Tag Archives: real estate
UK landlords get confused over betterment principle, study finds
Some 60% of landlords in the UK admit they don’t understand the betterment principle, whilst 90% say they fully understand fair wear and tear, according to a new report. The betterment principle means that if an item, such as a carpet was old at check-in, the landlord can’t replace it with a new carpet, but some compensation is allowable towards the item. The research from My Property Inventories also shows that over 80% of landlords said inventory evidence helped them to win a tenant deposit dispute. Furthermore, 60% of landlords admit to never visiting their properties to check the condition, while just 6% say they regularly make spot checks on their property. ‘We do find that landlords and agents push for new for old at the end of tenancies, and have unrealistic expectations of what they can claim against tenant deposits,’ said Danny Zane, director of My Property Inventories. He explained that the tenant has a duty of care to return the property in the same condition at the end of the tenancy, as at the start and listed on the inventory report, with an allowance for wear and tear. The law does not allow landlords to claim ‘new for old’ from the tenant deposit. ‘The key problem is that agents, landlords and tenants have different expectations when it comes to fair wear and tear issues. There is a distinct difference between fair wear and tear and actual damage. For example, carpet tread will flatten over time where there has been foot traffic, but cigarette burns, stains or soiling will incur a charge,’ said Zane. He pointed out that the betterment principle applies to cleaning issues too. ‘If a carpet was stained and marked at the time of check-in, a landlord can’t expect the tenant to pay for carpet cleaning at the check-out, no matter how long the tenancy has been,’ Zane explained. ‘However, if the carpet was recorded in the unbiased inventory report at the start of the tenancy as clean, with accompanying photos and is found to be stained or marked at check-out, the cleaning costs can be deducted from the deposit,’ he added. The firm believes that it is important to note that normal wear and tear is a fact of life within tenancies. ‘The best way for landlords and agents to ensure that the property’s condition is fully recorded at the start of the tenancy, is by having a thorough and professional un-bias inventory, along with a detailed check-in and check-out report,’ Zane concluded. Continue reading
UK house prices up 2.6% in first quarter of 2015, latest index shows
UK house prices were 2.6% higher in the three months of 2015 than in the previous quarter but the annual rate of growth is still falling. The latest index from the Halifax shows that annual price growth fell slightly from 8.3% in February to 8.1% in March, taking the average price of a home to £192,970. The quarterly rate of change increased for the third consecutive month. It is now at a similar rate to September 2014 when it was 2.7%, prior to a marked slowdown in the last three months of 2014. The data also shows that house prices increased by 0.4% between February and March, offsetting February’s 0.4% fall. According to Halifax’s housing economist Martin Ellis the recent return to real earnings growth for the first time in several years, very low mortgage rates and last December’s stamp duty changes are supporting housing demand. ‘The rising level of house prices in relation to earnings should, however, curb house price growth and activity,’ he added. He also predicts that the annual rate of house price growth, which has continued to ease in the first quarter of 2015, is forecast to end the year at 3% to 5%. The index report also points out that housing supply remains tight. According to figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors new instructions fell again in February suggesting that the trend remains down following January’s modest rise, which was the first increase in six months. However, house price optimism rebounded in February as inflation continued to fall and the expectation of an interest rate rise receded further, according to the Halifax Housing Market Confidence Tracker. Ellis said that this optimism is reflected in the outlook for both buyers and sellers, with buying sentiment up to its highest level since the Confidence Tracker launched in 2011 at net +35. At the same time, selling sentiment reached an all-time high and now stands at +27. The report also mentions the regional differences in stamp duty. Some 81% of residential stamp duty revenue raised in the UK in 2013/2014 was in the four regions of southern England; Greater London, South East, South West and East of England, according to the HMRC. This was significantly higher than their 71% share in 2007/2008 when total stamp duty revenues were at a similar level at £6.68 billion in 2007/2008 against £6.45 billion in 2013/2014. London alone contributed 42% of all UK stamp duty revenues in 2013/2014 compared with 28% in 2007/2008. Indeed, London was the only region to see an increase in revenues between 2007/2008 and 2013/2014. Continue reading
Expansion of London cycle scheme could boost house prices, it is suggested
The continued expansion of London’s cycle hire scheme will benefit home sellers living near bike docking stations and attract potential buyers to living in previously less well connected areas, it is claimed. The ‘Boris Bike’ programme, named after the Mayor Boris Johnson who introduced the scheme, already offers Londoners the use of 11,500 bikes across more than 700 docking stations and with new sponsorship is set to expand even further. Transport for London has identified a further 1,000 potential docking stations that could be ready for use by early 2016. According to estate agent Marsh & Parsons, in much the same way that proximity to a tube station has long increased the attractiveness and saleability of properties in the capital, as well as the actual cash value, it has seen a rise in buyers enquiring about local bike docking points and expects this interest to continue to increase as the scheme achieves greater prominence. ‘South London has long had a core of cycling commuters. To date, this trend has primarily been people using their own bikes, so secure storage has long been a high priority for such individuals when house hunting,’ said Tom Crabtree, the firm’s Clapham office sales manager. ‘But with the cycle hire scheme continuing to grow and public awareness of the programme improving, proximity to a bike docking station is starting to feature on the wish lists of buyers. As with the tube network, where the vast majority of stations are north of the river, South London hasn’t been afforded anywhere near the same number of docking stations as the other side of the Thames,’ he explained. ‘But hopefully the expansion plans will restore some of this imbalance and help open up some relatively inaccessible areas south of the river which would benefit residents, aspiring homeowners and potential sellers who would have a more attractive asset on their hands,’ he added. There were more than 10 million separate journeys made in 2014 using the bike scheme according to Transport for London, a 25% increase from 2013. London’s love affair with cycling as a means of commuting is also confirmed by the Office of National Statistics which reported that the number of residents in the capital cycling to work had more than doubled from 2001 to 2011. As well as being located at popular tourist attractions and close to other transport hubs such as tube and train stations, bike scheme docking stations are primarily installed on residential streets and Marsh & Parsons’ research found that the most prestigious street in the capital to feature one is Grosvenor Crescent in Belgravia, where the average current property is worth £22,435,017. ‘London has long had a world class public transport system and the introduction of the cycle hire scheme five years ago has added to the attraction of areas such as Battersea and Fulham which, despite being £1… Continue reading
