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Survey suggests UK tenants concerned about rent rises due to change of tax regime
Tenants in the UK are concerned about rent rises resulting from the recent decision by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to scrap mortgage tax relief for private sector residential landlords. New research shows that some 38% of tenants are feeling uncertain as to how the cuts will affect them and over 50% are calling for greater rent control measures to be introduced. Indeed 35% of tenants say that they would move to a different property in the event of a rent increase, according to the research from comparison website Makeitcheaper. A breakdown of the survey findings show that just 20% of tenants would stay in their current housing, one in 10 said they would be forced to seek council housing and 17% would be more motivated to buy their own property. These results show that landlords may run a high risk of losing tenants by increasing rent, around 80%, as many would be simply unable to afford a price hike. There are certain rules around rent price increases that landlords must adhere to. For example, landlords cannot raise prices in a fixed term tenancy prior to the end date, without the tenant's agreement. But, even with these precedents in place, there's a good chance that tensions between landlord and tenant could grow in the event of price rises. However, the latest landlord research by buy to let lender Paragon Mortgages has revealed that 75% of landlords are confident their tenants will not get into more difficulty in the next 12 months as rental arrears will remain stable. The lender’s PRS Trends Survey results for the second quarter showed a 4% increase in those landlords who felt tenant rental arrears would remain stable, the third successive improvement. The proportion of landlords reporting an expected increase remained low and unchanged from the previous quarter at 8% whilst those landlords expecting a decline in arrears was 6%. The survey also revealed that 17% of landlords are planning to purchase additional rental properties over the summer quarter. There was little movement in the most popular property types landlords are looking to buy, with terraced properties and semi-detached houses topping the list at 38%, followed by 35% looking to buy apartments. ‘Landlords continue to experience strong tenant demand and are keen to add to their portfolios. The positive signals being picked up elsewhere around the economy also seem to have flowed through to the PRS with landlords experiencing low arrears and low, stable voids,’ said John Heron, director of Paragon Mortgages. Continue reading
English landlords who don’t follow new immigration checks face jail
Landlords in England who repeatedly fail to check a new tenant’s immigration status before agreeing a lease could face up to five years in jail, it has been confirmed. As part of a wider crackdown on immigration, new rules for landlords mean that they will also be expected to evict tenants who lose the right to live in England. They will be able to end tenancies, sometimes without a court order, when asylum requests fail, according to Communities Secretary Greg Clark as he announced that the government will not tolerate rogue landlords who make money out of illegal immigration. The changes which hare part of the new Immigration Bill and follow a pilot in the West Midlands come as the British and French governments struggle to deal with a migrant crisis in Calais where large numbers of people are making nightly bids to cross the Channel to reach the UK. Clark explained that under the proposals for landlords in England, the Home Office would issue a notice when an asylum application fails that confirms the tenant no longer has the right to rent property. He also said that a blacklist of rogue landlords and letting agents will be created to allow councils to keep track of those who have been convicted of housing offences and ban them from renting out properties if they are repeat offenders. Richard Lambert, chief executive of the National Landlords Association, described the proposals as a welcome step forward, although he said he is ‘slightly concerned’ that the 40 year old principle that it has to be a court that ends a tenancy is changing. He suggests that there is a danger that those being evicted end up doing something desperate such as barricading themselves inside a property. ‘I think that we need to think through the consequences of the kind of systems we are putting into place,’ he added. David Cox, managing director, Association of Residential Letting Agents, welcomed the proposals in principle. ‘The plans will help to weed out the minority of rogue landlords who exploit vulnerable immigrants for their own financial gain and, with the introduction of a new five year imprisonment penalty, will help to deter other such unscrupulous individuals from entering the private rented sector,’ he said. ‘The proposals also build upon the Right to Rent checks as imposed by the Immigration Act 2014, which we expect to be rolled out nationally following a pilot scheme in the West Midlands. We will be organising training sessions for our members to ensure they are fully prepared and understand the new rules and we urge all letting agents to ensure they are ready for the impending roll out,’ he added. Continue reading
Approved home lending in UK up in June month on month
The number of loan approvals for house purchase in the UK increased by 2.7% in June compared to the previous months, the latest Bank of England data shows. Loan approvals reached 66,582 compared to the average of 62,971 over the previous six months and the value of these loan approvals has increased 6.48% month on month, the data also shows. The number of approvals for remortgaging was 36,620, compared to the average of 33,759 over the previous six months while the number of approvals for other purposes was 10,800, compared to the average of 9,918 over the previous six months. It is good news for the homes market according to Adrian Gill, director of Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agents. ‘Mortgage approvals have filtered into a faster lane, and are speeding away from May’s speed bump. Compared to a year ago, lending has also covered a fair distance, and the road ahead looks promising,’ he said. ‘Both house prices and sales are driving forward steadily, as renewed confidence fuels the market this summer. But this is increasingly witnessed by a congestion of buyers. The supply of properties is struggling to keep up and needs a serious boost if the upwards trend in borrowing continues,’ he added. Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, pointed out that the month on month boost has nearly brought lending back into line with April activity, and the energy building up in the housing market should carry it further forward. ‘There’s now plenty of clear blue sky between borrowing totals now and a year ago, as buyer demand continues to mount. In London, we saw new buyer registrations climb 27% from January to June, and properties are changing hands quickly,’ he explained. ‘This will cause further price rises over the summer, but buyers have plenty of cause for confidence, as cheap mortgage finance and smaller Stamp Duty fees keep home ownership within grasp,’ he added. Continue reading
