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Concerns voiced about new simplified tenancies bill in Scotland
Simplified residential tenancies are now being introduced in Scotland but experts warn that more needs to be done to maintain supply in the private rented sector and attract more investment. Scottish Housing Minister Margaret Burgess said the changes outlined in the Private Tenancy Bill will give tenants greater security and stability in their home and community. ‘It will also give landlords reassurance that their tenants will treat their property as a long term home, rather than somewhere temporary,’ she pointed out. ‘The private rented sector is changing. It is now home to a growing number of people in Scotland, and we recognise there are some areas where rents are increasing significantly. It is right and responsible to give local authorities the ability to introduce rent controls in order to ease areas under pressure,’ she added. The Scottish Association of Landlords said there while there is a broad agreement that the rental regime in the private rented sector needed to be modernised as part of a drive to increase standards and protect tenants, there are concerns that it could harm investment in a sector which is said to have a key role to play in solving Scotland's long term housing crisis. ‘We have particular concerns about measures such as rent controls, as well as removing the right of a landlord to end a lease naturally, subject to a reasonable notice period,’ said SAL chief executive John Blackwood. ‘While we understand the political pressure to tackle rent rises in hotspots such as Aberdeen and Edinburgh, we are concerned these measures could harm investor confidence and drive landlords out of the market, leaving a vacuum that could be filled with less than scrupulous individuals,’ he explained. ‘The way to reduce rent levels in a sustainable manner is to increase housing supply, not punishing landlords that are investing tens of thousands of pounds in their properties,’ he added. According to Scottish Land & Estates the sector also needs to attract new investment, especially in rural areas. Its members are at the forefront of supplying rural housing across the country, many at affordable rents, and the organisation said there were many positive elements to the Bill but that certain elements could impact on rural housing supply. ‘We welcome the degree of clarity that the introduction of the Bill has provided and we can see that there are many positive elements to the government’s proposals. The simplification of the tenancy regime is something that we have long argued for and it is pleasing that the Scottish Government has made a concerted effort to address the need for reform,’ said Katy Dickson, policy officer for business and property at Scottish Land & Estates. She explained that the introduction of a single notice to leave system, with robust and reasonable grounds on which to end a tenancy is to be welcomed, and increased notice periods will hopefully address many of the concerns regarding security and certainty raised during the… Continue reading
Irish property prices continue to see sustained growth
Property prices in Ireland increased nationwide by 2.3% in August and are up 9.5% compared to a year ago, the latest official data shows. In Dublin property prices rose by 2.8% in August and were 8.2% higher than in August 2014. A breakdown shows that house prices are rising faster than apartments at 3% and 0.3% respectively. However, the index report from the Central Statistics Office says that it should be noted that the sub-indices for apartments are based on low volumes of observed transactions and consequently suffer from greater volatility than other series. In the rest of Ireland, excluding Dublin, prices rose by 1.9% in August and were up 10.8% compared with August 2014. This means that at a national level residential property prices were 35.4% lower than their peak level in 2007 and excluding Dublin residential prices were 38.7% lower than their highest level in 2007. In Dublin house prices were 34.4% lower than the peak, apartment prices 40.4% lower and Dublin residential property prices overall 36.2% lower than their highest level. However, there are concerns that house prices are growing too fast. The Irish economy grew by a Eurozone record of 7.2% in the second quarter and according to the Organisation for Economic Development and Coordination (OECD) is set to grow by 5% overall in 2015 and 4% in 2016. But the OECD is concerned that rapidly rising house prices still pose one of the biggest risks to financial stability and an uncontrolled property boom would ‘increase vulnerabilities, especially if it were associated with further indebtedness’. Its latest review says that such strong price rises may again spark a reinforcing spiral of higher property prices and credit leading to another misalignment of property prices and eventual burst that causes large losses in the banking sector. ‘To avoid repeating past mistakes, now is the time to build resilience against future nasty surprises while ensuring the recovery is sustained, and its benefits broadly shared,’ said Angel Gurría, secretary general of the OECD. The OECD suggested that the Irish government should take measures to cool the market, such as avoiding subsiding first time buyers and encouraging growth in the rental market. Continue reading
UK residential housing market sees highest activity for six months
UK housing market activity has climbed to its highest level in six months and the second highest monthly level on record, new data shows. September saw just 0.5% fewer valuations carried out than in March 2015 which was the highest on record, according to the latest research from Connells Survey & Valuation. On an annual basis, total valuation activity is up 29% compared to September 2014, after a 23% month on month rebound since August 2015. ‘Britain’s housing market is going from strength to strength. Against a brightening economic background, players in all parts of the market are feeling more confident about their prospects. Valuation activity is growing beyond the seasonal pick-up at the end of August, with year-on-year growth gathering momentum,’ said John Bagshaw, the firm’s corporate services director. The data also shows that the number of valuations carried out specifically for first time buyers rose by 25% in September compared to the previous month and an 18% increase compared to September 2014. Valuation activity among established home movers performed even better. The number of valuations carried out for those moving house rose 26% when compared to last month and 23% since September 2014. ‘First time buyers aren’t just feeling more confident, they are now following this up with real action and contributing a good portion of growth in the UK housing market. There are no signs yet that schemes such as Help to Buy are going to be phased out, helping to suppress the barriers to setting a first foot on the ladder,’ Bagshaw explained. 'Meanwhile, wages are growing faster than inflation and purchase prices have cooled a little in recent months, all contributing to an acceleration in numbers of first time buyers. Moreover, the latest focus from the government on starter homes is a promising sign there is at least a strong intention to maintain support at the bottom of the ladder,’ he pointed out. ‘Home movers have also been buoyed by the same trends. Rising real term wages combined with steadily increasing property values mean that many of those who are already fortunate enough to have a place of their own feel it’s a great time to buy,’ he added. The data also shows that remortgaging experienced another stand out month. The number of valuations for those thinking of taking a fresh mortgage out against the value of their current home rose 16% on August of this year and 49% since September 2014. Meanwhile the buy to let sector has seen steadier growth, with the number of valuations growing 13% since September last year. On a monthly basis, valuations activity carried out on behalf of buy to let investors grew by 21% compared to August. ‘The remortgaging sector is continuing to power ahead with plenty of people still opting to improve rather than move. High demand in this sector is still being driven by the large number of good mortgage deals out there, as homeowners rush to capitalise on the value of… Continue reading
