Posts with tag: tenants

Leader of the opposition Corbyn vows to protect private tenants

Published On: September 2, 2016 at 9:08 am

Tags: Jeremy Corbyn,private tenants,rental market,renters,tenants

Leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn has put forward plans to introduce a new scheme designed at increasing protection for tenants in privately rented housing.

Should he be elected as Prime Minister in the next general election, Mr Corbyn is to launch the Tenants’ Right Charter. This would include a guarantee of three- year contracts and protections to cover severe rental hikes and unsafe living arrangements.

Plans

This new housing plan is just the latest in a number of policy announcements made by Mr Corbyn as he tries to resist challenges to his leadership by Owen Smith.

Corbyn has recently put forward proposals extending right to buy to tenants in privately rented homes, due to worries that the housing market is proving unaffordable for young people.

In other housing policy proposals, Mr Corbyn has promised that a future Labour government will construct one million new homes by the end of its first term in Parliament. This would cost approximately £10bn and Labour would make sure that half of the homes that are built are council properties.

Leader of the opposition Corbyn vows to protect private tenants

Broken

Mr Corbyn noted that, ‘successive governments have failed to fix our broken housing market. Decent housing is a basic human need affecting everything we do and is a significant factor on stress and mental health.’[1]

‘Our homes are where we should feel safe, yet for too many people housing is a source of anxiety-not security. And to a whole generation of our young people, the security of home ownership is rapidly becoming an impossible dream. That is why the next Labour government will reverse a generation of underinvestment in housing, particularly council housing and give the chance of a decent, secure, affordable home back to every family and citizen,’ he added.[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/8/jeremy-corbyn-vows-to-better-protect-private-tenants-if-elected-pm

Scheme looking to reunite tenants with their deposits

Published On: September 1, 2016 at 10:13 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: SafeDeposits Scotland,tenancy deposit schemes,tenancy deposits,tenants

A tenancy deposit scheme north of the border is looking for Scottish tenants who have forgotten to claim back their deposits.

SafeDeposits Scotland has vowed to return substantial amounts of cash to their rightful owners.

Deposit schemes

Tenancy deposit schemes were brought in during July 2012. Since then, in excess of 156,000 deposits have been repaid by SafeDeposits Scotland. Despite millions of pounds being safely returned to tenants at the conclusion of their agreement, a small proportion of renters do not claim back money owned.

A large percentage of this proportion are students. With the start of the academic year just around the corner, September is generally the busiest month for deposits being paid both in and out.

Data from the firm suggests that over 2,000 tenants have ended their leases without claiming back money owed to them. This in total adds up to more than £500,000. Should deposits not be claimed back after six years, any monies will go to the Crown.

Scheme looking to reunite tenants with their deposits

Attempts

The finance team at SafeDeposits Scotland attempt to reunite tenants with their deposit money via a range of different methods; sending letters, text messages, emails and phone calls.

A number of these methods prove successful, however some cases prove more complex. Monies cannot be paid straight into bank accounts, as this information is not disclosed to any of the three approved tenancy deposit schemes.

Jennifer Paice, Chief Executive of SafeDeposits Scotland, said, ‘it’s extremely surprising that people can leave their rented property and forget to ask for their deposit back. The vast majority of tenants remember to claim their money but there’s a small minority who don’t. Our finance team do a great job in tracking most of them down but there are a significant number they can’t get hold of. We don’t think it’s right that people lose out on what’s due to them so we do everything we can to try and get people the money they are owed.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/scheme-aims-to-return-500000-in-unclaimed-rental-deposits.html

Third of Private Tenants Paying for Energy Efficiency Improvements

Published On: August 30, 2016 at 1:30 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: energy efficiency,energy efficiency improvements,energy performance certificates,landlord law,rental property,tenants

A new report from online letting agent PropertyLetByUs.com claims that a third of private tenants are paying for energy efficiency improvements to their rental properties.

As of 1^st April, landlords cannot unreasonably refuse consent for tenants to make energy efficiency improvements to their properties. However, the work’s funding is still the tenant’s responsibility.

