Tenants more worried about fire safety in their homes than homeowners – official

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Renters are more likely to feel unsafe in their home than owner occupiers, according to the latest English Housing Survey.

The Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) research found that only 5% of people on average felt unsafe and feared that a fire would break out.

But 7% of private renters didn’t feel safe along with 10% of social renters, compared with 3% of owner occupiers.

The 2019-2020 survey found that those who live in low (11%) and high (21%) rise flats were more likely than those in houses (6%) to feel unsafe in their homes.

Younger people were more likely to feel this way, with 15% of those aged 16-24 agreeing – higher than any other age group.

Those from an ethnic minority background were more likely than those from a White background to report a lack of confidence (8% compared to 5%).

Related

The MHCLG reports: “It is likely that all these findings are related. For example, younger people and those from an ethnic minority background are more likely to be renters and renters are more likely to live in flats.”

The national survey of people’s housing circumstances and the condition and energy efficiency of housing in England is one of the longest standing government surveys and was first run in 1967.

This was the first time a question on safety confidence had been included the survey.

Read more about fire safety in the PRS.

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Private tenants ‘most worried’ about fire safety in their homes

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Renters are more likely to feel unsafe in their home than owner occupiers, according to the latest English Housing Survey.

The Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) research found that only 5% of people on average felt unsafe and feared that a fire would break out.

But 7% of private renters didn’t feel safe along with 10% of social renters, compared with 3% of owner occupiers.

The 2019-2020 survey found that those who live in low (11%) and high (21%) rise flats were more likely than those in houses (6%) to feel unsafe in their homes.

Younger people were more likely to feel this way, with 15% of those aged 16-24 agreeing – higher than any other age group.

Those from an ethnic minority background were more likely than those from a White background to report a lack of confidence (8% compared to 5%).

Related

The MHCLG reports: “It is likely that all these findings are related. For example, younger people and those from an ethnic minority background are more likely to be renters and renters are more likely to live in flats.”

The national survey of people’s housing circumstances and the condition and energy efficiency of housing in England is one of the longest standing government surveys and was first run in 1967.

This was the first time a question on safety confidence had been included the survey.

Read more about fire safety in the PRS.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Private tenants ‘most worried’ about fire safety in their homes | LandlordZONE.

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Leasehold reforms will help 1.8m landlord properties, Ministers reveal

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New government figures show that there are 1.8 million leasehold properties in the private rented sector.

The Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Government has confirmed its provisional figures, reporting that 39% of leasehold properties are privately owned and let in the PRS.

It illustrates the importance of new leasehold reform plans for landlords; in January, the government announced new measures that mean owners of leasehold houses will be able to extend their leaseholds by 990 years at a zero ground rent, removing the much-publicised attempts by some freeholders and developers to sell properties with escalating ground rents and restricting extensions to 50 years.

It also promised to make it fairer and cheaper to extend leases or convert them to freehold or commonhold status.

In 2019-20, there were an estimated 4.6 million leasehold properties in England, equivalent to 19% of the English housing stock.

Highest proportion

London and the North West of England had the highest proportion, at 34% and 31% respectively, while the East Midlands had the lowest (9%).

In the private sector, 82% of flats were owned on a leasehold basis – 93% of owner-occupied flats and 73% of privately rented flats. Leasehold houses were less prevalent than flats with 8% of houses owned on a leasehold basis. This was highest in the private rented sector at 9%.

The proportion of leasehold houses also varied by region; 28% of houses in the North West were owned on a leasehold basis, significantly greater than in any other region, with the next highest in Yorkshire and the Humber at 8%.

For flats, this ranged from 43% in Yorkshire and the Humber to 63% in the South East.

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BREAKING: Report says landlords can be forced to mediate during evictions

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An official report into whether people involved in litigation should be forced to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has cleared the way for this – until now – voluntary mechanism to be forced on warring parties.

Recommendations within the report by The Civil Justice Council, which was commissioned by the Master of the Rolls Sir Geoffrey Voss, would usher in new regulations to mandate landlords and tenants who are involved in contested evictions to enter into mediation before going to court.

Published today, the lengthy report (see link below) will have far-reaching ramification for the courts and tribunal service and particular for possession cases involving landlords and tenants.

It also name-checks the pilot ADR scheme set up earlier this year to try out mediation among feuding landlords and tenants prior, largely to try and alleviate the pressure on courts as eviction volumes rise post-Covid, highlighting some of the problems encountered.

“One of the early lessons of the possession ADR pilot has been that because no legal advice is available during the mediation, duty solicitors are reluctant to advise clients to mediate under the pilot scheme and litigants-in-person were very reluctant to take,” it says.

The Master of the Rolls (pictured) adds: “I am grateful to Lady Justice Asplin and the working group for this excellent report.

“They conclude that it is possible, where a court process remains available, lawfully to mandate ADR.

“As I have said before, ADR should no longer be viewed as ‘alternative’ but as an integral part of the dispute resolution process; that process should focus on ‘resolution’ rather than ‘dispute’. This report opens the door to a significant shift towards earlier resolution.”

