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Many Conservative MPs that Rejected Fit for Human Habitation Amendment are Landlords

Published On: January 15, 2016 at 9:28 am

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Many Conservative MPs that Rejected Fit for Human Habitation Amendment are Landlords

Many Conservative MPs that Rejected Fit for Human Habitation Amendment are Landlords

At least 72 of the Conservative MPs that rejected an amendment to the Housing and Planning Bill, which would have ensured that rental properties are fit for human habitation, are in fact private landlords.

Earlier this week, we reported that the Labour amendment, proposed by the Shadow Housing Minister, Teresa Pearce, was voted against in the House of Commons by 312 votes to 219. The full story is here: /conservatives-reject-move-to-ensure-rental-homes-are-safe/

During the debate, Pearce said that it was “distressing” to see reports of rental homes that “are frankly unfit for human habitation being let, often at obscene prices”.

However, the Local Government Minister, Marcus Jones, argued that the proposal would add “unnecessary regulation and cost to landlords”, which could push up rents for tenants.

The Housing and Planning Bill will now go to the House of Lords for a further debate.

The list of landlord MPs that voted against the amendment includes the Prime Minister, David Cameron, the Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis, and Kevin Hollinrake, who is the co-founder and chairman of Hunters estate agents.

Is your MP on this list of those that rejected the proposal and are also landlords themselves?

Nigel Adams

Stuart Andrew

Victoria Atkins

Jake Berry

James Berry

Bob Blackman

Robert Buckland

Alun Cairns

David Cameron

Alex Chalk

James Cleverley

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

Therese Coffey

Geoffrey Cox

Mims Davies

Philip Davies

Richard Drax

James Duddridge

Alan Duncan

Philip Dunne

Jane Ellison

George Eustice

Mike Freer

Richard Fuller

John Glen

Robert Goodwill

Chris Grayling

Dominic Grieve

Chris Heaton-Harris

Peter Heaton-Jones

George Hollingberry

Kevin Hollinrake

Philip Hollobone

Nick Hurd

Stewart Jackson

Margot James

Sajid Javid

Joseph Johnson

Simon Kirby

Greg Knight

Brandon Lewis

Julian Lewis

Craig Mackinlay

Tania Mathias

Karl McCartney

Anne Marie Morris

Sheryll Murray

Robert Neill

Sarah Newton

Jesse Norman

David Nuttall

Neil Parish

Owen Paterson

Rebecca Pow

Jeremy Quin

Jacob Rees-Mogg

Laurence Robertson

Julian Smith

Royston Smith

Mark Spencer

John Stevenson

Desmond Swayne

Derek Thomas

Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Andrew Turner

Shailesh Vara

Theresa Villiers

Ben Wallace

David Warburton

Craig Whittaker

John Whittingdale

Nadhim Zahawi

Remember to keep up to date with the latest changes to landlord law at LandlordNews.co.uk.

The Most Expensive and the Cheapest Places to Rent in the UK

Published On: January 14, 2016 at 3:09 pm

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Categories: Property News

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The Most Expensive and the Cheapest Places to Rent in the UK

The Most Expensive and the Cheapest Places to Rent in the UK

Flat share website EasyRoommate has revealed the most expensive and the cheapest places to rent a double room in the UK.

Tenants in the UK pay an average of £492 per month for a double room, an increase of 13% (£57) on last year, when rent was £435 a month, according to the site.

It’s no surprise that the most expensive place to rent in the UK is London, where a double room costs an average of £700 per month, up 8% on the end of 2014.

Renting in Manchester now costs 7% more than at the end of 2014, with the average rent for a double room now sitting at £393 per month. Rents rose by over 6% in Birmingham, from £358 at the end of 2014 to £381 at the end of last year.

Top ten most expensive places to rent in the UK

Position

 Area

Rent per month for a double bedroom
1 London £700
2 Oxford £578
3 Surrey £562
4 Cambridge £543
5 Reading £511
6 Aberdeen £494
7 Edinburgh £450
8 Bournemouth £442
9 York £403
10 Southampton £398

Top ten least expensive places to rent in the UK

Position

 Area

Rent per month for a double bedroom
1 Belfast £283
2 Bradford £322
3 Sunderland £326
4 Swansea £327
5 Bolton £329
6 Stoke-on-Trent £332
7 Preston £340
8 Leicester £342
9 Cardiff £345
10 Leeds £355

It may seem that landlords would receive the highest returns in the areas on the top list, but remember; property prices are usually more expensive in these places too, so always work out your potential yield by dividing the annual rent received by the price you paid for the property. This will calculate how much you will make over the year. And wherever you buy an investment property, it is always wise to have rent guarantee insurance in place, in case your tenants default on rent payments.

