Posts with tag: tenants

Most Rental Properties Going for the Full Asking Price

Published On: March 14, 2016 at 9:38 am

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Most rental properties in the UK are going for the full asking price, according to the latest data from Countrywide.

The property firm found that the average rental property achieves 99.9% of its asking price – the highest since 2007, and evidence that tenants are losing their bargaining power.

In London, the average agreed rent is just over the asking price, at 100.9%. In Wales, the price achieved is lower, at 98.7%, but is still extremely close to the advertised rent.

Most Rental Properties Going for the Full Asking Price

Most Rental Properties Going for the Full Asking Price

Countrywide discovered that in the last year, 12% of lets were agreed at more than the initial asking price.

This figure is higher in London, where one in five tenants pay more than the advertised rent. On average, they pay an extra £94 per month, which equates to an additional £1,578 over the course of the average 17-month tenancy.

In the UK as a whole, tenants who pay over the asking price hand over an average of £44 a month. In Wales, this figure drops to £24 per month.

Countrywide has found that London has had the largest rate of growth in rent prices of anywhere in the UK since 2007, with rents up by 34% over their pre-recession peak. In the UK as a whole, rents have risen by 12% over the same period.

Despite these increases, the proportion of lets agreed at more than the asking price has risen in each year since 2008, indicating the power that landlords have over those stuck in the private rental sector.

In 2008, just 3.5% of lets were agreed at over the asking price, while 23.5% of tenants were able to negotiate a lower rent price.

This year, the amount of tenants able to negotiate price reductions has tumbled to 8%.

The Research Director at Countrywide, Johnny Morris, comments: “The combined effect of growing numbers of people renting and a lack of supply has seen tenants’ ability to negotiate diminish.

“Tenants are having to compete more often and with more people in order to rent the home they want, meaning they need to offer more to stay ahead of the crowd.”1

A month ago, Countrywide reported that average rents are now the highest on record, at £906 per month.

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/tenants-lose-bargaining-power-and-face-paying-over-he-odds/

 

 

Tenants in East Midlands most satisfied with landlord

Published On: March 13, 2016 at 10:16 am

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New research has indicated that tenants in the East Midlands are most satisfied with their landlord, compared to all other regions of the country.

A survey from the National Landlords Association found that 83% of renters in the region are satisfied with their current landlord. Renters in the North West and South West were almost as content, with 82% in these areas stating that they were satisfied.

Regional reflections

Data from the report shows that there are sharp regional differences in terms of tenant satisfaction. Only 67% of renters in the North East said that they were content, which represented the lowest rate in the whole of England.

In total, an average of 79% of tenants who replied to the poll said that they were satisfied with their landlord. The South East recorded a satisfaction rate of 80%, followed by the West Midlands with 79%, Yorkshire and Humber with 73%, London 72% and the East with 71%.

Richard Lambert, chief executive officer of the NLA, said, ‘good landlords make up the majority of the market so it’s not surprising that the majority of tenants are satisfied.’[1]

Tenants in England most satisfied with landlord

Tenants in England most satisfied with landlord

Far from insecure

‘Private renting is far from the insecure, uncertain and unhappy picture that it is often made out to be and these findings will help to reassure existing renters and those looking to make their home in the private sector. However, it doesn’t help the minority of tenants who are dissatisfied,’ Lambert continued.[1]

Concluding, Mr Lambert said, ‘the NLA provides a range of training and accreditation opportunities for landlords in order to help them develop and improve standards so they can provide a better service but this is only part of the solution. Both central and local Government must also commit more resources to tackling poor standards and weeding out bad landlords.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/rental-tenants-satisfaction-survey-2016030311628.html

 

London Council Launches Letting Agency to Protect Private Tenants

Published On: March 10, 2016 at 3:26 pm

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A London council has launched a letting agency for private tenants in a bid to protect renters from extortionate fees and charges.

Haringey Council in north London says its online letting agent, Move 51° North, is the first in the UK to provide private tenants with an alternative to mainstream letting agents.

A study by Citizens Advice last year found that tenants were paying an average of £337 in charges to letting agents, but that fees vary massively from agent to agent.

London Council Launches Letting Agency to Protect Private Tenants

London Council Launches Letting Agency to Protect Private Tenants

Costs for checking references ranged from £6-£300, while tenants also faced charges of between £15-£300 for simply renewing their tenancies.

Haringey Council’s agency will charge tenants a fee of £180 to cover administration and £72 for credit checks. There are no renewal fees for those tenants that wish to continue their tenancy beyond the original contract term.

Landlords will be offered lettings and management services at the market rate and access to the council’s maintenance services for any repair work.

The council will spend around £500,000 in the first three years to cover costs, but hopes to return this by the fifth year.

Around one third of the borough’s homes are privately rented, with an average rent of about £1,600 per month for a two-bedroom property.

Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration, Alan Strickland, believes the agency will “help stamp out rip-off fees and charges”.

He says: “Private tenants in London are too often forgotten in the noisy debate about the housing market in our city.

“Haringey is fast becoming one of London’s most popular places to live and work, and we know many people prefer the flexibility of the private rented sector, which is why it’s vital we do more to protect them from rogue landlords and unscrupulous lettings firms.”1

Dan Wilson Craw, of Generation Rent, comments on the plans: “The average household in London pays more than £400 in agent fees when they move home, so some disruption to the market is welcome.

