Posts with tag: tenants

Importance of inventories highlighted by AIIC

Published On: February 22, 2017 at 10:30 am

Tags: Buy-to-Let,inventory,landlords,rental market,tenants

The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks has moved to further underline the importance of professional inventories.

In light of the host of tax changes, the AIIC says inventories can save landlords money at an expensive time for investors.

Costly

From April, mortgage interest tax relief for landlords is to be phased out and with letting agents’ fees to be banned in 2018, the next two years could be extremely costly for landlords.

Chair of the AIIC, Patricia Barber, noted: ‘ It’s clear that while the private rental sector remains a strong investment option-with high tenant demand and the opportunity to generate strong yields-Government intervention in recent years has made the prospect of being a landlord more expensive.’[1]

Barber stresses this is why it is so important that landlords ensure they are covered when it comes to damage to their property caused by tenants.

In addition, she reminds landlords and agents acting on behalf of them that an inventory is vital in confirming the condition of a property at the conclusion of a tenancy. This will make it clear if any deposit deductions will have to be made.

Importance of inventories highlighted by AIIC

Difficulties

Those without an inventory at their disposal at the end of a tenancy will find it difficult to claim back funds should there be any damages or lost items.

Concluding, Barber said: ‘During a period when letting property is becoming more complicated, not providing an inventory could prove damaging to the landlord’s investment.’[1]

[1] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/2/fees-ban-highlights-need-for-professional-inventories–claim

Charity project in Wales awarded lottery funding

Published On: February 22, 2017 at 9:53 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: landlords,Open Doors,private rental sector,tenants,Wales

An attempt to promote equality and diversity in the private rental sector in Wales has been given a £249,425 lottery grant.

The Open Doors project, devised and run by Tai Pawb, is a two year scheme intended to provide tenants, landlords and letting agents in the private rented sector skills and confidence to prevent racism and discrimination.

Funding

Cash for the project was delivered from the Big Lottery People and Places Fund. This scheme will support and advise awareness of key rights and responsibilities amongst private tenants from diverse groups. This include migrants, LGBT or disabled tenants, who are more at risk of experiencing certain tenancy issues.

In addition, Open Doors will receive assistance from the Residential Landlords Association to improve agents and landlords’ ability deal with equality and diversity issues.

Alicja Zalesinska, director of Tai Pawb, noted: ‘We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded the People and Places Grant. It will not only enable us to support and empower some of the most vulnerable private sector tenants dealing with difficult housing issues but also guide and raise awareness amongst landlords who house them in times of unprecedented housing pressures, rising inequality and poverty.’[1]

‘The overwhelming majority of landlords we spoke to wanted additional support on equality issues. That’s why it was so important for us to develop something that will work with both groups, empowering them to act to prevent discrimination and mistreatment in the sector. We look forward to the coming months where we will be recruiting staff and setting up this vital project.’[1]

Charity project in Wales awarded lottery funding

Opportunity

Run alongside the RLA in Wales, the Open Doors project will be delivered in Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan and Merthyr Tydfil regions.

Dougals Haig, vice-chairman and RLA director for Wales, observed: ‘This is a fantastic opportunity to support the diversity of the private rented sector and its ability to house those with a range of diverse and complex needs.’[1]

‘We are delighted to be able to work in partnership with Tai Pawb and the Big Lottery and raise awareness of some of the issues that can be faced by those that they support and how small changes and a little bit of education of landlords and tenants can create long term sustainable tenancies. I believe it will further show how the private rented sector is helping house a huge range of needs in safe and secure homes,’ he added.[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/2/prs-charity-project-awarded-250k-lottery-funding

Longer-term tenancies are increasing

Published On: February 21, 2017 at 9:45 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Buy-to-Let,landlords,rental market,tenants

An interesting piece of research sure to please buy-to-let landlords suggests that four in ten tenants expect to be renting for up to a decade.

The survey was commissioned by property and construction consultants McBains Cooper and is sure to give the build-to-rent market a shot in the arm.

Rental Accommodation

Quizzing over 2,000 people, the survey revealed that one in four people devote over 40% of their income towards funding rental accommodation.

In addition, the study showed that renters look for more traditional factors when choosing a rental property, such as size of rooms, affordability and outdoor space. These factors were found to be more important than shared amenities such as sports facilities or communal room.

