Letting agent expelled from TPO owing landlord £10k appears to be still trading

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A letting agent operating in Stratford, East London, has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) due to its failure to honour a compensatory award amounting to £10,264 to a landlord – but appears to be trading still.

The award came after a landlord lodged a formal complaint with TPO after a dispute involving the letting agent’s management of a property.

View Full Article: Letting agent expelled from TPO owing landlord £10k appears to be still trading

LATEST: Demand for rental property remains strong as property sales nosedive

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The latest RICS housing report has revealed a sharp downturn in property sales but in contrast a rental market bolstered by continuing ‘strong demand’, landlords will be relieved to hear.

While those selling homes are seeing demand for properties evaporating fast as high mortgage interest rates dent buyer confidence, those offering properties to rent have seen demand rising firmly over the three months to July.

RICS says this points to the “strongest quarterly pick-up in rental demand since the start of 2022”.

Set against this, the number of landlords asking agents to list properties to rent declined for another month in a row.

This is good for landlords profitability as fewer properties on the market lead to higher rents, but it will lead to further headlines that the market is ‘broken’ as more and more house hunting renters are asked to pay higher and higher rents.

Consequently, more agents have told RICS they expect rents to rise over the coming months than during the last quarter of the year, the report shows.

Constrained

RICS Chief Economist, Simon Rubinsohn (pictured), adds: “The recent uptick in mortgage activity looks likely to be reversed over the coming months if the feedback to the latest RICS Residential Survey is anything to go by.  

“Just as concerning are the insights being provided around the lettings markets.

“Demand shows no signs of letting up, supply remains constrained and that means rents are likely to continue rising sharply despite the cost-of-living crisis.”

The Homelet rental report, also published today, reveals that the UK monthly rent has hit an all-time high of £1,243 PCM, up 1.1% from last month, or £1,032 excluding London.

View Full Article: LATEST: Demand for rental property remains strong as property sales nosedive

Find out how to tax efficiently structure & manage your property portfolio in this free event!

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With high-interest rates, huge uncertainty & opportunity in the market, there has never been a better time to consider the structure for your property investment.

As landlords, tax will be one of the biggest costs you face and you will want to find a way to legitimately reduce this.

View Full Article: Find out how to tax efficiently structure & manage your property portfolio in this free event!

Student landlords face turmoil for several years predicts guarantor firm

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Students face two years of challenging housing supply as rental stock dwindles while demand remains high.

According to rental guarantor service Housing Hand, with rent reforms now not due until after the current period of student admissions is complete, the impact will be felt in full next year when the supply challenge is set to be even more acute.

It reports that students in particularly oversubscribed locations are already having to adjust their expectations by accepting less space than they would like or paying for larger properties than they need, due to the lack of choice.

Some students would also face longer journey times to campus after being forced to revise their expectations about property location.

6% more students

Research by Save the Student shows that 46% of students already rent from private landlords during term time rather than in halls or with family – an increase of 6% on last year.

This extensive demand means that both students and working professionals will be hard-pressed to secure accommodation over the coming weeks.

“The influx of students into the private rented sector is always a challenge in terms of meeting demand and this year will be even more so, given the lower number of landlords in the market,” says James Maguire, head of sales and business development (pictured).

“That’s why students will need to be flexible in terms of their expectations.”

Housing Hand has seen a 50% increase in applications for rental guarantors over the past six months and says many students are using the firm’s partnership with Canopy, which delivers rapid referencing services, so that they’re ready to move fast if they find the perfect property.

View Full Article: Student landlords face turmoil for several years predicts guarantor firm

FREE webinar: Will it become more difficult to evict tenants next year?

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Many landlords will not have clocked the huge changes coming down the line within the Government’s Renters (Reform) Bill due to become law next year – but help is at hand.

Evictions expert Paul Shamplina and legal senior Paul Sowerbutts (main picture) are to host a free live webinar on the 30^th August 2023 which will explain the changes and what they mean for landlords, jointly hosted by LandlordZONE and Landlord Action.

It is important to underline how serious the proposed changes to eviction law will mean for landlords wishing to gain possession of their properties, whatever the reason.

No fault

At the moment, landlords have the option to use a ‘no fault’ route or Section 21 notice as it is better known, which enables them to evict a tenant even if there is ‘no fault’ on the tenant’s part.

But this element of eviction law is going to be abolished and although the Government has promised to make it easier to evict badly behaved tenants and those in serious arrears via the courts, many believe once the bill becomes law, overall it will become more expensive and take more time to remove tenants from properties.

Shamplina says: “In this exclusive webinar, in partnership with Total Landlord, we’ll be discussing the latest and greatest news on evictions, tackling topics of concern surrounding Section 21 being abolished, changes to the court system, current Government policy on the private rented sector and the freeze on bailiffs activity that has been widely reported including by LandlordZONE.”

Readers can sign up to watch the webinar for free via this registration form.

Read more about the Renters (Reform) Bill.

View Full Article: FREE webinar: Will it become more difficult to evict tenants next year?

Lodger or tenant?

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Hello, my situation is a bit complex and I hope I will get some answers here.  I was leaving alone in my 4 bedroom house and took on some lodgers to live with me.

