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Stop The Press! Millennials are Most Likely Age Group to be Saving for a House

Published On: January 28, 2020 at 10:12 am

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Categories: Tenant News

Stop The Press! Millennials are Most Likely Age Group to be Saving for a House

A recent survey has revealed that the 18-34 age bracket is the most likely to be saving up to buy a house. As renters get older, this is less likely to be their goal. 

Contrary to popular belief, it would seem that younger adults are actually spending their money on more than just avocado toast and lattes. 

38% of 18-34 year olds said that they were saving every month with the intention of buying a house in the survey of 2000 UK renters, conducted by buy-to-let lender, Landbay. This is compared to 25% of 35-54 year olds, and a mere 3% of 55+.

It is worth bearing in mind that this study was conducted solely on renters, so the argument cannot be made that older age groups aren’t saving for a house because they already have one. Perhaps this is a case of giving up on the idea of owning property after many years of comfortably renting?

The study also went on to find that younger renters have a much clearer idea of what they are saving up for. 40% of 55+ had no clear savings goal in mind, compared to 29% of 35-54 year-olds and just 17% of 18-34 year-olds. 

75% of UK tenants said that they were saving some money each month, and the average amount being £99. Women save £91 on average, and men save slightly more, at £111. 

What renters are saving for may be a surprise, though. For renters as a whole, the most common savings goal was going on holiday. 33% of surveyed renters said that travelling was their top financial priority, followed by an emergency fund (31%) and buying a house in third place (23%). 

The top 10 savings goals for UK renters are:

Going on holiday – 33 %

An emergency fund – 31 %

Buying a house – 23 %

Retirement – 14 %

Spend on my children – 10 %

Buy a car – 10 %

Leisure (cinema, days out) – 9 %

Clothes – 9 %

Buy a new piece of technology (phone, TV etc.) – 5 %

Another goal – 3 %

8 reasons why 2020 is the year to buy a UK holiday let

Published On: January 28, 2020 at 9:27 am

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buy a UK holiday let

There are many fabulous locations across the UK for holidays, meaning increasingly more Brits are happy to stay in the country for their vacation. Whether you want a break in the countryside or to sunbathe by the sea, there are plenty of options.

With this in mind, Spot Blue International Property has listed its top eight reasons why 2020 could be the ideal year to invest in a holiday let on home soil:

1. A growing staycation market

VisitBritain states that domestic tourism currently accounts for almost 80% of all tourism activity in the UK. About £72 billion is spent annually by domestic tourists, or ‘staycationers’, in England alone.

Short breaks are becoming particularly popular, with the national tourist agency recording 35 million overnight holidays being taken between July 2018 and July 2019. This is a 2% increase on the same period the previous year.

2. Rising inbound tourism

More overseas visitors are also coming to the UK. This is bringing in revenue and creating a larger market for tourist accommodation. VisitBritain predicts the number of overseas visits to the UK to rise to its highest level ever this year, reaching 39.7 million. This will be 2.9% higher than in 2019. August 2019, in particular, was the highest month on record for both inbound visits to the UK and overseas visitor spending.

3. It’s greener!

Everyone is thinking more about their impact on the environment now, even when it comes to holidays. Holiday homes in the UK are an eco-friendly option for domestic tourists, as they take away the need to fly. On top of this, the most modern holiday properties have very low carbon footprints, due to the construction process and energy-saving qualities once built.

4. No need for foreign currency

Since the EU Referendum in 2016, the exchange rate hasn’t been on the side of British holidaymakers abroad. This also goes for property investors, as this weaker pound means everything costs more. Investors and tourists can avoid this issue by staying in the UK. It’s also a less stressful process to buy a property in your home country than it is to purchase abroad, especially if you aren’t fluent in that country’s language.

5. Easier travel

Being able to travel by car rather than having to suffer the queues and delays at an airport is another reason to holiday in your home country. You can also be more flexible with when you go and leave, as well as what you take with you. An even greener option is to go by train or coach!

6. Investment potential

Spot Blue International Property also highlights that holiday home developers in the UK, such as themselves can offer attractive terms to investors, as well as lifestyle buyers. It’s worth doing some research into such options if this interests you!

7. Tax benefits

Another perk of property investment, according to SBIP, is that furnished holiday lets in the UK are treated as businesses and come with favourable tax breaks and allowances.

They say: “As a guide, they attract capital allowances, which can be applied to furnishing the property, most of their running costs are tax-deductible, any profit can be used for pension contributions, capital gains tax incurred from them is low, and most will qualify for relief on business rates while being exempt from council tax.”

