Landlords update
Dear Landlord
As we are all aware, we at present are experiencing what are unprecedented times throughout the world with the Covid-19 pandemic. I am taking this opportunity to write to you as one of our trusted property owner partners to inform you of where we are and what we are doing at present.
Unfortunately, as the Government put restriction in place to try to slow the spread of the virus, University of Huddersfield has had to close the campus and transfer teaching to online portals.
This has also meant the closure of the Students’ Union building along with the HudLets office, however we are still functioning as an organisation via remote access from our homes and hopefully supporting you the property owner and our student tenants.
Due to the restrictions on social activity we have had to suspend all viewing of your properties for the foreseeable future, however your properties are available to be seen on our website and any enquiries are being logged to allow viewings to take place once the government feel it’s safe to do so
All telephone enquiries have been diverted to the company mobile and are been answered by our dedicated staff.
Tenancies that were in the pipeline are still being processed and emailed to the students however this process may take longer due to restriction of movement and the reliance on email and post.
We are at present in a time of limbo as no one knows how long this situation will last and what effect it will have on the higher education system so whilst writing this letter I would ask for your patience and we will contact you again when things become clearer.
However, I would like to ask you to consider the following questions in this time of uncertainty:
– Are you being pro-active with your tenants to be aware of their current financial position? Do they rely on a part time job to pay rent that may be affected by Covid-19?
– Are you able to extend contracts on a rolling basis for students that are unable to return home?
– Are any of your properties operating under a buy-to-let mortgage? Are you aware of the mortgage holiday provisions?
– Are you willing to be flexible with any tenants who struggle to pay rent due to Covid-19? This could be by providing a rent reduction or re-payment plan.
It is my understanding that Student Finance England will be processing the term three payment irrespective of the institutions position around teaching so students will receive this and in most cases should be able to pay their last instalment unless the rent is greater than the grant they receive and they are subsidising their income with a part time job.
As most tenancies tend to finish at the end of June I will be looking at this with Virginia and Charlotte as to each Tenants situation and how we handle where possible the moving out procedure.
I am fully aware that the situation is forever changing and that planning going forward is difficult but it is our intention to be as flexible as possible to support all our landlords and students through what is a very testing time.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or feedback with regards to the issues raised.
Kind Regards and stay safe
Andy Wright
HudLets Manager