In addition to this law, landlords will be legally obliged to bring their properties up to a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E by 2018.

Third of Private Tenants Paying for Energy Efficiency Improvements

However, PropertyLetByUs has found that already, one in six private tenants have paid for roof insulation, 7% have paid for double-glazing, and 92% have funded draft excluders for windows and doors. Worryingly, a further 71% have paid for their boiler to be repaired.

The research found that a huge 88% of private tenants want their landlord to install a more fuel efficient boiler, while 78% want their draughty front door replaced, 72% want more loft insulation and 48% want double-glazed windows installed.

Under the legislation that came into force on 1^st April this year, if a tenant requests energy efficiency improvements and the landlord does not give consent, the landlord could be issued a fine.

Homes with EPC ratings of F and G will be progressively banned from the property market, starting with private rental housing. It will become a legal requirement for private rental properties to have an EPC rating of E or above from 2018 in England and Wales. The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) estimates that a total of 330,000 rental homes are likely to be affected.

Although the Government claims that landlords will have to spend between £1,800-£5,000 to bring their properties up to an E rating, PropertyLetByUs is concerned that tenants may be forced to fund the improvements.

The Managing Director of PropertyLetByUs, Jane Morris, says: “Our research shows that it is falling on tenants to pay for energy improvements to their rented properties, which is simply unacceptable. Many tenants are finding that their landlords are refusing to make improvements to the property, leaving tenants no choice but to dip into their own pockets.

“Tenants should not have to pay for roof insulation and repairs to old boilers, when it is the landlord’s responsibility. The Government has recently given guidelines on the costs with a typical package of measures for a small semi. Gas central heating and low energy lighting is estimated at £4,000, loft insulation at £300 and cavity wall insulation at about £500. The Government will need to put measures in place to ensure that landlords are compliant, or the financial burden on tenants could be even greater.”

Morris adds: “Landlords should comply with the current legislation that requires them to make energy efficiency improvements and they also should start improving their properties if they have an EPC rating of F or G, so they are brought up to the required standard by 2018.”

Landlords, remember that you must not unreasonably deny your tenants permission to make energy efficiency improvements, but you should start thinking about the changes you might need to make to your property ahead of the law change in 2018.

Government Survey Confirms the Need for Letting Agent Fee Ban

Published On: August 23, 2016 at 10:45 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News,Tenant Fees Ban

Tags: letting agent fees,letting agents,private rental sector,tenants

A survey by the Government has confirmed the need for a letting agent fee ban, according to tenant lobby group Generation Rent.

The organisation has called on the Government to ban letting agent fees for tenants, after the Government’s own survey estimates that the cost is discouraging half a million renters from moving out of inadequate housing.

Government Survey Confirms the Need for Letting Agent Fee Ban

The Government’s latest English Housing Survey, published on 21^st July, found that 34% of private tenants who lived in unsatisfactory homes said that letting agent fees cost too much and would stop them from moving to another property.

A further 35% said that they would have to think about whether they could afford to move out if they were charged fees. Together, this equates to 502,000 households.

The same study found that the average cost of letting agent fees is £223, while 40% of private tenants paid a fee when they moved into their current home. To make matters worse, 30% of renters have lived in their home for less than a year.

Based on a renting population of 4.3m households, the research suggests that letting agent fees cost tenants around £115m per year.

However, Generation Rent believes that this is an underestimate. The campaign’s volunteers are conducting their own research into letting agent fees, which has already found that 800 agents across 12 local council areas are charging the typical two-adult household an average of £398 in upfront fees.

The campaign to ban letting agent fees is already gathering momentum. A petition organised by The Debrief website has amassed more than 250,000 signatures, while an early day motion in Parliament has attracted signatures from MPs on both sides of the House.

Additionally, Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Grender has introduced a private member’s bill, the Renters’ Rights Bill, in the House of Lords, which would ban fees for tenants. Peers are expected to debate the bill at committee stage later in the year.

