Battle over holiday lets hots up as campaigning MP holds meeting

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The increasingly rancourous debate between Airbnb landlords and legislators will come to a head in York this week as the city’s MP convenes a public meeting to discuss the growing problem of short lets within its walls.

MP Rachel Maskell (main picture) is one of six mostly Labour MPs sponsoring an Early Day Motion in the parliament that would establish a Short Term Holiday Let Licencing Scheme across England and is also behind moves to use planning laws to regulate them.

They are calling on the Government to:

• Bring forward legislation to allow local authorities to introduce local licensing schemes to determine standards and place limits on short term holiday lets;
• Allow local authorities to determine the terms for holding a license including the license fee, health and safety standards, terms of operation, and penalties for those in breach of licensing terms including fines and termination of licenses;
• Empower local authorities to determine areas where the granting of new short term holiday let licenses will be restricted.

Ministers in England have been paying attention and on April 23^rd launched two consultations – one on planning and the other on a registration scheme – to try and balance the needs of local businesses serving the ‘staycation’ sector and the ‘hollowing out’ problems too many Airbnb properties can cause for local communities.

York is one of the battlefronts along with Edinburgh and many English and Welsh coastal and rural hotspots such as the Lake District.

Maskell recently revealed that there are some 2,000 Airbnbs operating within York and is urging everyone including Airbnb landlords to contribute to the Government’s consultation.

She believes Airbnb or short-lets must be curbed both in York and across the nation, saying that she was “determined to see the law change over Short Term Holiday Lets and these two Government consultations are the next step of the journey”. 

Her meeting takes place on Thursday 25^th at 6.30pm at Southlands Methods Church in York.

Picture credit: Labour Party/Rachel Maskell

View Full Article: Battle over holiday lets hots up as campaigning MP holds meeting

Difficulties remortgaging due to higher interest rates affecting lenders affordability criteria

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Many landlords are reporting that it has become increasingly difficult to remortgage as a result of higher interest rates affecting lenders’ affordability calculations.

Last week I spoke to one landlord whose mortgage interest is now greater than his gross rental income

View Full Article: Difficulties remortgaging due to higher interest rates affecting lenders affordability criteria

LATEST: Decent Homes Standard ‘missing’ from Renters (Reform) Bill

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Environmental health bodies are to press the government on why it omitted plans for a Decent Homes Standard in the Renters (Reform) Bill.

Despite including most of the promised draft legislation, the expected standards were missing and only mentioned in an accompanying press release which explained: ‘The government will also bring forward legislation as part of the Bill to: Apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time…this will help deliver the government’s Levelling Up mission to halve the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030.’

The standard currently only applies to the social housing sector, outlining that homes must be free from serious health and safety hazards and how landlords must keep homes in a good state of repair so that renters have clean, appropriate, and useable facilities.

The Fairer Private Rented Sector white paper, published last year, suggested this would soon apply to privately rented homes and the government’s consultation is apparently still ongoing.

Committed

A spokeswoman tells LandlordZONE: “We remain committed to legislating on the Decent Homes Standard and will do so as soon as possible.”

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health says it will seek to understand the reasons for the delay over the proposal and is urging the government to deliver on decent homes.

Stuart Fairlie (pictured), MD of energy assessor accreditation scheme Elmhurst Energy, believes the vast majority of landlords should already be conforming.

“Private landlords are understandably concerned about the property improvement-related regulatory changes coming their way, but most of these fears are not based on fact.

“It is the lack of clarity around what these [EPC] laws mean that is fuelling their fears about whether they can afford to remain in the private rental sector,” adds Fairlie.

View Full Article: LATEST: Decent Homes Standard ‘missing’ from Renters (Reform) Bill

POLL: Portfolio landlords moving to commercial as PRS becomes more difficult

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Large portfolio landlords are feeling upbeat despite the tough economic climate, with many eyeing the commercial sector for their next property purchase.

The Handelsbanken professional landlords survey – based on research among large UK investors with an average of 29 properties worth £14 million each – found that 59% expect to expand their portfolios, while only 14% expect to sell some or all of them.

