WFH and HS2 increase rental inflation outside London

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The cost of renting a home in London is now on average four times more expensive than some parts of northern England, new research shows. Renters now face having to fork up to £1,757 per month on average to secure the keys for a pad in Greater London.

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Proportion of landlords reporting increasing tenant demand reaches high of 62%

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Research undertaken on behalf of Paragon Bank has revealed that the strong tenant demand seen during last year has continued into 2022 after growing to the highest level recorded since 2011, when research agency BVA BDRC started tracking the metric.

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Due diligence is time-consuming – but ignore it at your peril

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Investors and landlords have been urged not to skimp on research and detective work when sourcing new business opportunities in order to prevent falling victim to scams.

Louise Reynolds, director of Property Venture whose firm helps expats and professionals through a bespoke property sourcing service, tells LandlordZONE that many people are coming a cropper when they’re new to property investing. “They trust everything someone says,” she explains. “There are certainly more people out there who are ready to hoodwink novices with a sales spiel.”

Property show

Reynolds joined Landlord Action’s Paul Shamplina, landlord Patricia Ogunfeibo and Hayley Andrews from Your Freedom Empire at the recent Property Investor show in London, to talk about due diligence, offering tips for landlords when dealing with new tenants and for investors looking to do business with individuals and companies.

Reynolds explained how a recent search on social media and LinkedIn had revealed a gap in a prospective developer’s profile which coincided with a period working at a different company which had gone bust. This rang alarm bells and prompted more digging. She advised: “When you’re checking people out, it’s what’s missing as much as what’s there. Some people supress information.” She said it was wise to get three points of information before signing up to anything, so that investors were not just relying on Companies House data or one person’s review.

Land Registry

Putting a tracker on a particular name at Companies House to bring up other companies they have been involved with is a good way to make sure they haven’t gone bankrupt, it was suggested, while looking on the Land Registry and putting a name into Google to check customer reviews were also good ideas.

“Use Google to find information about people, do a CCJ search and check their company accounts to find out whether they’ve filed them, and break these down to build up a picture,” advised Shamplina. “If you’re dealing with a professional, such as a letting agent, ask to see their professional indemnity insurance to understand what it covers.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Due diligence is time-consuming – but ignore it at your peril | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Due diligence is time-consuming – but ignore it at your peril

Funny film makes serious point about renters’ poor treatment

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Shelter has produced a darkly comic short film to highlight the ‘broken rental system’, featuring a fictional letting agency and overly truthful agent.

Comedian Rory Marshall ambushes potential tenants browsing the property listings of Only Choice Lettings’ window, explaining features about the properties, including the lack of a boiler and contaminated drinking water. He tells one mother and child: “It’s all the original features. So we’ve got a working fireplace, asbestos, wooden floorboards.”

Haunted house

Back in the office he’s on the phone with another prospective tenant, saying: “Some people have said that the house is haunted, because the landlord will ghost you at the mere mention of mould! He will be there to collect the rent though.” The agent admits that he cuts a few corners but adds: “It’s either take what we’ve got or go and live on the streets, so…not really our problem.”  

All the properties mentioned in the two-minute online film are based on true stories according to the homeless charity which aims to use the film to help achieve its goal of making private renting safer and fairer, and to build support for the upcoming Renters’ Reform Bill, the ban on Section 21 evictions, and a national landlord register.

Grim reality

“Every day our services hear from private renters stuck in nightmare situations, too afraid to complain for fear of eviction,” says Osama Bhutta, director of communications, policy and campaigns at Shelter. “This satirical film will make you laugh at first, but then it will make you gasp. It is a powerful reminder of the grim reality of private renting where millions of people have no choice but to put up with poor conditions. We hope it will unite renters in the fight for home.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Funny film makes serious point about renters’ poor treatment | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: Landlords report huge leap in demand for their rental properties

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Demand for rental property is nearly four times higher than just before the start of the pandemic, latest research reveals.

Mortgage lender Paragon says 62% of landlords polled by research agency BVA BDRC on its behalf reported increasing tenant demand in recent months.

This is compared to just 16% during the first three months of 2020 just before the first Covid lockdown.

Significant increases

Some 700 landlords advertising properties to rent were asked to assess tenant demand over the previous three months and a ‘significant increase’ was seen by 34% of respondents, with a further 28% reporting some increases.

Perceived decreases in tenant demand, both significant and slight, were recorded by just 3% of landlords, the lowest on record.

The rental markets seeing the greatest increases include within inner London where 84% of landlords operating in the inner capital along with the South West of England and Wales.

