Posts with tag: rent

RLA: Pay Universal Credit Directly to Landlords to Stop Rent Arrears

Published On: September 24, 2019 at 8:31 am

The Residential Landlords Association has come out in support of the position that tenants receiving Universal Credit (UC) should have the right to choose whether the housing element of the benefit is paid directly to their landlord. They agree with the findings of a Smith Institute report commissioned by Southwark Council.

Southwark was at the forefront of the rollout of full service UC, and therefore has a longer period of data to back up the findings of the report. The reports found that there is ‘a noticeable decrease’ in the levels of rent arrears for those claiming UC in 2018 when compared to 2016 and puts this change down to the earlier and increased use of alternative payment arrangements (APAs).

The report adds: “Originally designed to apply to a handful of cases, more than 40% of Southwark tenants claiming UC have now entered into APAs with the council to help manage their finances”.

Under current rules, landlords may apply for an APA, but only after two months of rent arrears have accrued.

David Smith, Policy Director the Residential Landlords Association, said:

“Our own research finds that over half of landlords with tenants on Universal Credit have seen them fall into rent arrears in the last year.

“Today’s report demonstrates that arrears are lower under direct payments to landlords and supports our call for the Government to give all tenants on Universal Credit the ability to choose to have the housing element paid directly to their landlord.

“Many tenants feel more comfortable with managing their finances knowing that their rent is paid and it should be up to them to be free to make that decision.”

Generation Rent being impacted on by higher prices and lower interest rates

Published On: September 20, 2017 at 8:56 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: interest rates,landlords,property,rent

Tenants in London are facing a five-year delay in buying a property of their own should they leave savings in cash. This is a result of record-low interest rates, according to new research.

A surge in residential property prices over the last 20 years means that the amount required for a deposit has increased rapidly.

Deposit

With rent and other living costs on the rise, many are struggling to put money aside in order to save for a deposit. 41% are not expected to get onto the property ladder, according to the study from Bricklane.com.

Simon Headwood, Founder of Bricklane.com, noted: ‘Generation Rent is being doubly hit by rising house prices and low interest rates, meaning cash savings are not getting them any closer to the property ladder. With a big drop in home ownership among millennials and almost five million households in the UK calling their rented property home, now is the time for action.’

Generation Rent being impacted on by higher prices and lower interest rates

‘Young people work hard to put money aside for a deposit, but by saving into Cash ISAs they’re putting their chance of owning a home in even greater jeopardy. We need to get people participating in and benefitting from the residential property market so that everyone can make their savings work harder and get closer to owning a home,’ he added.[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/9/generation-rent-hit-by-rising-house-prices-and-low-interest-rates

Professionals and families more likely to see rent rises

Published On: August 17, 2017 at 11:42 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: investment,legislation,rent,rents

Another report has suggested that rents are likely to increase in the third quarter of the year, as less rental properties are coming onto the market.

This is due to more landlords beginning to sell more properties as a direct result of the raft of legislation changes aimed at deterring investment, according to Belvoir.

Spiralling?

Despite the forecasted rent rises, the property franchise insists that rents across Britain are not spiralling out of control.

Belvoir’s Q2 rental index shows that private rents have risen by an average of 2.75% during the last year. This was an increase of £730pcm in Q2 2016, to £751pcm in the second quarter of this year.

When comparing the Q2 2017 average with the 2016 yearly average of £783pcm, this suggests rental price growth of just below 2% – more or less consistent with ONS statistics and other rental indexes.

Dorian Gonsalves, CEO of Belvoir, said: ‘Sensationalist media reports that rents are spiralling out of control across the country are at odds with what our offices are reporting, and that other letting agents across the country are currently experiencing. However, feedback from our franchisees confirmed that fewer properties were seeing static rents than in the previous quarter, and more offices experienced rent rises of £25 and £50 per month.’[1]

Professionals and families more likely to see rent rises

Rental Rises

The data indicates that rents range from £597pcm in the North West, £665pcm in Yorkshire, £1,048pcm in the South East and £1,446pcm in London.

In fact, the average rent recorded in Q2 2017 in London was £1,454 excluding Central London. This represented an increase of 4.5% year-on-year.

40% of Belvoir offices in the South East saw slight rises in rent during Q2 of 2017, with 40% reporting little falls and 20% remaining static. This pattern was also seen in East Anglia, Yorkshire and the East Midlands.

Looking to the third quarter, Mr Gonsalves observed: ‘Families and professionals are most likely to experience rent rises. Demand from tenants on benefits saw the biggest increase versus Q1 and therefore rents are expected to rise for this sector. Two to three bed properties remain in demand and are in short supply.

Although we are not currently seeing a huge exit of landlords from the market it is apparent that landlords are beginning to sell their properties. Most agents expect investor enquiries to remain the same, or to fall, especially for room rents.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/8/families-and-professionals-most-likely-to-experience-rent-rises

[2]

Landlord fined heavily for changing locks

Published On: July 17, 2017 at 1:32 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: buy to let landlord,eviction process,rent,rental property,tenants

A buy-to-let landlord has been told to pay just over £2,800, after pleading guilty to a sinister charge of: ‘harassing an occupier to give up the occupation of their premises.’

Mr Nathan Shipley changed the locks to his rental property in order to prevent the tenant, who did not pay their rent, from gaining access to the property.

