£57.8 million allocated to councils to develop brownfield land

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The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) announced almost £57.8 million from the £75 million Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF) has been allocated to 53 councils for new homes to be built on underused and derelict land.

The funding will boost local areas by transforming unloved and disused sites into vibrant communities for people to live and work

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Stamp duty holiday failed to create landlord buying spree says leading property firm

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The stamp duty holiday failed to create a buy-to-let spending spree despite landlord stamp duty bills falling by more than a third, says Hamptons.

Investors bought 12% of homes sold in Great Britain during the 15-month tax break, up from an average of 11% during the 12 months before the holiday, but far from the 17% recorded in Q4 2015 – the run up to the introduction of the 3% stamp duty surcharge on 1st April 2016.

Investors made 215,000 purchases between July 2020 and September 2021, up from 164,300 during the same period in 2018/19, however, this was 11% fewer than the 242,000 made before the 3% surcharge came in.

Hamptons Monthly Letting Index reports that the holiday meant the average investor paid less in stamp duty than at any time since April 2016, but their average bill remained twice the level it was before the surcharge was introduced, which partly explained why there hasn’t been as much of an increase in investor purchases this time around.

Significantly smaller savings

Hamptons reports that 83% of investor purchases were under £250,000, meaning their savings from the holiday were significantly smaller than those enjoyed by home movers. Investors have been less sensitive to the change in the nil-rate stamp duty threshold since they tend to buy cheaper properties.

In September, rents across Great Britain rose 8% year-on-year, meaning that the average rent now stands at £1,109 pcm. Aneisha Beveridge, Hamptons head of research, says that while rental growth rates typically peak over the summer months, this year they have continued to rise into the autumn. 

She adds: “This means average monthly rents have passed £1,100 for the first time nationally, led by big increases on larger homes. While we are expecting this growth to moderate in the final few months of the year, it is likely 2021 will mark some of the fastest rates of rental growth in a generation.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Stamp duty holiday failed to create landlord buying spree says leading property firm | LandlordZONE.

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Stamp duty surcharge stagnates increase of investor purchases despite tax break says Hamptons

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The stamp duty holiday failed to create a buy-to-let spending spree despite landlord stamp duty bills falling by more than a third, says Hamptons.

Investors bought 12% of homes sold in Great Britain during the 15-month tax break, up from an average of 11% during the 12 months before the holiday, but far from the 17% recorded in Q4 2015 – the run up to the introduction of the 3% stamp duty surcharge on 1st April 2016. Investors made 215,000 purchases between July 2020 and September 2021, up from 164,300 during the same period in 2018/19, however, this was 11% fewer than the 242,000 made before the 3% surcharge came in.

Hamptons Monthly Letting Index reports that the holiday meant the average investor paid less in stamp duty than at any time since April 2016, but their average bill remained twice the level it was before the surcharge was introduced, which partly explained why there hasn’t been as much of an increase in investor purchases this time around.

Significantly smaller savings

Hamptons reports that 83% of investor purchases were under £250,000, meaning their savings from the holiday were significantly smaller than those enjoyed by home movers. Investors have been less sensitive to the change in the nil-rate stamp duty threshold since they tend to buy cheaper properties.

In September, rents across Great Britain rose 8% year-on-year, meaning that the average rent now stands at £1,109 pcm. Aneisha Beveridge, Hamptons head of research, says that while rental growth rates typically peak over the summer months, this year they have continued to rise into the autumn. She adds: “This means average monthly rents have passed £1,100 for the first time nationally, led by big increases on larger homes. While we are expecting this growth to moderate in the final few months of the year, it is likely 2021 will mark some of the fastest rates of rental growth in a generation.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Stamp duty surcharge stagnates increase of investor purchases despite tax break says Hamptons | LandlordZONE.

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Scotland could face chronic rental shortage this winter says landlords association

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Hostile anti-landlord rhetoric has caused scores of landlords to quit the sector, leading to fears that Scotland faces a chronic rental property shortage this winter.

The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) says in just the last two months its members have reported falls of 80% or more in the number of properties available to let, while landlords have been selling up because of their fear of planned rent controls and a total ban on evictions.

