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New online services launches to help UK landlords with immigration checks
A new service for UK landlords has been launched to help them cope with the new legislation that means they must check the immigration status of potential tenants before agreeing a rental. The first groups of landlords will be required to undertake the checks from December 2014 under a pilot scheme in the West Midlands with the requirement being rolled out across the rest of the country in 2015. The new online Ready Rentals system has been created to help landlords who will have to ask those applying to live in one of their properties for proof of their right to reside in the UK such as a passport, right of abode certificate, or alternative documents that confirm their immigration status. Under the Immigration Act a landlord failing to comply could receive a fine of up to £3,000 and the new rules have already stirred up much feeling amongst the private rented sector, making it a controversial topic, with some questioning whether it is the landlord's place to act as 'immigration officer' in this way. Others fear the additional weight of responsibility on private landlords might negatively affect the industry, putting people off renting out their properties as they struggle to cope with the changing legislative demands. ‘The immigration issue is a hot topic at the moment, with the government and opposition openly debating their approach to the nation's growing problem, but I don't see this new legislation merely having been presented as a vote-winner. Checking a tenant's immigration status is not only beneficial to the country as a whole, it also helps the landlord to feel more assured that they will receive their rent successfully,’ said Neil Woodhead, founder of Ready Rentals. ‘For some it can feel as though the legislation that private landlords have to follow is constantly changing, and this can be daunting for many. Yet it is important that private landlords face this, and other legal demands placed upon them, in a thorough manner. The result is legal compliance and a professional service for tenants, a win-win for all,’ he added. Just one of the issues that Ready Rentals will address, the new immigration laws will be fully supported by the service, providing landlords in the West Midlands and further afield when it is rolled out, with access to all the advice and referencing systems needed to ensure that they meet the new demands of the immigration legislation. Woodhead explained that the online system will be available for an affordable annual fee and aims to make the life of a private landlord easy and the service they offer legally compliant and seamless, addressing concerns and providing invaluable answers to problems faced by individual landlords. This is achieved by providing access to all the documentation needed to become a private landlord, a tailored system to suit individual needs; continually updating advice on statutory regulations and letting a property; providing the ability to market online to major portals; giving information on general marketing and advertising;… Continue reading
UK property prices expected to rise 9% this year and 5% in 2015
Property prices across the UK are set to finish 2014 up by 9% and rise another 5% in 2015, according to the latest outlook report. Real estate firm Strutt & Parker expects good growth despite prices cooling and the looming general election next year in a report compiles with its retained economic advisors Volterra. But the outlook for the prime central London market is more subdued with Strutt & Parker predicting growth of 3% in 2014, and a further 2% in 2015. These forecasts are a stark contrast to 2010 and 2011 when prime central London prices surged by over 13% year on year. The firm believes that whilst improved economic foundations would certainly suggest that prices will continue to rise over the next few years, the biggest perceived uncertainty surrounding the property markets over the remainder of 2014 and 2015 will continue to be the looming election. ‘Agents are reporting a continued slowdown in some areas as buyers and sellers nervously await news on the upcoming general election and the potential for a mansion tax. This is beginning to feed through into transaction levels. As is often the case in uncertain times, it may also be that transaction levels will decrease in the run up to May 2015, but values could hold up better than expected,’ said Stephanie McMahon, head of research at Strutt & Parker. ‘Above and beyond the general election there are a number of other potential headwinds slowing the property market, including talk of interest rate changes and the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) and the slowdown it is causing,’ she explained. She pointed out that it is important to remember that the property market is all about supply and demand. ‘On the supply side, the government is continuing to boost house building across the country, and recent output figures from the construction sector reflect this. House prices tend to rise when stock is low and with more houses being built, particularly in the lower end of the housing market, this could also have an effect on UK house prices over the next few months,’ said McMahon. ‘The main driver for price market price growth in recent years has indeed been the consistent shortage of good quality housing stock in highly sought after prime locations. Any future increase of supply to the market in central London would therefore put downward pressure on prime central London house prices and we have taken this into consideration in our London predictions,’ she added. ‘In short, we expect that price growth during the remainder of 2014, and even more so in 2015, will be sensitive to prevailing political press and expectations,’ she concluded. Continue reading
Falling property prices in Singapore expected to dive next year by up to 20%
Singapore's private residential property prices experienced steady declines in September, according the latest quarterly data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority. Both private and public home prices continued to slip in the third quarter of the year. Private home prices fell 0.6% and are now down 3.8% on an annual basis. This is the fourth straight decline, albeit a slight deceleration, after a fall 1.0% in the second quarter. But private home prices are still 56% above the last trough in 2009. Public housing continued to fall for the fifth straight quarter by 1.6% compared with 1.4% in the second quarter of the year and have now fallen 6.8% from the peak of the market. In August sales fell 15% month on month and 43% year on year. It is the lowest monthly figure since December 2013. But the outlook is pessimistic, according to a report from Barclays which says that prices are expected to plunge by 20% in 2015, with vacancy rates expected to hit a record high 10% in 2016. According to Barclay's, the drop is in view of market expectations of rising interest rates, and will coincide with peak supply as unsold inventory rises across both high and low end property sectors. ‘We expect both volumes and prices to slide given the ongoing government curbs, looming oversupply, and rising interest/mortgage rates in the second half of 2015. We maintain our negative stance on the Singapore residential sector,’ the report says. ‘We see an oversupply of private housing properties and we expect prices to fall 20% by 2015, in view of market expectations for interest rates to rise, coinciding with peak supply and our assumption that the vacancy rate could reach a record 10% by 2016,’ it adds. ‘We believe the government will only start unwinding measures when prices fall a cumulative steeper 10 to 15%, perhaps in the middle of 2015,’ it concludes. Continue reading
