In 1999 a group of landlords felt that solicitor's fees were too expensive and they always took too long. Nobody seemed to be aware just how important acting quickly was. Then one of the landlords met an expert in landlord/tenant issues. And so Landlord Action was born.
Paul Shamplina is the Founder of Landlord Action.
1. Why did you set up Landlord Action?
I set up Landlord Action with my former partner, as at the time no solicitors were offering fixed fees in landlord and tenant possession work or offering a free advice Line for support on these issues. So we started the fixed fee eviction business. I thought at the time solicitors didn’t treat these issues with enough urgency and saw basic possession only cost effective if the case was defended in court as they could charge for more hourly rates. Since starting we have dealt with over 28,000.
2. Drawing on over 25 years experience in the sector, from being a paralegal to founding Landlord Action, what is the single best piece of advice you would give a landlord?
Advice to the amateur Landlord ( we have seen a mass increase in the last 5 years), unless you have the time to manage the property properly and research the latest changes, ie Deposit schemes etc, instruct a good letting/managing agent to manage your property ensuring they are accredited and have a good reputation locally.
I find some landlords think they can save money on letting and managing the property themselves, but make a mess of things, purely because they don’t have the time or experience. Your property is your biggest asset, even if you're only renting it. Cheap is always expensive.
3. What sort of impact do you think universal credit will have on landlords?
I think it will be a nightmare. I said this a year ago, when I was featured on the BBC's One Show when Universal Credit was being piloted in Greater Manchester.
The Government so far have spent £621m on the scheme, which is currently being tested to less than 2000 applicants. Supposedly it has been moved back to 2015.
Combining a reduction in benefits with payments only being made bi monthly/monthly and everything being paid in one payment, I think there will be a lot of claimants who cannot manage their money and a lot of housing benefit will not be passed on to the Landlord.
We speak to landlords on a daily basis and they advise us that they want to exit the LHA market because they worry about the rent being paid, because universal credit has been brought in to encourage more people to work, but it can have an opposite effect with regard to housing.
You just have to speak to councils about the lack of housing. Direct payments to Landlords is a must, which would mean less possession cases against LHA tenants.
4. There are companies online that seem to offer fast-track eviction services, what would you say to landlords thinking of using these as a shortcut to their problem?
Since we started, we have seen many internet eviction companies come into the market place that are cutting corners. Many do not have solicitors on record and get the landlords to sign the claim form, also the landlord has to represent themselves before the judge.
Always use someone that has solicitors regulated on record. The fast track system is the Possession Claim on Line. PCOL. It’s a facility to issue the proceedings with the court and obtain a hearing date straight back from the court, its speeds up hearings dates, we use this on all our section 8 claims. As mentioned you want this carried out by a regulated firm which we are.
5. Being in this particular line of work for the amount of time you have, you must have seen some sights. What was one of the most memorable?
I could be writing for weeks on this question, on extreme cases we have had murders, brothels, cannabis factories, purported terrorists, tenants not paying the rent because they said the property was haunted (this being a defence given to a judge at court). Also lots of subletting scams. Our process server was chased by a half-naked lady down the road, after serving an eviction notice earlier this year, that was funny. Obviously majority of our cases are for rents arrears (section 8) and possession (section 21).
6. What can we expect from you and Landlord Action in the next 12 months?
The next 12 months will be one of the busiest we have ever experienced as we are now regulated and are in a position to offer more services to Landlords and Agents, but also because of the benefit changes and more tenants wanting to be evicted under section 21 so they can be re-housed.
We have a lot of campaigns lined up, and I have a few more TV programmes coming out for the second half of the year, together with being involved with more think tanks and doing a lot more Letting Agent training seminars and also a book coming out.