Over half (57%) of those looking to buy properties plan to diversify into new sectors, with offices (43%) attracting the most interest as investors look to take advantage of depressed valuations.

The strong interest in commercial offices is surprising given the uncertainty around post-Covid 19 office occupancy and the rise of working from home, says Handelsbanken.

Correction

However, as values have undergone a correction over the past few years, many investors will probably be waiting for opportunities to buy at reduced cost with a view to longer term value creation, re-purposing assets and/or capitalising early on shifts in working patterns back towards more office usage.

James Sproule (pictured), UK chief economist at Handelsbanken, adds: “Commercial property values saw a major correction in the second half of 2022 as a direct impact of the higher interest rate environment.

“Average retail property prices were down by 15%, office prices were also down by 15%, and industrial unit prices were down by 25%.”

Three-fifths of those expanding their portfolio aim to buy in new regions, according to its poll. London was cited as the most attractive region over the next 12 months by investors (27%), followed by the South East (26%) while Yorkshire and the Humber and the West Midlands only attracted interest from 9%.

Three fifths (60%) of respondents have had requests for rental deferments/contract renegotiation while more than half (54%) have seen the number of void months increase over the past 12 months.

Read more: Safeguard your commercial property.

View Full Article: POLL: Portfolio landlords moving to commercial as PRS becomes more difficult

‘Fixed term tenancies MUST be preserved within reform bill for students lets’

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A proposed ban on fixed-term tenancies could penalise students amid an already heightened rental crisis in many cities.

According to student rentals platform StuRents, if the Renters (Reform) Bill fails to preserve fixed term tenancies for students, property managers could find their student HMO portfolio slipping out of kilter with the underlying academic cycle, reducing choice for students and increasing the number of vacant properties at a time when many cities are suffering a severe shortage of affordable accommodation.

The current situation helps align the dates from which all properties can be marketed for the next academic year, says StuRents.

Property managers know months in advance when properties will be vacated, meaning all accommodation is made available on property portals around the same time, facilitating a mass clearing process that rewards good quality properties with excess enquiries and provides students with an abundance of choice.

Many landlords have already voiced fears that students will pay higher rents as landlords exit the sector. Under the proposals, students will be able to give two months’ notice at any time, making it difficult to find a replacement and putting pressure on those who might have to find a new housemate or pay more rent to compensate for the empty room.

Fears

If these landlords exit the student market, their properties will probably be acquired by institutional investors so there shouldn’t be any contraction in supply, Tom Walker, (pictured) co-founder at StuRents, tells LandlordZONE.

“Some cities have an excess supply of student beds as a whole, but a shortage of affordable properties typically rented by domestic students, so identifying supply shortages is never as clear-cut as it seems,” he adds.

“That said, cities like Manchester, Bath and Bristol that suffer from a shortage of affordable student accommodation will likely see problems exacerbated.”

These points made by StuRents and other voices within the student lettings market appear to be cutting through in Whitehall – today a national newspaper reported rumours that housing secretary Michael Gove (pictured) is considering modifications to the Renters (Reform) Act that will exclude some student landlords from the looming legislaiton.

View Full Article: ‘Fixed term tenancies MUST be preserved within reform bill for students lets’

Landlords warned about the potentially catastrophic damage caused by e-bikes and e-scooters

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From a few wisps of smoke to a toxic explosion in just 12 seconds – the damage e-bikes and e-scooters can cause are catastrophic.

With their ever-growing popularity, it’s no wonder landlords are becoming worried about how much damage they could cause to a property.

View Full Article: Landlords warned about the potentially catastrophic damage caused by e-bikes and e-scooters

BTL repossessions rocket by 28% in the first quarter

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There’s grim news for BTL landlords and homeowners alike as the cost-of-living crisis tightens its grip to push up mortgage repossessions, UK Finance reveals.

The trade body says that in the first quarter of the year, there were 410 buy-to-let properties that were taken into possession –

View Full Article: BTL repossessions rocket by 28% in the first quarter