UK house price growth will be ‘subdued’ due to Brexit uncertainty

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House Prices:

As a result of the continuing uncertainty that
pervades Brexit, the UK’s biggest mortgage lender, Halifax, has stated that
house prices across the country will continue to be ‘subdued’. The area noted
to be most affected, was London.

House
prices falling

Halifax also revealed that the average house
price had fallen by 1.6% in March, in comparison to the previous month.
Nevertheless, prices haven’t fallen dramatically, as prices still remained 2.6%
higher in the first three months of 2019 compared to the previous year.

The mortgage lender stated that it was
unlikely that house prices were to fall sharply, as there has been a lack of
activity on both the buyers and sellers side. However, it is anticipated that
prices will remain subdued as a result of the uncertainty regarding Brexit, for
at least the next coming months and with a 6-month extension recently granted.

Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance, also reiterated that the price growth was going to continue to slow down, stating: “For the past couple of years March was flagged up as the date when we would get Brexit [but] people have been too busy watching the political shenanigans on television to go out and view houses.

“The Brexit saga is such a debacle and until it gets sorted, one
way or another, few people are going to do anything.”

Uncertainty for tenants and
landlords

The media has also focused this week on the uncertainty surrounding EU
residents who are renting or looking to rent in the UK. The Right to Rent
Scheme assures that landlords only rent to legal immigrants or face fines of up
to £5,000, meaning that EU residents must re-confirm their residential status
provided that Britain leave the EU.

The Settled Status Scheme is designed to assist with this, but the rules surrounding the requirements of current EU citizens living in the UK has been very vague, and many are asking for clearer guidelines.

One area of concern is that landlords will be more hesitant towards
renting out their properties to EU tenants – and this poses challenges for EU
nationals who might feel excluded or wedged out. There is talk about the
government launching a marketing campaign which excludes how EU nationals can
legally continue living in the UK and how to go through the legal process,
without impacting their day-to-day lives.

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Tenant Fees Act 2019 – Draconian legislation

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I am a solicitor and a consultant with DMH Stallard LLP and have been a PRS landlord for 30 years.

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 which comes into force on 1st June 2019 applies to fees paid in connection with lettings of residential property by Private Rented Sector (PRS) landlords.

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Theresa May announces she will ban section 21

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Prime Minister, Theresa May, has announced she plans to ban the use of Section 21 or what is termed as so-called ‘no-fault evictions’ in England.

The PM said: “Everyone in the private sector has the right to feel secure in their home

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Section 21 set for the chop…

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BREAKING NEWS: Tenant Evictions:

The government today announced that it will now consult on the possibility of removing the landlord favoured section 21 eviction process.

With Labour pledging to remove section 21 and the government
coming under increasing political pressure to ease the burden on tenants – it needs
their votes – it looks inevitable that the end of section 21 is nigh!

Introduced under Margaret Thatcher’s 1979 elected Tory government,
the measure acted to de-regulate the sector and encouraged a near 30-year
growth spurt for the private landlord buy-to-let sector.

Its key effect was to assure landlords that they could let
properties, safe in the knowledge that if things went wrong – chiefly when
tenants stopped paying rent – they could get their properties back relatively
quickly, usually within 6 months.

Despite assurances that there will be safeguards, sceptical
landlords have little faith in the alternative. That’s a slow and outdated
county court system where landlords, faced with a delinquent tenant, will be forced
into an adversarial system, trying to prove that the tenant has done wrong.    

Given all the regulations, tax penalties and constant media attention the private rented sector has received, private landlords could perhaps be forgiven for feeling that government and the general public no longer value the contribution they make – providing housing for working, professional, and social tenants.

The proposed measures, the government says, will provide
greater certainty for tenants and make the housing market fit for the 21st
century, whilst creating a more secure rental market for landlords in which to
remain and invest.

Prime Minister Theresa May has said:

“Everyone renting in the private sector has the right to
feel secure in their home, settled in their community and able to plan for the
future with confidence.

“But millions of responsible tenants could still be uprooted
by their landlord with little notice, and often little justification.

“This is wrong – and today we’re acting by preventing these
unfair evictions. Landlords will still be able to end tenancies where they have
legitimate reasons to do so, but they will no longer be able to unexpectedly
evict families with only 8 weeks’ notice.

“This important step will not only protect tenants from
unethical behaviour, but also give them the long-term certainty and the peace
of mind they deserve.

Communities Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, has said:

“By abolishing these kinds of evictions, every single person
living in the private rented sector will be empowered to make the right housing
choice for themselves – not have it made for them. And this will be balanced by
ensuring responsible landlords can get their property back where they have
proper reason to do so.

“We are making the biggest change to the private rental
sector in a generation. We are creating homes, opportunities and thriving
communities, where people can come together and put down roots, bound by a
strong sense of belonging.

“Everyone has a right to the opportunities they need to
build a better life. For many, this means having the security and stability to
make a place truly feel like home without the fear of being evicted at a
moments’ notice. We are building a fairer housing market that truly works for
everyone.�

Government announces end to unfair evictions

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Councils still failing to tackle bad landlords

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Rogue Landlords:

Despite the introduction of countless new laws to help
councils tackle rogue private landlords, they are still letting down tenants
who are housed in below standard and in many cases unsafe accommodation.

A new and powerful tool available to local authority housing officers is the “Rent Repayment Order�, but evidence produced by the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) shows that Councils across England are failing to use the extra powers they have been given to tackle bad landlords.

A recent parliamentary question and answer revealed that
during the 18 months to the end of September 2018 just three Rent Repayment
Orders had been made by local authorities across the country.

Where the rent is paid to the landlord directly by a tenant,
the tenant now has the same rights as councils, that is, to apply for a Rent
Repayment Order. Apparently, 18 tenant applications have been made over the
same period.

Since April 2017 councils have had this same power to reclaim up to 12 months of rent from private landlords for a range of offences in instances where rent was paid through Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit.

Other offences relate to the licensing of rented property, failing
to comply with an Improvement Notice, and seeking to evict tenants illegally or
engaging in harassing behaviour.

In the time since the new civil penalty powers were introduced in April 2017, RLA research has shown that councils are already failing to use their new powers to fine landlords up to £30,000 for failing to provide acceptable housing.

Freedom of Information requests by the RLA have found that
in 2017/18, nine out of ten (89 per cent) of local authorities did not use
these new powers. Half, say the RLA, reported that they did not even have a
policy in place to use them.

David Smith, Policy Director for the Residential Landlords
Association, said: “Councils are failing tenants and good landlords.

“For all the talk about them needing new powers, the reality
is that many are not properly using the wide range of powers they already have
to drive out criminal landlords.

“Laws without proper enforcement mean nothing. It is time
for councils to start acting against the crooks.�

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