Posts with tag: rental market

Internet connection now considered essential for tenants

Published On: November 18, 2016 at 11:19 am

Tags: broadband,internet connectivity,landlords,rental market,tenants

An interesting new survey has revealed that a reliable and affordable internet connection is one is the most important features that tenants look for when searching for a new property.

For many millennials, a good broadband connection is imperative, whether for work, study and entertainment reasons.

Essential

Research from LivingCom shows that high-speed internet is an essential component of renting a property. 96% said that a lack of internet when moving into a property is cause for massive frustration.

In fact, the survey shows that sub-standard connectivity can have a detrimental impact on rental values. Tenants will be harder to attract and of course, harder to retain. Three-quarters of young professionals questioned said that the are more inclined to rent a pre-installed internet service.

Paul Eaton, commercial manager at LivingCom, commented: ‘77% of young professionals own three or more internet-ready devices, so connectivity is key for the millennial movers and within three in four of this market lacking the funds to buy their own property, the private rental sector should be ensuring high-speed Wi-Fi and internet based services are delivered as an essential amenity, as soon as possible.’[1]

‘With 83% of 25 to 30 year olds having to wait more than a week to be connected in their new homes, it’s clear that high-speed internet connectivity needs to become an essential part of property development and a priority for landlords,’ he continued.[1]

Internet connection now considered essential for tenants

Growing importance

Alternative research from Gocompare.com Broadband has indicated that a number of Britons see a good internet connection as more important than heating!

76% of people asked now view broadband as an essential utility, with 36% saying that they could not live without it. One if five people said that they would not buy or rent a home if there was a poor connection.

23% of 18-24 year olds said that they would go without heating for a week in favour of broadband. 15% said they would go cold for a month!

Ben Wilson of Gocompare Broadband noted: ‘These figures highlight just how important the internet has become in our daily lives, with the majority of people now considering it an essential utility like energy or water.’[1]

‘The internet has quietly become a vital part in many people’s day-to-day lives and as such it’s now more important than ever to make sure you’re with right provider at the right price.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/11/good-internet-connection-now-considered-vital-by-renters

More properties available to let in prime central London

Published On: November 15, 2016 at 11:31 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: landlords,prime central london,rental market,rents

Another piece of research has revealed that property available to rent in prime central London has risen sharply.

Data from the report by property company LosRes reveals that in the third quarter of this year, stock levels have risen substantially since the same period in 2015.

In contrast however, there was actually 4% fall in the number of properties actually rented out.

Rising stock

A LosRes spokesperson said: ‘Increased stock levels have meant that tenants are able to negotiate on price. A slow July market, following the referendum result, is impacting on the quarterly figures.’[1]

Taking prime central London properties as a whole, the number of homes let fell by 17% in comparison with the same period one year ago. August and September however saw increases of five and seven per cent respectively.

Concluding, the report said: ‘The majority of our subscribers surveyed still expect achieved rental values in 2016 to end the year down on 2015 levels, but the proportion expecting a fall has dropped since our previous survey in Q2 2016. This quarter, 32 per cent of respondents expect average rental values to end the year at the same level, or higher, than the end of 2015, up from 22 per cent in Q2 2016.’[1]

More properties available to let in prime central London

Falling rent

This report comes soon after a similar one conducted by lettings agency and property consultancy JLL.

Research Director, Neil Chegwidden, said: ‘With weakened tenant demand, the increased supply of properties on the market is not being eroded. Available supply has also been boosted by owners electing to rent out their properties as opposed to selling them, given the diminished demand in the sales market.’[2]

‘Although most are choosing to remain in their current accommodation due to the upheavel and cost of a move, some are moving elsewhere to take advantage of these conditions,’ he added.[2]

[1] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/11/another-report-of-surge-in-supply-of-prime-london-homes-to-let

[2] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/8/over-supply-leads-to-rents-falling-in-prime-london-lettings-market

Housing market stays steady post-Brexit

Published On: October 20, 2016 at 8:57 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: Brexit,buy-to-let landlords,investors,rental market

Despite ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Brexit vote, Britain’s housing and economy markets have showed resilience.

