Uk
Airbnb popularity is a growing threat to residential landlords
The Airbnb phenomenon that is soaring in popularity is a growing issue for private sector landlords as tenants embrace the trend without checking if their tenancy allows them to do so. According to the UK’s tenant eviction firm Landlord Action the number of cases where tenants have sub-let properties without their landlord’s permission has trebled. It point out that aside from breach of tenancy agreement and additional wear and tear to the property, landlords are left exposed to being in breach of their mortgage terms and buildings insurance. The share economy is a growing phenomenon, with models such as Airbnb giving people a platform to view themselves as a business. But according to Landlord Action founder Paul Shamplina it is also enabling those who do not have the right to do so, from profiting from someone else’s asset. An example is Joy Philips, a landlord who decided to let out her West London home so she could afford to take time out to volunteer at an orphanage in Africa. She thought she had found the perfect tenant in a young doctor who wanted her home for a three year lease. It all seemed very promising until she started receiving emails and calls from her neighbours complaining about the volume of people coming and going at her house. Joy was shocked to discover that her house was not being used as a home for the young doctor, but being rented out room by room as a boutique hotel on the Airbnb website. Making thousands over the rent being paid to Joy, her tenant was breaking the no sub-letting clause in her contract. By having so many people in the house, Joy’s home insurance was also at risk of being void. She was forced to give up her volunteer work in Africa to return to the UK and got in touch with Landlord Action in the hope of getting her property back. ‘We have had concerns for some time now regarding the protection of properties which are being uploaded and offered as holiday lets via Airbnb. We continue to receive a growing number of instructions from landlords who want us to start possession proceedings against tenants who have sublet their property via Airbnb without consent,’ said Shamplina. ‘Whilst Airbnb do provide a level of protection for hosts, naturally certain conditions and limitations do apply. My concern is that there is not enough safeguarding with regards to obtaining proof from the individual who is advertising the property that they are the legitimate owner. Or, if they are a tenant, that they have consent from their landlord to rent out the property in this way,’ he pointed out. ‘We have seen cases where, quite clearly, tenants are making thousands of pounds from exploiting the service to a high volume of holiday makers on a weekly basis. In a recent case, it… Continue reading
Majority of people in Ireland think house prices will continue to rise in 2016
Three out of four people in Ireland expect house prices to rise over the coming year according to a new property consumer sentiment survey. Some 20% of those surveyed said they expected prices to remain static while just 4% said prices will fall, according to the research from property website MyHome.ie. One in four of those surveyed said they planned to purchase a property in the next 12 months while just under a third said they had no plans to purchase a property and 41% said they were undecided. While the largest proportion, 47%, said house prices would increase by up to 5%, some 25% said they would increase by between 5% and 10% while 4% said they would increase by more. According to Angela Keegan managing director while the findings reflect growing consumer confidence, it was clear the Central Bank’s new lending rules were having a major impact on the market. She pointed out that 51% said the planned Central Bank review of its lending rules would make them consider holding off on a purchase for the time being while 28% said they didn’t have the funds to pay a deposit. ‘When we asked people for the factors which they believed would influence participation in the housing market, over 40% said lowering the deposit required, 38% said more stock coming on the market and 35% said confidence in the overall economy,’ she explained. ‘So really these figures support what we are hearing from estate agents on the ground. First time buyers, particularly in Dublin, are struggling to meet the new deposit and 3.5 times loan to income ratio laid down by the Central Bank last year. In the survey 13% of respondents said their application for a mortgage had been refused, which is quite high,’ she added. She believes that while the CBI measures were necessary to curb runaway inflation the supply part of the equation has continued to deteriorate and this has led to an increase in rents and the first priority of the new government should be to address this issue before putting a comprehensive housing plan in place. The research also shows that three bedroom houses remains the most sought after property type at 47%, followed by the four bedroom at 33% and the two bedrooms at 17%. Almost half of respondents, 45%, said that a garden was the most important feature in a home, followed by 22% opting for an open plan kitchen on 22% and 20% off street parking. The preference for a second hand house versus a new build was two to one. Proximity to schools or crèches was the most important amenity for 27% of respondents, followed by good public transport network for 23% and proximity to extended family for 18%. Continue reading
UK asking prices reach new high of £307,033
Average UK asking prices increased by 1.3% or £3,843 in April compared to the previous month and are up 7.3% year on year, according to the latest index figures. This takes the price of an average home to a record high of £307,033 with market activity having been pushed up due to a rush by buy to let investors to beat the April stamp duty change, says the index report from Rightmove. Indeed, the stamp duty deadline gave an early impetus to the bottom of the market and this had the knock-on effect of energising the higher sectors of the market as growth was driven by second-stepper and top of the ladder sectors. The report also says that smaller properties in the first time buyer and buy to let sector actually saw a month on month price drop of 1.4%. But overall while buy to let demand will not have gone it remains high overall with record visits on Rightmove in March. ‘The further demand boost from those looking to complete before 01 April has now dissipated, resulting in a 1.4% drop this month in the average price of a property coming to market in the first time buyer and investor sector,’ said Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst. ‘However, the momentum it created looks to have enabled owner occupiers of these properties to trade up. This has built an onward chain reaction of higher demand in higher price brackets as more people can move,’ he explained. He also pointed out that upwards price pressure has moved into the typical second stepper sector of three or four bedrooms excluding four bedroom detached properties. Prices are up by 0.6% or £1,512 this month, and this sector compared to the others has seen the largest year on year rise of 8.6% or £20,519. Meanwhile top of the ladder sector of four bedroom detached and five bedrooms or more has seen the biggest rise this month, up by 1.9% or £9,970. Their annual rate of increase remains the lowest however, at 5.1%. ‘While some felt that there would be a stampede of existing landlords selling to other landlords, these figures indicate that many of those who sold during the buy to let rush were actually first time sellers looking to trade up,’ said Shipside. ‘They used the heightened demand from investors competing fiercely with first time buyers to springboard themselves onto the next rung of the housing ladder. After several years of being held back from moving by post credit crunch price doldrums, they have now benefitted from a heady combination of price growth, historically cheap interest rates, and confidence of a quick sale with purchasers working to a tight deadline,’ he pointed out. ‘Trader uppers have now been unleashed and this has spread demand upwards and helped to form longer chains. Interestingly there has been a stamp duty double whammy effect pushing up prices in these higher sectors too. Earlier reforms in December 2014… Continue reading