Michael Thirkettle, chief executive of McBains Cooper, noted: ‘Our survey shows that renting for the longer term is becoming more common. For some it might be because they are priced out of the housing market, for others, it may also reflect a more continental attitude where people are content to rent rather than buy. Either way, the potential for PRS and build-to-rent is clear.’[1]

‘The findings will be of particular interest to investors and developers in the PRS and build-to-rent sector. Interestingly, a high proportion of the older generation are now long-term renters. This might reflect the more ‘traditional’ characteristics in terms of the most important factors people look for when choosing rented accommodation – such as room size and a garden or outdoor space, as opposed to amenities like sports facilities or a cinema and internal communal spaces,’ he continued.[1]

Longer-term tenancies are increasing

Rising Demand

Further analysis from Savills suggests that demand for rental properties will increase by over one million households during the next five years, despite Government measures intended to help more buyers get onto the ladder.

The Government has set a target of building 400,000 new affordable homes for sale over the course of this current parliament. However, Savills forecasts that Britain will require an extra 220,000 homes for rent per year.

Susan Emmett, director of residential research at Savills, said: ‘Demand for rented homes could still rise more sharply than we have forecast. Government policy should focus on supporting the development of new homes to rent as well as to buy.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/2/increase-in-long-term-rentals

New flatmate finder available with a free trial for landlords

Published On: February 10, 2017 at 12:33 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Buy-to-Let,Ideal Flatmate,tenants

Buy-to-let landlords in the capital are currently being invited to list available rooms for rent free of charge online via a new compatibility based site.

The platform, Idealflatmate.co.uk, was designed by Cambridge professors and is based on an algorithm similar to that found on dating websites. It works to prioritise tenant compatibility to attempt to secure longer-term relationships and tenancies.

Habits

Technology used in the algorithm, functional after the respondent has completed a 20 question survey, focuses on the living habits and sociability of users.

A study from two professors, Dr Paula Banca and Professor Mark P Haggard, found that the relevance of questions asked were of paramount importance.

Founders of Ideal Flatmate, Tom Gatzen and Rob Imonkihe, came up with the idea for the platform after being continually frustrated with the ever-changing flatmates that had found through listing websites.

Mr Gatzen said: ‘Both myself and Rob have lived in flat shares that ended up in disaster because we didn’t get along with our flatmates. We thought that there must be an easier way.’[1]

‘For landlords and agents, it’s the perfect solution as the site is free and offers a great opportunity to get more visibility in alternative areas of the market, particularly amongst tenants in search of long term relationships which ultimately facilitates longer term contracts,’ he added.[1]

New flatmate finder available with a free trial for landlords

Reducing Turnover

The founders are hopeful that the emphasis on compatibility will cut the rental turnover rates in properties.

Gatzen also noted: ‘We’ve tried to make the site as user friendly as possible, which will make it more attractive to prospective tenants as well.’[1]

Ideal Flatmate is offering the free trial for landlords and letting agents until Spring, with the platform also offering assistance in achieving their optimum websites.

Since the soft launch phase in November, Ideal Flatmate has seen over 30,000 users, 3,000 people register and more than 1,000 properties listed.

Mr Imonikhe observed: ‘We’ve had overwhelming positive feedback from letting agencies thus far. We recently heard from a letting agent who had a property listed on a well-known listing site for three weeks with no interest, he put it on our site and after two days had found a full group of tenants and a 12 month contract.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/2/new-flatmate-finder-launches-with-a-free-trial-for-landlords

Build to Rent could provide 240,000 new homes by 2030

Published On: February 9, 2017 at 3:07 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: build to rent,landlords,private rental sector,tenants,White Paper

A new report from the British Property Federation and real estate firm Savills suggests that Build to Rent is now prominent in the UK housing sector.

The investigation indicates that this scheme could deliver 240,000 homes by 2030.

White Paper

Acknowledging that Build to Rent’s ability to increase the amount of homes will be prominent in the Government’s White Paper, which was released this week.

The report looks at the progress of the sector, alongside looking at its potential. Overall, it concludes that on large urban sites, Build to Rent can motor house building three fold.

Data was produced in conjunction with the London School of Economics and explains that if this can be achieved in just 20% of sites currently being built, supply will increase by 6%.

