Tag Archives: real estate
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
Concerns voiced over new deregulation act effect on private landlords in England
A range of changes come into force today in England which affect private sector residential landlords amid concern that many are not aware of them. Under the Deregulation Act 2015 there are changes which affect whether or not a landlord can serve a Section 21 notice on an assured shorthold tenancy as well as changes to the form itself. However, following lengthy consultation, tenant eviction firm Landlord Action has concerns that not enough has been done to inform landlords of the changes and questions whether the Government has enough resources in place to properly enforce measures against so-called ‘retaliation eviction’. Just some of the key changes which come into effect for new tenancies entered into from 01 October, include the use of the new prescribed Section 21 notice which combines fixed term and periodic. A section 21 notice can no longer be served in the first four months of a tenancy and a section 21 notice will now have a six month life span. Despite recognising that the changes are in response to the ever growing private rental sector and a need for best practice, Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action has expressed several concerns over the changes. ‘There have been a lot of significant changes in a short amount of time and I would like to have seen the Government proportion a greater budget to educating landlords, particularly those that don’t use agents to manage their properties, to ensure they are up to speed with new legislation,’ he said. ‘We still receive calls to our advice line on a weekly basis from landlords who don’t know about the deposit scheme which came into effect eight years ago,’ he pointed out. Less than 12 months ago Shamplina told The All Party Parliamentary Group for the Private Rented Sector at the Houses of Parliament that a law on retaliation eviction could result in tenants abusing the system and use it to remain in properties rent free for longer. As part of the new Act tenants will now have the first four months of a tenancy to file a complaint to a landlord with regards to issues of disrepair. ‘Good landlords will deal with complaints within the given 14 days, but my concern is the level of resource the local authorities have in place to action environmental health officers to carry out inspections when staffing levels have been cut to the bone,’ said Shamplina. ‘Landlords’ circumstances can change and if they need to end their tenancy, but can’t because they are waiting for an inspection or to gain access from the tenant, landlords are going to lose valuable time,’ he pointed out. If a property is considered in disrepair, landlords are now unable to serve a section 21 notice for six months from the date an improvement notice is served by the council and Shamplina believes this could lead to a huge spike in complaints from tenants. ‘I am a bit fed up… Continue reading
Gap between property prices in London and rest of UK widens
The gap between London house prices and the rest of the UK has continued to reach new highs with the latest index showing the regional divergence is growing. Overall UK house prices increased by 0.5% in September and annual house price growth increased to 3.8% in September, the data from leading lender the Nationwide shows. But on a quarterly basis London house price growth increased to 10.6% in the third quarter of the year, up from 7.3% in the second quarter of 2015. This compares to an average house price rise in England of 1.8% in the third quarter. There was a mixed picture across the regions. The rate of annual house price growth accelerated in Southern England, particularly in London, but continued to slow in the Midlands and most Northern areas. London was the strongest performing region and annual price growth also accelerated in the neighbouring Outer Metropolitan region from 6.8% to 9.5%. The price of a typical home in London at £443,399 is more than double the UK aggregate and more than three and a half times the price of the typical property in the cheapest UK region which is the North of England. The North West was the weakest performing English region, with prices down 0.6% year on year. House prices continued to recover in Northern Ireland, with annual growth of 6.5% in the third quarter although average prices are still 44% below their pre-crisis peak. Wales saw a 1.9% year on year increase in average prices, a slight improvement compared with recent quarters. Scotland was the weakest performing region for the second quarter in a row, with a 1.3% year on year fall, similar to the 1% annual decline recorded in the second quarter. Price growth in the South exceeded that in the North for the 26th consecutive quarter. Prices in Southern England were up 8% year on year, whilst in Northern England prices rose by just 1%. In cash terms, the gap in average prices between the South and the North of England is at a record high, exceeding £150,000 for the first time, with average prices in the South now twice as high as those in the North. ‘The data in recent months provides some encouragement that the pace of house price increases may be stabilising close to the pace of earnings growth. However, the risk remains that construction activity will lag behind strengthening demand, putting upward pressure on house prices and eventually reducing affordability,’ said Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist. ‘Indeed, in recent months surveyors have reported historically low levels of properties for sale and increased new buyer enquiries. Therefore it is unsurprising that most surveyors expect a pickup in house price growth in the months ahead,’ he pointed out. ‘The slowdown in house price growth since the middle of 2014 has not been confined to, nor has it been driven primarily by, developments in London. The capital has continued to see price growth at or above… Continue reading