In addition, Mr Shipley tried to remove the doors and windows in order to prevent anybody else from residing at the property.

Fines

Mr Shipley’s actions saw him eventually fined £2,000. What’s more, he was ordered to pay court costs of £602.20 and a surcharge of £200, bringing the total to £2,802.20.

North Staffordshire Justice Centre was told that Mr Shipley took the law into his own hands, claiming he had been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after his tenants didn’t pay their rent.

Prosecutor Ashleigh Pennell stated: ‘The defendant changed the locks to the front door of the property with no court order in place. The defendant attempted to remove windows and doors to stop the future occupation of the property. Mr Shipley was not concerned with prosecution as his tenant was in rent arrears.’[1]

Landlord fined heavily for changing locks

Eviction

Simon Harris, chief executive of Stoke-on-Trent Citizen’s Advice Bureau, noted that while he could see the landlord’s frustration, there are correct ways to evict a tenant!

Mr Harris said: ‘A landlord can evict their tenant if they are in breach of the tenancy agreement, although it is dependent on a breach in the agreement. There is a legal procedure of taking the matter to court and persuading that there is an offence which warrants eviction. What a landlord cannot do is evict without following procedure – that is harassment and a criminal offence.’[1]

‘If a tenant is concerned about a landlord then they can contact the CAB for free legal advice and if necessary contact the council or police because it could be a criminal matter.’[1]

Those looking for further information on the eviction process should check out our handy guide.

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/7/landlord-fined-for-changing-the-locks-to-keep-tenant-out

UK landlord to scrap rental deposits

Published On: May 25, 2017 at 8:51 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: deposits,landlords,rent,renters,tenancy deposit,tenants

A UK landlord has moved to scrap rental deposits from 14^th June 2017 for new residents. Get Living is also returning security deposits to existing residents, which will see roughly £3million released back to the UK economy.

Launched in May 2013, Get Living is the force behind the country’s biggest single-site PRS scheme at the old London 2012 Athlete’s Village – now known as East Village, E20. This site is home to over 3,000 tenants in 1,439 homes.

No Deposits

From 14^th June, new residents who pass referencing checks or have a guarantor in place will not be required to pay a security deposit. In addition, as a reward for residents that have taken good care of their home and paid rent on time, Get Living will waive any cleaning costs should these amount to less than a week’s rent.

Present Get Living residents will have their deposits returned to them from early July 2017. Firstly, deposits will be returned to residents who have lived in the same East Village residence for longest, with this process expected to be complete by the end of the year.

UK landlord to scrap rental deposits

Neil Young, CEO of Get Living, observed: ‘Get Living was the first to revolutionise the rental experience in the UK by removing agency fees and introducing longer term tenancies as standard. We know that the cost of living can be high so, as a responsible landlord with a long-term perspective, it is important for us to be able to identify and address areas where we can alleviate the burden on our residents. Scrapping security deposits as a pre-requirement and returning deposits to current residents is yet another step we are taking to show we are firmly on the side of renters.’[1]

‘We launched Get Living four years ago this month and in that time our average deduction from deposits has been just a few days’ rent, with the majority of our residents getting their deposits returned in full. We have great relationships with our residents and, given they are taking such good care of our homes, why should we hold six weeks’ rent? We can do this at Get Living because we have the scale and track-record to know it will work.

“Where we have led – with no fees and longer tenancies – others have followed. We hope deposit-free renting becomes the norm,’ he added.[2]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/uk-landlord-scraps-rental-deposits.html

Tenants are spending half of their pay on rent

Published On: March 22, 2017 at 9:49 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: mortgage interest tax relief,rent,rental payments,tenants

New research on the so-called Generation Rent has revealed that UK rents amount to almost half of tenants’ average take-home pay.

The investigation was undertaken by the University of Bristol, on behalf of financial services innovator Momentum UK. Data from the report shows that the typical renter is financially worse off than someone who owns their own property.

Tenant Traits

Further analysis of the report shows that private renters take fewer holidays and are able to save less money. In addition, they are more likely to make cutbacks due to larger affordability restrictions.

Momentum UK’s Index shows than 31% of private renters have less than £100 in savings. This is in comparison to 15% of people with a mortgage on their home. 37% of mortgage borrowers view their income as sufficient, in comparison to 16% of private renters.

Researchers revealed that renters send around half of their salary to their landlord every month. This is only likely to rise, given the fact that many landlords will be left with little alternative to increase rents to recoup losses caused by recent tax alterations.

These include alterations to stamp duty, scrapping the wear and tear allowance and upcoming changes to mortgage interest tax relief, scheduled for next month.

Tenants are spending half of their pay on rent

Growing Sector

Over four million households in the UK now rent from a private landlord, with this figure almost doubling in the last ten years.

Dominic Baliszewski, director of Consumer Strategy for Momentum UK, commented: ‘The average private renter loses around half of their pay cheque on rent at the beginning of each month, and for those living in London, it can be even higher. This not only limits their ability to save, but also means they have to cut back on expenses such as gym memberships, holidays and socialising just to get by.’[1]

‘With home ownership in decline, the number of people facing these financial challenges and seeing their living standards fall is only going to grow. That’s why it’s so important that the government delivers on the pledges made in its housing white paper,’ he added.[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/3/tenants-spend-half-their-pay-on-rent