Tag Archives: real estate
Over half of UK tenants had problems over last 12 months, survey finds
More than half of tenants surveyed in the UK say they have experienced problems with their rented homes over the past 12 months, ranging from poor maintenance to breaches of their contract. The biggest problem, cited by 15% of respondents, was their landlord’s failure to fix structural problems including damp, a leaking roof or rotten window frames, according to the research mortgage and loans provider Ocean Finance. A further 13% of tenants suffered delays in repairing broken furniture, showers and washing machines. 14% of tenants faced unexpected increases in their rent, disputes over money deducted from their deposits and even early eviction when their landlord sold their property. Tenants in London, where more than 10 million people live in private rental accommodation, fared the worst, with 60% saying they experienced problems in the past 12 months. This was followed by those in the East Midlands and the rest of the South East region. Some 35% of tenants said even though they complained to the landlord or letting agent, the problems were not fixed. While 13% said they didn’t know who to turn to for advice and 5% even took matters into their own hands and refused to pay their rent until the landlord resolved the problem. ‘Landlords have an obligation to ensure that the properties they let are well maintained and safe for their tenants to live in. The research indicates that many tenants are renting sub-standard properties. It’s also concerning that people are facing mid-tenancy rent increases or have money unexpectedly taken from their deposits,’ said Gareth Shilton, a spokesman for Ocean. ‘One of the problems may be a lack of clarity over whose responsibility it is to maintain different aspects of a property. Often the landlord believes the tenant is responsible for doing repairs that in fact they are obligated to make,’ he added. Continue reading
Average residential rents in Australian capital cities falling
Residential rental rates in Australian capital cities fell by 0.2% last month, down to $487 per week, but are up 1.1% over the past 12 months. It is the slowest annual rise in capital city rents recorded by the CoreLogic RP Data monthly rental report since date was first gathered in December 1995. The firm’s research analyst Cameron Kusher said that the sluggish pace of rental appreciation continues to be attributed to the ongoing boom in home construction across Australia’s capital cities accompanied by record high participation in the housing market from investors. A breakdown of the figures shows that Sydney and Hobart have recorded the greatest increases in weekly rents and over the past three months rents are lower in all cities except for Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. The report says that Sydney and Melbourne are recording relatively stronger rental growth despite a large surge in new supply and high levels of investment purchasing. Sydney and Hobart also recorded the greatest annual increases in weekly rents while rents in Perth, Darwin and Canberra continue to decline. With home values growing faster than rents, gross rental yields are at a record low level and continue to edge lower, the report adds. Continue reading
UK mortgage lending still down compared to a year ago
Home lending levels recovered in May compared to April, but were still down compared to a year ago, the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show. First time buyers saw a decline in lending volumes compared to last year, but up slightly on the previous month while home mover lending saw a similar trend with volumes up slightly on April but down year on year. Home owner remortgage activity also declined compared to the previous month and compared to the same period last year. However, buy to let lending continues to grow year on year, mainly driven by remortgage activity and also saw a slight month on month increase due to higher buy to let house purchase lending activity. ‘House purchase lending in May was slightly up on the previous month, suggesting the market might be waking up after a subdued first quarter,’ said Paul Smee, director general of the CML. ‘Activity has broadly been down on last year but we expect it to rise in the summer months as, with historically low interest rates and a competitive lending environment, borrowing conditions are relatively favourable. But we cannot ignore the continuing affordability constraints caused by high house prices relative to earnings which will work in a contrary direction,’ he added. The CML report also shows that, as previously reported, gross lending in May was £15.9 billion, up from £15.8 billion in April but down from £16.8 billion in May last year. Under normal circumstances, a slight increase in the number of loans to first time buyers in May would be a sign that their prospects are on the rise this summer. But Patrick Bamford, director of mortgage insurance Europe for Genworth, pointed out that average deposits have risen significantly over the last year, not just because of rising house prices, but because the squeeze on affordability is disadvantaging buyers without a sizable amount of cash to put towards a house purchase. ‘For many would be home owners, especially those without the Bank of Mum and Dad to fall back on, saving more than 5% is simply not a realistic aim. Despite more high loan to value (LTV) products being available at lower rates, market pressures are preventing lenders from offering these products to those buyers who traditionally rely on this type of loan,’ he said. ‘In order to drive a genuine recovery of the high LTV market, the government needs to introduce a permanent system of private mortgage insurance to accompany its planning reforms. First time buyers will only be able to access affordable homes if we make affordable mortgages permanently available to them,’ he added. However, the CML figures also shows that competitive mortgage rates mean first time buyers are paying a record low proportion of their monthly income to service the capital and interest rate payments of their mortgage. This is the lowest level since the CML began tracking this in 2005. Continue reading