The Director of Generation Rent, Betsy Dillner, says: “If a customer is getting bad service, they’re normally able to take their business elsewhere, but in our broken housing market, unhappy tenants are stuck because it costs so much to move. As a result, bad landlords get away with neglecting their properties.

“Letting fees are already perverse – agents charge inflated fees to tenants who aren’t even their customers. Landlords should be paying agents’ costs instead. And on top of that, tenant fees create a distorted market that isn’t responsive to the consumer’s needs.”

Do you agree with the plan to ban letting agent fees for tenants?

Flatsharers raise budgets to combat higher rents

Published On: August 17, 2016 at 9:51 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: flatsharing,rental increases,rents,tenants

The typical flatsharing tenant has moved to increase their budget, in order to combat rental rises, according to a new report.

EasyRoommate’s latest Index reveals that in the second quarter of the year, tenants’ average budget was £531pcm, up 5% on the same period twelve months ago.

Since 2012, tenants’ average budgets have risen by 25%.

Increases

The flatsharing website reports that budgets have increased in an attempt to keep pace with average rents. According to data from the Index, rents rose by 13% between Q2 of 2015 and 2016.

In addition, the rental platform said that demand for shared rental properties has also risen over the same period. During the second quarter of this year, there were an average of five tenants looking at each room available. This was compared to four last year.

What’s more, the number of rooms being posted on the EasyRoommate website has risen substantially, by over 40% since 2015.

The average age of a flatmate is 28, with 37% of sharers aged between 21 and 25.

Flatsharers raise budgets to combat higher rents

Finances

Student tenants utilising the platform has increased by 4% in the same period.

EasyRoommate has also moved to attack the number of letting agent fees which are being charged to tenants.

It has called for the Renters’ Rights Bill, currently being passed through Parliament, to be implemented to improve tenants’ finances.

Albin Servant, chief executive of EasyRoommate, said, ‘every time you use an estate agency to find accommodation, you might incur extra fees. Meanwhile Scotland decided to ban those hidden fees in 2012.’[1]

‘Rent fees need to be regulated,’ he added.[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/8/flatsharers-increase-their-budgets-to-cope-with-rising-rents

New Energy Efficiency Laws a Tax on Tenants, Says RLA

Published On: August 15, 2016 at 8:30 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: energy efficiency,energy performance certificates,landlord law,private rental sector,tenants

New energy efficiency laws for the private rental sector will become a tax on tenants, warns the Residential Landlords Association (RLA).

New Energy Efficiency Laws a Tax on Tenants, Says RLA

The Government’s new policy to improve the energy efficiency of private rental housing in the UK will inevitably increase rents for tenants, believes the landlord group.

From 2018, it will be illegal for private landlords to rent out property with an energy efficiency rating of F or G. However, the RLA says that having removed all support for landlords to fund this, landlords will have to raise rents for tenants.

Almost a third of private rental housing was constructed before 1919, making them some of the hardest properties to treat for energy efficiency improvements.

With fuel poverty a bigger problem in the private rental sector as a result, the RLA insists that it is careless of the Government to make no reference to the market in its consultation of the future of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), which closes this week.

Although the ECO was designed to focus on fuel poverty, the consultation does propose extending the scheme to the already heavily subsidised social sector, which has newer housing stock and fewer tenants in fuel poverty.

Previously, the Government supported private landlords in improving energy efficiency with the Green Deal and a tax allowance. However, these have now ended and the RLA has been told that landlords could potentially have to pay up to £5,000 up front for improvements.

The RLA fears that, on top of recent tax hikes from the Government, the new energy efficiency costs will inevitably be passed on to tenants in the form of higher rents.

It is calling for a specific allocation under the ECO scheme to support improvements in the private rental sector and avoid the “tax on tenants”.

The Policy Consultant at the RLA, Richard Jones, says: “Whilst we all want to see improvements in the energy efficiency of homes to rent, that cannot come at the expense of driving up rents. The Government’s proposals will amount simply to another tax on tenants.”

Last week, an established property investor also insisted that the Government should be helping private landlords with the cost of improving their rental properties: /government-helping-landlords-energy-efficiency/