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UK lettings agents and landlords surprised at proposal for mandatory licensing
The private rented sector in the UK said it is surprised about proposals to introduce a mandatory licensing system due to be in the Queen’s Speech later this week at the opening of the new parliament. Prime Minister David Cameron said in his speech on immigration last week that landlords throughout the country will be required to check the status of immigrants who rent their property following a pilot in the West Midlands. But, without giving details, he also said that a new mandatory licensing scheme will be introduced along with new rules allowing landlords to evict illegal immigrants more quickly. ‘We’ll also crack down on the unscrupulous landlords who cram houses full of illegal migrants, by introducing a new mandatory licensing regime. And, a bit like ending jobs when visas expire, we’ll consult on cancelling tenancies automatically at the same point,’ he said. Landlord and letting organisations are concerned and are waiting for details which are likely to be in the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday. ‘We are pleased to see the Government listened to our housing manifesto calls for greater regulation of the private rented sector. However, whilst this is a step in the right direction, it’s not the full solution to the problem of rogue agents plaguing the market,’ said David Cox, managing director of the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA). ‘We urge the Government to take this opportunity and impose more appropriate, over-arching regulation on the whole lettings industry. We look forward to hearing the full details of the plans in the Queen’s Speech,’ he added. The Residential Landlords Association said it has writing to immigration minister James Brokenshaw asking for an urgent meeting to discuss the proposals. ‘No form of universal licensing of rented property is proven to capture the most unscrupulous landlords. As so often, the devil will be in the detail,’ said RLA chairman Alan Ward. Continue reading
Average house prices in British seaside towns up by a third since 2005
House prices have increased, on average, by a third across British seaside towns over the past decade, according to the latest research. Prices are up by 31% or £49,207, equivalent to £410 per month, from £159,522 to £208,729, the data from UK lender the Halifax shows. However, there is a marked north/south divide in property values in seaside towns, with all 10 of the most expensive seaside towns in southern England, and seven in the south west alone. Salcombe at £672,874 in Devon and Sandbanks at £614,726 in Dorset are the two most expensive seaside towns in Great Britain and both are in the south west. Outside this region the most expensive seaside towns are Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast with an average price of £413,393, Lymington in the New Forest at £404,781 and East Wittering in West Sussex at £330,146. Outside southern England, the most expensive seaside areas are the Scottish towns of St. Andrews at £294,586, North Berwick at £294,076 and Stonehaven at £243,741 while in Wales the most expensive is the Mumbles at £271,349. The biggest house price rises in the average price of seaside towns over the past decade were all recorded in Scotland. Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire recorded the largest rise, with a 109% increase in property values from £63,540 in 2005 to £132,920 in 2015. Lerwick in the Shetlands and Peterhead in Aberdeenshire saw the next largest rises both 102%. A further 15 coastal towns out of a total of 59 surveyed have recorded price increases of at least 50% since 2005. Partly due to the substantial rises in the top performing towns, the average house price in Scotland's seaside towns rose by 38% between 2005 and 2014, exceeding the 31% increase for Great Britain as a whole. Newtonhill saw the largest house price increase over the last year, going from £199,902 in 2013 to £240,899 in 2014, a rise of 21%, followed by Dalgety Bay at 16% and Macduff at 15%. The research also shows an east/west divide in house prices in Scottish seaside towns, with nine of the 10 most expensive seaside towns being located on the eastern coastline while all of the 10 least expensive seaside towns are in western Scotland. Port Bannantyne is the most inexpensive in Scotland with an average price of £73,539. Outside Scotland, the biggest increase in average prices during the last 10 years was recorded in Salcombe with growth of 69%, followed by Workington in Cumbria up 60% and Brighton up 58%. House prices have continued to increase in several seaside towns over the past year. Newtonhill in Aberdeenshire and Shoreham by the Sea recorded the largest average price growth in the last 12 months, with increases of 20%, four times the average increase for all seaside towns in the past year which was 5%. The next biggest price rises were in Sandwich in Kent and Watchet in Somerset, both with year on year growth of 18%, followed by Seaton on the… Continue reading
Arrears cause most stress to UK residential landlords, new research has found
The majority of landlords in the UK find managing their properties more stressful than their full or part time jobs, with arrears causing the most worry, new research has found. They are having to deal with complex issues such as new regulations, rent arears, and tax as well as the everyday issues of repairs, insurance and void periods, according to a study from Property Let By Us. The research reveals that rent arrears causes the most stress, cited by 87% of respondents while 80% said dealing with tenant complaints was the main stress, followed by 43 for repairs to properties, 40% the new immigration laws and 28% securing finance to expand their buy to let portfolios. A quarter of landlords cited tax and inland revenue as a major reason for getting worried and anxious, while a third said it is void periods while 23% of landlords blame having a partner that doesn’t understand or appreciate the amount of work involved in being a buy to let landlord as a major cause of stress ‘The good news is that finding new tenants is near the bottom of the stress list, which brings some relief to the plight of landlords,’ said Jane Morris, managing director of Property Let By Us ‘The increasing regulation and the added responsibility that goes with it, is weighing heavy on the shoulders of landlords, along with rent arrears and tenant complaints,’ she explained, adding that one way that landlords can help to avoid rent arrears is by conducting thorough tenant reference checks. ‘These background checks on tenants are so important. Picking the right tenant can save a long, costly eviction process further down the line. Be thorough in conducting background checks and reference gathering, including bank statements for the past three months, previous landlord references to check the tenant paid rent on time, credit checks, incorporating fraud indicators and employer references. It’s important to also check identity and proof of current address, ideally tax or insurance documents, and talk at length to a prospective tenant,’ said Morris. She also pointed out that landlords should also take the time to compare addresses shown on the application with those shown on the identity documents. ‘Feel free to ask for previous utility and telephone including mobile phone bills and statements, and check if the name and address and other information matches up with the information on the application form. The more information collected on the tenancy application the better, because if the tenant subsequently absconds or leaves owing money, this can be used to give vital tracing information,’ she explained. She added that should an applicant make false statements, document provide evidence for eviction. ‘Applicants who are reluctant to produce their identity documents represent a higher risk to the agent’s obligations for customer due diligence under the Money Laundering Regulations,’ said Morris. Continue reading
