Written By Em

Em Morley

MPs Debate Letting Agent Fee Ban in Parliament

Published On: September 7, 2017 at 8:11 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News,Tenant Fees Ban

Tags: letting agent fee ban,letting agents,lettings fees

Yesterday, MPs debated the proposed letting agent fee ban in Westminster Hall, Parliament.

MPs Debate Letting Agent Fee Ban in Parliament

The plan was originally confirmed in June’s Queen’s Speech, following an outlined proposal by former chancellor Phillip Hammond in November 2016.

Kevin Hollinrake, the Co-Founder of Hunters Estate Agency and MP for Thirsk and Malton, called the debate amongst MPs.

It is believed that an outright ban on letting agents charging fees to tenants will be implemented at some point over the next year.

The draft Tenants’ Fees Bill – outlined in the Queen’s Speech – also revealed plans to cap security deposits to one month’s rent.

The official consultation to the letting agent fee ban closed on 2^nd June 2017.

Many members of the lettings industry believe that letting agents will pass on higher costs to landlords in order to recoup the fees that they can no longer charge tenants.

Therefore, landlords may either put rents up for tenants – which would only damage tenants’ finances further – or self-manage their properties – which could lead to some landlords failing to carry out all of their legal obligations.

David Cox, the Chief Executive of ARLA Propertymark (the Association of Residential Letting Agents), responds to the debate: “We welcome [yesterday’s] comments from Kevin Hollinrake MP around the unintended consequences of a total ban on letting agent fees, including higher rents for tenants as landlords seek to recoup their costs. This is something ARLA Propertymark has warned against for some time. We commissioned independent economic analysis earlier this year, which showed the average tenant will see their rents increase by £103 on average per year as a consequence of a full ban.

“It’s important that the Government understands the value of the services agents carry out for both landlords and tenants when shaping its final legislation. We are therefore disappointed in the Housing Minister Alok Sharma’s comments [yesterday], declaring that the Government’s position remains that all fees will form part of the ban. As Kevin acknowledges, the ban on fees for referencing checks will cause problems. Agents are required to carry out these checks by law, and they invest both time and resources to ensure this work is carried out properly. The Government must now consider exempting referencing checks from the ban as well.”

What are your thoughts on an outright letting agent fee ban for tenants?

Leeds Building Society launches new fixed-rate deals

Published On: September 6, 2017 at 1:47 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Finance News

Leeds Building Society has today moved to announce a number of fixed-rate remortgage products, available from today.

Remortgage

Highlights of these new products include:

94% fees assisted five-year fixed-rate mortgage, available up to 65% LTV
14% fees assisted five-year fixed-rate mortgage available up to 80% LTV
79% fee saver two-year fixed-rate mortgage, available up to 90% LTV, with £500 cashback

Matt Bartle, Head of Product and Pricing at Leeds Building Society, observed: ‘September is traditionally a busy month for remortgages.’

‘Lots of homeowners will have reviewed their finances while they’ve had time off over the summer months and are looking to switch to a new deal which could save them money or even help them to pay off their mortgage sooner.’

Leeds Building Society launches new fixed-rate deals

‘Fixed rates remain the most popular choice and a longer-term deal for five years enables borrowers to lock in and take advantage of the current historically low rates.’[1]

Landlords are being urged to remortgage quickly, before stricter lending criteria is enforced by the Prudential Regulation Authority at the end of September.

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/leeds-announce-new-fixed-rate-products.html

More luxury student properties purchased in Nottingham

Published On: September 6, 2017 at 10:07 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: Nottingham,student,student tenants

A student property portfolio based in Nottingham worth £3.25m has been purchased by Nottingham-based MS Estates, on behalf of a London-based institution.

Located in prime student rental areas in Lenton and the Arboretum, the nine multiple-occupancy properties will be home to over 50 students. In addition, the properties are expected to generate over £264,000 per year in rental incomes, with yields at around 8.1%.

Student Demand

Recent headlines suggest that the demand for student accommodation in Nottingham is at a high level. In fact, 1 in 12 homes in the city are listed in student accommodation – equivalent to 11,000 student homes.

Michael Sahota of MS Estates, said: ‘We were approached by the seller of the properties directly. I think that he was a little surprised to learn what the market was like and what he could achieve.’

‘We told him that we had clients who would purchase the portfolio and do so with no fuss,’ he continued.[1]

More luxury student properties purchased in Nottingham

Refurbishment

The seller of the nine properties has refurbished the properties during the last ten years – thus returning them to their original brickwork and finishing them to a high standard with quality fixtures and fittings.

Lucy Barlow, lettings manager at MS Estates, commented: ‘This sale reflects the increasing student expectation of housing in recent years. More of them are willing to pay a premium in rent for better quality accommodation and this buyer will not only provide that in the finish of the houses but in the management of them also.’[1]

Should you be thinking of becoming a student landlord, you should consider the needs and requirements of the more modern tenant!

[1] https://www.propertyinvestortoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/9/luxury-student-properties-purchased-for-3-25m-in-nottingham

Nine Landlords Banned from Letting Homes in Glasgow

Published On: September 6, 2017 at 9:40 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Glasgow,rogue landlords,Scotland

Nine Landlords Banned from Letting Homes in Glasgow

Nine private landlords have been banned from letting rental homes in the Govanhill area of Glasgow, after being found unfit to rent out properties.

