Rental market boom continues as lockdown eases, letting agents report

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The rental market is booming as demand for properties rises, according to ARLA Propertymark’s latest PRS report.

The average number of new prospective tenants registered per branch jumped to 84 in March, up from February’s figure of 82 – the third consecutive monthly increase. Regionally, the West Midlands saw the highest number of new tenants registered, with an average of 157, while Scotland’s agents saw the lowest, with an average of 31 new prospective tenants.

Tenants experiencing rent rises went up last month, as 60% of agents saw landlords increasing rent compared to 49% in February, while it was just 30% in March 2019. The number of tenants successfully negotiating rent reductions fell to 1.7% in March, down from 2%, which is the lowest number recorded since October last year.

Managing to fall

The number of properties managed per letting agent branch fell from 195 in February to 193. The West Midlands had the highest number of properties managed per letting agent branch with 260, while the capital’s agents experienced the lowest amount of rental stock with an average of 128 properties managed per branch.

The average number of landlords selling their buy-to-let properties remained consistent for the sixth month in a row, at four per branch in March. This figure was also the same in March 2018 and March 2019.

ARLA Propertymark’s chief policy advisor, Mark Hayward (pictured), says: “Of course, as demand rises and the number of properties decreases, rent prices will inflate, but we’d encourage letting agents to continue to support landlords and their tenants throughout the ongoing Covid-19 difficulties where possible and ultimately it is positive to see rent flowing and incomes returning for many people.”

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Extreme rogue landlord avoids jail despite breaching national banning order

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An extreme rogue landlord who ignored all attempts to make him adhere to HMO regulations has been fined £8,500 after breaching a national banning order.

Bournemouth businessman Mahmut Gilgil gained the dubious fame of being the second landlord in the UK to be given a banning back in June 2020 after numerous regulation breaches.

The 44-year-old was banned from letting or managing a property for five years but despite this he has been found to have violated multiple HMO regulations at a property in Poole above a kebab shop.

This included overcrowding, a lack of natural light or ventilation and ignoring required repair and upgrade works at the address.

Three improvement notices were issued to Gilgil by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) council two years ago but last summer it was clear he had ignored them, so the council decided to bring a prosecution instead, which has now been completed despite his failure to attend court.

He has now been convicted of both failing to comply with an improvement notice, ignoring an overcrowding notice and failing to comply with a housing prohibition notice.

Magistrates issued an £8,500 fine, with a requirement to also pay £500 costs and a £190 victim surcharge.

“It is unfortunate that the notices given were breached and the correct standards were not met, but ensuring housing is both safe and legal is paramount and the council will take formal action against landlords where these standards are not being maintained,” Kelly Ansell, BCP’s service director of communities (pictured) told local media.

Read more about Gilgil’s banning order.

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Housing Possession Mediation scheme could save on expensive lengthy evictions

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 The pilot of the government’s Housing Possession Mediation Scheme can help letting agencies and landlords recover arrears without lengthy waits for court evictions, according to PayProp. Launched recently by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the free arrears mediation service aims to help parties resolve disputes more quickly without the need for court action.

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New code of practice for assessing cladding

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Residents and building owners are set to benefit from a new code of practice for professionals assessing buildings’ external walls and cladding systems. As part of reform of the building sector, the government has commissioned the British Standards Institution (BSI) to draft a new code of practice for assessors when examining external walls and cladding.

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