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Em Morley

Landlords Struggle to Rehouse Tenants Affected by Bedroom Tax

Published On: May 16, 2015 at 10:16 am

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A recent survey has provided concerning findings regarding the knock-on effects for tenants affected by Bedroom Tax.

Landlords Struggle to Rehouse Tenants Affected by Bedroom Tax

Landlords Struggle to Rehouse Tenants Affected by Bedroom Tax

Concern

The Chartered Institute of Housing and Circle Housing Group recently surveyed 75 landlords and found many are facing huge obstacles in trying to downsize affected tenants. 96% of respondents said that they were trying to offer properties from their portfolio for tenants to move into, with almost 75% working with other social landlords.[1]

Over half of landlords questioned said that they were or are planning to offer financial incentives to try and encourage tenants to downsize. 89% are offering practical support to their tenants.[1]

Combat

In a bid to combat bedroom tax, almost 65% of landlords said that their allocation schemes had to change, with 88% offering increased priority to tenants offering to downsize. 16% said that they are reclassifying the number of bedrooms in their property.

Despite these offers, two out of three landlords said that they would only be able to rehome one in five of their affected tenants. A huge 96% said that the lack of available properties was their largest obstacle to rehousing.

Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing and Circle Housing Group, Grania Long, said: “This survey shows that housing professionals are working hard to try to mitigate the effects of the bedroom tax on their tenants.”

Long believes however: “^here is only so much they can do,” as “there are simply not enough smaller homes for all those affected to move into.”[1]

[1] http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/landlords-struggle-to-rehouse-bedroom-tax-tenants/6527699.article

 

 

 

 

Average rents in UK align with London

Published On: May 15, 2015 at 3:52 pm

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Categories: Property News

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A study from HomeLet has indicated that rents rises across the whole of the UK are now more or less in line with those in Greater London, for the first time since 2008.

The survey revealed that rents for new tenancies in the capital in the first-quarter of the year were 7.5% higher than one year ago. Average rents across the rest of the UK were found to have increased by 7.4% during the same timeframe.[1]

However, the total absolute rent currently paid in London continues to be considerably more than other areas within Britain.

Slowdown

Following a prolonged period of London rents increasing at more than twice the rate of the rest of the UK, growth rates have now seemingly converged. This is represented by a slowdown in the rise in London rents, with acceleration elsewhere.

Home Lets’ price index indicates that the average rent on a tenancy signed in Britain during the first quarter of 2015 was £916. This was in comparison to £902 during the final quarter of 2014 and £833 to the same period one year ago.[1]

iStock_000003681904_Large

In Greater London alone, the average rent is now £1,436, compared to £1,427 during the previous quarter and £1,336 at the same time last year.[1]

By region, the average rent for new tenancies in the first three months of the year were:

South west: £877

East Anglia: £778

West Midlands: £645

Greater London: £1,436

South east: £916

Scotland: £635

Northern Ireland: £594

Yorkshire & Humberside: £598

North east: £526

North west: £668

East Midlands: £598

Wales: £573 [1] 

[1] http://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/5/rents-rise-over-7-0-across-whole-country

 

Housing Benefit Cuts are Causing a Crisis

Published On: May 15, 2015 at 3:20 pm

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Categories: Landlord News

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Over 11,000 tenants were evicted from their homes in the first three months of the year, the Government revealed.

Charities are warning that single-parent families are being particularly affected, and cuts to housing and other benefits are causing a crisis.

Housing Benefit Cuts are Causing a Crisis

Housing Benefit Cuts are Causing a Crisis

However, work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, says that the policy has been successful and he plans to reduce maximum benefits further. Of the 58,000 households capped since 2013, 22,000 are no longer affected, as claimants have been encouraged to find work, he claims.

He adds: “Even with the cap, lone parents can still receive the equivalent of a £34,000 salary in benefits. We have given local authorities about £500m to support those families who might need extra help.”1

The amount of people who have lost their homes indicates that 2015 could be worse than 2014, when a record 42,000 were evicted.

Campaigners said that the situation could get worse after Mr. Duncan Smith revealed plans this week to cut the maximum benefit claim per household to £23,000; a £30,000 salary after tax. Overall, he will reduce welfare by £12 billion.

Housing charity Shelter’s Campbell Robb says: “Sky-high housing costs and welfare cuts are leaving people battling to keep a roof over their heads. Families are living in fear that losing their job or becoming ill could bring the bailiffs knocking at the door.”1

Single parent’s charity Gingerbread’s Octavia Holland concludes: “Reducing the cap will be devastating and people will not be able to continue living in their communities.”1

1 Yeatman, D. (2015) ‘Housing benefit cuts start to bite’, Metro, 15 May, p.1

Generation Rent’s New Director Revealed

Published On: May 15, 2015 at 2:50 pm

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The director of tenant lobby group Generation Rent, Alex Hilton, is stepping down from his position today.

Hilton is leaving the organisation and Betsy Dillner will be replacing him as director.

