TSI
Faulty boilers are top cause of complaint for UK tenants
The top cause of complaint from tenants in the UK is a faulty boiler, with nearly a third of tenants suffering from lack of hot water and/or heating at some time during their tenancy. A new survey conducted by online letting agent PropertyLetByUs, also found that the second most common complaint was a leaking roof with 22% of respondents experiencing this problem. Mould and condensation accounted for 14% of complaints, as did faulty showers while problematic window locks accounted for 10% and broken windows 8%. Faulty smoke alarms was the cause of 6% of complaints, as was pests and vermin, while noisy neighbours caused 4% of complaints and problems with fire escapes 2%. The research also shows that some tenants are waiting a long time to get problems fixed. Nearly 20% of tenants are having to wait up to two months, while 12% of tenants have experienced landlords that never fix the problem. Just a third of tenants report that their landlord fixes problems quickly, within a couple of days. ‘Landlords have a duty of care for their tenants and leaving problems, such as faulty boilers can be very dangerous and put lives at risk. Some tenants are having to wait long periods of time to get problems fixed, which is unacceptable. It is worrying that only a third of landlords deal with tenant problems quickly,’ said Jane Morris, the firm’s managing director. The firm pointed out that only recently, two Kent landlords were fined £20,000 for leaving a flat so severely riddled with damp it posed a risk to tenants’ health. The landlords had left tenants living in damp conditions and without heating for more than two years. Both properties were also lacking vital fire safety alarms. ‘Whilst this may be an extreme case, the message is clear. Landlords and agents should deal with maintenance issues as quickly as possible. If they delay, issues can deteriorate, resulting in a higher cost to the landlord or tenant. It is also important that landlords or their agent make regular maintenance checks, ideally every three months, so they can identify potential and existing issues and sort them quickly,’ added Morris. The firm also pointed out that landlords and agents have a duty of care to advise tenants on the correct course of action while contractors are organised, such as turning off gas taps, water stop cocks or main electricity supplies, to ensure that any problem does not cause danger to life and property. Any gas or major electrical fault is classed as urgent and should be attended to within 24 hours or less. This also applies when heating or hot water is affected, especially during cold weather. Water leaks should be dealt with within 24 hours, cookers within 48 hours and other broken appliances such washing machines and dish washers should be attended to within 72 hours. Communication is key and the landlord or agent should keep the tenant informed of… Continue reading
Call for empty UK homes to be used to help young onto the housing ladder
More than three quarters of British adults believe the government should prioritise the issue of empty homes, according to a new poll. Some 36% said that empty homes are a blight on their local area and 74% believe their local authority should place a higher priority on tackling empty homes, according to the research from the Halifax and the Empty Home Agency, a national charity. The research, published to mark national empty homes week, also highlighted that those people surveyed severely underestimated the number of empty homes in England, with 80% of English adults believing there were fewer empty properties in England than there actually are. The survey found people on average thought there were around 377,000 empty homes in England, whereas statistics from the Empty Homes Agency show the figure is over 610,000. Young first time buyers are clearly a concern for the British public, as two thirds of respondents said that empty homes should be used to help young people get on the housing ladder. Just a third of respondents, 34%, believe that turning empty homes into usable homes is not going to help solve the housing crisis. ‘Halifax has adapted its lending policy to allow greater flexibility around uninhabited, mortgaged properties. In order to assist with returning empty homes to a habitable condition, requests for consent to enter into Private Sector Leasing arrangements are now considered once eligibility has been confirmed by the local authority,’ said Craig McKinlay, Halifax mortgages director. ‘With over 610,000 empty properties in England alone there is a real opportunity to introduce a range of incentives for owners to bring these properties back into use. A lot has been achieved over the last few years, but there is a need for all affected parties to continue to work together to address the issue of empty homes,’ he added. Helen Williams, chief executive of the Empty Homes Agency, wants all political parties to pledge that if they form the next government they will adopt a plan to tackle empty homes within their first year as part of a wider approach to tackling housing need. ‘There appears to be widespread recognition amongst political parties of the need to build more homes. However, we now need political parties to catch up with public opinion and also give a priority in the future to bringing empty homes back into use to help young people and others access the housing they need, at a price they can afford,’ she said. Continue reading
Political uncertainty over 2015 election hits central London prime property market
Demand in the prime central London residential property market has become more restrained against a backdrop of heightened uncertainty due to next year’s general election, according to a new analysis. Prices in this sector fell by 0.2% in November, which was the first drop since October 2010 and meant annual growth eased to 6.1%, the report from real estate firm Knight Frank shows. Discounting a minor dip in the second half of 2010 due to concerns over the euro zone, November marked the end of a run of growth that lasted five and a half years, during which time prices have increased by 73%. According to Tom Bill, Knight Frank’s head of London residential research, it is difficult to rank individual reasons for the decline in order of importance, but anecdotally they appear to include the looming UK general election, the proposals for a mansion tax and the impact of capital gains tax reform for non-residents. ‘The conclusion must be that prices have softened in prime central London due to the magnitude of the cumulative uncertainty rather than the quantifiable extent of the risks. However, short term or domestic risks don’t obscure London’s wider appeal,’ he said. ‘Whatever happens in 2015, for example, London will retain a competitive advantage versus New York, where residents are taxed on their global income. Neither should buyers overlook the long-term potential for price performance of prime central London property which, as the graph above shows, has been exceptionally strong through past elections,’ he added. The report also shows that price declines in November included a 2.3% fall in Notting Hill, due to weaker demand in the £5 million to £10 million price bracket, a family house market that is more reliant on domestic demand than other areas of central London. Elsewhere, prices in South Kensington fell 1.2%. Bill explained that although more buyers are adopting a wait and see approach to pricing, the most in-demand and well-priced properties are selling quickly. There were declines of less than 1% in Kensington, Islington and Marylebone, while prices were flat in the three golden postcodes of Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Mayfair. Continue reading
