Rental market picks up steam while house sales stall

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Demand across the lettings market is high and continues to push rents up, the latest surveyors’ report reveals.

RICS says that tenant demand continues to rise at a ‘solid pace’, with a net balance of +46% of survey participants noting an increase in October.

View Full Article: Rental market picks up steam while house sales stall

Housing ministers’ musical chairs continue at Levelling Up department

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Junior Housing Minister Felicity Buchan (main picture) has been tasked with overseeing the private rented sector, taking over from Lee Rowley in the latest instalment of ministerial musical chairs.

Rowley (pictured), who was appointed the 12th housing minister in September, is now responsible for local government and building safety after barely two months with responsibility for the PRS. He replaced Eddie Hughes at the DLUHC on 7th September and faced some criticism that he was too inexperienced to hold the housing brief.

Buchan only got the job on 30th October but has already faced MPs in a Commons debate on the Renters’ Reform White Paper and a select committee where she continued to give very little away about the details of the proposed legislation and possible introduction date. She must also deal with hot topics including leasehold reform and the ongoing cladding scandal.

Latest MP

Last month, Lucy Frazer (pictured, below)became the latest MP to join returning boss Michael Gove in the department and is the other junior minister in charge of housing, tasked with focusing on overall strategy, house building and homeownership.

Other senior colleagues in the department are Dehenna Davison, minister for levelling up, and Baroness Scott of Bybrook, minister for communities. Following the appointment of Rishi Sunak, colleagues Andrew Stephenson, whose remit at the DLUHC included social housing, became government whip at the Treasury, while Paul Scully, who was building safety minister, moved to a new role at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Renewed calls for more permanent faces at the department and a stop to the ‘revolving door’ greets each new appointment; Frazer is the ninth minister with responsibility for housing in the last five years and the 14th since the 2010 general election.

More about the revolving door.

View Full Article: Housing ministers’ musical chairs continue at Levelling Up department

Minister promises to ask ‘searching questions’ about Scots rent rise and evictions freeze

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The Scottish government has vowed that an upcoming review will ask searching questions about the current repossession grounds in the wake of its emergency soc-called rent rise and evictions freeze.

Speaking on the Scottish Housing News podcast, tenants’ rights minister Patrick Harvie (main image) said the review would also look at the issue of how – under the rent freeze and eviction ban – a lender who takes ownership of a property after a landlord goes bust, can evict sitting tenants.

He explained that although this could not be addressed under emergency legislation, it could be considered in the Housing Bill which is due in 2023.

Pleasantly surprised

Harvie said he believed the sector had been pleasantly surprised at protections put in place for landlords, such as being given the opportunity to repossess a home if they needed to sell or move in because of their own hardship.

“We didn’t say no evictions because…it’s not in the interest of either landlord or tenant to build up arrears,” said Harvie. “They may need direct financial support, otherwise some tenants might stop paying rent altogether.”

But he added concerns about possible immediate rent increases had led it not to consult before making the announcement.

“It would have done more harm than good. Sadly, there have been those who have been trying to abuse the current power imbalance – we felt it was essential to give tenants protection from that.”

Harvie said the government would judge the current rent freeze and evictions bans – based on economic circumstances – to decide whether it could justify their suspension, expiry, continuation or whether it should operate differently in the PRS and social sectors.

Read a complete guide to evictions.

View Full Article: Minister promises to ask ‘searching questions’ about Scots rent rise and evictions freeze

Decent Homes Standard will achieve little without funded enforcement, agents warn

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Letting agents have warned that the Government’s Decent Homes Standard plans for England will be pointless unless councils have the resources to enforce the new rules.

A Decent Homes Standard, which will require all private landlords to attain minimum standards of quality for their properties or face criminal charges, was included within the recent ‘Fairer Renting’ white paper. This in turn is expected to form the looming but much-delayed Renters Reform Bill.

Propertymark says many struggle to enforce the current standards within the private rented sector, never mind any new responsibilities, which will be difficult to manage without more money to fund it – which is unlikely to be forthcoming in the current financial climate.

Instead, Propertymark says a better approach would be prevention rather than prosecution including more information and support for landlords along with national and consistent national guidelines.

Letting agents say enforcement of existing rules can be inconsistent between different areas, and that any new legislation must give tenants as well as landlords new responsibilities – often properties are in a poor condition due to tenant neglect or poor behaviour particularly when mould s the problem.#

Immense strain

“It’s hard to find a reason not to support greater standards for homes within the private rented sector,” says Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Propertymark (pictured).

“Tenants should expect a certain standard when renting from any agent. The Decent Homes Standard creates a level playing field that our members will appreciate as they already go above and beyond what is expected of them.

“That being said, the DLUHC needs to understand the immense strain local authorities are facing when delivering their current duties regarding existing standards.

“Sufficient resources and commitment will be required to ensure consistent and regular enforcement of the Decent Homes Standard.”

Read Propertymark’s submission to the Decent Homes Standard consultation.

