The UK’s housing shortfall will rise by a further 318,632 by 2020 at the current rate of growth, Aldermore has warned. The lender says the UK’s house building output against the 250,000 figure recommended in the Barker Review in 2004 shows a shortfall of 915,930 houses as of the beginning of 2015. To meet the annual recommended target of 250,000 homes a year, the UK must build 685 homes a…

A national newspaper journalist and her lettings agent husband have teamed up to write a book for the much-underserved generation of accidental landlords. Martina Lees, who writes for the Sunday Times, and Daniel Lees, of lettings agents Swift Property, have drawn on their experiences of becoming accidental landlords to write a guide encompassing the 140-plus laws on letting, tax changes and post-Brexit market jitters. It includes hands-on advice on every…

Surveyors are urging the Government to do more to free up brownfield and unused land. RICS has highlighted data showing that 86% of surveyors are not expecting to market starter homes within the next 12 months, suggesting that respondents do not see any evidence of a pipeline on the horizon. Ahead of the Housing White Paper and Autumn Statement, RICS also says the government should do more to free up…

Stamp Duty changes have done little to help first-time buyers and they are now paying seven and a half times the national average in London, haart has warned. Paul Smith, chief executive of haart, is calling for the Chancellor to introduce a Stamp Duty holiday for first-time buyers. Research by the agent highlights the high house prices and rental premiums those living in the capital pay, making it harder to…

Chancellor Philip Hammond looks extremely unlikely to reverse his predecessor’s ‘Section 24’ tax assault on private landlords in tomorrow’s Autumn Statement. A letter from the Treasury, in response to a report by landlord Dr Rosalind Beck on the impending tax change, says: “The Government stands by the reasons why the change is being implemented.” From next April, the ability of private landlords to set mortgage interest costs against tax will…

More than 92 per cent of landlords believe the government is anti-landlord and want the Chancellor to back them in this week’s Autumn Statement. A snap survey conducted by Martin & Co – the UK’s largest lettings and property management franchise business with 190 offices – reveals the anger felt by the majority of landlords surveyed by the agency. Some 783 landlords responded and the most vociferous comments came from those…

The Residential Landlords’ Association says it stands by a claim that one in four landlords may sell up, and it refutes an attack on the integrity of its figures by a lettings agent. On Friday Letting Agent Today reported that outspoken north of England agent Ajay Jagota queried the findings of an RLA survey involving some 1,000 buy to let landlords. It found that 25 per cent would quite the…

A property & rental fraudster who has been jailed for five years shows how important it is for landlords to maintain their guard when interviewing prospective new tenants. Looks and stories can be deceiving and due diligence should ALWAYS be undertaken.  If you take things at face value, you are opening yourself up to significant risk of letting to a rogue, some of whom are serial rental fraudsters. The fraudster, a…

Harringay Green Lanes is in the borough of Haringey. But hang on a second… why are they spelt differently? We decided to untangle this web of r’s, a’s and e’s — to see where the confusion arose. Like much of London, this name dates back to the Saxon era; Haringey (or Harringay) derives from Haeringes-hege. It denoted the enclosure belonging to the Saxon chief Haeringe. Most Saxon names were smoothed…

Stamp duty reforms have slowed the housing market and raised half as much money as the Treasury predicted, it has emerged, amid calls for Philip Hammond to review the tax. The Exchequer received £370 million less in stamp duty than the £700 million it expected following major changes made by George Osborne, new analysis shows. Experts also said it led to a steep decline in property sales and has cost the economy…

1. Failing to reference and check tenants This is SO crucial.  Once a tenant has been given the keys and starts renting you are stuck with them.  They only way you can get them out, if they fail to leave voluntarily, is after court proceedings which could take months. However if you fail to check your tenant you may find: that everything they told you was a lie that they…

A survey of 1,000 buy to let investors by the Residential Landlords’ Association shows that around a quarter are saying they will quit the private rental sector because of tax changes. The impact on investors’ financial viability is being caused by the restrictions on mortgage interest tax relief being introduced from April. The study, by the Residential Landlords’ Association, follows a previous survey which found that 56 per cent of landlords will increase…

An online lettings agency says tenants’ arrears are likely to be the biggest issue facing the rental sector next year unless the government scraps its proposed tax changes for landlords. Despite the proportion of tenants in arrears having improved since the last recession, the agency – Upad – claims it is witnessing the problem grow again. The agency says research from Savills, LSL Property Services and the Ministry of Justice…

Right To Rent legislation means British nationals without a passport face difficulties according to the Residential Landlords’ Association. According to its latest survey of members, some 43 per cent say they are less likely to rent to individuals who do not have a British passport because of the fear of criminal sanctions for getting it wrong. According to the 2011 census – the latest data available – some 17 per…

The boss of easyProperty says he wants the Association of Residential Letting Agents to back an initiative for so-called ‘referencing passports’ to be transferable between letting agents. Currently, agents can charge referencing fees if a tenant rents a property listed with them; if they go to another agent, even within a short period of time, they may have to pay again for a similar referencing check. “I’m proposing a referencing…

A quarter of buy-to-let investors say they will sell their rental properties as a result of the Government’s draconian tax changes – a move which commentators say could destabilise the property market and cause rents to surge. A survey of almost 1,000 experienced private landlords found that 25pc have already sold, or  are planning to sell, following the Government’s plans to remove their ability to deduct their mortgage interest costs from their rental income…

Light-fingered tenants have owned up to taking televisions, boilers and even a king-sized bed from rented properties when the time has come to move house. Figures from one insurer recently showed that 30% of renters believe it is reasonable to take things which don’t belong to them when they move house. But it isn’t just pots and pans going missing – with many of those surveyed admitting to taking fridges,…

LendInvest has released its latest quarterly research Index on the UK Buy-To-Let market and found that the top 10 is dominated by postcodes found in the South East, with Northampton the only exception. According to the research, Luton in Bedfordshire took top spot, with rental prices jumping nearly 10%, the largest increase in the country. Enfield in North London was ranked third overall, but saw the largest capital gains at…

Credit rating consultancy Experian says it is cheaper to rent than buy in 84 per cent of areas, while it’s cheaper to buy than rent in 13 per cent of locations. Of the 10 places that are in the ‘cheaper to buy than rent’ there are six Scottish locations, three north of England places – including the city of Manchester – and one area of Wales. The data, just released,…

Property consultancy Dataloft has produced an index to monitor what it says are the four key factors behind buy to let investors’ decisions as to where to buy. The ‘PRS Squared’ index monitors key indicators for 50 towns and cities, and is explained in more detail in an article on the features section of Letting Agent Today. This indicators include an assessment of the local economy, best judged through local earnings and job growth.…