Smaller portfolio landlords ARE leaving the sector, says Bank of England report

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Smaller buy-to-let landlords continue to quit the market, according to the Bank of England’s latest update on PRS conditions.

The bank’s findings support the NRLA’s assessment that the landlord exodus is well underway – a position which chief executive Ben Beadle was forced to defend earlier this month.

A Guardian article had accused Beadle of making up stories about the state of the sector in a bid to persuade the government to scrap restrictions on mortgage tax relief, however a Commons committee agreed that he had not misled MPs when giving evidence about the diminishing supply of private rented housing.

Supply

Beadle (pictured) tells LandlordZONE: “Across the country demand for rented housing is massively outstripping supply – a trend which the Bank has once again highlighted in this report. The only losers from this are renters who are struggling to find a place to live.

“It makes no sense to have a tax system which actively discourages the provision of the very homes renters need. That’s why the government needs a proper plan which supports the sector to meet the growing demand from tenants for good quality private rented accommodation.”

Contracting

The Bank of England’s summary of business conditions in the first quarter of the year finds that rental housing supply is still contracting, while demand for properties continues to rise, leading to double-digit rent inflation.

Despite this, tenant groups continue to push the line that the sector is exaggerating the scale of the problem.

This week, London Renters Union sent newsletters to its members claiming that it has forced ministers to admit the landlord lobby and government have peddled lies about landlords leaving the sector because of stronger renter protections on the horizon.

The group says: “It’s outrageous that the landlord lobby has pushed this false narrative to scare government away from protecting renters when the truth is that private profiteering in our housing system is still on the rise.”

View Full Article: Smaller portfolio landlords ARE leaving the sector, says Bank of England report

Student landlords – and students – will suffer under periodic tenancies

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The looming ban on fixed-term tenancies as part of the Renters Reform Bill will cause chaos for both students and landlords in the university rental sector, experts say.

According to research by the accommodation platform StuRents, the UK will face a shortfall of around 450,000 student beds by 2025 and if landlords leave the PRS because of the ban on fixed-term tenancies

View Full Article: Student landlords – and students – will suffer under periodic tenancies

Sellers slashing house prices within a month

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As the property market begins to cool, around one in 10 home sellers are slashing their asking price within 30 days to attract a buyer, research reveals.

House Buyer Bureau says it has analysed property sale stock levels in the last 30 days and what percentage have already reduced their asking price.

View Full Article: Sellers slashing house prices within a month

Daily Telegraph wants to speak to landlords letting out to tenants in partnership with the council

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Are you a landlord who it letting out to tenants in direct partnership with the council? Then, Alexa Phillips, the personal finance reporter, for the Telegraph would like to speak with you.

Alexa would like to speak to Property118 readers about:

• What kind of incentives did the council offer you?

View Full Article: Daily Telegraph wants to speak to landlords letting out to tenants in partnership with the council

Shelter says agents and landlords who ban children are in breach of industry code

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Letting agents and their landlords who advertise properties as ‘no children’ face being accused of breaking discrimination rules, it has been claimed following a campaign by Shelter.

The organisation says agents who advertise properties as ‘no children’ are now breaking The Property Ombudsman’s Code of Practice and could face disciplinary action.

This follows the case of mum-of-four Lexi (pictured), who was evicted from her property in December 2020 and subsequently found it hard to find an agent or landlord who would accept her large family.

But The Property Ombudsman (TPO) will have an uphill battle on its hands – thousands of properties advertised on property portals including Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket feature ads with ‘No Children’ conditions often along with ‘No Pets’ and, despite a previous court case win by Shelter, ‘No DSS’ as well.

TPO’s decision to include such ‘No Children’ ads within its Code of Practice for Letting Agents on discrimination is not an outright ban; the redress scheme has said it will investigate agents whose landlords have asked for properties not to be rented to families.

Agents found in breach will be issued a warning and, in the case of a ‘flagrant’ or repeated breach, face expulsion.
But this is not an automatic ban and the practice is not illegal nor has a court judged it be in contravention of equality discrimination.

TPO’s Code does not specifically cover discrimination against parents but rather says: “You should provide a service to both landlords and tenants consistent with fairness, integrity and best practice”.