UK housebuilding delayed due to lack of skilled workers-RICS

Published On: January 14, 2016 at 2:30 pm

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The hold up in construction of new homes is being driven by a shortage of skilled workers in the sector, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

It fears that a lack of construction skills is threatening work on new homes and infrastructure projects.

Short

In a survey conducted by RICS, six in ten respondents said that they had difficulty locating bricklayers and quantity surveyors for specific tasks.

Wages for construction workers increased by in excess of 6% in the year to October, which was more than three times the average wage increase for UK workers. However, RICS’ latest market survey, assessing the final quarter of 2015, suggests labour shortages were considered to be the largest barrier to growth by almost two-thirds of industry professionals.

UK housebuilding delayed due to lack of skilled workers-RICS

UK housebuilding delayed due to lack of skilled workers-RICS

This will come as a blow to the Government, which has pledged to increase housebuilding in an attempt to tackle the growing housing shortage. Despite the number of homes being constructed rising from lows after the financial crisis, they are well below their 2007 highs. In addition, they are well short of the 250,000 that many experts feel are required to satisfy unwilting demand.

Further research from the Guardian suggests that major firms have secured land for 600,000 homes, all of which have yet to built. The Local Government Association said that the total number of unbuilt homes that have already been given planning permission are at record highs.

Just last week, the LGA called for tougher sanctions on slow building.

Unattractive

RICS noted that the building industry lost many skilled workers on the back of the economic crisis, many of who cannot be tempted back into the sector. The orgnaisation believes there is not enough being done to attract new trainees, despite the recent wage increases.

‘While workloads are still growing at a relatively healthy pace, labour shortages in the construction sector are causing delays at different stages in the development process and leading to significant problems with project planning,’ noted Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS. ‘More than 60% of our survey respondents said that these resulting planning delays were an impediment to growth.’[1]

‘That said, industry wages are becoming increasingly attractive, and I would hope that over time this will encourage skilled workers to return to the sector, as well as drawing school leavers and graduates towards construction-industry careers, he added.[1]

[1] http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/14/uk-housebuilding-held-up-lack-bricklayers-report-rics

 

Average House Price Could Soon Hit £300,000

Published On: January 14, 2016 at 12:04 pm

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The average house price in England and Wales was £292,077 at the end of last year, according to the latest report from Your Move and Reeds Rains.

Average House Price Could Soon Hit £300,000

Average House Price Could Soon Hit £300,000

The firms found that the average property value rose 6.6% annually, an increase of £17,963 over the year.

House prices in central London fell by an average of 8.7% last year, pulled down by higher Stamp Duty on the most expensive homes. Meanwhile, prices elsewhere in the capital soared by 11%.

The estate agents also found that last month was the strongest December for property sales since 2006, as buyers compete for fewer homes on the market. Over the month, there were 85,000 home sales.

The Director of Your Move and Reeds Rains, Adrian Gill, claims that new price records were set in every single month last year.

He says: “If the current speed of house price growth continues into 2016, the value of the average home may soon pass the £300,000 watermark, having reached £250,000 in December 2013.

“Property prices have certainly left the recession in their wake.”

He continues: “Regionally, house prices in the South East have been increasing at a rate of knots, enjoying the fastest growth of any region. The 8.1% year-on-year price rise has been particularly propelled by demand for homes in commuter towns.

“Luton has seen the largest increase of 18.5% year-on-year, with the average cost of a semi-detached home in the town increasing by approximately £40,000 since 2014.

“The East Midlands has also seen a significant surge in house prices, overtaking East Anglia to become the second fastest growing region in England.

“This acceleration has emanated from a boom in Nottingham, which has seen year-on-year house price growth of 10.6%, boosting the region’s overall annual growth rate of 6.7%. Average property prices in the city have risen £14,691 in a year and now stand at £152,978.”1 

How have prices changed where you live?