View Full Article: Decent Homes Standard will achieve little without funded enforcement, agents warn

Decent Homes Standard in the PRS needs to be fully resourced

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Propertymark has responded to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) consultation on the Decent Homes Standard in England by offering clarity on how to deliver greater parity between the social and private rented sectors.

The organisation says that its response will help ensure landlords who do not treat their tenants fairly are held accountable.

View Full Article: Decent Homes Standard in the PRS needs to be fully resourced

Paragon Bank unveils market-leading five-year fixed rate BTL mortgage

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Paragon Bank has unveiled a market-leading five-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage with a reduced reference rate.

The mortgage is available at 70% loan-to-value (LTV) with an initial rate priced at 5.69%. The product is subject to a 2.00% product fee and features a free mortgage valuation.

View Full Article: Paragon Bank unveils market-leading five-year fixed rate BTL mortgage

Airbnb landlords earning annual rent in just 115 days, councillor tells MPs

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Westminster Council has called on the government to help it rid the short-term lets sector of landlords abusing the system and to bring more properties back to the PRS.

Giving evidence to the House of Lords’ Built Environment Committee on the impact of short-term lettings, councillor Matt Noble (main pic) highlighted the stark reality for young people in the London borough who can’t afford to buy or rent, and where the waiting time for a two-bed council house is 10 years and 34 years for a four-bed house.

The cabinet member for climate, regeneration and renters told peers that most of its 7,047 Airbnb properties (71% of which are entire homes) had come from the PRS where a tenant was now sub-letting. “For the income on long-term rent, you can get the same income on a short term let in 115 nights,” he explained.

Flouting the law

Some properties on the platform were also openly flouting the law which restricts short-term letting to 90 days a year, said Noble, who added: “I’d be very surprised if any of the people sub-letting are paying any tax at all.”

He highlighted the uneven playing field created by the sector for traditional established hospitality businesses. “The Ritz Hotel pays £2.27m in business rates annually, yet the combined council tax bill for one apartment building which had 98 short term lettings is £93,000,” said Noble. “We need to redress the balance and look at that the way it’s inflating private rents.”

Guide: Ultimate guide to short-lets and Airbnb insurance.

The councillor told the committee that Westminster was in favour of a compulsory registration scheme – tied in with data from the letting platforms – which would help it bring prosecutions for anti-social behaviour and to gather data to push out bad apples.

Read more stories about Westminster’s Airbnb short-lets market.

View Full Article: Airbnb landlords earning annual rent in just 115 days, councillor tells MPs

Japanese knotweed is a well known menace but bamboo can be worse…

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The mention of Japanses knoweed has the effect of putting the fear of God in property owners, but the bamboo plant, which is lesser known, can be even more devastating.

Homeowners have been planting bamboo for years in Britain to create an exotic oriental ornamental feature or a fast-growing privacy screen around their home. The problem with them is, some species are very fast growing and they grow underground as well as above – one gardening expert claims they can grow up to three feet per day. What’s more, the plant can spread underground just as quickly as it grows above and it doesn’t respect fences, walls and property boundaries.

Unfortunately, the plant has become something of a garden centre staple, often bought and planted by homeowners to provide a privacy screen between them and their neighbours, little suspecting this has more sinister consequences.

Sold as a garden feature

Bamboo is not a native plant species in Britain. It was initially introduced to the UK in the 1970s as a beautiful ornamental fast growing plant, a plant of the grass family, hence it’s fast growth ability and people innocently buy it to plant it in their gardens and yards.

From a property owner’s perspective the plant can be a nightmare. Bamboo grows particularly vigorously when near well watered lawns and gardens or in areas where water collects. So, although the plant quickly forms a nice “wall” barrier blocking the views from nosy neighbours, the consequences of the planting can be long lasting and very expensive if your walls and fences are undermined and it spreads to neighbouring properties.

One source describes bamboo as a plant like no other – a very robust “grass”. Some species grow faster than any plant on earth, bamboo is unmatched for its versatility and renew-ability. Once its tenacious rhizome roots get a foothold, the plant is all but indestructible. You could be up against a serious challenge to remove it when it becomes a problem – you’ll have a serious battle with mother nature on your hands.

Bamboo spreads by putting out rhizomes, long underground stems that can spread underground for a hundred feet or more and it’s strong: it has the power and strength to break through masonry walls and even lift concrete. It’s almost impossible to stop once it gets started.

The only safe way to plant bamboo is to install a foolproof below-surface barrier made from HDPE (High-density polyethylene) installed all the way around the planting area.

Removing Bamboo

Despite what you read, the plant can be removed, but it’s far from an easy task because the only way to do this successfully – complete eradication – is to remove the whole root system. Removing the bamboo poles, known as culms or canes, is the easy bit. You can saw through the hollow poles easily with a hand saw and you can easily remove all of the plant that appears above ground.

