda to 2030, alongside specific policy interventions that build on the 2021 Spending Review to deliver change now.
”By 2030, renters will have a secure path to ownership with
the number of first-time buyers increasing in all areas; and
the government’s ambition is for the number of non-decent
rented homes to have fallen by 50%, with the biggest
improvements in the lowest performing areas.”
”We will also regenerate 20 of our towns and cities by assembling and
remediating brownfield land and working with the private sector to bring
about transformational developments combining housing, retail and business in
sustainable, walkable, beautiful new neighbourhoods. These new
developments amongst others will be supported by an Office for Place which
will pioneer design and beauty, promoting better architectural aesthetics to
ensure they enhance existing settlements, gladden the eye and lift the heart.”
”Our aim with these reforms is to improve pride in place in every area of the UK,
with the gap between top performing and other areas narrowing (Mission Nine).
Poor housing quality, overcrowding and a reliance on temporary accommodation
for vulnerable families also contribute to unnecessarily poor health and quality
of life for many. We will take action on two fronts. First, building more housing in
England, including more genuinely affordable social housing. Second, we will
launch a new drive on housing quality to make sure homes are ft for the
21st century.”
”To deliver our mission to improve housing conditions, we will introduce new
legislation to improve the quality and regulation of social housing, give
residents performance information so that they can hold their landlord to
account and ensure that when residents make a complaint, landlords take quick
and effective action to put things right. And we will publish a landmark White
Paper in the spring to consult on introducing a legally binding Decent Homes
Standard in the Private Rented Sector for the first time ever, explore a
National Landlord Register and bring forward other measures to reset the
relationship between landlords and tenants, including through ending section
21 “no fault evictions”.
This will all help to ensure that by 2030, renters will have a secure path to
ownership with the number of frst-time buyers increasing in all areas; and our
ambition is for the number of non-decent rented homes to have fallen by 50%
with the biggest improvements in the lowest performing areas (Mission Ten).”
Key messages
Article from gov.uk; Government calls on landlords to help national effort to house Afghan families – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The government is calling on landlords with suitable properties to submit offers through a relaunched housing portal.
Landlords are being urged to offer homes for families evacuated from Afghanistan to help the national effort to get them settled in the UK.
The government is calling on landlords with suitable properties to submit offers through a relaunched housing portal.
The portal allows private landlords to put forward offers of accommodation so councils can match them to families.
More offers are urgently needed to help move families from temporary bridging accommodation and into their own homes – so they have the stability they need to rebuild their lives in the UK.
Landlords will be supporting the more than 300 councils who have already pledged places. This is backed by £5 million in government funding.
Minister for Afghan Resettlement Victoria Atkins said:
I’ve seen first-hand the incredible support available and am so proud of the way communities across the country have thrown their arms around these families, many of whom put themselves at risk to help the UK and our allies in Afghanistan.
We know these families need a place of their own so they can truly build a life in the UK, but we recognise that finding settled accommodation for so many people is a challenge.
That is why today I am urging landlords to join our efforts and come forward with offers of housing so we can help these people settle and thrive.
Ensuring people have a home to call their own is a vital part of our programme of support to help those who worked closely with UK forces in Afghanistan, risking their lives in the process, so that they are able to begin rebuilding their lives here.
Homes have been provided to more than 4,000 evacuees but more offers are required to ensure that no family is left without an appropriate housing match.
Accommodation must be self-contained with no shared facilities, available for at least 12 months, and meet safety regulations and landlord responsibilities. To support as many families as possible, properties should be as close to the Local Housing Allowance Rate as possible. There is a particular need for larger properties and properties that are in a close proximity to one another.
The government is working alongside councils and other partners to ensure those currently accommodated in bridging accommodation are receiving vital support to help them rebuild their lives, find work, pursue education, and integrate into their local communities.
SWLA TradePoint Members get an additional 10% off.
Landlord Accreditation Training Course – ONLINE
Monday 25th April 2022 – 9:00 – 4:30pm
Venue – Online
Price – £65 for members of SWLA, £75 for non – members for one day course.
Course covers ASTs, Deposits, Section 21s, Section 8s, HMOs, Gas and Electrical Safety, Inventories and much more.
The course will provide you with all the skills to start, manage and finish a tenancy.
Places still available. Contact the office on 01752 510913 or info@landlordssouthwest.co.uk to book your place, places only secured on receipt of payment.
Over 1060 landlords have already completed this course since September 2011.
Course can lead to Accreditation, if required.
We are proud to announce Landlord Accreditation South West (LASW) are founder members of the West of England Rental Standard.