Tag Archives: facebook
Survey reveals positive attitude to renting in the UK
The majority of tenants in the UK private rented sector are satisfied with their current landlord with only 5% refused a longer term tenancy, new research shows. Overall 65% of tenants believe their rental payment represents ‘good’ or ‘very good’ value for money and have positive attitudes towards renting, according to the study commissioned by Paragon Mortgages. The quarter two tenant market analysis, carried out by BDRC Continental, reported a rise in tenant satisfaction with 80% satisfied with their current landlord and 87% of tenants now regarding their rented property as their home rather than a short term arrangement. The research also highlighted that the average duration of tenants living in their current rented property in the second quarter of 2015 was seven years, with the typical total stay in the private rented sector being 12 years. When asked about their long term housing plans some 35% of participating tenants intend to remain within the sector and 24% intended to buy a house in the future, with the proportion of respondents citing the unaffordability of housing as the reason for renting privately increasing from 69% to 74%. ‘This research provides a valuable insight into the sector. There are many surveys of landlords and many academic reports on the PRS. There are, however, too few surveys that poll tenants directly on their experience of renting privately,’ said John Heron, managing director of Paragon Mortgages. ‘This survey has identified high levels of tenant satisfaction and an appreciation of the good value that rented accommodation can offer across the country. It is more disappointing though to see that affordability constraints are impacting negatively on future choices in housing with less than a quarter of tenants expecting to buy their own home in due course,’ he added. Continue reading
UK residential property stamp duty revenue hits record high
The UK tax man, HMRC, collected a record £7.5 billion in stamp duty from residential property transactions in 2014/2015, official figures show. This was up from £6.45 million the previous year and from £4.9 billion in 2012/2013 and the total tax collected from home buyers in the UK has grown by 165% over the last six years alone. Transactions in London contributed the most residential stamp duty revenue at just over £3 billion, followed by the South East at £1.6 billion. Together these two regions accounted for 66% of the total tax take. Between 2008/2009 and 2014/2015, stamp duty revenues in London have grown by 248%, compared to around 158% in the East of England and 140% in the South East. Other English regions had between 75% and 120% growth in the same period. The increase in London reflects the growth in house prices in the city over this time compared to the rest of the country, as well as the fact that the higher rates of stamp duty on property transactions worth more than £1 million mostly affect London, according to an analysis of the figures by real estate firm Knight Frank. Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, pointed out that last December’s cuts in stamp duty for homes worth up to £1.1 million has had little impact on the tax receipts from home buyers in the year to April. ‘Overall, home buyers still paid more in stamp duty than over the previous 12 months. While the increased take from stamp duty reflects the growth in house prices and a pick-up in transactions, another factor has been the increases to stamp duty charges, especially towards the top end of the market,’ she said. She also pointed out that residential stamp duty garnered £7.5 billion for the Treasury in the year to April, more than double the amount raised back in 2002/2003 and the Treasury’s windfalls from home buyers in England has grown by 165% over the last six years alone. ‘The relative burden of stamp duty is also highlighted by the data. Londoners paid 43 times more stamp duty than buyers in the North East over the last year, a reflection of the widening of the North/South divide in terms of activity and prices, but also the higher stamp duty charges for more expensive homes. Buyers in London and the South East accounted for 66% of all stamp duty receipts on residential property in the year to April,’ Gilmore explained. ‘It remains to be seen what the impact of the new stamp duty regime will be for the Treasury in the coming year. Despite hitting a record high for residential receipts in the year to 2015, the total stamp duty tax take at £10.7 billion is £800 million lower than the Treasury forecast when it made the changes to stamp duty back in December,’ she added. According to Tom Bill, head of London residential research at Knight… Continue reading
Number of tenants seriously behind with rent reaches two year high in UK
The number of tenants seriously behind on rent has risen to the highest level in the UK for two years in the second quarter of 2015, according to the latest tracker report. There are now 74,000 tenants owing more than two months’ rent which means 5,000 more households are in significant arrears than a year ago, or an annual increase of 7.2% since the second quarter of 2014, when this figure previously stood at 69,000 across the UK. On a quarterly basis, the number of cases of severe arrears has risen by 4.4% or 3,100 households, since standing at 70,900 in the first quarter of the year, the report from estate agency chains Your Move and Reeds Rains, part of LSL Property Services, also shows. However, the report points out that the recent worsening in the number of tenants in serious difficulties remains relatively mild by historical comparison. Compared to the worst peak of serious rent arrears, seen in the third quarter of 2012, when 116,600 households owed more than two months in late rent, this has moderated significantly. The report also points out that the chance of a given tenant falling seriously behind on rents is still extremely low. As a proportion of all tenancies, those in severe arrears represent just 1.4% of all tenants, stable compared to the previous quarter and the same as was seen a year before in the second quarter of 2015. This compares to 2.9% of tenants in the first quarter of 2008, twice the current proportion, even before the worst of the financial crisis and recession. ‘Across the UK most households are beginning to earn more, and it is this majority of tenants who are able to bid up the price of rented homes in the face of constricted supply. Rents are accelerating in response, rising by more than 5% over the last year according to our separate research,’ said Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains. But he warned that behind this headline buoyancy, there is a less positive story. ‘For a small minority there has been no transformational boost to household earnings, and it is this more marginal population of tenants who are feeling the squeeze of rising rents most sharply,’ he explained. ‘Severe arrears are still much lower than their previous peaks but a lack of further progress highlights the underlying and fundamental supply shortage. Tenants need more available properties on the market, and landlords should be encouraged to invest further in order to keep up with growing demand,’ he added. The data also shows that eviction rates have improved. In the second quarter of the year a total of 27,910 tenants faced a court order for eviction, on a seasonally adjusted basis. This represents a 3.9% improvement since the first quarter of 2015 and is 5.9% lower on an annual basis compared… Continue reading