Residential property price growth has slowed slightly, but former Chancellor George Osborne’s predictions of a fully blown crash have failed to materialise.

Lack of panic

There has also been a lack of panic amongst investment buyers looking to get rid of their properties, with stagnation continuing in the market.

Marc von Grundherr, Lettings Director at Benham & Reeves Residential Lettings, noted: ‘Rents have flat-lined across most of the capital. We are advising all our landlords not to ask for rental increases and if the tenant has been particular good then to even consider a slight decrease or some works to retain them and avert any void.’[1]

According to Benham & Reeves Residential Lettings, tenants are readily agreeing renewals.

Housing market stays steady post-Brexit

Capital gains?

Most noticeably, rent prices in prime central London have slipped for the second successive quarter. There has been an oversupply in rental properties in Belgravia, Chelsea and Knightsbridge, which is having a negative impact on rental values in the area.

von Grundherr continued by saying: ‘Prime central London arguably has the best value properties in the capital at the moment. And transformed pockets of North West London such as Colindale continue to offer excellent returns for investors who go in there early.’[1]

‘If you look at most of the Heat Map, rents have stayed the same over the past quarter. We’re in a period of uncertainty and fortunately, our landlords are listening to our advice when we tell them not to be greedy and simply value the tenants they have,’ he added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/rental-market-stagnant-after-brexit.html

Proposed licensing scheme won’t work, claims ARLA

Published On: October 19, 2016 at 1:42 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ARLA,landlords,licensing scheme,rental market

Yesterday, the Government announced plans to introduce a mandatory licensing scheme for landlords of multi-let accommodation. This is in an attempt to clamp down on rogues and introduce standards in the sector.

However, the Association of Residential Letting Agents believes this scheme is destined for failure.

Rules

The new rules, to be introduced next year, were outlined in a consultation published yesterday by the Department for Communities and Local Government. They propose to apply these licensing rules to all shared properties in England with five or more people from two or more households. In addition, the rules will apply to flats attached to business premises.

According to housing and planning minister Gavin Barwell, the rules will make sure that, ‘everyone has somewhere safe and secure to live.’[1]

He continued by saying: ‘These measures will give councils the powers they need to tackle poor-quality rental homes in their area. By driving out rogue landlords that flout the rules out of business, we are raising standards and giving tenants the protection they need.’[1]

Landlords failing to comply with the licence could face potential fines or even a criminal prosecution.

Proposed licensing scheme won’t work, claims ARLA

Lack of enforcement

However, David Cox, managing director of ARLA, said that, ‘landlord licensing doesn’t work.’

Continuing, Mr Cox said: ‘Councils already have a wide variety of powers to prosecute for poor property conditions and bad management practices; with penalties ranging from fines to seizure of property and even imprisonment. But Councils don’t have the resources to undertake effective enforcement action. Imposing more burdens on councils will not mean improved standards and better conditions for tenants; it will merely mean more laws that are not being enforced.’[1]

Responding to Mr Barwell’s comments that rules for minimum room sizes will also apply to shared properties, Cox said this could have, ‘unintended consequences.’

‘Some people are happy to take small rooms to keep their costs down. If these rooms are no longer available, where are people supposed to live? What’s more, if a small room in a property can no longer be let out, the costs of that room will be spread across the other tenants living in the property; pushing up their rents. A habitable room is essential but a one-size-fits-all policy doesn’t always work,’ he concluded.[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/10/tighter-licensing-requirements-for-hmos-wont-improve-standards-for-tenants–arla

New rental listings slide in September

Published On: October 19, 2016 at 9:56 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: Buy-to-Let,landlords,new rental listings,rental market,rents

A concerning new report from crowdfunding platform Property Partner has revealed that around four in ten large UK towns and cities in Britain saw a fall in buy-to-let listings in September.

The investigation looked at rental listings in 89 locations, analysing the number of properties listed between 1^st-28^th September, then compared to figures recorded in August.

