Written By Em

The Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, painted an inaccurate picture of private rental housing in Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) yesterday, according to the Residential Landlords Association (RLA).

During PMQs, Corbyn referenced a tenant who had lived in a private rental home for ten years, who faced having to leave the property. He used this case to call for three-year tenancies and warned that tenants were living in fear of eviction.

However, official statistics show that private tenants have lived in their homes for an average of over four years.

Figures from the Ministry of Justice also show that, in the most recent period for which data is available, 62% of all claims to repossess a property by landlords were in the social rental sector, compared to 16% in the private rental sector.

Further statistics show that just a tenth of all tenancies in the private rental sector are ended by a landlord or letting agent.

David Smith, the Policy Director at the RLA, says: “The figures speak for themselves. The vast majority of tenancies are ended by the tenant and not the landlord, and the very fact that the person quoted in [yesterday’s] exchanges has lived in their rental home for ten years shows the sector is already providing long-term stability.

“Many tenants have a perceived fear of eviction because tenancies will often be on the basis of six or one-year periods, which are, in the vast majority of cases, renewed. It is disappointing that the Leader of the Opposition has needlessly played to such fears.”

He adds: “We welcome the Government’s plans to consult on barriers that make it difficult to offer longer tenancies, which will provide an important opportunity, especially to address the problem of mortgage lenders preventing landlords from offering them.”

What do you think of Corbyn’s comments?

The lettings market stood strong and robust in November, according to the latest Property Activity Index from Agency Express.

Nationally, the number of new lettings listings rose by 12.6%, and, following three consecutive months of decline, the amount of properties let increased by 2.8%. Furthermore, looking back at the index’s historical records, the number of new listings and the amount of properties let are up on an annual basis.

Across the UK, nine of the 12 regions included in the Property Activity Index recorded increases in new lettings listings, while eight saw growth in the number of properties let.

November’s top performing region was the East Midlands, recording buoyant growth in both new listings, up by 33.3%, and the amount of properties let, up by 18.6%. Agency Express’ historical records show that the increase in new listings in this region is the largest for November since 2012.

Of the remaining regions, other prominent performers included:

New lettings listings 

• South West: +38.0%
• North West: +22.0%
• Wales: +19.9%
• West Midlands: +10.2%
• South East: +5.1%

Properties let 

• Wales: +15.0%
• North East: +13.6%
• Yorkshire and the Humber: +12.7%
• Central England: +11.3%
• South East: +8.9%

The greatest declines in November’s records were seen in London. The amount of new lettings listings fell by 15.4% on a monthly basis, while the number of properties let dropped for a third consecutive month, by 12.3%. Again, historical records show that the decline in new listings is the largest for November since 2014.

Stephen Watson, the Managing Director of Agency Express, comments: “Following what has been a mixed few months for the UK lettings market, this month’s figures are robust overall and the increase has redressed the balance. As we move into December, where a seasonal slowdown is expected, it will be interesting to see how the year end figures fare.”

Landlords, have you seen activity pick up over November?

A Nottingham-based property expert is supporting the Government’s plans for mandatory regulation of all letting and property management agents.

Adam Kingswood, the owner of Kingswood Residential Investment and Management, supports the Government’s consultation to introduce legislation to ensure that all agents are regulated by an approved industry body. In his opinion, this would drastically reduce the number of bad agents and landlords, and help to improve conditions for tenants across the UK.

He explains: “The 2017 Budget went some way to address the concerns of people who cannot afford to get onto the property ladder. Yes, removing Stamp Duty for first time buyers is a helpful first step, but there are still thousands of people in the UK who cannot afford to get onto the housing ladder. With the lack of social housing, the country is reliant on the private rented sector to plug the gap, and we therefore need much tighter regulation of the sector to ensure standards are high, tenants receive professional service from an agent, have quality rental accommodation and feel secure in their tenancies.”

Kingswood encourages all landlords on its books to deliver a quality service to tenants, and ensure that they comply with all current legislation and regulations, such as the imminent Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES).

Remember that we offer FREE guides to help landlords and letting agents understand the laws governing the private rental sector. You can download them here: http://landlordnews.co.uk/guide/

In the absence of mandatory regulation, reputable letting and management agents can choose to self-regulate by voluntarily signing up to trade associations, whose standards often require members to operate at a higher standard that that required by law. For instance, most organisations will require agents to have minimum levels of qualifications, Client Money Protection (CMP) and professional insurance.

Therefore, letting and management agents that choose to be regulated are more conscious of their clients’ best interests, and are willing to demonstrate that they are committed to a higher level of service and protection.

However, this is not the case for all agents. In Nottingham, where Kingswood is based, out of 131 letting agents registered on Rightmove, just 23 are regulated by ARLA Propertymark (the Association of Residential Letting Agents).

Kingswood adds: “Currently, tenants enjoy very little protection or guarantee of standards within the private rented sector, and I believe this needs to change. At present, anyone can set up a lettings agency with just ombudsman registration and no Government checks or quality assurance testing, and, unfortunately, this leads to thousands of people experiencing poor quality rented accommodation or service due a minority of exploitative landlords or agents. I believe that legislation can help change this and drive up standards in the sector for the benefit of the 4.5m people who are living in rented accommodation in England.”

Do you support the plans?