EXPERT: ‘Binning Section 21 won’t help as many tenants as campaigners hope’

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Section 21 is the biggest headline grabbing element of the Renters Reform Bill but will be the least effective pieces of the legislation.

That’s according to letting agent Kristjan Byfield (main picture), co-founder of Base Property Specialists, who believes the changes will only affect a tiny percentage of the tenants it sets out to protect.

He says it’s estimated that between 85-90% of all tenancies are ended by the tenant, while other reasons for taking a property back such as wanting to sell constitute another 5-6%.

Breach

“Section 21 when used by a landlord or letting agent is perceived to be an easier way to remove a tenant who is in breach of contract [for non payment of rent usually],” said Byfield during an interview by property portal Zoopla.

“At the moment they have to be at least two months in arrears to start an action and two months in arrears at the point your hearing happens – a lot of tenants play the game with that.”

With the onus instead on repetitive arrears under the new bill, it should help landlords and agents, he said.

“We have one tenant we’re pursuing through the courts for Section 21 and their rent arrears go up to three months then back to one.

“It’s a difficult battle but with the new legislation we hope we’ll be in a much stronger position with tenants like that in future.”

Decent homes

Byfield added although it’s disappointing that preventing tenants from living in a property without mould and heating needs to be legislated, the bill sets a clear framework.

“It’s really important for private landlords to understand as there will be more technical requirements for what is considered a decent home, a suitable response as to what gets reported and that you’ve made an effort to address it.

“A lot of landlords will need to pull their bootstraps up because an attitude of ‘I’ll get to it when I get to it’ is not going to fly.”

Read more about handling the evictions process.

View Full Article: EXPERT: ‘Binning Section 21 won’t help as many tenants as campaigners hope’

Think tank predicts shock 25% drop in house prices

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Rising interest rates threaten to slash the value of homes by up to 25% in the biggest drop in wealth seen since WW2, one think tank warns.

A new report by the Resolution Foundation and the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust found that higher borrowing costs have already wiped out £2.1 trillion of household wealth in just one year.

View Full Article: Think tank predicts shock 25% drop in house prices

LATEST: Rental homes stock plummets by 35% to four-year low

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The number of available private rental homes has dropped by more than a third since 2019 to a 14-year low.

Only 241,000 PRS homes were available last month compared with 370,000 in June 2019, a fall of 35%, according to consultancy TwentyCi which analysed UK rental data from estate and lettings agents and online property portals. 

Chief customer officer Colin Bradshaw says mortgage affordability has dropped dramatically in the last two months, undermining landlords’ business models and causing some investors with rental property portfolios to sell up.

“The yield position on any asset that you own where it’s mortgaged is likely to be severely eroded,” he told the FT.

Average buy-to-let mortgage rates jumped sharply this week, hitting 6.9% for a two-year fixed rate deal, up from 6.6% last week, according to data provider Moneyfacts.

As stock levels have dwindled, rents have risen sharply, reports TwentyCi which says rental prices have gone up by 23% since 2019. 

Renters

“Availability is reduced and affordability is down,” adds Bradshaw (pictured). “There are fewer properties and they cost more. That’s not great for renters.”

His firm’s data also points towards a big difference in the availability of homes to rent at either end of the price spectrum.

For premium properties renting at £3,000 a month or more – a market dominated by central London – availability has risen by 41% since 2019.

For those wanting to pay less than £800 a month, there are 32% fewer properties than just a year ago and 65% fewer than pre-pandemic.

The combined issues of availability and affordability means that renters will stay in properties for longer; in 2019, the average rental length of a tenancy was 3.6 years but today it is 4.8 years.

Read more: How much rent to charge? Some things to consider 

View Full Article: LATEST: Rental homes stock plummets by 35% to four-year low

Landlord couple fined thousands after ignoring property repair notices

admin    Uncategorized     agents

A landlord couple have paid a heavy price for ignoring their tenant’s request to fix a boiler after being fined £3,500.

David and Emily Griffiths, of Tickhill Road, Harworth (pictured), Nottinghamshire left the tenant with no hot water or heating for three weeks.

During an inspection, Bassetlaw District Council officers also identified hazards relating to gas, electrical and food safety and structural issues at the property in Harworth and Bircotes.

The pair were each fined £990 with costs of £356 and a £396 victim surcharge, totalling £1,742 at Mansfield Magistrates Court.

Persistent

After the tenant’s first complaint in September 2021, the council received more complaints that although some problems had been rectified, there was a persistent issue with the central heating and hot water boiler. The landlords had not responded to their messages.

The council served a notice requiring the pair to carry out work which they failed to comply with, so the council was forced to replace the boiler.

Reimbursed

While the Griffiths communicated with the council throughout the process and have reimbursed the council for the replacement boiler, they failed to attend an interview under caution and did not attend the hearing, where the case was proven in their absence.

Councillor Jonathan Slater (pictured), cabinet member for housing and estates, says: “Mr and Mrs Griffiths failed their tenant and left them to live in conditions that were completely unacceptable.

“We hope that by highlighting this case, we send a message to neglectful landlords that if your properties do not meet the required standards, we can and will take action against you.”

Read more about recent landlord fines.

View Full Article: Landlord couple fined thousands after ignoring property repair notices

Announcing the 2023 Property Mastermind Scholarship and your chance to win

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Once a year, we award a fully paid scholarship to one lucky person, to join our 12-month Property Mastermind.