Dillner is currently the Community Campaigns Manager at the group after joining in January 2014. She has been at the front of a development-of-local-grass-roots campaign around the country.

Generation Rent's New Director Revealed

Generation Rent’s New Director Revealed

Dillner hopes to make the future brighter for communities. She previously lived in the USA, where she was a community organiser focusing on areas such as housing, immigration, health care and finance sector reform.

Dillner has a BA in Women’s and Gender Studies and an MA in Community Organising from Queen Mary University of London.

Chair of Generation Rent, Stephen Battersby, says: “As the first director of the organisation, Alex has raised housing up the political agenda and highlighted the plight of private tenants, which for too long has been ignored by national and local politicians.

“Alex has raised the profile of the organisation beyond our wildest dreams and this should enable us to increase the number of supporters and also encourage others to work with us to help private tenants who are disadvantaged.

“The board has great confidence in Betsy and her appointment also highlights that working with private tenants at the community level is a priority area.”1

Hilton explains: “The housing crisis is the biggest issue of our era and it has been a privilege to be part of Generation Rent. However, I have decided that the one piece missing among a diverse range of housing campaigners is a credible and effective political voice. I now intend to work full time on creating and building that voice.

“We have a new government, an opposition uncommonly receptive to ideas and a growing body of people demanding change. I know that Betsy has the steel and the energy to take advantage of the opportunities to empower renters.”1

Dillner says: “In 18 months, Generation Rent has built up incredible momentum, and I look forward to building on the work Alex and the team have done. The housing crisis continues to cause hardship for renters and their families, and we will remain at the forefront of the growing movement to fight it.”1

1 http://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/5/generation-rent-appoints-new-director

Tenant in Possession of Cannabis Blames Landlord

Published On: May 15, 2015 at 2:26 pm

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Tenant in Possession of Cannabis Blames Landlord

Tenant in Possession of Cannabis Blames Landlord

A tenant who was in possession of drugs had tried to blame the landlord.

Police discovered £2,000 worth of cannabis in the loft of Timothy McComb’s rental home in Leeds in July 2014. Leeds Crown Court was told that the cannabis was in ten bags that had
McComb’s fingerprints on.

A week later, McComb, 37, was arrested at his mother’s house, where he was in possession of a small amount of cannabis.

The Yorkshire Evening Post revealed that McComb told police his landlord had ordered him to keep the cannabis in the loft, threatening him with violence.

McComb was later arrested again on 28th February 2015 at a different property after neighbours saw items being thrown from a tower block.

When officers arrived, McComb was found in possession of a knife and a ball bearing gun. The police had to Taser him, as he could not be restrained. McComb was under the influence of cannabis at the time and has since been in prison on remand.

He pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to supply, three counts of possessing cannabis, threatening behaviour and criminal damage.

McComb is now in a 12-month community and drug rehabilitation requirement order. Judge James Spencer QC, said: “That will give you the encouragement that you will need if you are going to break this drugs habit.”1

1 http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/cannabis-stash-found-in-loft-of-leeds-flat-1-7254794

Arrears/repossessions down across market

Published On: May 15, 2015 at 2:25 pm

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Categories: Landlord News

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Encouraging statistics suggest that mortgage arrears and repossessions are declining for both owner-occupier and buy-to-let lending.

Results from the most recent Council of Mortgage Lenders investigation have shown that for the first-quarter of this year, the total proportion of mortgages with arrears equivalent to more than 2.5% of the overall balance was 1.03%. This showed a slight dip from 1.05% in the final quarter of 2014, and was significantly down on the 1.24% recorded at the same period one year ago.[1]

Numerically, there were 113,900 loans in arrears, of which only 24,400 were in the most serious category (in excess of 10% of balance). This equated to only 0.22% of all mortgages and signified the lowest number of mortgages in ‘serious areas’ since the final quarter of 2008.[1]

Repossession

Further encouragement was given with the news that the proportion of mortgages that resulted in repossession was only 0.03%, down from 0.04% in the last quarter of 2014. Additionally, the total number of repossessions was 3,100, down from 4,200 during the fourth quarter of last year and 6,400 in the opening quarter of last year.[1]

Arrears/repossessions down across market

Arrears/repossessions down across market

Director general of the CML Paul Smee said that he wasn’t taking anything for granted, despite the positive results. Smee commented, ‘although complacency would be misplaced, the underlying picture continues to be one of improvement and a continuing reduction in mortgage arrears and repossessions.’[1]

In a separate survey, the Ministry of Justice found that in the first three months of 2015, there were 5,643 mortgage possession claims within the county courts in England. In addition, figures from this investigation suggest a 56% drop in the number of claims made during this period, the lowest number of quarterly claims since 2004.[1]

The Ministry of Justice also suggested that despite landlord possession claims going down, the number of evictions actually increased.

[1] http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/arrears-and-repossessions-fall-across-both-home-ownership-and-buy-to-let/