Housing announcements were scarce but the Budget will impact London home buyers and movers over the next few months and years. Is it all doom and gloom? Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Budget outlined the Government’s new economic direction intended to plug the UK’s £55 billion fiscal hole. “Stability, growth and public services” was his hendiatris of choice, and while the Chancellor did not ignore housing policy for home buyers and movers… Continue Reading London Home Buyers And Movers Autumn Budget

Landlords and estate agents are likely to face an even longer wait to evict tenants and settle disputes after last week’s Budget effectively saw justice on the receiving end of a swathe of cuts. And The Law Society says curtailing justice spending could even lead to system wide failure. Law Society Vice President Nick Emmerson says: “The justice system is in crisis and facing systemic failure. Increased funding is vital… Continue Reading Landlords And Estate Agents Face Longer Wait To Evict Tenants

A Labour MP has attacked Airbnb hosts and others in the short term lets business, accusing them of “this exploitation of housing for personal gain.” Rachael Maskell, MP for York, tomorrow moves a Bill in the House of Commons calling for greater council-level regulation over Airbnbs and other short term lets business’, and she has written in the city’s local press about her aims. She says she is backed by… Continue Reading Labour MP Attacks Short Term Lets Business

Thousands of small business owners and landlords will bear the brunt of Jeremy Hunt’s quest to boost his Treasury coffers. Revealing the latest Dividend Allowance and Capital Gains Tax annual exempt amount in last week’s budget Hunt said the government will reduce the Dividend Allowance from £2,000 to £1,000 from April next year and to £500 from April 2024. Meanwhile the Capital Gains Tax Annual Exempt Amount will also reduce… Continue Reading Business Owners And Landlords Hit With CGT Hike

Today we responded to the Chancellor’s decision to cut the Capital Gains Tax allowance in the Autumn Statement, a missed opportunity to boost housing supply, and retain the rented housing Stamp Duty Levy, Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “The demand for private rented housing is massively outstripping supply. This will only worsen as growing mortgage rates make home ownership more difficult to afford.  “The… Continue Reading Autumn statement a missed opportunity to boost housing supply – Originally Posted by NRLA

NRLA Chief Executive Ben Beadle says the decision to slash CGT allowance in the Autumn Statement was another tax on landlords – and a missed opportunity to boost housing supply at a time of ever-increasing demand. Landlords are set to lose thousands on property sales, with yet another assault on the sector launched by the Government. In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the annual Capital Gains Tax Allowance… Continue Reading Capital Gains Cuts Another Tax On Landlords – Originally Posted by NRLA

As energy prices have increased 70 per cent in the UK this year, so more homeowners have fitted small-scale solar panel installations – the highest number for five years. New government figures show that at the end of September 2022, 1.2m solar PV systems had been installed in the UK. An estimated  97 per cent of them generate up to 10KW of electricity.  That number has increased by 10 per… Continue Reading Solar Panel Installations Boom For Improved EPCs

With EPC ratings now a prominent part of letting a property, with stricter rental regulations likely, new research suggests substantial numbers of landlords and other owners are blissfully ignorant. More than six million homeowners across the UK are unaware of their property’s EPC rating and rental regulations, according to the MyGlazing consumer website.  As winter emerges amidst the worst energy crisis on record, the new research reveals that 43 per… Continue Reading Ignorance Of EPC Ratings Despite Rental Regulations

Fresh market analysis has revealed that a -16% drop in construction workers is just one of many challenges currently facing Britain’s construction industry; a list that includes the rising cost of materials and the notorious EWS1 form. A declining workforce Over the past five years, the size of Britain’s construction industry workforce has shrunk by -3%, falling from 2.27m in 2017 to 2.21m in 2022. Even more startling is the… Continue Reading Six Major Challenges Facing Construction Industry

Average house prices fell in October, the third such decrease in the past four months. The drop of -0.4% is the sharpest we have seen since February 2021, taking the typical property price to a five-month low of £292,598. While the pace of annual growth also continued to ease, to +8.3% compared to +9.8% in September, average prices remain near record highs. Though the recent period of rapid house price… Continue Reading Average House Prices Fell In October