Today the search has begun, for the 2023 Scholarship winner, and it could be you.

I have recorded a short webinar for you

View Full Article: Announcing the 2023 Property Mastermind Scholarship and your chance to win

More than 1 million tenants will be over 65

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The private rented sector (PRS) needs to prepare for more than one million tenants being over the age of 65 by 2033, a report reveals.

The findings from Hamptons highlight that a major shift is underway as older generations are increasingly opting for or staying in rented accommodation.

View Full Article: More than 1 million tenants will be over 65

Midlands council reveals crackdown on unlicenced HMOs with unusual results

admin    Uncategorized     agents

A council crackdown has uncovered four unlicensed HMOs and one being used as a cannabis factory in Kettering and Corby.

North Northamptonshire Council joined forces with Northamptonshire Police in a week-long inspection of 76 HMOs, four of which are still being investigated.

Councillor Mark Rowley (pictured), executive member for housing, communities and levelling up, says similar crackdowns are planned in the future following the successful week.

He adds: “It is important that authorised officers of the council identify and inspect unregulated HMOs and tackle those landlords that choose to ignore the law, so that these properties can be properly managed moving forward and to ensure the safety of tenants, which is paramount.”

Police attending

Neighbourhood inspector for Corby and Kettering, Paul Cash, of Northamptonshire Police, explains that its partnership with the council is important to support a good quality of life for communities.

“Joining these visits in Kettering and Corby enabled us to support the HMO team, building partnerships while identifying any criminal activity and supporting and safeguarding any vulnerable people,” says Cash.

“At one address in Kettering we also located a cannabis grow which is now being investigated, and I’m sure its removal is a relief to all who will have been affected by it.”

The council is urging any landlord who has yet to register their HMO to apply for a licence as well as asking residents who suspect an unlicensed HMO in their area to email its offices, which can be done anonymously.

Read more about cannabis factories.

View Full Article: Midlands council reveals crackdown on unlicenced HMOs with unusual results

Proportion of tenants over 65 years old set to surge in coming decade

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Landlords are increasingly likely to be renting to older tenants in the coming decade with the proportion of renters in private rented accommodation over 65 years old doubling to 11.5%, it has been reported.

Letting agency Hamptons says its research reveals that, after a decade of steady growth, the number of older renters is poised to increase rapidly with the amount of rent paid by them more than doubling from £5.1 billion a year to £12.75 billion.

This surge can be explained by lower home ownership rates among the tail end of baby boomers (born in the early-to-mid-1960s) and ‘Gen X’, who are those born between 1965 and 1980.

The rising share of older households which rent has been coupled with a much more rapid increase in the number of older households more generally. 

Taken together, it means the number of households renting in England aged 65 and above will double by 2030.  
Today there are around 400,000 older households (over 65s) renting and this figure is set to pass 1,000,000 by 2033.

Boomers

Commenting Aneisha Beveridge (pictured), Head of Research at Hamptons, says: “The rising number of older renters reflects the gradual unwinding of the large increase in homeownership rates after the Second World War. 

“As younger generations who missed out on the homeownership boom age, growing numbers are likely to be renting when they retire.

“The recent rise in mortgage rates will make it harder to buy later in life.  It’s long been the case that if you’re not on the ladder by 40 years old, it becomes more difficult. 

“But higher mortgage rates will make this challenge even tougher given the difficulties in stretching a mortgage term to reduce monthly payments, particularly in the early years.”

View Full Article: Proportion of tenants over 65 years old set to surge in coming decade

Landlord exodus sees homes for rent hit a 14-year low

admin    Uncategorized     agents

As landlords are squeezed by rising mortgage costs and reduced income, the number of homes to rent in the UK has hit a 14-year low, the Financial Times reports.

Using data from consultancy TwentyCi, the newspaper says that the number of properties available for rent has plunged by 35% in two years

View Full Article: Landlord exodus sees homes for rent hit a 14-year low

Influential Labour group says tougher eviction rules needed to tackle poverty

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Landlords should be prevented from serving an eviction notice for at least the first year of a tenancy, in the case of repossession for selling or occupying the property, according to a new report from the Fabian Society.

The independent left-leaning think-tank believes the notice period for evictions should be increased to four months, and a permanent ban on winter evictions introduced.

Relocation payments

Landlords should also have to make a ‘relocation payment’ for tenants forced to move if they want to sell the property, move themselves or close family into the property, or if they want to increase rents above a certain percentage and tenants decide not to pay the new rate.

In its report of the Commission on Poverty and Regional Inequality, the group says these payments should be worth at least two months’ rent.

It explains: “Relocation payments will shift power to tenants, protecting them from landlords seeking to exploit unaffordable rent increases to circumvent security for tenants.”

The Fabian Society wants the government to substantially increase PRS regulation to deliver stronger renter protections and greater security of tenure.

Register

Other suggestions include a national landlords register that covers the PRS (as well as holiday lets and AirBnBs), to include past rent levels. Charges from the register would be returned to local authorities to fund stronger enforcement in the local area.

The government should introduce a locally led scheme to purchase private rented homes from landlords who no longer wish to keep them, and turn them into social rented homes, says the report, as well as roll out a private rented leasing scheme, with funding provided to enable the lease of residential properties from private landlords to local authorities for five years.

Read the report in full.

View Full Article: Influential Labour group says tougher eviction rules needed to tackle poverty