Central Housing Group recently attended the Guaranteed Rent Scheme Hillingdon Landlord Forum on the evening of 20th November 2018 which was held at LB Hillingdon, Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge, UB8 1UW. We were attending at the invitation of Jessica Alomankeh, Projects Manager of the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS) and we welcomed the opportunity to speak to many Hillingdon landlords who attended as well as Hillingdon Council housing officers.… Continue Reading Guaranteed Rent Scheme Hillingdon Landlord Forum

Today sees the Second Reading in the House of the Lords for the Homes Fitness for Human Habitation Bill, promoted by Labour backbencher Karen Buck with strong support from the government and industry. The Homes Fitness for Human Habitation Bill seeks to amend the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and the Building Act 1984. If it becomes law (as is highly likely, in the second half of 2019) it will ensure… Continue Reading Homes Fitness for Human Habitation Bill takes a step forward

One of Britain’s high profile landlords is to be sentenced on December 11 – and she must show the court details of the bank accounts and assets held by her and her husband. Judith Wilson is the partner of Fergus Wilson, who regularly hits the headlines: together they at one time owned a reported 1,000 properties, almost entirely around Ashford in Kent, and have frequently generated news stories through their statements… Continue Reading Controversial high profile landlords

BtL landlords would not pay capital gains tax when selling to buy to let tenants who have lived in a property for three years or more. A new policy pitch could clear the way for buy to let tenants to purchase properties off landlords through a scheme dubbed Chance to Buy. Under the plan, BtL landlords would not pay capital gains tax when selling to buy to let tenants who… Continue Reading Policy pitch for Buy to let tenants

This town beside the green belt – Enfield area guide to homes, schools and transport links to the City and its own mythical beast. Families come to Enfield because of the appeal of small town life and the acres of green space which surround it with two beautiful country parks — Trent Park and Forty Hall — and Epping Forest close by. The citizens of Enfield in north London are proud of their history. The Dugdale… Continue Reading Enfield area guide to homes schools and transport links

Trade bodies have welcomed a government homelessness initiative to get more homeless people, as well as those at risk of becoming homeless, into private rented housing – but there are concerns the measures are not strong enough. The government this week announced that local councils would be permitted to contact lettings agents to find accommodation for those currently homeless or those at risk of homelessness, and would even be entitled… Continue Reading Industry wants homelessness initiative beefed up

The downturn in the London Metropolitan property market has spread into the commuter belt where prices have fallen year on year for the first time since 2012, a new survey reveals today. The average cost of a home in the London Metropolitan property market region – covering dormitory towns such as Reading, Maidstone, St Albansand Woking – dipped 0.3 per cent to £364,309 in the 12 months to September, according to lender Nationwide. Prices in the capital itself were… Continue Reading London Metropolitan property market price fall

The Deposit Protection Service says almost a quarter of students lost part of their tenancy deposits when they left their accommodation at the end of the last academic year. The service says that cleaning (63 per cent) is the common reason cited by agents and landlords claiming part of their tenancy deposits, followed by damage to property (54 per cent), redecoration (37 per cent), rent arrears (23 per cent), gardening… Continue Reading Students tenancy deposits loss

A substantial study by university academics suggests that Housing Benefit homelessness from private rented housing are due to changes in the benefit system. Research from the Policy Evaluation and Research Unit at Manchester Metropolitan University – commissioned by the Residential Landlords Association – has found that a key driver of Housing Benefit Homelessness from the private rented sector has been the introduction in 2008 of the Local Housing Allowance, as… Continue Reading Housing Benefit Homelessness

The shock findings of a new survey suggest that 32 per cent of landlords would be less likely to buy new rental property if the government were to introduce compulsory three-year tenancies. The latest PRS Trends survey by specialist buy to let lender Paragon – which was one of the first lenders to update its lending criteria to allow longer tenancies, back in 2014 – says the result comes from… Continue Reading Longer tenancies deter new rental property

New figures from the BBC’s Panorama programme have revealed that Universal Credit evictions are more than double the rent arrears of those who have yet to move to the new benefit system. A survey of Universal Credit claimants in every local authority area where the changes have been implemented shows they owe their landlords £662.56 on average, compared with £262.50 for those on traditional housing benefits. The figures also indicate… Continue Reading Universal Credit evictions doubled

A salary of £51,200 a year is required to rent a one bedroom home in London according to research conducted by a BBC data team. Across England as a whole, with the capital included in the analysis, a gross annual income of £24,800 would be needed for the average one-bedroom rental flat. In Scotland £20,700 is needed and in Wales £17,600. The calculations are made on the basis of people spending… Continue Reading Two thirds of Britain ‘unaffordable to young renters’ claims BBC

A comparison website claims that over 1.5m tenants know their landlord has not placed their deposits into a government-backed deposit protection scheme. The startling figure comes from Comparethemarket which claims that despite the legal obligation for landlords to put deposits into schemes such as the DPS, many tenants say they know this has not been done. Meanwhile a fifth of tenants claim that they do not have a contract with… Continue Reading 1.5m deposits not in deposit protection scheme

A major property platform says the London lettings market may well be on the road to recovery – but that it will not happen for another two years at least. Home says prices look set to stabilise in the capital within two years due to improving rental yields. “During London’s recent property boom, house prices soared ahead of rents. Investment fever drove prices up more than 50 per cent in… Continue Reading London lettings market will recover

There are some seriously old names knocking about this city of ours – and some of the oldest belong to the 32 London boroughs. The Original Tour did some etymological digging to find out where the borough names come from, and though a few (like Redbridge and Newham) are recent inventions, many date back to the Anglo-Saxon era: a time when most of what is now London apparently consisted of… Continue Reading This map shows what the London borough names actually mean

The Labour-led local authority in Hackney has issued a statement pledging fines or even bans if landlords fail to get appropriate licenses by the start of a new licensing regime in December. The statement says landlords of all private rented homes in Brownswood, Cazenove and Stoke Newington wards will need to hold new licensing “committing them to keeping properties safe and treating tenants fairly.” More generally, the council also says… Continue Reading London council brings in new licensing

So-called Real Rents – those adjusted for inflation – have fallen by 2.2 per cent since October 2008. This means that the average cost of living has far outstripped average rents. The claim comes from Countrywide’s high end brand Hamptons International, which monitors the rental market. In the last 10 years the consumer price index, which measures the average cost of goods and services, has outpaced rents. Over the last… Continue Reading Real Rents have fallen over the last 10 years

The Association of Residential Letting Agents has released details of its response to the government’s official consultation on a possible three year tenancy in the private rental sector – and ARLA says now is not the time to introduce such a change. The consultation which formally closed in late August invited views and comments on the benefits and barriers of landlords offering longer tenancies in England. In ARLA’s response, outlined… Continue Reading Now isn’t the time to introduce three year tenancy

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has made a clear pledge to tighten regulations and create private rental register. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper McDonnell says: “Landlord licensing is not fit for purpose and the problem of rogue landlords is extensive. We need an effective scheme, local authorities that are properly resourced and improved tenants’ rights. “We [Labour] are running a consultation to consolidate the powers available to local authorities… Continue Reading Labour to create private rental register

Housing transactions across England and Wales are down almost 30% on pre-crash levels. A new report, analysing Land Registry data for the year to and including August, also says that excluding London, transactions in England and Wales are up on a quarterly basis by 15.2% but down 1.3% measured annually. The report, from London Central Portfolio, says that the wider market in England and Wales – excluding Greater London –… Continue Reading Housing transactions across England and Wales down 30%