In the UK, the property landscape is never far from the headlines. However, in times of broader economic disquiet, the property landscape comes under even greater scrutiny. And so it is that speculation is rife around the future prospects of property on these shores. It should not be understated how the wedded challenges of spiralling inflation and rising interest rates will influence how finance works for the foreseeable future. Inflation… Continue Reading How Lenders Are Preparing for A Complicated Property Landscape

A lettings agency chief has listed how rent controls have failed across the world. Writing in The Scotsman, David Alexander – lettings agency chief executive of DJ Alexander, part of the Lomond Group – makes a withering attack on the concept of rent controls now applied by the Scottish Government. Alexander ridicules the government’s view that only “vested interests” are opposing rent controls. Alexander says: “The ‘vested interests’ that include… Continue Reading Lettings Agency Chief Lists Rent Control Consequences

Over the next three months Redbridge council in London is consulting on proposals to renew selective licensing in the borough. It says its aim is to ensure that all rented properties are safe and well managed. Councillor Vanisha Solanki, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, says: “The consultation is of huge importance as it will help inform the next steps of achieving our wider objective which is to improve the… Continue Reading 3 Month Selective Licensing Consultation

UK recession is looking more likely as the economy shrank 0.2% in the three months to September. This essentially means we’re more firmly on track to be in a UK recession by the end of the year. The most notable downturns came from a slowing in the services sector, driven by a fall in consumer facing services. Production also fell sharply. The stark takeaway is that real household spending dropped… Continue Reading UK Recession Likely As Economy Shrinks

Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week runs from 21-27 November and is organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG). Carbon Monoxide. It can’t be seen, tasted or smelt, but it is estimated that over 200 people are hospitalised with suspected CO poisoning each year in the UK alone, leading to 60 fatalities. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the so-called ‘silent killer’, and to help consumers and the public… Continue Reading Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week: Everything Landlords Need To Know – Originally Posted by NRLA

Propertymark backs government plans to introduce a social housing-style to the Decent Homes Standard in the private sector. But it says there must be a huge boost in government funding to allow councils to enforce the standard adequately. Timothy Douglas, Propertymark policy director, says: “It’s hard to find a reason not to support greater standards for homes within the private rented sector. “Tenants should expect a certain standard when renting… Continue Reading The Decent Homes Standard – Councils Need Massive Resources

The growth of the Build To Rent sector is a symbol of a changing Britain, in says one of the players in the BTR industry. Paul Staley – director at Wise Living – says recent research by the British Property Federation shows that the Build To Rent sector homes will rise in number from 76,800 to over 380,000 in the next decade. He comments: “With the ongoing housing crisis, interest… Continue Reading Growth Of The Build To Rent Sector Symbol Of Changing Britain

The Property Ombudsman has reported a big rise in lettings enquiries over last year and a huge rise since the pre-Covid year, 2019. Demand for help and advice from TPO rose by 15 per cent in 2021 to 45,007 lettings enquiries, and has risen by a staggering 48 per cent since 2019.   Throughout 2021, TPO’s consumer enquiry services, delivered through its portal and directly by the enquiries team, fielded 45,007… Continue Reading Big Rise In Lettings Enquiries To The Property Ombudsman

With the private rental sector stressed at the prospect of stricter energy efficiency rules in the coming years, the body representing mortgage lenders has called for a dramatic overhaul. UK Finance mortgage lenders has issued a new report calling for: Amended Stamp Duty Land Tax ;to incorporate the property’s energy demand and carbon emissions. Stamp Duty rebates should become available if energy efficiency improvements are completed within two years of… Continue Reading Mortgage Lenders Call To Change EPCs

On Tuesday 15 November the Coventry Arena played host to the first national NRLA Conference, attended by more than 500 delegates, speakers, and exhibitors including the latest minister for the private rented sector Felicity Buchan MP. Given ministers’ busy schedules, it is always somewhat of a relief when they arrive at a scheduled speaking engagement, and on this occasion her attendance was especially reassuring as she was in fact the… Continue Reading Minister Delivers First Speech at NRLA Conference – Originally Posted by NRLA