8. No language barrier

If you are not multilinguistic, then staying in the UK might be your preferred choice. It certainly is less stressful if you don’t want to make the commitment to learning another language or pay for professional help when it comes to the legalities of buying and letting abroad.

Landlords Going ‘Above and Beyond’ to Attract New Tenants

Published On: January 27, 2020 at 10:36 am

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Landlords Going ‘Above and Beyond’ to Attract New Tenants

According to the National Landlords Association (NLA), many landlords are finding themselves going above and beyond their usual remit to secure new tenants.

In an effort to secure new tenants and avoid void periods landlords are offering attractive extra benefits, especially when it comes to enticing foreign workers and international students in a post-Brexit world. 

Landlords are reporting a drop in demand for their properties, and many are pointing their fingers at the UK’s decision to leave the EU and the continuing uncertainty around EU nationals and foreign students. 

Traditionally, foreign workers and international students have been associated with the highest rental yields, so it is understandable that a decline in their numbers would worry many landlords who fear a hit to their businesses. 

Landlords, suddenly in a disadvantaged position, are going the extra mile to attract wealthier tenants, such as providing transport from the airport, managing or paying utilities on their tenants’ behalf or providing superfast broadband. 

Richard Lambert, CEO of the NLA, said: “In a buyer’s market, suppliers have no choice but to find ways to make their offering more attractive.  

“Whether it’s offering super-fibre optic broadband, delivering gift baskets at Christmas, or other religious holidays, or offering to manage all bills associated with the property as part of the tenancy agreement, landlords have plenty of options.

“Ultimately, landlords will be most successful when they have an open dialogue with their tenants and keep in regular contact to ensure they know what they need. A happy tenant is far more likely to ask for a longer tenancy, which is what every landlord hopes for.”

EU citizens should have physical proof of right to rent

Published On: January 27, 2020 at 9:06 am

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proof of right to rent

Proposals have been made to help prevent EU citizens with settled status from facing severe difficulties accessing healthcare, housing and employment post Brexit. 

Last week, The House of Commons voted on an amendment passed in the House of Lord to the EU Withdrawal Bill. This will require EU citizens to be given a physical status document to prove their right to rent a property and work in the UK.

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, the3million and the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) believe that without this amendment there is a risk of landlords and employers being reluctant, without immediate physical proof of their status, to let a home or offer a job to EU citizens.

Under the EU Settlement Scheme, the Government plans only to give EU citizens a digital code to prove their residency for landlords and employers to look up online.

Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants previously undertook research on the Government’s Right to Rent policy. 150 mystery shopping enquiries from prospective tenants asked landlords to conduct an online status check. 85% received no response and only three responses explicitly stated that the landlord was willing to conduct an online check.

It also found that landlords were far happier to respond positively when the tenant could provide a clear physical document proving their status.

A report published by the3million last week also week found that 89% of EU citizens are unhappy about the lack of a physical document.

Calls for EU citizens to be given such a document have been made also by the Exiting the European Union Select Committee, the Home Affairs Select Committee and the House of Lords EU Justice sub-committee which warned to the “parallel with the lack of documents contributing to the Windrush scandal.” 

In a joint statement, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, the3million and the RLA, said: “MPs should back what is a pragmatic and common-sense proposal.  

“It should not be controversial that EU citizens who have played such a positive role to the life of the UK should be able to easily prove their rights with a physical document. A digital-only status will massively disadvantage EU citizens against British nationals with a passport, and anyone else who can quickly and conveniently prove their status with a simple official document.”

English Housing Survey Results Published: Tenancy Length Increasing

Published On: January 24, 2020 at 10:55 am

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English Housing Survey Results Published: Tenancy Lengths Increasing

The results for the Government’s English Housing Survey for 2018-19 were published yesterday, and they reveal a mixed bag of statistics. Tenancy lengths are increasing, but this isn’t necessarily a good thing for tenants.

The average length of tenancies in the private rental sector (PRS) has increased to 4.4 years, up from 4.1 years in last year’s survey. The Residential Landlords Association sees this as a positive.

John Stewart, Policy Manager at the RLA believes that landlords are helping tenants establish roots in their communities: 

“The vast majority of landlords who do a good job welcome good tenants staying in their properties long-term and today’s figures bear this out. They clearly refute the picture some create that landlords spend all their time looking for ways to evict their tenants and it is time to end this scaremongering.

“The market is meeting the ever changing demands on it without the need for legislation. It is vital that the Government continues to support and encourage this with pro-growth policies that support good landlords to provide the long-term homes to rent to meet ever growing demand.” 

Others see longer tenancies as a symptom of a broken property market. Joseph Daniels, founder of Project Etopia said: 

“Falling home ownership among the young still threatens to become a national crisis rooted in high property prices and stretched affordability but the tide has finally started to turn. 

