Can you help with research on new tenant referencing tools?

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The University of York and the University of Bristol are undertaking work on new digital risk profiling tools in housing. Digital automated products that undertake tenant referencing are part of a new digital landscape for landlords and agents that automate parts of the tenant selection and tenancy and property management processes.

View Full Article: Can you help with research on new tenant referencing tools?

Shaving Foam Is Dead!

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Those of you with long memories will recall the talks I gave 5 to 10 years ago about my ‘shaving foam technique’. It got me hated by the #leaseholdscandal keyboard warriors, who saw it as encouraging developers to fleece leaseholders.

View Full Article: Shaving Foam Is Dead!

HMOs moving upmarket as more professionals embrace ‘shared living’

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HMO landlords report that more professional tenants seeking better facilities are helping move the sector ‘up the value chain’, a new report suggests.

Lender Paragon says these prospective tenants now expect en suite bathrooms, larger rooms, high-speed broadband and quality furnishings.

HMO landlords identify a flight to quality as a trend characterising the past year, with 48% saying they’d seen growing demand for better quality HMOs and 45% saying demand from young professionals was up over the past year.
Just under a quarter, 23%, of landlords also said HMOs were appealing to older, affluent tenants.

The data reflects the difficulties of getting on the property ladder for even relatively well-off tenants, and may help change the sector’s reputation for low-quality, basic accommodation that appeals solely to the economically disadvantaged.

Of the landlords canvassed by Paragon, just over a third said tenants were asking for office facilities to enable home working.

Strong demand

“We saw strong growth in demand from landlords to acquire HMOs during the pandemic,” says its MD of Mortgages Richard Rowntree.

“This may reflect the wider shortage in rental property with tenants opting for a room in a shared home because one or two-bedroom properties are in short supply.

“Tenants also like the flexibility and social nature of HMOs, particularly if they are renting with friends.”

The research also revealed why the HMO sector is booming. Nearly half of HMO landlords said they offer better rental yields than other residential rental properties.

And some 40% said HMOs offered better financial protection from voids, while 53% said there was no material difference in capital gain between single units and HMOs, making income the deciding factor.

Who are the new HMO tenants?

Nearly half, 46%, of tenants fell into the young single bracket, with 47% students and 41% white collar, clerical or professional workers. A quarter of tenants were manual workers, with 15% represented by older singles. Smaller groups included Universal Credit Claimants (9%), families with children (4%) and migrant workers (4%).

Read more: What’s the difference between an HMO and a bedsit?

View Full Article: HMOs moving upmarket as more professionals embrace ‘shared living’

NEW: ‘Grim’ evictions data shows cost-of-living crisis already hitting poorer tenants

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Shelter has jumped on the most recent government repossessions data which reveals that bailiff warrants rose by 39% between and April and June compared to the same period last year.

It says these figures are proof that the cost of living crisis is beginning to bite at the budget end of the private rental market and has claimed that the total number of eviction proceedings is now back at pre-pandemic levels, before the eviction ban took effect. 

But experts warn that the figures should be looked at in context. Repossession levels are low compared to the four million PRS households in England and just 3,405 bailiff warrants were executed during a three-month period, which is significantly below the high-point of the 1990s.

Also, despite claims to the contrary, LandlordZONE’s analysis of the figures indicates repossession levels remain below pre-pandemic activity.

But Shelter is keen to suggest that an evictions tsunami is already enveloping poorer tenants as the economy cools, and justify its call for Ministers to reverse the housing benefit freeze so it reflects real housing costs. 

The Ministry of Justice figures suggest this tsunami has not yet hit the PRS although, given the cost of living crisis has only just begun, it’s probably just around the corner.

Polly Neate (pictured), Chief Executive of Shelter, says: “Today’s figures paint a grim picture of households across England unable to keep their heads above water as the cost-of-living crisis bites.

“People who don’t leave their home before the bailiff comes are the ones who have run out of options and have nowhere else to go. 

“Whoever becomes the next Prime Minister needs to get a grip and put ending the housing emergency at the top of their to-do list.”  

Financial difficulty

Tim Frome (pictured), Associate Director at Hamilton Fraser, says: “From running the Property Redress Scheme, mydeposits and Landlord Action we are seeing more and more examples of tenants getting into financial difficulty and the knock on effect this can have on their tenancy.

“Shelter’s request for the government to unfreeze housing benefit could provide short term respite and we would recommend tenants raise any concerns they have with their landlords as quickly as possible.

“We have found early and transparent discussion is the best way to find solutions to keep tenancies going.

“As we saw all during the pandemic and since, landlords do not want to lose good tenants so will in most circumstances work with their tenants to find suitable solutions.”

Lewis Shaw, founder of Mansfield-based Shaw Financial Services: “Now that the Government moratorium on repossessions is over, it’s unsurprising that we’ve seen a considerable rebound, albeit still at lower levels than pre-Covid.

“However, with the cost of living crisis looming over us, it’s odds on that these figures will continue to rise as people’s disposable income is stretched to breaking point.”

Read more about Shelter.

View Full Article: NEW: ‘Grim’ evictions data shows cost-of-living crisis already hitting poorer tenants

Rents and house prices to rise across the UK as property supply declines – RICS

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Rents and house prices will continue to rise across the UK even as demand drops because there is a severe lack of housing stock, research from RICS reveals.

According to the RICS Residential Market Survey for July, there was a continued fall in house sales over the month.

View Full Article: Rents and house prices to rise across the UK as property supply declines – RICS

Landlords warned that renters will struggle to pay rent

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Tenants will struggle to pay their rent and bills as growing numbers of them are already cutting their food budget because of the cost-of-living crisis.

The warning comes from Sarah Coles, a senior personal finance analyst at the financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown.

View Full Article: Landlords warned that renters will struggle to pay rent

BREAKING: Tenant demand for homes still rising despite gathering storm clouds

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The lettings market continues to boom while the property sales sector shows signs of weakening, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has reported.

Its survey of member estate agents reveals that tenant demand continues to rise, evidenced by a net balance of +36% of respondents reporting an increase, part of the seasonally adjusted quarterly lettings dataset.

That said, although still firmly positive, RICS figures seem to have lost a bit of momentum when compared with readings of +62% and +50% recorded in the three months to January and April 2022 respectively.

Turning to supply of stock, a net balance of -8% of members reported a decline in new landlord instructions, identical to last quarter’s reading. Put these two factors together and rents are expected to continue to climb higher over in the near future by a net balance of +57% of survey participants, with all parts of the UK anticipated to see a further pick-up.

But while the private rental sector has yet to be impacted by the gathering economic clouds, it is beginning to touch the wider housing market.

The boom in property sales is beginning to fade with new buyer enquiries declining at a steady pace, the RICS reports says.

Living costs

Tarrant Parsons (pictured), RICS Senior Economist, says: “Amid a backdrop of sharply rising living costs, slowing economic growth and higher interest rates, it is little surprise that housing market activity is now losing some momentum.

“With monetary policy set to be tightened further over the coming months, sales expectations point to a further softening in transaction volumes going forward.

“Nevertheless, with respect to house prices, limited supply available is still seen as a crucial factor underpinning the market.

“Although house price growth is likely to continue to ease, respondents still anticipate prices will be modestly higher than current levels in a year’s time.

Read the report in full.

View Full Article: BREAKING: Tenant demand for homes still rising despite gathering storm clouds