This was the case with ‘No DSS’ ads, a practice which in 2020 a county court said unfairly discriminated against a single mum-of-two with a disability, on the grounds of sex and disability under the Equality Act following a similar Shelter campaign.

LandlordZONE has approached the industry’s other redress provider, the Property Redress Scheme, for comment.

View Full Article: Shelter says agents and landlords who ban children are in breach of industry code

How do I approach neighbours over a water leak?

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Hello, I have a mini HMO next door to one of my BTL’s. When someone next door uses the shower a leak occurs in my property’s kitchen ceiling.

I have had the pipework in my property surveyed and all is OK.

View Full Article: How do I approach neighbours over a water leak?

LATEST: Gove hints at fairer tax rules for landlords in return for more regulation

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Housing Secretary Michael Gove has dropped a hint that he could be willing to consider tax concessions for landlords.

Speaking in the Commons during a Budget debate, he told MPs that the government needed to make sure there was fairness in the tax treatment of landlords before legislative changes were made to the sector, including the abolition of section 21.

He said if there was to be a pipeline of affordable private rented homes, supply also needed to improve, particularly in London, working in partnership with Mayor Sadiq Khan.

He again dismissed the idea of rent controls in England. “A rent freeze, while often attractive, has the effect, as we have unfortunately seen in Scotland, of reducing the supply of rented homes,” said Gove, responding to MP Jeremy Corbyn, who told the House that rising private rents was hitting inner-city areas hard.

“The greed and profit-taking by some private sector landlords continues unabated,” said Corbyn. “If we are to deal with the housing crisis, it means rent control and investment in council housing.”

Holiday lets

The Secretary of State also announced plans to restrict the number of holiday lets as part of new legislation. He acknowledged: “There is a problem in the private rented sector…where homes are being turned into Airbnbs and holiday lets in a way that impedes the capacity of young workers to find a place where they can stay in the locale that they love and contribute to the economy of which they wish to be part.”

Added Gove: “We will be bringing forward some planning changes to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which are intended to ensure that we have restrictions over the way that homes can be turned into Airbnbs.”

Read more about holiday lets.

View Full Article: LATEST: Gove hints at fairer tax rules for landlords in return for more regulation

Manchester students evicted by University after demanding 30% rent reduction

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Manchester students occupying a university-owned building in a protest over rent costs and living conditions have been ejected by bailiffs.

Manchester University says their action was illegal and that it was granted a possession order by the High Court. When the 20 strikers refused to leave, they were forcibly removed.

The students are demanding a 30% rent cut backdated to October, a cap on rent for the next three years, for the university to aim to provide student halls that meet the NUS definition of affordable and for no disciplinary action to be taken against strikers.

“About 250 students were reported to have cancelled payments in January, arguing that they were struggling to buy food.”

The group says: “The university has made it clear that they would rather drag their students out of a building than listen to our concerns.

“The cost-of-living crisis isn’t going anywhere, and neither are we. Occupations are only one of many tactics, and this eviction will not slow down our campaign one bit.”

A university spokesman says its actions follow multiple requests to those occupying the building to leave.

He adds: “We very much regret having to do this, but the situation has been going on for a significant amount of time and has caused ongoing disruption to students and the people who work in the building.”

In a statement published on the university website last month, Patrick Hackett, registrar, secretary and COO, said although it recognised there was a shortage in supply of housing and particularly student accommodation, its costs were very competitive both in the city and across universities.

The strikes will remind many readers of the later months of Covid when rent strikes spread to multiple campuses across the UK.

Picture credits: UoM Rent strike 2023.

View Full Article: Manchester students evicted by University after demanding 30% rent reduction

Bank of England steady the ship with a 0.25% Base Rate increase

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The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) today voted by a majority of 7–2 to increase Bank Rate by 0.25%, to 4.25%. Two members of the MPC voted to keep the rate the same at 4%.

The eleventh-hour surprise was yesterday’s inflation figures going up instead of down mainly due to the recent rise in food prices.

View Full Article: Bank of England steady the ship with a 0.25% Base Rate increase

Community Infrastructure Levy fees for small developers?

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Hello, I have planning permission to build a one unit flat on top of an existing building (I own the flat below). I also have all the necessary legal documents with the Freeholder.

I advised the council that the works would start in mid-January –

View Full Article: Community Infrastructure Levy fees for small developers?