Students’ groups have recently complained about the dire lack of properties to rent, which SAL attributes to an unintended consequence of the Private Residential Tenancy introduced in 2017, meaning that landlords are no longer able to offer fixed-term leases which match term times – leading to a reduced number of student homes. 

Nowhere to live

Chief executive John Blackwood says some landlords and letting agents report that they have no properties at all left to let, despite enquiries from hundreds of people looking for a home. “At the same time, we are seeing huge jumps in the cost of buying a house, and with limited supply and increased demand in the PRS, many people will be left with nowhere to live, inevitably putting massive pressure on emergency housing supply as well,” says Blackwood.

“We are just beginning to see some of the consequences of the hostile anti-landlord rhetoric from the Scottish government. The Minister for Tenants’ Rights must stop portraying the entire private rented sector as ‘exploitative’ and understand the essential role private landlords play in Scotland’s housing sector.”

SAL is calling for an open discussion about the correct size of the country’s PRS and for a massive increase in social housing, which would lead to a corresponding re-balancing of its size.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Scotland could face chronic rental shortage this winter says landlords association | LandlordZONE.

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Lender says letting out as licenced HMO breaches terms and conditions?

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I am a residential landlord of a small portfolio of buy-to-let properties in London. I purchased my most recent property in March 2018, and took out a 5-year fixed-rate mortgage with a lender to enable me to do so. I rent it out to 4 tenants

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Receiving a property gift – What to do next and how to do it?

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Hi, My parents will be gifting a property to me in the not too distant future, and I just wanted to gather some advice regarding best practices moving forward with the aim of growing a buy-to-let portfolio.

I am 26 years old and understand somewhat the benefits of doing this within a corporation however was wondering if it was possible to receive the gift directly into the company and if so what are the benefits of doing this?

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Smart company set up and maintenance costs?

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Hi Property118, I am interested in setting up a Smart property company structure with a holding company and SPVs (Single Purpose Vehicles) as subsidiaries and want to understand the set-up and annual maintenance costs involved, please.

Many Thanks

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Winter drawers on

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“Winter drawers on!” was the risqué chorus amongst the women on the shop-floor where I served my engineering apprenticeship, every year, as the weather started getting colder!

And that reminded me that it’s time all landlords were making sure their boilers are going to withstand the onset of winter –

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SAL reporting drops of 80% plus in PRS homes available

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The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) has warned of a shortage of properties available to rent over the winter, increasing pressure on emergency housing provided by councils. SAL members are reporting drops of 80% or more in the number of properties available to let

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LATEST: Airbnb licensing in Scotland revised after landlords voice concerns

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The Scottish government has revised its planned licensing scheme for short term lets after concerns were raised by the sector during a consultation earlier this year.

In February, it passed legislation designed to make it easier for local authorities to manage the short term lets market, allowing councils to establish control zones where any property operating as a short term let for more than 28 days a year would need planning consent.

It also announced plans to introduce a mandatory licensing scheme.

Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison has now outlined changes ahead of laying the licensing legislation in the Scottish Parliament next month.

These include the removal of overprovision powers, a simplification of the way that neighbours are notified about licence applications, reducing public liability insurance requirements, and removing personal names from the public register.

Revised guidance will be developed with stakeholders, with an emphasis on a risk-based, intelligence-led approach to property inspections as well as keeping costs and fees under control, says Robison.

“Following our recent consultation and engagement with stakeholders, we are making some pragmatic and significant changes to improve the proposed legislation. We are therefore addressing issues raised by stakeholders whilst still allowing licensing authorities to ensure short-term lets are safe and address issues faced by neighbours.”

Onerous bureaucracy

She adds: “This means local authorities can respond to the needs and concerns of local communities and neighbours to short-term lets without imposing onerous bureaucracy on responsible tourism businesses.”

Shomik Panda, director general of the Short Term Accommodation Association, says it welcomes the decision.

He adds: “We believe that the changes that the Scottish government has announced today are a positive step in the right direction, although we will continue to push for further improvements for our members, including a grandfathering provision and auto-renewals of licences. We look forward to continued engagement in Scotland, to build the best set of regulations that we can for all.”

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