The bans were imposed as a consequence of an Enhanced Enforcement Area (EEA) in Govanhill, which was initially established in four blocks in September 2015 through the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014, which gives Glasgow City Council special powers to crack down on any rogue landlords operating within the designated area.

The landlords now face criminal prosecution and fines of up to £50,000 if they attempt to let their properties.

One landlord was letting a property that was unfit for human habitation, with faulty electrics, no hot water, a broken toilet and holes in the floor. The other eight landlords with properties within the EEA all failed to provide a range of certification, including an enhanced criminal record check, building insurance, Energy Performance Certificates, gas safety and confirmation that tenants had received an information pack.

Councillor Mhairi Hunter comments on the bans: “The EEA means the Council has the right to demand high standards from landlords working in Govanhill, otherwise they will ultimately be taken to task.

“But the EEA has also provided a platform for better overall engagement with landlords, and that has led directly to a substantial improvement in housing conditions, a big increase in the number of closes being factored and a drop in anti-social behaviour.”

Landlords with properties in the Glasgow area must be aware that the EEA is due to be rolled out across a further 14 blocks in southwest Govanhill.

We remind all landlords in the UK to comply with the laws governing the private rental sector, to ensure that you provide safe, secure and comfortable housing for your tenants, while ensuring that you don’t get caught out by penalties!

We have created some handy and comprehensive guides to help you stick to your responsibilities – they can be accessed for FREE here: /guides/

Scotland Commits to Delivering at least 50,000 Affordable Homes in this Parliament

Published On: September 6, 2017 at 9:12 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: affordable homes,housebuilding,housing crisis,Scotland

In its Programme for Scotland 2017-18, the Scottish government has committed to delivering at least 50,000 affordable homes over the lifetime of the current Parliament.

Scotland Commits to Delivering at least 50,000 Affordable Homes in this Parliament

The document insists that 35,000 of these homes will be for social rent. More than £1.75 billion is being allocated to councils over the next three years, to help deliver the government’s ambitious target.

In this financial year, the Scottish government is also committing over £590m to increase the supply of affordable homes across Scotland, through its pledges to local authorities and demand-led national schemes, such as the Open Market Shared Equity scheme and the Rural and Islands Housing Fund.

A budget increase of over £100m in 2016-17 has led to more than 10,000 new housing units being approved in the first year of the target period – a record-breaking level, notes the report.

The Scottish government will also support up to 3,500 households this financial year into affordable homeownership, including approximately 2,500 first time buyers, with assistance from its Help to Buy and other shared equity schemes. The total investment for these schemes in this financial year is £135m.

Scotland’s Rental Income Guarantee Scheme, which will launch this year, seeks to attract new institutional investment to the country, by sharing a limited proportion of the letting risk with participating members. Potential investment in the emerging Build to Rent sector in Scotland is estimated to be in the region of £500m over the next five years, which will support 2,500 new homes.

The government adds that the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership has brought over 2,400 homes back into use to date. It pledged to double its funding, helping local authorities to provide and sustain empty homes officer support in every part of Scotland.

Regarding the ways in which Scotland delivers homes, the government vowed to support the increased delivery of self-build and custom-build homes, and expand the options available and provide more flexibility for both individual homeowners and the construction industry. This will include Simplified Planning Zones for housing, in recognition of the significant opportunities for the self-build and custom-build sectors.

For more details of the Scottish government’s plans surrounding reform of the planning system, homelessness, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, high-rise housing following the Grenfell Tower fire, and energy efficiency in the private rental sector, click here: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/09/8468/10

Responding to the plans, the Strategic Development Manager for Propertymark Scotland, Daryl Mcintosh, says: “We welcome the Scottish government’s commitment to increasing housing stock in Scotland; improving the quality and supply of affordable homes remains a key factor which impacts so many people across the country.

“In principle, we support introducing energy efficiency standards for the private rented sector, however, we caution the government to make sure it doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach, as those with rural homes in particular may struggle to meet minimum standards.”

One-third of UK renters feel they won’t ever own a property

Published On: September 6, 2017 at 8:40 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: property,renters,tax,UK tenants

Almost one third of current UK renters believe that they will never be in a position to afford their own property, according to a new survey.

The research, carried out by Bilendi on behalf of GoCompare Mortgages, discovered that 31% of tenants in rented accommodation cannot imagine ever purchasing their own property.

Owning Property

With property prices continuing to rise in many parts of the UK, raising a deposit is often seen as the largest barrier to getting on the housing ladder.

Questioning 2,000 renters, the survey found that 21% of tenants feel that the removal of mortgage interest tax relief on buy-to-let properties will cut the supply of rental property in their region.

One-third of UK renters feel they won’t ever own a property

In addition, other tenants expressed concerns over possible rent increases, as buy-to-let landlords pass on higher costs. 6% noted that their landlord had already or is planning to increase rents as a direct consequence of tax changes.

Matt Sanders of GoCompare Mortgages, observed: ‘Our research reveals that half of all tenants are in rental accommodation because they can’t afford to buy their own home. It now looks like many have given up all hope of ever owning a home and, for some, the changes to buy-to-let regulations are likely to make renting more expensive. In turn, that makes saving for a mortgage even harder.’

‘April saw profound changes to the taxation of buy-to-let properties which will reduce landlords’ profits and our survey suggests that there is a real concern among tenants that to protect their profits, over time some landlords will increase rents while others may sell-up – reducing the stock of available private rented homes,’ he added.[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/9/almost-a-third-of-renters-fear-they-will-never-own-a-home