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/average-house-prices-will-soon-get-close-to-300000-mark-claim/

 

Landlord fined for not following correct eviction procedure

Published On: January 14, 2016 at 12:01 pm

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A Birmingham landlord is counting the cost of his errors, having been ordered to pay substantial costs for illegally evicting a family of nine.

Mr Mirsad Solakovic, 37, of Sparkbrook in the city, was fined £700 and told to pay £1,500 following his rogue dealings.

Unlawful

Solakovic was found guilty of unlawfully evicting the family from a home in Bordesley Green, which was a contravention of Section 1(2) of The Protection from Eviction Act 1977.

The landlord asked his tenants to leave but did not serve them with the appropriate notice. As a result, Birmingham City Council wrote to the agent managing the property, outlining the correct legal procedure to be followed in order to successfully gain possession.

Subsequently, the agent served a new notice giving the tenants two months notice to leave the property. However, Mr Solakovic decided to ignore this and changed the locks to the home.

One of the family members returned home to find he was unable to access the home and immediately called the police. Despite this, Solakovic did not allow the family to return, only allowing one tenant to retrieve a few personal belongings.

Landlord fined for not following correct eviction procedure

Landlord fined for not following correct eviction procedure

Processes

Councillor John Cotton, Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for neighbourhood management and homes, reminded landlords and agents that there are legislations that must be adhered to when looking to evict tenants. Cotton noted, ‘when relationships break down between tenants and landlords there are strict legal processes that have to be followed and council officers are here to help both sides move forward.’[1]

‘In this case, Mr Solakovic took the law into his own hands and unlawfully evicted a family. Today’s prosecution sends out a clear message that we will not tolerate this behavior and will pursue those landlords who operate outside the law,’ he concluded.[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/1/birmingham-landlord-fined-2-200-for-illegal-eviction

 

Upcoming SDLT rise will have ‘drastic’ affect

Published On: January 14, 2016 at 11:11 am

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The chairman of a leading property and construction group believes that the upcoming changes in stamp duty tax could have a major impact on the property market.

Mark Webb, chairman of the property and construction group at Smith and Williamson, believes the proposed increase of SDLT rate by 3% from April 1st will, ‘drastically affect the profit margins of many in the property industry.’[1]

Changes

Upcoming alterations in legislation will see an increase of 3% from April on tax paid on buy-to-let, second homes and other residential properties that are purchased by individuals. In addition, residential properties bought by trustees, except from where there is a life interest and residential properties purchased by corporates or collective investment vehicles.

One exemption, where there has been a block purchase of a minimum of 15 residential properties, is being considered further.

A consultation document reads that the increased rates of SDLT rates will apply to the majority of transactions above £40,000 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Upcoming SDLT rise will have 'drastic' affect

Upcoming SDLT rise will have ‘drastic’ affect

Key issue

Webb believes that, ‘the key issue affecting corporates is any available exemptions. The government is considering an exemption from the higher rates, with the possible intention of targeting this at cases where there is a bulk purchase of at least 15 residential properties in one transaction. It is seeking evidence as to whether making such an exemption available to individual investors as well as non-natural persons would support the government’s housing agenda.’[1]

‘The intention otherwise is that the first purchase of a residential property by a company or collective investment vehicle is subject to the higher rates of SDLT. Thereafter, as purchases of further properties would also be subject to the additional 3% charge, apart from where bulk purchases can be made, this would add a significant uplift in costs for corporates,’ he continued.[1]

Lack of encouragement

Mr Webb went on to say, ‘while appreciating that the new proposal may encourage investment in new sites, increasing the stock of housing, it will do little to encourage corporates and funds to invest in and improve other housing, such as small holdings being sold off by individual landlords trying to leave the industry. Where such properties are bought up by institutional investors, such as REITS, which the Government seems to want to encourage, the additional SDLT charges are likely to lead to higher rents rather than additional supply.’[1]

‘It should be recognised though that all options appears to remain open. The consultation has asked for all comments around an exemption and we expect funds, individuals and companies owning significant amounts of property or contemplating significant investment to argue that an exemption should apply,’ Webb concluded.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/stamp-duty-rise-could-drastically-affect-property-industry.html