Moray Hulme, (pictured) Mortgage Sales Director for Paragon Bank says: “Another record high in the proportion of landlords reporting increasing tenant demand reaffirms the need to increase the supply of homes in the private rented sector.

“There is evidence of landlords exiting the sector with many citing increasing tax and regulatory requirements making their lettings business more arduous to operate.

“While it is clearly important that landlords are taxed appropriately and the sector is regulated to ensure high standards are maintained, we must ensure that buy-to-let remains attractive enough to investors who are vital in supplying the properties needed to meet demand.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Landlords report huge leap in demand for their rental properties | LandlordZONE.

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RICS compensation claim guidence for loss of light

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Homeowners left in the shadows by neighbouring sheds, fences and home extensions could claim for compensation or have them removed – help for these homeowners is set out in a new consumer guide published by the RICS. Click here to download the guide.

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App with ambitions to revolutionise renting wins backers’ approval

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App-based property management service Residently has smashed its latest crowdfunding target as it bids to make renting a home as easy as booking a hotel.

Residently helps renters find, secure, live in, and move home seamlessly by partnering with agents, property managers and institutional owners who use its free software to manage the lettings process. It promises to eliminate voids, saving landlords hundreds of pounds each year.

New innovations

The firm has previously raised £20m in capital and its current offer on crowdfunding platform Seedrs has already surpassed its original £1.25m target, currently standing at more than £1.8 million with 10 days left to run. With the extra cash, it’s planning to launch new innovations such as a renter subscription product that offers the flexibility to move with one month’s notice, as well as letting renters share honest home reviews and get early notice for properties they’re interested in, months in advance.

In 2020, Residently begun offering itself for free to larger landlords; it plans to generate revenue by charging a percentage of rent and getting commission on home services sold to residents on the platform such as cleaners, movers and utility providers.

Seamless experience

Chief operating officer Shareq Husain tells LandlordZONE that the app has the potential to be revolutionary. He adds: “The renting process can be disconnected. With our platform, tenants don’t deal with separate emails for making an offer, referencing and then moving in – our journey is a seamless experience. Tenants can even set up their energy services and Wi-fi through the app.”

Launched in 2017, the company now has more than 7,500 homes on the network and plans to continue growing in the UK, with ambitions to onboard more than 100,000 homes onto the platform, while also planning a US launch.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – App with ambitions to revolutionise renting wins backers’ approval | LandlordZONE.

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Shortage of rental properties so extreme tenants are refusing to leave?

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Hi, my name is Melissa Lawford and I am the property correspondent at The Telegraph. I have heard from some lettings agents that the shortage of rental properties is so extreme that in some cases tenants are refusing to leave properties because they have nowhere to move to.

View Full Article: Shortage of rental properties so extreme tenants are refusing to leave?

Get up to speed with upcoming safety rules or face fine, landlords warned

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Landlords are being urged to prepare for changes to safety regulations that introduce an obligation to repair or replace any alarm which is found to be faulty during a tenancy.

Forthcoming changes to the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations are expected as soon as Autumn 2022 when carbon monoxide alarms will be mandatory in rooms with a fixed combustion appliance in private rented homes and when installing any heating appliance – excluding gas cookers. Private landlords will be expected to repair or replace alarms once told by tenants that they are faulty.

Current rules

Since October 2015, landlords have had to ensure that a smoke alarm is fitted on every floor of their property where there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation. They also have to put a carbon monoxide alarm in any room where a solid fuel is burnt, such as wood, coal or biomass and includes open fires, apart from gas, oil or LPG. Landlords must also ensure that the alarms work at the start of each new tenancy.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is now urging all private landlords and registered providers of social housing who would not be compliant with the updated regulations to start installation and repair of these alarms immediately, as they risk being fined for breaching the rules as soon as they come into force.

Legislation imminent

A spokesperson tells LandlordZONE: “We will legislate as soon as parliamentary time allows and the changes will come into effect once regulations are made, which could be as early as Autumn 2022.”

Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, says: “The current regulations only oblige landlords to check that alarms are in working order on the first day of a new tenancy. Ahead of implementation, agents and their landlords should start now to plan for the changes and the impact on management practices going forward.”  

More information and guidance can be found here.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Get up to speed with upcoming safety rules or face fine, landlords warned | LandlordZONE.

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Do you need help selling your property portfolio?

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If we’ve learnt anything over the last few months, it’s that now is the time to sell our property portfolios. The market is high, prices may not be this high again for another 7 years, and there are regulations and tax bills around the corner telling us: we need to cash in and get out.

View Full Article: Do you need help selling your property portfolio?