Mike Morgan (pictured), Legal Division Manager at HF Assist and Mediation, says: “We’re pleased to see this report into the potential for compulsory ADR, and the recognition that forms of ADR, such as mediation, need to be made an integral part of the justice process.

“Doing this will make them more common and more widely used. For housing and tenancy disputes our experience shows that to be effective and get the best results, the earlier mediation happens the better. 

“Offering this when disputes have reached court can be too late, and highlights the need for better education of consumers as to how they can resolve disputes quickly and effectively.”

Tim Frome, Head of Legal at evictions specialist Landlord Action, says: “Achieving resolution through an ADR process is much quicker and more cost effective than using the courts.”

Read more about mediation. Read the report in full.

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MHCLG to spend £100k on national landlord database investigation

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The government is to spend up to £100,000 investigating how best to set up a national register in England for the country’s estimated 2.3 million private landlords.

Details of the work have been revealed in a tender document published on an official ‘supplier opportunities’ website.

The document says the Government wants to understand the ‘different models available for pursuing solutions to our identified problems and to further understand the difficulties individuals face when renting, letting or enforcing property standards in the Private Rented Sector’.

The ‘problems’ referred to are that central and local government authorities have limited and un-joined up records on landlords in England.

Check information

Sources include HMRC tax records, local authority licensing schemes and national mandatory deposit registration scheme data.
Private tenants, on the other hand, have only limited ways to check information about their landlord or property before signing a tenancy.

The exploratory work required by the tender includes looking at the Welsh and Scottish landlord registration scheme.

Wales’ RentSmart programme is heavy on regulation, enforcement and expense (£200+ a year), while Scotland’s lighter and more straightforward scheme charges fees of £67 for each landlord and £15 per property.

The consultancy ‘discovery’ work tender closes later this week and is due to start at the end of August and last up to ten weeks.

In May the Queen’s Speech included reference to the government’s plans for major reform of the PRS including a national register and compulsory redress scheme membership for landlords.

Sean Hooker (pictured), Head of Redress at the PRS, say he hopes the consultation will recommend that all the existing sources of information are ‘joined up’ to create the register, rather than it relying solely on landlords to upload their details.

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Why landlords are facing a buy to let mortgage rate dilemma

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Mortgage broker, Hamilton Fraser Total Landlord Mortgages explains the current predicament landlords have with whether to stick or twist on mortgage rates as inflation bursts through the Bank of England target.

The year-on-year cost of living surged from 1.5 per cent in April 2019 to 2.1 per cent in May, nudging above the Bank of England’s self-imposed two per cent ceiling.

The latest report from the Monetary Policy Committee – the team of rate-setters – reveals inflation is 0.3 per cent higher than expected and is forecast to soar above three per cent due to rising energy and commodity prices.

“The committee’s expectation is that the direct impact of rises in commodity prices on inflation will be transitory.  More generally, the committee’s central expectation is that the economy will experience a temporary period of strong GDP growth and above-target inflation. After which growth and inflation will fall back.  There are two-sided risks around this central path, and it is possible that near-term upward pressure on prices could prove somewhat larger than expected,” says the BoE.

Rate setters next meet on 5 August 2021 and have yet to reveal their hand on which way interest rates will go.

Are mortgage rates set to rise?

The current Bank of England interest rate has sat at a record low of 0.1 per cent since March 2020. Raising the rate will likely see buy to let mortgage rates rise as well.

Current best buy to let mortgage rates range from 1.19% for a two-year fix to 1.65% for a five-year term.

Remortgaging now means locking into the current rate as a safety net if inflation continues to rise, explains Total Landlord Mortgages Principal Daniel Lee.

“With inflation rising above the Government target, will this trigger a rise in the coming months? I think we will see the rates remain low for the foreseeable future, but we have to keep a close eye on where inflation is going. Is this a short-term blip or here to stay?” said Daniel  Lee.

Time to review portfolio borrowing

There has never been a more important time to look at your portfolio, get the right advice and assess two-year rates against five-year rates

Generally, landlords should keep an eye on interest rates to keep a lid on property costs.

Daniel Lee added that many landlords need to pay extra attention as they exit five-year fixes following the buy to let bonanza lead up to introducing the three per cent investment property surcharge in April 2016.

Sting in the tail for 80 per cent loans

The Mortgage Works (TMW), the buy to let brand of The Nationwide and one of the UK’s largest landlord lenders, is again offering 80 per cent loan-to-value mortgages for purchases, remortgages and further advances, including buy-to-let. But they have insisted that all rental properties must have an EPC rating of C or above to be eligible.

Daniel Lee (pictured), Principal at Total Landlord Mortgages says, “The decision to begin once more offering 80 per cent LTV mortgages is a significant vote of confidence in the buy to let market after a difficult period.”

The move aligns TMW with several smaller lenders in the buy to let market and likely signals a similar shift may follow from other leading lenders.

The Government has already announced that all private rented homes must match the EPC C rating by 2030 and this new requirement is an indication that The Mortgage Works is behind the Government’s environmental policy.

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