PRS is ‘unsustainable’ as rents reach record high

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Fears have been raised that landlords could be pushed out of the market if tenants cannot afford to pay fast-rising rents with rising living costs.

HomeLet has released data that shows that every UK region has seen monthly and annual rent price growth.

View Full Article: PRS is ‘unsustainable’ as rents reach record high

Khan calls on next PM to make landlords pay tenants’ moving costs during ‘no fault’ evictions

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London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called on the next Tory PM to force landlords to pay tenants’ moving costs when asking them to move out of a property where the renter is not at fault.

His comments were made during a debate within the London Assembly on housing issues in the capital and included a call to extend notice period passed the current two-month minimum and freeze rents in the city for two years until the cost of living crisis subsides.

“It is really important whoever becomes the next Conservative Leader and therefore our Prime Minister commits to deliver on these as soon as possible,” he told Assembly members.

During the short speech Khan also claimed that many of the proposals within the government’s recent ‘Fairer Renting’ White Paper were his originally, including banning Section 21 evictions, introducing open-ended tenancies and reforming possession grounds.

“I am also pleased to see the inclusion of a property portal, the landlord register I have campaigned for and which will build on the success of the Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker I published and established in London in the absence of Government action,” he said.

More power

Khan went on to call for all mayors including himself to be given powers to regulate the private renting sector.

His remit, like most mayors around the UK, only includes overseeing the fire and police services, transport, economic development and the power to create development corporations.

Khan’s only powers within the housing sector are to oversee ‘strategic development’ largely through a planning lens.

He urged the government to: “Give those in charge of the Londons, the Manchesters, the Bristols, Oxford and Cambridgeshire, where there are all issues around the cost of living, particularly in relation to private rents, the power to do more in this area in relation to freezing rents, rent controls, the quality of housing and so forth,” he said.

View Full Article: Khan calls on next PM to make landlords pay tenants’ moving costs during ‘no fault’ evictions

Assured Shorthold Tenancy with break clause vs Two-year Fixed Tenancy?

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We are private landlords by default. For the past 5 years we have had a couple rent our property under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement which includes a usual break clause.

We are now looking to renew the tenancy agreement for another two years

View Full Article: Assured Shorthold Tenancy with break clause vs Two-year Fixed Tenancy?

Fears over student accommodation supply and rising student rents

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The UK’s leading student accommodation search engine says the supply of HMO student accommodation (Houses of Multiple Occupation) will be compromised under planned changes to tenancies as part of The Renters Reform Bill.

This will, Accommodationforstudents.com says

View Full Article: Fears over student accommodation supply and rising student rents

Fixed-term tenancy plans will damage HMO student housing market, warns portal boss

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The changes to tenancy law being proposed within the Government’s recent Fairer Renting White Paper will damage the student rental sector and reduce the amount of housing available within it, it has been claimed.

Specialist portal Accommodationforstudents.com says proposals by Ministers to introduce fixed-term tenancies to replace Assured Shorthold Tenancies will compromise the huge HMO student sector.

This, the portal says, will result in less choice and higher rents for students, in part because many students will be forced into the Purpose Build Student accommodation (PBSA) sector, which can be £30 a week more expensive than traditional student HMOs.

Plans within the White Paper to ban fixed-term tenancies, and instead transition all tenancies to one system of periodic tenancies, would mean students would not have to leave their HMO accommodation at the end of their fixed-term – usually the end of the academic year.

Guarantee spaces

Accomodationforstudents says this would mean private landlords would be unable to guarantee spaces to new students at the start of the next academic year, and could result in student landlords exiting the market, subsequently reducing the mix of accommodation options for students.

The portal says similar changes already implemented in Scotland has already reduced the supply of student HMO accommodation there, particularly in Edinburgh, where many students now struggle to find somewhere to live.

Simon Thompson (main picture), Director of Accommodationforstudents.com, says: “It is, in my view, vital that the Government exempts private student landlords from its proposal to move all tenancies to periodic ones, as it has for institutional landlords who run PBSA.

Read more: Ultimate guide to student property.

“Failing to do so will force private landlords out of the market, reducing the mix of affordable options and drive up rents for student who are already on a limited budget.

“Furthermore, where demand exceeds supply, students will be forced to look for accommodation further away from their university town or campus, meaning transport then becomes an additional cost and problem for students.”

Read the Fairer Renting White Paper.

View Full Article: Fixed-term tenancy plans will damage HMO student housing market, warns portal boss

UK house prices rise by 8.3% says Zoopla

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Hot on the heels of yesterday’s news from Nationwide that house prices had rocketed in value by 11% over the past year, comes news from Zoopla that offers a different figure.

The property website says that the UK’s house prices have risen by 8.3% in the last 12 months

View Full Article: UK house prices rise by 8.3% says Zoopla

PETS: Can a solution be found that will keep landlords and tenants happy?

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Key figures from the world of landlords and pets have sat down to begin thrashing out a solution to the current ‘pets in lets’ conundrum vexing the sector.

Organised by tech platform The Lettings Hub, the inaugural meeting kicked off by highlighting the key challenge that needs to be met, namely that while 82% of tenants want to rent with their pet, 35% of landlords actively ban pets from their properties.

To find a solution, the working group is now preparing several more sessions which will look at the different options on the table, although the most likely will be some sort of insurance, most probably taken out by the tenant.

This first meeting was attended by representatives from campaigning group AdvoCATS, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, several letting agencies from across the UK, trade association Propertymark, insurance underwriters, the Property Redress Scheme and tech firm Inventory Hive.

Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Propertymark, says: “We have been warning for some time that the unintended consequences of the Tenant Fees Act have reduced the appetite for many landlords to take on the greater risk of damage.”

Heidi Shackell (pictured) CEO of The Lettings Hub said “Pets are an emotive subject for both landlords and tenants, at The Lettings Hub we are committed to delivering solutions and products which support and protect all parties.

“Collaborating with experts across the lettings and pets’ sectors allows us to truly understand how these changes are set to impact our customers and allow us to develop a holistic resolution.”

Sean Hooker (pictured) Head of Redress at The PRS, adds: “Tenants rightly don’t want to feel discriminated against for wanting to have a pet, however landlords should feel they are protected.

“The challenge is how to deliver this in a satisfactory and cost-effective way and gathering the experts into one room is a fantastic start!”

Landlords wishing to take part should email Jessica.langley@lettingshub.co.uk

View Full Article: PETS: Can a solution be found that will keep landlords and tenants happy?

Interview: ‘Why good private landlords shouldn’t fear more regulation’

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A leading letting agent in Wales has told LandlordZONE that the additional regulation of landlords in his country, which is due to tighten even further later this year, has not been the disaster that many predicted.

Since the end of November 2015 landlords and their properties have had to be registered and, if they self-manage a property in any way, licensed as well.

Soon landlords will face new measures being introduced on December 1st by the Welsh Government, including six-month notice periods prior to an eviction process starting; a whole new lexicon (e.g. ‘contract holders’ rather than ‘tenants’); and being prevented from enacting break clauses during the first 18 months of a tenancy.

But Ricky Purdy (main picture) of Swansea-based agency Dawsons Property says that despite this blitz of new regulation, and higher stamp duty for landlords, the biggest reason for his clients leaving the sector has been rising prices leading many to cash-in and the looming EPC upgrade challenges due in 2025 and 2028.

“I’m all for landlords in Wales deciding to sell their properties or downsize their portfolios if they think that’s the best outcome for them given the current – and the own – circumstances, but there’s a lot of scare-mongering headlines out there right now and it’s making them focus on worst-case scenarios,” he says.

“We try and work with our landlords to offer up solutions such as re-financing and/or restructuring their portfolios, in general focussing on the positives rather than getting rattled by the potential negatives.”

Purdy says the changes have affected landlords with just one or two properties more, while the more ‘purposeful’ professional landlords with large portfolios have taken the changes in their stride.

New legislation

“I understand what the Welsh Government is trying to do with the new legislation,” says Purdy.

“It’s not a ‘levelling up’ thing in my mind but just the Government making renting fairer for tenants, and in return making it quicker and easier to evict the bad, bad, rogue tenants, as England is planning to do as well.

“The biggest headache for landlords and agents alike is the paperwork needed to transfer everything over to the new rules, but I also get that some landlords are frustrated that after December 1^st tenants will be able to move around willy nilly, but landlords will have to wait six months or longer before they can ask a tenant move out.

“We’re in uncharted territory really. But I think landlords on both sides of the border are just going to have to accept these changes and get on with it and do the legwork to make it work – but I can understand it will persuade some of them to leave or slim down their exposure to the sector.”

View Full Article: Interview: ‘Why good private landlords shouldn’t fear more regulation’

Welsh landlord’s attempt to evict tenants sparks national debate over PRS changes

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A landlord has been unwittingly drawn into a heated debate over the looming changes to the Welsh private rented sector.

The country’s Government recently delayed its planned reforms that will alter how tenancies, properties and evictions are managed, similar in many ways to the planned changes within England set out in the Westminster government’s Fairer Renting White Paper recently. Due to go live in July, the Welsh measures within the Renting Homes (Wales) Act will now become law in December.

The saga kicked off after ITV ran a news piece over the weekend highlighting the case of a couple facing eviction from their home in Rumney, Cardiff.

After ten years spent living at the address where they paid £630 a month in rent Kathryn and Michael Wakeham (main picture) – both of whom are involved in local charitable endeavours including volunteering at a food bank – have been asked to leave the property after their landlord decided to sell up.

Affordable home

The couple now face an uphill battle to find an affordable home of the same size on the area, where rents for semi-detached houses similar to theirs are now £1,000 or more.

Although their case has generated headlines all over the UK and even overseas, with many commentators accusing the landlords of ‘throwing them out’, the letting agent which manages the property, James Douglas Sales and Lettings, has a different story to tell.

The firm’s General Manager Sarah Evans told ITV that many other landlords in the area were selling their properties or considering doing so following recent increases in Welsh landlord taxation and the looming Renting Home Act.

It will swing the balance of power very much more towards tenants, including lengthening notice periods to a statutory six months.

“This has resulted in more rental properties being sold and increased rents as landlords try to recover their rising costs,” says Evans (pictured).

“Partly as a result of this reducing stock, we are seeing the highest tenant demand on record due to the lack of supply.

“Unless the Welsh Government looks to mitigate this in some way this is clearly going to be a continuing trend.”

Pic credit: ITV

View Full Article: Welsh landlord’s attempt to evict tenants sparks national debate over PRS changes

Voids hit record low – but rents hit record high

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We didn’t just see record-breaking temperatures in July, there was also a surge in high-value student lets to help average rental costs and void periods to break records, according to Goodlord’s latest rental index.

The figures show that the lettings market continues to gather steam and

View Full Article: Voids hit record low – but rents hit record high