In 2020 I got a job in another country and spent time going back and forth to my house in London.

View Full Article: Lodger or tenant?

UK’s rental market shrinks by 400,000 homes in just seven years

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The UK’s private rented sector (PRS) has seen a significant decline in the number of homes to rent since 2016, one leading real estate advising firm reveals.

According to CBRE, it estimates that 400,000 rental properties have been sold in the past seven years

View Full Article: UK’s rental market shrinks by 400,000 homes in just seven years

Tech firm that helps landlords sell rented homes to sitting tenants secures first funding

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A free service that helps landlords manage their portfolios more profitably but also sell individual properties to sitting tenants through an innovative funding model has secured its first big cash injection to develop the platform.

Homely says the undisclosed investment will value the firm in the ‘double digit’ millions.

The business has a three-pronged approach; to help landlords and tenants manage properties better; enable tenants get on the property ladder; and help landlords sell their properties to existing tenants.

It also claims to help both small and large portfolio landlords by offering more efficient financing opportunities, reduced vacancy rates and increased tenant retention.

Launched in 2021, Homely’s overall aim is to work with landlords, home owners, renters and finance firms to grease the wheels of renting, being a landlord, getting on the property ladder and home ownership through both tech and partnerships with finance firms such as Aviva.

Obscure

The company providing the funds to move Homely from obscure tech platform to household name is UST, a Indian-based global provider of tech to digital platforms.

Lewis Scott (main picture, inset), CEO of Homely, says: “At such a crucial moment for the property market, this first round capital raise will allow Homely to help more people on their journey to homeownership.

“When it feels like buying a home, or qualifying for a mortgage, is moving further and further out of reach, Homely is committed to providing innovative solutions, underpinned by technology.”

View Full Article: Tech firm that helps landlords sell rented homes to sitting tenants secures first funding

REPORT: London rental stock shrinks by 41% as landlords quit sector

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London’s rental market is contracting dramatically as landlords exist the market, a new joint report by estate agency Savills and the London School of Economics has highlighted.

Its report, which included London Property Licencing on its advisory board, reveals a 41% reduction in the number of London properties available for private rent since the Covid-19 pandemic ended.

“London’s private rented sector, which provides homes for over one million households, is heavily reliant on private landlords,” says Abigail Davies, Director, Savills.

“Many have high levels of borrowing who find themselves at the sharp end of the turmoil in the mortgage market.”

The two groups which funded the report, Capital Letters and London Housing Directors’ Group, say the contraction in supply, along with the ongoing gap in the Local Housing Allowance and fast-rising rents, make Government intervention to prevent rising homelessness more important than ever.

The report highlights how the availability of large homes with four bedrooms declined the most (-46%) while overall asking rents increased by 20% since March 2020.

Broken

“This research is the latest evidence of how the capital’s broken housing market is worsening the unsustainable and increasingly unmanageable pressures we face in London,” says Cllr Darren Rodwell (pictured), London Councils’ Executive Member for Regeneration, Housing & Planning.

“A bad situation is now becoming disastrous. We’re seeing fast-rising private rents and reduced availability of rental properties against a backdrop of continuing cost-of-living pressures and London’s longstanding shortage of affordable housing.”

Sue Edmonds (pictured), Chief Executive of Capital Letters, adds: “This research makes stark reading, and it is further evidence that our homelessness system is breaking down. This is the worst it has been for 30 years.

“The main issue is supply – there simply aren’t enough homes, and the contraction of the private rented sector, alongside escalating rents, is a severe blow to those who rely on it.”

Read the report in full.

View Full Article: REPORT: London rental stock shrinks by 41% as landlords quit sector

Landlord wins praise for offering ‘only locals’ affordable property in town

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A landlord in the Kent seaside town of Whitstable has won plaudits after deciding to rent her rental property to local people, it has been reported.

Trish Neaves (main picture, inset), who has operated within the town as a landlord for 20 years, says she resisted her letting agents’ advice to convert the flat into an airbnb and has instead decided to rent it for £200 a month less than its market value of £1,300 and restrict applicants to those who hail from the area.

60-year-old Neaves, who is a barrister, told local newspaper the Kent Messenger that while the influx of London second home buyers and Airbnb renters in recent years to the fashionable hotspot had been good for local tourism businesses, it has made affordable rented homes scarce for locals.

“I went to lunch with a friend and her whole family has lived in Whitstable for years and she told me her children found it hard as the properties they would have rented are all Airbnbs or second homes,” she told the paper.#

“It seemed to me, as I have properties in Whitstable, it was important local people had the chance.

“I am conscious that this cost-of-living crisis has made a big difference to people, and if it’s a rent that I’m satisfied with and can help people, then I’m happy to do it.”

Neaves has gone much further than the Government, or local councils, have ever dared to go.

So far just Scotland and a handful of tourist town boroughs in England and Wales have raised council tax for second homes and Airbnbs, while the national Government only recently launched a consultation on proposals to bring in a national register of short-term lets and enable councils to use planning laws to stop landlords switching to Airbnbs.

Pic credit: Getty/Trish Neaves

View Full Article: Landlord wins praise for offering ‘only locals’ affordable property in town