“We hope the council will use this as an opportunity to lead the way in providing secure tenancies with predictable rents, but for the time being, not all tenants will benefit. We need much wider reform to give renters greater power in the market.”1

Would you use a letting agency like this one? 

1 http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/mar/10/london-council-launches-letting-agency-for-private-renters

79% of tenants happy with their landlord

Published On: March 10, 2016 at 10:24 am

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A new survey of over 800 Private Rented Sector tenants has returned pleasing results for buy-to-let landlords.

According to the investigation by BDRC Continental, 90% of those questioned said that they felt their rental accommodation is their home.

Satisfied

Further data from the survey indicates 79% of tenants are satisfied with their current landlord. 13% replied that they had rented from a rogue landlord in the past, down from 15% in the previous quarter.

Surprisingly, average rents decreased amongst respondents, sliding from £660 in quarter three of 2015, to £607 in quarter four.

As a result, those believing their rent to be either good or very good value increased from 18% and 48% in quarter three to 20% and 49% respectively n quarter four of last year.

The average length of time tenants are staying in the sector for has also risen, from 12 years in quarter three of last year, to 14 in the final quarter. Respondents to the survey were found to have spent an average of 9.5 years in their present rental properties.

79% of tenants happy with their landlord

79% of tenants happy with their landlord

Changing demographic

John Heron, Director of Mortgages at Paragon, noted, ‘our latest tenant survey data highlights the way in which tenure distribution in the UK is continuing to change. In common with the most recent English Housing Survey we are seeing greater numbers of families living the in the PRS and for longer periods of time. This has coincided with improved levels of satisfaction and better value, it is clear that many tenants in the PRS regard the sector as their long term home.’[1]

‘This latest data highlights more clearly than ever, the vital role the PRS now plays in housing Britain and housing policy needs to be applied carefully, to reflect this fact and to avoid impacting those who rely on the PRS for a home,’ Heron added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/90-of-tenants-consider-their-rented-property-to-be-their-home.html

 

New initiative offers advice for landlords and tenants

Published On: March 8, 2016 at 11:51 am

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A new initiative has promised to offer charities and other organisations free training to pass on to both landlords and tenants, advising them ‘how to rent.’

The partnership is between the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme Charitable Foundation. Entitled train2rent, the initiative will see groups such as housing associations, trusts and residents’ groups offered access to features such as training packs and learning material. In turn, this will allow them to pass on information about renting a property.

Details

There is to be a separate information pack offering advice for landlords and tenants. These will include the course presentation and workbook, plus a timetable for training and practical exercises.

Included in the information for landlords resource pack will be details of their legal responsibilities, including:

  • how to conduct Right to Rent checks
  • protecting deposits
  • making gas, fire and electrical safety assessments
  • starting and ending a tenancy
New initiative offers advice for landlords and tenants

New initiative offers advice for landlords and tenants

The tenant resource will cover topics including:

  • their legal rights and responsibilities
  • how to find the correct property
  • different types of tenancy agreements

Positive outcome

Chair of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme Charitable Foundation, Martin Partington, said, ‘it’s been a common theme in the bids we have received that small organisations have wanted funding to produce educational materials or host a workshop. The trustees felt that our money was better spent commissioning a set of materials that these groups could use, free of charge, to deliver the same outcome.’[1]

These courses will apply to properties located in England, with the licence to use the resources lasting for a period of 30 days.

[1] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/3/industry-groups-push-training-for-landlords-and-tenants-on-how-to-rent

 

 

Eviction orders for tenants fall in Q4 of 2015

Published On: March 8, 2016 at 10:15 am

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The final quarter of 2016 saw 26,676 court orders issued for the eviction of private rental sector tenants.

According to the survey by Your Move and Reeds Rains, the number of orders was down by 0.4% in comparison to quarter three of 2015. Annually, there were 5.3% fewer evictions than the 28,167 recorded in the same three-month period in 2014.

Falls

Data from the report indicates that 32% of private tenants are in serious rent arrears, of more than two months rent. At present there are 82,900 renting households in the serious arrears bracket.

Cases of landlords falling behind with their own finances have also dropped. In the final three months of 2015, there were 5,500 cases of buy-to-let mortgage arrears, a fall from the 3.5% recorded in the previous quarter.

Annually, the total number of buy-to-let mortgages in arrears has fallen by 54% after totalling 11,900 cases in the last quarter of 2014.

Eviction orders for tenants fall in Q4 of 2015

Eviction orders for tenants fall in Q4 of 2015

Growing

Adrian Gill, director of Your Move and Reeds Rains, noted, ‘landlords and the buy-to-let industry have come in for serious criticism over the last year-but the overwhelming evidence points to a vital, growing and successful industry.’[1]

‘Landlords in the UK are providing more homes to let every month, expanding supply for tenants-who avoid any serious problems paying the rent in more than 98 per cent of cases. When late rent does happen, landlords appear to be extremely flexible in the majority of cases and eviction orders and decreasingly necessary. Buy-to-let mortgages are also increasingly reliable for lenders, as landlords are ever less likely to fall into arrears themselves,’ Mr Gill added.[2]

[1] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/3/over-26-000-eviction-orders-served-on-private-tenants-in-one-quarter