Ministry of Justice report on mortgage and landlord possession claims

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The Ministry of Justice have released the 2019 Q2 report on mortgage and landlord possession claims.

Landlord possession claims

There has been an overall decrease in landlord possessions. Compared to the same quarter the previous year

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Rents increasing for tenants

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Rent Increases:

The direct effect of the Tenant Fees Ban is playing out in the form of renting increases, where the costs are simply being transferred from fees to rents, as was widely predicted.

ARLA Propertymark’s latest (July 2019) Private Rented Sector (PRS) report indicates that average rents are rising and that UK rents reached a new record high for the third month on the run.

Given their increased costs, more landlords than ever are
pushing for rent increases, with around 63% of agents being asked to increase, bringing
the number of tenants facing rent rises to the highest figure on record. 15% more
landlords increased rents since June, which was itself a record high month.

ARLA report the number of tenants seeing rent increases up 31%
since July 2018 and the West Midlands being the worst affected with 86% seeing
a rent increase.

David Cox, Chief Executive of ARLA Propertymark, has said:

“Following the Tenant Fees Act coming into force in June,
rents have continued to rise, which we believed would happen,�

“The fees agents have been banned from charging are still
being paid for by tenants, however it’s now through their rent, rather than
upfront costs.

“The fall in the number of properties available further
increases competition in the market, which only pushes rents up or forces
landlords to exit the market entirely. As the sector faces increased levels of
legislation, it’s evident this is putting even more pressure on the industry.�

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Letting agency posing as a club fined

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A lettings agency claiming to be a members’ club has been fined more than £40,000.

Lifestyle Club LSC has fallen short of the tenant fees ban, the club sought to imply that its members are licensees rather than tenants.

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Helping the Perfect Tenant?

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I have a bit of a quandary with one of my tenants. He has been with me for nearly 10 years across 2 houses.

Never missed a rent payment and has improved and added value to both of the properties (I have always gone 50/50 with the cost on any improvements my tenants wish to make such as extra patios or better boundary fencing)

It is my intention to ultimately sell the house to him

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Conwy landlord forum: landlords invited to hear update on sector

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Landlords and letting agents in Wales are being invited to attend a free forum hosted by Conwy Council next month. Attendees will be able to hear from a wide range of expert speakers on issues including the tenant fees ban -which comes into force this week, fire safety and Universal Credit. Landlords will hear from […]

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A question of scale

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I was recently watching a documentary about Albert, Prince Consort, and his magnificent efforts to provide housing for the poor in the 18th Century. I also highlight the magnificent efforts of George Cadbury at Bournville and Joseph Rowntree in the North East of England.

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FT Advisor reports record number of landlords leaving market

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Buy-to-Let:

Research carried out by international research group BVA
BDRC, a consumer insight consultancy headquartered in Paris, finds that a record
number of landlords are planning to sell their rental properties in the next 12
months.

The BVA report cited by the FT finds that over a quarter (26
per cent) of UK residential landlords are planning to sell at least one
property from their portfolio.

The report states that the number of landlords intent on
selling is the highest level of planned sales the BVA had measured (since 2006).

Although of the 738 landlords polled in June 2019, just one
in seven intended to purchase additional buy-to-let properties over the next 12
months, by far the largest proportion to-date were contemplating sales.

Financial viability was the most commonly cited reason for
wanting to sell property, with taxation and an increased burden of legislation creating
a “hassle verses return� imbalance.

Net profitability in buy-to-let is reported as having fallen
for three successive quarters, this being the first decline since BVA started tracking
in 2006.

Rental yield was a major factor in profitability falls, with
the recorded yield of 5.5% in Q2, 2019, the lowest for nine years. HMO landlords
were seeing the highest average yields, with their multiple occupancy and student
housing the most profitable.

Landlords’ profitability has also been hit by tax and
legislative changes, including an additional 3 per cent stamp duty surcharge introduced
in April 2016, and a tightening of the lending rules on buy-to-let mortgages followed
by a phased-in reduction of mortgage interest tax relief over four years.

UK Consumer organisation Which? has calculated that the average
small-scale landlord’s income will take a 43% hit due to the cumulative effect
of the changes.

One strategy now being used to reduce the impact of many of
the changes, and one that favours portfolio landlords, is the purchasing of buy-to-let
properties through limited companies. The method has become more than twice as
popular as buying rental properties as a private individual.

The banning of all tenant fees now means that letting agents
must pass on these costs to their landlords, and landlords fear that the proposed
abolition of the Section 21 possession or the “no-fault eviction� process will
make managing rentals more problematic.

Given all the difficulties though, agents are still seeing
new purchases and with the right strategies industry experts are still
predicting a healthy future for buy-to-let in what is still a multi-billion-pound
industry in the UK.

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Salford council launch social letting agency

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Salford City Council has launched its own letting agency, Salford Property Link, in an effort to encourage private landlords to help reduce the massive social housing waiting list.

The new agency offers landlords different levels of service from advertising and tenant matching right through to full property management

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We believed fees ban would push up rents – ARLA

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The latest survey of ARLA agents show a record number of rent increases for tenants in July with 63% of agents reported that landlords raised rents, This is up from an already record high of 55% in June, and over double the reported rent rises in the same month last year.

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How the Tenant Fees Ban Can Backfire on Tenants

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CASE STUDY

Lucy, Amy and Charlie rent a property fr 12 months on a Joint Tenancy basis. However, three months into the contract Lucy is offered a better job closer to her parents, so naturally she wants to move out.

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