“Help to Buy, both the equity loan and the ISA, and Stamp Duty relief, are behind the march of the first-time buyers who will be powering a recovery in home ownership in this age bracket. 

“This points to a welcome softening in affordability issues but much more progress needs to be made. It will take considerable time and momentum until owner occupancy among younger people returns to the 59% seen in 2003-04. 

“House building will need to keep pace with growing demand and buyers face very different propositions across the country with prices still unaffordable in many parts of the UK, particularly in the south of England.”

Dan Wilson Craw, Director of Generation Rent sees this as a big problem. Whilst landlords are providing a useful service, renting is not the end goal for most people, but owning their own home is looking more and more difficult.

“Renters are getting older and many are raising children in homes they can currently lose at their landlords’ whim. Renters are compromising on space to cover expensive market rents, so overcrowding is at an all-time high. Young and old alike, more renters fear they’ll be renting for life. 

“These trends underline the urgency of reforming the rental market to give tenants stable and affordable homes. The government’s Renters’ Reform Bill is a huge opportunity to give hope to 11 million people.”

On overcrowding, it is worth noting that the percentage of overcrowded rented homes is at 6.2%, a 23-year high. Even more worrying is that the PRS is the only sector that has seen no decrease in its percentage of non-decent homes.

25% of private rented homes fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard 2018, compared to 17% of owner occupied, and 12% of social rented. This means that 1.15M privately rented homes are not considered to:

• Meet the statutory minimum standard for housing (the Housing Health and Safety system (HHSRS) since April 2006), homes which contain a Category 1 hazard under the HHSRS are considered non-decent

• Provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort

• Be in a reasonable state of repair

• Have reasonably modern facilities and services

With renters staying longer in individual tenancies, and looking at a longer proportion of their lives renting, it is clear that both landlords and the Government must work together to improve tenants’ lives.

The Government must make the property market more accessible to renters, first time buyers and young families.

And whilst the majority of landlords provide decent accommodation, more must be done to improve the quality of non-decent rented property. Read Just Landlords’ guides on landlord responsibilities to make sure that your property is up to spec.

Big Energy Saving Week – Over a third of British households miss out on bill savings

Published On: January 24, 2020 at 9:25 am

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Big Energy Saving Week

New research from Citizens Advice and Energy Saving Trust has revealed a significant gap in consumer understanding about managing household energy use. 

The survey, conducted for Big Energy Saving Week 2020 (20th-26th January), shows that 36% of British households have not made changes to their energy usage at home in recent years. 

73% of those involved with the survey were surprised to hear how much British homes actually contribute to global warming. British homes are responsible for around 25% of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2). This makes them one of the biggest contributors to the UK’s CO2 emissions.

Head of Consumer Advice at Energy Saving Trust, Laura McGadie, said: “Our research shows that while great strides have been made by some households, more can be done, and by more people. 

“If every household in Britain made just a handful of energy saving changes, the combined impact could make a big difference to our finances and the environment. We are committed to inspiring everyone to make small changes to their energy saving habits this Big Energy Saving Week 2020 – particularly those who will benefit most from the money they could save.”

87% of households also think small changes will make little or no difference to their finances. 31% don’t consider managing their energy use as a priority and 19% think it would cost them to control it.

However, there are ways to make a difference that can also save you money. The Energy Saving Trust has highlighted four simple changes that have the potential to save households around £100 a year, as well as help towards the UK’s goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050:

  • Turn your thermostat down by one degree and households will save £800 million and cut 3.3 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
  • Using LED lightbulbs would save households £230 million and 430k tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
  • Turn appliances off fully instead of leaving them on standby. This will save households £690 million and curb the release of 1.3 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
  • Only use the necessary amount of water in your kettle to save households £1.1 billion and stop 2 million tonnes of carbon emissions being released annually.

The total amount of carbon savings from these four simple steps would be equivalent to taking around 3 million cars off the road.

Business and Energy Secretary, Andrea Leadsom, said: “You’d be surprised at what small steps can make a big difference – both to energy bills and to your contribution to climate change. During Big Energy Saving Week, I’d urge everyone to contact the Simple Energy Advice Service to see what they can do – whether it’s changing lightbulbs, switching provider or turning down the thermostat when away from home – to cut their emissions, and their bills.”

Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, Gillian Guy, said: “This year Big Energy Saving Week is all about how we can make small changes to our everyday lives that help save money and have a positive impact on the environment.

“Our homes are responsible for nearly a quarter of British carbon emissions, so this is a great opportunity to really make a difference. Reducing the amount of energy, we use cuts our household bills, so going greener can help you keep out of the red.”