Two Manchester 3 bed houses

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PIP is delighted to have been able to secure two discounted investment opportunities for readers, with discounted prices starting at only £152,000.   Our exclusive price includes an upgraded specification, white goods (washer/dryer and Fridge/Freezer) turf and fencing.

According to our Rental Partner

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Landlords urged to make their views heard in licensing consultations

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Landlords and letting agents are being urged to respond to licensing consultations. The RLA aims to respond to all licensing consultations run by local authorities. See below for an up to date list of current consultations and their closing dates and to read our recent licensing consultation responses. The RLA is currently supporting a landlord in […]

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Housing on the Conservative Fringes

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Assuming Parliament goes into recess or the ship is abandoned for the Conservative Party conference to proceed the main agenda published so far does not even include housing policy.

Housing is only listed as a category in the fringe events: click here to view.

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Rental storm-clouds are likely to clear – Brexit or not

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Buy-to-Let:

That’s according
to David Alexander, managing director of DJ Alexander the
Edinburgh and Glasgow based letting agents.

“More
than two-thirds of the way through, 2019 hasn’t been the best of
years for private residential landlords. The threat of rent controls
by some local authorities in Scotland along with creeping taxation
(in the form of a reduction in breaks) by Westminster have brought
gloom north of the Border,� says Mr Alexander writing for The
Scotsman newspaper.

These changes have
been in-part responsible for a UK-wide exodus of landlords from the
buy-to-let market to the tune of around 120,000 over three years,
that’s according to research published by Hamptons International.

However, recent
research indicates a slowdown in those numbers getting out. The
figures show that this year there could be around 18,000 more
landlords selling than there are buying, which compares to nearly
35,000 in the same period last year.

So why is this
happening?, asks Mr Alexander.

“Well, somewhat
ironically, Brexit is playing its part. While some, correctly, refer
to the uncertainty caused to the market by the present goings on in
Parliament, the threat of a no deal departure from the EU is also
largely responsible for a drop in mortgage rates by banks and
building societies, which undoubtedly reduces the monthly outlays
paid by new-entrant landlords or existing landlords seeking a new
mortgage deal with their existing or an alternative lender.

“At the beginning
of the year all the signs were pointing to rising savers rates which
I suppose must have encouraged some landlords (especially those who
originally entered the market with some reluctance) to cash in their
investments in stone and mortar and plump for the “simplicity� of
savings.

“Instead the trend
has been in the opposite direction. Most two-year fixed rate bonds
offered by lenders covered by the Financial Services Compensation
Scheme pay less than 2 per cent while it is now below 1.5 per cent
for notice savings accounts over the same period. By contrast,
according to Moneyfacts, the average two-year fixed interest rate on
a buy to let mortgage at loan to value of 60 per cent has gone down
to 1.97 per cent from 2.1 per cent a year ago,� says Mr Alexander.

If it should
transpire that the UK leaves the EU without a deal, Mr Alexander
says, many believe that the Bank of England will reduce the base rate
from the present 0.75 per cent in an effort to hold back the
prospects of recession – this he says will further increase the gap
between interest earned from savings and net returns from buy-to-let
– even allowing for greater levels of taxation via the latter.

“To those who fear
that Brexit discord will have a negative impact on demand for rented
property, and therefore rental income, I would say that people will
still need a roof over their heads. Indeed during a period of
economic uncertainty folks tend to rent rather than commit themselves
to a mortgage. More existing landlords selling up than buying rental
property could also lead to a drop in supply which would help sustain
rental levels,� he says.

Meanwhile other
research undertaken by Zoopla in June indicates that an average
first-time buyer needs a household income of £54,400 to secure a
mortgage on their first property, £4,500 more than in 2016 and a
national average deposit required currently stands at £38,418.

Although these
figures take in all UK statistics including the higher house prices
and incomes in London and the south-east of England, it nevertheless
shows the attractions and advantages of renting for young people.

