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1083 articles
Rents rocket to a record-breaking high of £51.6bn a year
The rental bill for private homes in the UK rose to its highest level on record last year, with tenants paying out £51.6 billion to landlords. According to research by Countrywide, this was £1.8 billion more than the previous year. The estate agency group said there were a number of reasons for this, including more […]
Opportunities to build rental homes that people need
More people will either be living in rental accommodation for longer or for life, statistics show. As well as the younger age sectors, often called Generation Rent, older people are also downsizing and switching to rental properties to meet their needs. Between 2001 and 2011, the number of households aged 25 to 34 renting grew […]
Millions of tenants ‘unfairly’ losing their deposits
About 2.34 million tenants in the UK – about 16% of all renters – have had part or all of their rental deposits unfairly withheld by letting agents and landlords, it is claimed. The problem seems to be particularly prevalent among younger tenants, who may not know their rights or feel less inclined to take […]
Right to rent ruling being challenged in court
The government’s Right to Rent scheme, which meant landlords and letting agents had to prove the immigration status of tenants, has been criticised from the start. The controversial scheme saw landlords and their agents effectively acting as immigration officers. They had to prove that a prospective tenant had a legal right to be in the […]
Government rejects agent’s petition calling for tenant fees cap
The Ministry will continue with a total ban on tenant fees and say many agents do accept fees are unfair, but the ban will push out rogue operators. Today, the Government has rejected an online petition signed by nearly 10,400 estate and letting agents proposing a cap on tenant fees rather than an outright ban. […]
New ways to connect landlords and tenants
Technology continues to shake up the property world, and for the better, in many cases. It enables landlords to contact potential tenants anywhere in the world. It has also freed up a lot of the administrative work, so landlords and agents can spend more time dealing with tenants or marketing their properties. Now there is […]
Thousands of under-35s living in dangerous conditions
Hundreds of thousands of young tenants are living in dangerous conditions which could harm their health, analysis of government statistics has shown. It is estimated that about 338,000 properties being rented by tenants under 35 years of age is affected. Problems such as rats, dangerous electrical wiring, leaky roofs and mouldy walls are among the […]
Investing in student housing as demand soars
Demand for student housing in the UK is expected to increase over the next 12 months, offering opportunities for buy-to-let investment. The supply of student accommodation is more than twice as much as it was four years ago, with 602,000 bed spaces, according to research by Cushman & Wakefield estate agency. Rents have also risen […]
UK housing sector must adapt to meet older people’s needs
Coping with an ageing population has been on the political agenda in the UK for many years. It has been suggested that older people downsize their properties to free up larger houses for young families. But what is being done to meet the needs of older people? Housing minister, Alok Sharma, has admitted that the […]
Will property rents rise in 2018?
Rents are expected to rise this year, according to the latest analysis. This is due to a number of factors including the ever-increasing problem of demand outstripping supply, plus the banning of letting agency fees. It is believed that many agents will pass these costs on to landlords who will, therefore, put up rents to […]
Tenants happy to pay more rent if they can keep their pets
The pet business is booming. More people are enjoying life with pets and are willing to spend a lot of money on them. There are about 13 million pet owners in the UK – 46% of the population – spending around £7.16 billion a year between them on their animals, according to research by TotallyMoney.com. […]
Rents will rise when ban on agency fees kicks in
The proposal to ban letting agents from levying charges on tenants is expected to force landlords to increase rents. This is not surprising as landlords cannot be expected to absorb these costs along with tax changes, licensing regulations and stamp duty on second homes all affecting their business at the same time. However, this is […]
Tenants to be able to sue landlords over poor rental properties
In an extraordinary move, the government is backing plans to let tenants take legal action over the condition of their rental properties. If landlords felt 2017 was the year of regulations and strangulation for the buy-to-let industry, 2018 is starting off on the same foot, with yet more legislation to make life difficult for the […]
Robots to help landlords with viewings
A company which offers robots to undertake viewings of rental properties is hoping to branch out into the UK. American-based Zenplace Property Management says it operates hundreds of robots carrying tablets in California. The robots are actually video monitors which are movable and can ‘show’ potential tenants around properties. Letting agents or landlords would then […]
Buy-to-let property investments hit nine-year low
Property investments by landlords accounted for just 12.5% of all homes sold in the UK last year, which is the lowest figure for the past nine years. Every region experienced a decline in the proportion of properties being sold as buy-to-let investments by landlords, according to Countrywide’s letting index. The situation was most precarious in […]
Where to look for opportunities in the rental market
Changes came from every direction in 2017, with new legislation, licensing schemes, changes to what constitutes a House of Multiple Occupancy, stamp duty, rules, regulations, scrapping allowances for wear and tear, and tax relief changes. Now the ban on letting agents charging tenants will also have an effect on landlords’ profits. While some are considering […]
Commercial Property: Diversifying could be the key for landlords
Increased legislation, licensing, regulations and tax reforms are putting increased pressure on the UK’s buy-to-let landlords. While some landlords are pulling out and selling up, others want to diversify. Commercial property letting could be one option, as it appears ripe for innovative ideas and change. UK productivity is falling behind in the league of […]
Government to tackle leasehold ownership structures
Radical changes are in the pipeline concerning leasehold properties, which will have an impact on developers, investors and landlords. One year after the government issued the consultation paper ‘Tackling Unfair Practices In The Leasehold Market’, it has now issued some proposals to deal with perceived abuses of power. This will change the way residential properties, […]
Calls for a landlords register to be set up
On top of tax reforms and stamp duty on second homes which are hitting landlords, now calls are being made for a national mandatory register of private landlords. Sedgefield MP, Phil Wilson, called for a new bill to set up the register in his speech to the House of Commons. He believes it will […]
Rents set to rise into throughout 2018 and into 2019
Rents are likely to rise throughout this year and 2019, if the government continues to interfere in the private rental sector. This stark warning has come from Belvoir CEO, Dorian Gonsalves. The head of the property franchise company said government interference will lead to further financial burdens for both landlords and tenants. This includes tax […]
Ways to maximise rental profits throughout the year
Changes to tax allowances and increased stamp duty will undoubtedly have an effect on landlords during this year, but there are still ways to make sure rental profits and income are kept at a healthy level. It could be a case of going back to the basics, to make sure everything is covered for a […]
More than half of tenants and buyers have problems with agents
More than half of all people involved in either buying, selling or renting property in the past five years have had problems with their estate agent or letting company. According to research by Propertymark, out of the 2,002 who took part in the survey, 54% had problems. The findings have led the company to suggest […]
Government lowers cap on energy efficiency costs
Calls for a lower cap on the costs to upgrade rental homes which are not energy efficient have been answered. The government has bowed to pressure and capped the costs of upgrades at £2,500, which is half what buy-to-let landlords were led to expect. From 1 April next year, private rental properties need a minimum […]
Proptech changing the way landlords work
Technology is changing the way people work in all walks of life and the buy-to-let industry is no exception. The world’s largest testing ground for real estate technology is in the Asia Pacific region, where proptechs have raised billions of pounds in the past five years. By 2020, it is forecast that funding in the […]
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