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Charity claims rogue landlords are responsible for 740,000 unsafe homes in England
Rogue landlords in England are raking in £5.6 billion a year for 740,000 unsafe rented homes that fail to meet legal standards, a new study has found. These privately rented homes present a severe threat to tenants' health, according to the report from the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) with a host of dangers such as severe damp, rat infestations and the risk of explosions. Overall the study reports that 16% of privately rented homes are physically unsafe, far higher than the 6% in the social rented market, some 8% of privately rented homes have serious damp, 10% pose a risk of a dangerous fall and 6% are excessively cold. ‘Rogue landlords are putting profits before safety. With a growing private rental sector, increasing numbers of people are falling prey to landlords who fail to meet decent standards,’ said Gillian Guy, CAB chief executive. ‘The Government has rightly said it wants to tackle the country’s housing crisis and it must make targeting dodgy landlords, giving tenants better rights and driving up standards a major part of that effort,’ she added. With the cost of buying property rising steeply in many parts of the country, couples with children are now the most common household type in the private rental market and CAB says private renters are woefully under protected and have to navigate through numerous pieces of complex legislation to seek legal redress from landlords. It says that taking court action against a landlord can be long, complicated and expensive. This is compounded by the fact many complaints have to be made to local authorities, which often do not have the capacity to act quickly. The charity recommends that tenants should be entitled to rent refunds where properties are dangerous or not fit to live in and is calling for a national landlord register to be set up as this could help ensure landlords operating illegally cannot move to different areas to avoid legal action. It also says that councils should also set up local licensing to tackle specific issues in their private rental markets as this could help to ensure landlords are providing the quality of housing and service the area needs and ensure tenants know what they can expect from a good landlord. However, Richard Lambert, chief executive officer at the National Landlords Association, criticised the report as unfair to the vast majority of landlords. ‘We recognise that bad practice exists in private housing, that it can have a devastating effect on those it affects, and that it needs to be stamped out. But this report uses loose definitions to compound a perception that private housing is insecure and unsuitable across the board, and it ignores the weight of evidence to the contrary,’ he said. ‘The English Housing Survey finds that the average tenancy now lasts just shy of four years, and that only 7% of tenancies are ended by landlords. Our own research shows that 86% of families consider their properties as their home… Continue reading
UK house price expectations remains positive, latest index suggests
House price expectations in the UK remain positive, but signs of a post-election bounce are largely confined to London, according to the latest property sentiment index. Some 20.2% of the 1,500 households surveyed across the UK for the Knight Frank and Markit Economics house price sentiment index said that the value of their home had risen over the last month, while 4.1% reported a fall. This gave the HPSI a reading of 58, the twenty-sixth consecutive month that the reading has been above 50. But it was a slight decrease on last month’s reading of 58.2, indicating that households may have factored in the uncertainty caused by the general election to perceived price growth. ‘There is little evidence yet of an election bounce in house price expectations, reflecting current market conditions. Activity is certainly picking up following the election of a majority government, and the certainty this has provided in the housing market,’ said Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank. Demand is rising, but an increasing number of vendors are putting their homes on the market, and this is set to create more balance in terms of pricing. Londoners expectations for future price rises reached their highest level since November last year, perhaps reflecting the increased certainty in the outlook for property taxes in the capital,’ she added. The future HPSI, which measures what households think will happen to the value of their property over the next year, fell in May to 70, slightly down from 70.2 in April. In spite of the monthly decline, the proportion of households expecting prices to fall over the next 12 months at 5.2% was the lowest ever recorded since the survey began in 2009. Meanwhile, 45.1% anticipate a rise in the value of their property and 49.7% forecast no change over the year ahead. Households in the East of England at 77.8 were most confident about price rises, followed by those in London at 77.7 and the South East at 73.5. The data also shows that some 6.4% of UK households said they planned to buy a property in the next 12 months, down from 6.5% a year previously. On a regional basis, nearly one in 10 households in the North East is planning a purchase in the next 12 months, followed by those living in London where 8.4% of households said they would be buying a property in 2015. ‘May’s survey highlights positive house price expectations across the UK, although households are still much less bullish than was seen at the post-recession peak exactly one year ago,’ said Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit. ‘Tighter lending criteria and stretched affordability continue to restrain house price sentiment, while improving labour market conditions and continued low mortgage rates remain two key drivers of positive property price trends,’ he explained. ‘The most likely area of the property market to experience an appreciable post-election bounce is the house building sector, as decision making should reaccelerate after several months… Continue reading
House building in England has more than doubled since 2009
New housing starts in England have more than doubled since 2009 and are at their highest level since 2007 while the number of completed homes is at a six year high. The latest figures from the UK government shows that both starts and completions increased over the past year and in the 12 months to March 2015 work started on 140,500 homes, a rise of 5% on the previous year. The data from the Department of Communities and Local Government also show that in the first three months of the year house building starts were up31% compared to the previous quarter and up 11% compared to the same quarter a year ago. Completions were 10% higher than the previous quarter and up 21% on the same quarter a year earlier. The numbers of homes completed has also risen sharply, to their highest levels for nearly six years. ‘House building is at the heart of our plan to ensure the recovery reaches all parts of our country. We’re turning around an industry that was devastated and getting the country building again,’ said Housing Minister Brandon Lewis. ‘These figures show these efforts are reaping results, with house building starts having more than doubled since 2009, and completions at their highest for nearly six years. It is vital we maintain this momentum, getting workers back on sites and homes built, giving more people the chance to own their own home,’ he added. The data also shows that the growth in house building is across the country. For example in Barnet housing starts increased by 63% over the year, by 84% in Manchester and by 120% in Winchester. Continue reading