Mr Alexander
concludes by saying:

“In a nutshell,
therefore, 2019 is likely to end in much the same way as it began for
landlords but I remain confident that – Brexit or no Brexit –
demand will remain steady and any clouds currently hovering over the
buy-to-let market will recede in time.�

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Rental storm-clouds are likely to clear – Brexit or not | LandlordZONE.

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SafeDeposits Scotland’s dispute management training tour

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In the last year, 490 disputes have arisen between landlords and tenants in the Edinburgh postcode area according to the latest research from SafeDeposits Scotland.

The deposit protection provider found that the average amount that tenants and landlords in the capital disagreed over deductions to the deposit at the end of a tenancy was £351 and that disputes in the city accounted for almost one in five (18.93%) of all tenancy disputes in Scotland.

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Call of the Week: Assured shorthold tenancies

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Since the introduction of the assured shorthold tenancy (AST), most landlords have been able to use a section 21 notice to regain possession of their property where they have a legitimate reason to do so. However, not all tenancies are assured shorthold tenancies and quite often landlords are not aware that they have something else. […]

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Welsh Government proposal to shake up rules around size of student flats

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The Welsh Government has put forward a proposal to shake up the rules around converting unfilled purpose built student accommodation into social housing. At a press conference on Tuesday, the Housing Minister Julie James AM said that the Welsh Government will shortly launch a consultation on plans to change the rules around space standards in […]

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The standard of PRS accommodation has significantly improved

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The standard of accommodation in the PRS has significantly improved in the last decade as the sector has expanded and professionalised. The proportion of homes in the PRS in England deemed non-decent by the ONS has fallen for ten consecutive years

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Should I sell or risk tenants buying at undervalue price?

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Should I sell? What Solutions are there for this Dilemma? I Realise that Nothing has happened YET! But I just want to be clear about what my options are.

Who thought George Osborne would have removed Mortgage Interest Relief!

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£700,000 tenancy fraud prevented in Wolverhampton

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Tenancy Fraud:

In all, nine cases
of tenancy fraud, totalling an estimated £695,000, have been stopped
after a crackdown by Wolverhampton Council’s counter-fraud team, in
four months

As reported by
Thomas Parkes in the Wolverhampton Express and Star, illegal
sub-lettings, fraudulent right-to-buy applications and social housing
application frauds were uncovered by the team.

Other frauds and
potential frauds detected involved those where owners tried to pass
the property on to a relative, or failing to hand over keys, were
also detected.

These all came to
light between April and July this year, a report by the counter-fraud
team revealed.

In total around 150
instances of suspected fraud were investigated by the team. A Council
spokesperson said that action would be taken to recover all the
stolen money as part of a “zero-tolerance” policy.

The crackdown is
part of a central Government funded HMRC pilot scheme to tackle crime
in the housing sector.

The report to the
council’s Audit and Risk Committee says:

“The counter-fraud
team is continuing to develop and lead in raising fraud awareness
across the council and in promoting an anti-fraud culture.

“The team carries
out investigations into areas of suspected or reported fraudulent
activity.

“It also organises
a series of council wide pro-active fraud activities, including the
targeted testing of areas open to the potential of fraudulent
activity.

“The council
was selected by the Cabinet Office as one of only 10 local
authorities to take part in a pilot National Fraud Initiative (NFI)
exercise where HMRC data has been matched to the council’s data for
the first time.

“HMRC hold
information about household composition, household earnings and
property ownership.

“A sample of
matches were investigated with the majority relating to tenancy
issues.

“The counter-fraud
team has provided feedback to the Cabinet Office which has been used
to help refine the matches and to ensure the maximum impact is
achieved from the exercise.�

A spokesman for
Wolverhampton Council said: “The city of Wolverhampton Council
operates a zero-tolerance policy on fraud and will not hesitate to
take action as appropriate.

“We are pleased
to be a key partner in this National Fraud Initiative data matching
exercise because, ultimately, fraud against the council is fraud
against the hard-working taxpayers of Wolverhampton.�

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – £700,000 tenancy fraud prevented in Wolverhampton | LandlordZONE.

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