But the canes are like the tip of an iceberg on a bamboo plant: most of the action goes on underground, 360 degrees around the plant. The roots usually don’t go very deep, but they stretch out sideways and a good-sized bamboo will have them stretching out underground for many many yards. Their stubborn “will-to-live” makes them practically invincible. To irradiate them completely may involve digging up every single one from under the ground with a mechanical digger, it’s that big of a project.

Specialist invasive plant company, Environet, reckons that roughly 10pc of properties in the UK have bamboo on their property or growing in a neighbour’s garden.

Nic Seal, of Environet UK, told the Daily Telegraph:

“Bamboo is a nightmare for spreading and we’re seeing more cases where it’s holding up or even scuppering property sales.

“Buyers are right to be concerned but there’s no regulation to protect them, so they have no legal recourse against the seller if bamboo starts to cause problems after they’ve moved in.

“Awareness around bamboo is many, many years behind that surrounding knotweed. But it’s potentially worse than knotweed in its ability to cause damage and spread.”

Buyer beware

Unlike with Japanese Knownweed, as Mr Seal says, property vendors are not legally obliged to disclose the presence of bamboo on their property or those properties adjoining, so if you’re buying – caveat emptor – buyer beware, you need to do a proper detailed survey.

In one project Mr Seal was involved in, he said: “There were hundreds of metres of bamboo excavated from beneath the property – it took a few days to get rid of the plant but rebuilding the home meant the owners had to move out for eight months.”

The plant has been know to invade entire houses, hundreds of feet of bamboo roots emerging inside a property’s walls and coming out of the floors in all down stairs rooms. Eradication involves taking out the whole of the ground suspended floors at immense cost and disruption.

View Full Article: Japanese knotweed is a well known menace but bamboo can be worse…

Competition regulator reveals concerns over Birmingham’s BTR market

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The Competition and Markets Authority has allowed a merger to go through within the build-to-rent market, but its investigation has revealed the hugely international nature of investment in student accommodation in the UK, and its worries over competition.

Since September the CMA has been looking at the proposed take-over of PBSA firm the Student Roost Group by behemoth US firm Greystar and GIC, which is owned by the Singaporean government.

Student Roost is a provider of student accommodation across the UK including in Birmingham and Glasgow, and is currently owned by Brookfield Asset Management, Inc

The CMA has allowed the merger/acquisition to go ahead but has given Greystar and GIC five says to come up with a plan to solve the CMA’s concerns over competition within Birmingham.

Less competition

These are that the merger gives rise to a realistic prospect of a “substantial lessening of competition (SLC) as a result of horizontal unilateral effects in the provision of purpose-built student accommodation in a number of local areas in Birmingham”, the CMA says.

If the CMA’s worries can be assuaged, then the deal will go ahead because, nationally, the regulator found no competition concerns because the combined organisation would have a “relatively modest” share of supply (10-20%) and would continue to face strong competition from other corporate purpose-built student accommodation providers such as Unite, Homes for Students, iQ and This is Fresh.

Colin Raftery (pictured), Senior Mergers Director at the CMA, says: “Aside from fees, rent is the biggest expense students face, and the rising cost of living is putting even more pressure on student budgets.

“Many university towns and cities are already dealing with a student accommodation shortage, which is why it’s crucial that private providers like those involved in this deal are competing effectively.

“We’re concerned this deal could result in students in Birmingham seeing higher prices or lower quality services.

“GIC, Greystar, and Student Roost have accepted our concerns and have told us that they plan address them. A solution that fully resolves our concerns will avoid the need for a more in-depth investigation.”

Read more about BTR.

View Full Article: Competition regulator reveals concerns over Birmingham’s BTR market

Landlord survey: who’s staying in, and who’s selling up

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Full-time private landlords are most likely to be thinking about increasing their portfolio, according to a new report, while accidental landlords are more likely to be without a short-term plan.

The UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence’s survey of 1,000 landlords reveals that those who entered the sector for personal financial reasons, such as their property was in negative equity and they couldn’t sell it, were the largest group planning to sell up.

However, its report – Understanding landlord behaviour in the PRS – found one in five full-time landlords were also planning on quitting.

Instil confidence

In England, landlords believe the need for improved enforcement to tackle criminal landlords who tarnish the sector’s reputation is most needed to instil confidence.

Swifter judicial procedures for the termination of contracts and improvements in eviction proceedings, along with more rights for landlords, particularly in relation to rent arrears and damage to properties, were also called for.

Reforms

Across the UK, landlords took different stances on the government’s proposals for reform. Those that relate to improvements in the physical condition of properties such as the introduction of minimum standards (England and Scotland), electrical/gas safety (Northern Ireland), and the introduction of a central regulator (Scotland) – were generally positively received.

Those reforms strengthening tenants’ position – increasing tenure security or notice periods and rent controls – were viewed less favourably.

The report adds that given the frequency with which landlords suggested improving enforcement measures to bring about change, it was surprising that only half of those surveyed thought strengthening local authority enforcement powers would have a positive impact.

Read more: Housing laws not fit for purpose.

View Full Article: Landlord survey: who’s staying in, and who’s selling up