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UK home owners should be aware of new building safety rules
New Construction Design and Management (CDM) regulations due to come into force in the UK next month could affect the sale of a property if any renovation or other work is carried out by a builder who does not comply with the rules. The CDM legislation which to reduce accidents during construction projects also specifies legal requirements on site safety standards that cover work including that carried out for home owners who live in the property after work has been completed. Louise Hosking, managing director of health and safety environmental specialists Hosking Associates, pointed out that the legislation recognises that large construction sites are no longer where most people are being badly injured or killed, and as a result focus is shifting to smaller projects including those within the domestic sector. ‘The way a building project is organised can reduce risks to workers significantly. It is imperative that everyone involved including architects, engineers, builders and the homeowner, work together to meet the new standards,’ she said. She also pointed out that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) commissioned a report last year that showed very few home owners consider safety when they choose their contractor and this may have to change. ‘For some projects a health and safety file, which outlines how the work was undertaken and what was installed, will be required at the end of the work and if this isn’t provided it could affect the future sale of the property,’ she added. Under the rules, from 06 April all builders, whatever their size, working in the domestic sector, will have to create a construction phase safety plan for all building projects and all domestic projects will have to meet the same basic standards for the provision of welfare facilities as commercial projects. Any domestic projects finishing after 06 April where there has been more than one contractor must have a health and safety file presented at the end which is in effect a handover pack that should include ‘as built’ drawings or specifications of components that have been installed. Conveyancing solicitors are likely to request this when property is bought and sold. For home owners, CDM duties are passed to the contractor where there is only one or the principal contractor for more than one. Where there is more than one contractor, a principal designer must also be appointed and they coordinate all matters relating to health and safety. Also, if the principal designer changes or is not engaged to the end, the responsibility for the file moves on and may rest finally with the principal contractor and the principal contractor is responsible for operational site safety and passing information to the principal designer for the health and safety file. ‘I would anticipate the HSE will start visiting home improvement sites more routinely and it will probably focus on the provision of welfare facilities and safe working practices… Continue reading
New tenants in UK facing higher rents as demand increases
There is an increase in demand for property in the UK private rental sector with new tenants seeing a rise in monthly rents from a third of lettings agents. Indeed some 31% of letting agents saw an increase in the cost of monthly rent for tenants from January to February, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) monthly Private Rented Sector Report. The South East of England saw the highest number of landlords increasing rent per calendar month with 41% of agents in the region reporting an increase whereas in contrast in Wales only 13% of agent’s reported uplift in rent prices. An increase in rents may be down to the fierce competition for rental property. ARLA licensed agents reported an average of 40 prospective tenants per branch in February, up from 38 in January. The report points out that whilst only 13% of Welsh tenants saw an increase in rents, they are facing the most competition for housing, with 46 tenants registered per member branch. Tenants in the East of England are also facing fierce competition with an average of 45 house hunters registered at each branch. Overall the report says that supply in the rental market remains steady, with an average of 184 properties managed per member branch, which is the same as last month. The East Midlands boasts the highest level of supply, with an average of 269 properties per branch, whilst supply in London has dropped to an average of 122 per branch, down from 140 in January, increasing already intense competition in the capital. According to David Cox, ARLA managing director, it shows that demand for rented accommodation is still on the increase, and monthly rents are following suit. ‘When demand is high then the premium for a home increases. House prices are still sky high and are unlikely to reduce anytime soon, which means that getting onto the property ladder is a challenging and unlikely task for many, so renting a property is the only option available,’ he explained. Looking ahead to the general election in A RLA Letting agents are strongly against Labour’s proposal to introduce three year tenancy agreements with rent controls and strict rules to make it more difficult to evict tenants The survey found that 70% of agents believe this would result in landlords pulling out of the market and creating a decrease in the supply of rental property, which would have detrimental effects on the industry. Just under half of agents, 46%, argue that three year tenancy agreements would cause them to lose flexibility over the duration of their tenancy agreements and 69% of ARLA agents think point blank that the proposal would not benefit tenants. When it comes to building new homes to help kick start the property market, some 37% of ARLA agents believe that the Conservatives’ pledge to… Continue reading
European commercial property investment market seen as attractive
The European commercial property investment market enjoyed a strong end to 2014, according to the latest quarterly report from Knight Frank. It says that the outlook for 2015 has been boosted by the European Central Bank’s (ECB) announcement in January of a programme of quantitative easing which will help to maintain the attractive yield premiums offered by property over government bonds. Overall a total of €57.9 billion was invested in European commercial property in the fourth quarter of 2014, making this the strongest quarter since the second quarter of 2007 and investment volumes for the whole of 2014 came to €177.6 billion, 21% up on 2013. The firm says that investors have continued to show an increased appetite for risk, targeting a wide variety of non-core locations and sectors. Investment volumes increased strongly in Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK regions throughout 2014, while the Portuguese investment market finally revived in the final quarter of the year, having been one of the last of the peripheral markets to show signs of recovery. The report explains that the current strength of the investment market comes in spite of more modest and varied trends in European occupier markets. In 2014, office take up increased in markets such as London, Paris and Berlin, but fell in Frankfurt, Vienna and Moscow. However, the Knight Frank European Prime Office Rental Index rose by a modest 0.8% in the fourth quarter with London, Dublin and Lisbon being the only major markets to record increases in prime office rents. ‘The European investment market has continued to gain remarkable momentum. We expect 2015 to be another strong year, bolstered by the ECB’s QE programme,’ said Matthew Colbourne, international research associate at Knight Frank. ‘By leading to falls in European government bond yields, the QE announcement has further widened the spreads between property and bond yields. It will help to preserve the attractiveness of property as an asset class in 2015 and beyond,’ he added. Continue reading
