Robison & Co

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The Opportunities and Risks Presented by Social Media

Starting to utilise social media as a networking and recruiting tool at your workplace may seem scary, but social networking holds the potential to change the way companies across the globe do business. It not only has the ability to help your company connect with its clients, it is also a valuable resource for drawing in prospective employees and recruiting the finest candidates for jobs.

Social networking enables you to get your message across to thousands of people very quickly, which makes it a valuable public relations and viral marketing tool. However, popular social networking sites, such as Facebook®, LinkedIn®, Twitter® and Google+®, can present a hazard to your company and its reputation depending on how you and your employees use them.

Not all publicity is good publicity. It is important to project a positive company image, which you can do through setting up your own social networking account. Yet, it is just as imperative that you control other users’ conversations about you.

This short Risk Insight article describes how you can make the very best from the opportunities presented by social media, whilst protecting your organisation from the inherent risks of such a powerful, public communications tool.

Read More:  Office Risk Insights: The Risks and Benefits of Social Networking

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2018 Cyber Security Breaches Overview

This year’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey, commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, makes for worrying reading for organisations across all sectors.  This infographic highlights the prevalence of attacks over the last 12 months, and describes the factors related to breach likelihood.  It’s a quick, simple must-read for all businesses who want to lower their risk of cyber-attack.

Click Here to View the Cyber Security Breaches Survey Infographic

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SME Focus: What to Consider When Buying Insurance

Starting a small business requires tireless effort and endless financial reserves. Besides dealing with necessary tasks to start the business—affording exorbitant start-up costs, establishing a customer base, forecasting cash flow problems— new small business owners are besieged on all sides by risks.

The only sure-fire thing you can count on during the tumultuous beginning stages of your business or later in its development is the protection offered by commercial insurance.

This article details how you can avoid losing everything to a disaster that you could have easily insured against.

Click Here to Read More

 

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Combatting the Carbon Dioxide Shortage

In light of the United Kingdom’s recent commercial CO2 shortage, it is vital now more than ever to stay informed on business continuity and supply chain planning within your organisation. This Risk Insights summary discusses how the CO2 shortage will impact the manufacturing industry, short term coping measures and long term methods for your organisation to keep in mind for future business interruption disasters.

Read More:  Manufacturing Risk Insights – Combatting the CO2 Shortage

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HMO Licensing Extension to Affect Landlords

New licensing rules for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) come into effect on October 1st 2018 and landlords are being warned that failure to comply could result in significant fines.

Currently, mandatory licensing for HMOs is limited to properties that are three or more storeys high and are occupied by five or more tenants. The new HMO licence extension, that comes into force next month, will include HMOs that are occupied by five or more people, regardless of the number of storeys.  This includes any HMO which is a building or a converted flat where householders share basic amenities, such as a toilet, personal washing facilities or cooking facilities.  Purpose built flats in small blocks and properties above commercial buildings (such as shops or restaurants) must also be licensed.

As part of these new measures, the Government has also introduced National Minimum Room Sizes for rooms used for sleeping and mandatory HMO licence conditions relating to refuse storage and disposal. Landlords found with HMO properties in breach of these minimum room sizes could be subject to fines of up to £30,000.

While there are many genuine landlords out there, there are also common incidents of HMOs being poorly managed, with tenants living in undesirable conditions. Licensing for HMOs was introduced in 2006, replacing previous HMO registration schemes, in a bid to raise management and amenity standards. The Government estimates that the extension of HMO licensing will bring 177,000 new properties into mandatory licensing.

How will the HMO licence extention affect landlords?

If you already have a licence for your HMO under the current “Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation, then your licence will continue to be valid until the expiry date. After it expires you will need to apply for a new licence, which may involve making changes to your property to comply with minimum room sizes and amenity standards (kitchen facilities, number of bathrooms etc).
If you currently rent an HMO which didn’t previously require licensing, but will in October, then you will need to apply for a licence through your local council before the October deadline. Landlords who fail apply for required licences by 1st October will be committing a criminal offence from that date.

What are the penalties?

Letting a licensable HMO without a licence is a criminal offence and can result in a fine of up to £20,000. This applies to a person having control or managing the property.

Landlords who operate a licensable HMO without a licence may also, in certain cases, have to repay rent. This applies to rent paid by tenants or by local authorities in housing benefit.

In addition, if your HMO is not properly licensed, you may not be able to evict tenants. In the case of an assured shorthold tenancy, a section 21 notice will not be valid if an HMO is not licensed when it should be.

For further information regarding the extension of mandatory HMO licensing and how to apply for a licence, please contact your local council.

Robison & Co is an owner-managed insurance brokerage and offers specialist insurance policies for landlords and real estate businesses. We can provide comprehensive landlord insurance policies including HMO landlord insurance, building insurance, property owners liability cover and landlord content insurance.

For a quote, or a review of your existing insurance policies, please contact our Real Estate Insurance specialists on: 01730 265500 or email hello@robison.co.uk