Falls

Research from the platform showed that 36 towns and cities saw a decrease in rental supply during September. Of these, 29 also saw a fall during August.

Grimsby saw the largest drop in new rental listings in the last month, seeing a decline of 26%. Oxford (-24.4%), Canterbury (-23.9%) and Brighton (-18.7%) also saw significant falls. This said, no region was unaffected by a shortage of supply.

London saw new rental listings rise by 1.43% in the last month, showing a significant rise from August, when supply fell by 16.4%. Other large British cities, Manchester and Birmingham, saw new listings slide by 13.04% and 13.69% respectively.

Worrying

Dan Gandesha, CEO of Property Partner, observed: ‘You’d expect a seasonal drop off in the number of new buy-to-let properties coming onto the market during August but September has also proved worryingly slow. We’ll have to wait until next month to determine whether this is just a short-term problem or something to be increasingly concerned about.’[1]

‘The new stamp duty hike in April for buy-to-let and second homes saw a rush by landlords to beat the deadline with a subsequent rise in stock levels. But now that the dust has settled, we’re seeing some significant declines in new listings, particularly surprising after the Summer. Earlier this month, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) warned of a critical rental shortage. Traditional landlords have been given a proverbial cold bath with recent tax change announcements. The hike in the stamp duty surcharge in April has certainly discouraged landlords from increasing their rental portfolios,’ he continued.[1]

New rental listings slide in September

Hassle

Mr Gandesha wonders if many landlords will continue in their role past next year. He notes: ‘Alongside tougher lending criteria and cuts to mortgage interest tax relief starting next year, many landlords will be now doubting if it’s worth the hassle, particularly in the South East. Profits have been hit hard and those landlords that decide to stick with it, may just be forced to push up rents – not a promising prospect for tenants.’[1]

‘Like RICs, we believe Britain should be building more homes across all tenure types. Over the past decade, more and more people have moved away from home ownership and become long-term renters. It’s time for the new government to make build-to-rent a key priority, encouraging the private sector to build properties for residential letting with incentives for institutional and ‘professional’ landlords,’ he concluded.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/september-sees-further-rental-supply-problems.html

Government urged to scrap tax to boost supply

Published On: October 7, 2016 at 12:07 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: landlords,new homes,rental market,Stamp Duty,supply of property

The Government is being called upon to take new steps to combat the shortage of home in the UK by giving landowners and developers incentives to increase supply.

This includes building more affordable homes through the introduction of temporary capital taxation reliefs.

Proposal

The new proposal has been forwarded by London-based chartered accountants Blick Rothenberg LLP and follows a warning from RICS over the shortage of homes to rent.

Frank Nash, partner at Blick Rothenberg, commented: ‘RICS are pushing to loosen tax rules on the buy-to-let market and go even further by suggesting pension fund could be engaged to provide large scale housing schemes. This added pressure puts the Government in a difficult position given their pledge to ensure younger generations become owner-occupiers rather than renters.’[1]

‘We could use the tax system to boost the supply of affordable housing by temporarily reducing capital gains tax, corporation tax and stamp duty land tax on development land where affordable housing quota is met. House builders and landowners are motivated to achieve competitive returns and tax savings would incentivise them to work with local authorities and meet their affordable housing targets without degrading the competitive returns provided through private house sales,’ he added.[1]

Government urged to scrap tax to boost supply

Support

In the week that the Government said it would assist in the construction of additional homes for people to buy, Mr Nash added: ‘There are too many prospective homeowners chasing too few properties and competing with the private rental sector.’[1]

‘Temporary tax exemptions on the disposal of land for housing should inject a new supply dimension into the housing market, but these reliefs should be conditional upon achieving a minimum percentage of affordable homes within a give time frame, in line with each local authority’s own affordable housing targets,’ Nash concluded.[1]

[1] https://www.propertyinvestortoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/10/government-urged-to-scrap-tax-on-development-land-to-boost-housing-supply