Comparing this to the 164,000 new homes completed in England during 2015.16, this equates to 10,000 homes per year.

Planning

Of paramount importance to the future of the sector, the report suggests, is better recognition of planning. It calls for a preferred planning approach, with a better definition of what Build to Rent is and acceptance that discounted market rent could work better than other types of affordable housing.

Build to Rent could provide 240,000 new homes by 2030

Ian Fletcher, director of policy at the British Property Federation, noted: ‘Build to Rent is a relatively new phenomenon in the UK, but already has a significant development pipeline, which will see it deliver thousands of homes over this Parliament. By measuring Build to Rent’s growth and the other benefits it delivers and what gets in its way, we want to show to Government the sector can be an important partner to its ambitions to build more homes, on this most important of days for housing policy.’[1]

Jacqui Daly, director of Savills residential investment research and strategy, also said: ‘There is no doubt that we need to boost house building significantly to address years of undersupply and begin to impact housing affordability. Build to Rent holds the key to getting institutions back into the housing market and increasing the supply of good quality, well-managed homes.’[1]

‘We hope that this report will give local authorities a deeper understanding of the benefits of Build to Rent and the tools they need to have a meaningful dialogue with developers and housebuilders and thereby secure long term institutional funding.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/build-rent-deliver-240000-new-homes-uk-2030/

Only One in Four Tenants will be Homeowners by 2025

Published On: February 8, 2017 at 9:59 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: Generation Rent,homeownership,Housing White Paper,tenants

Following yesterday’s Housing White Paper announcement from the Government, the outlook for generation rent has worsened, with only one in four tenants expected to be homeowners by 2025, according to PwC.

The White Paper, which vowed to fix Britain’s broken housing market, has been received with criticism from the private rental sector. The RLA insists that it didn’t show enough support for individual landlords, who provide the majority of rental housing supply.

Only One in Four Tenants will be Homeowners by 2025

The following key measures were included in the announcement:

An ambition to release surplus public land with capacity for 160,000 homes during this Parliament.
A £2.3 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund to fund new infrastructure, which is required to unlock development.
Streamlining the planning process by restricting appeals and raising fees to find more planning resources in local governments.
The previously announced £3 billion Home Building Fund, which will provide £1 billion of short-term loan finance targeted at SMEs, custom builders and innovators to deliver up to 25,000 homes this Parliament, and a further £2 billion of long-term loan funding for infrastructure and large sites, unlocking up to 200,000 homes.
The previously announced £7.1 billion Affordable Homes Programme, aimed at helping to build around 225,000 affordable homes in this Parliament.
Committing to the Help to Buy Equity loan scheme until 2021.
A £1.2 billion Starter Home Land Fund, which will be invested to support the preparation of brownfield sites to support other developments.

The Government has pledged to shift its focus from homeowners to renters in the latest bid to solve the housing crisis.

The Senior Economist at PwC, Richard Snook, responds to the Housing White Paper: “Over the last two years, we have highlighted the plight of generation rent – those in the 20-39 age bracket – at risk of being locked out of the housing market due to high prices, high deposits and rising interest rates.

“Homeownership rates for younger adults have been falling sharply; we estimate that by 2025, 59% of 20-39 year olds will be renting privately, up from 45% in 2013. Only 26% of those in generation rent will own their own home by 2025, down from 38% in 2013.”

He continues: “Today’s White Paper, Fixing Our Broken Housing Market, seeks to help generation rent and other participants in the property market by improving affordability for those seeking to buy, while also helping to improve the rental market.

“While the paper includes a raft of new measures, the absence of change in key policy areas is perhaps more striking. There appears to be no major new initiatives on tax, the greenbelt or enabling local authorities to borrow to build.”

Snook concludes: “Demand for housing in the UK has outstripped supply for more than two decades, and we have been calling for measures to promote housing supply. We welcome the measures in the White Paper, which may lead to a smoother planning system and promote increased building over the coming years.”

Landlords, although your needs may not have been sufficiently addressed in the announcement, you can take certain steps that will help those struggling to become homeowners. By sticking to the law and acting responsibly, you will ensure that your tenants live in safe, comfortable and affordable homes.

Our FREE guides can help you keep to your obligations: /guides/