The landlords’ main trade body is directly challenging a Tory MP who has called for a rent freeze. Natalie Elphicke – in an article on the Conservative Home website – says she wants to see “a newly shaped Department for Housing and Households” which would “robustly challenge the total costs of household bills.” She calls for the “freezing all rents at their current rates for up to two years. In…

Following the publication of her article for Conservative Home (entitled “Keeping people in their homes during harder times must be a top priority”), the NRLA has issued a letter to Natalie Elphicke MP challenging several of her assertions about the private rented sector. The letter, sent by our Chief Executive Ben Beadle, draws attention to Ms Elphicke’s calls for a two-year rent freeze across the private rented sector. Referring to this proposal…

Government plans to reform the private rented sector risk becoming a charter for anti-social behaviour without urgent changes. That was the warning from the Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) as he appeared before MPs on the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee. The latest data shows that around a third (32 per cent) of landlords asking a tenant to leave a property had done so…

No fewer than two thirds of the lettings agents surveyed by Goodlord say they expect more landlords to exit the private rented sector before Christmas.   In a survey of 2,600 agents, landlords and tenants in Goodlord’s State of the Lettings Industry annual study, some 28 per cent say they have a already seen one in 10 of their landlord clients quit this year. As a result, the agents say…

ouseholds living in rental properties across the North of England face the biggest financial headache from soaring fuel price rises, according to a new study. PropTech data firm Homesearch says its research has revealed which areas have the best and worst Energy Performance Certificate ratings and will be the hardest hit financially. Tenants in Blackburn will face the highest fuel bills in the coming months, with 78 per cent of…

Rent regulation is a popular idea among tenants but some critics say the policy could worsen the supply crisis Pressure is mounting on ministers to address housing affordability across the UK after an emergency rent freeze was announced in Scotland to help private tenants weather the cost-of-living crisis. Mayor Sadiq Khan said the freeze was “exactly what Londoners need”. But landlords warn that rent controls will only drive landlords away…

In 12 London boroughs, average rents are now more than £2,000 a month, as housing costs in the capital continue to rise The average monthly rent of a flat in London’s most expensive area has reached nearly £4,000, as housing costs continue to soar in the capital. In the central borough of Westminster, the average flat rental has leapt to £3,971 per month, an increase of nearly a third since…

The Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP is now the Minister for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Prime minister Liz Truss has appointed Simon Clarke as the new Minister for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in her first Cabinet. He replaces Greg Clark, the MP for Tunbridge Wells, who has held the position since former Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove was sacked by Boris Johnson on 7 July. Having been…

There’s more evidence today that cleaning remains the largest cause of disputes between agents and tenants. Data released by The Dispute Service in its latest Statistical Briefing for 2021-22 showed that for the three tenancy deposit schemes in England and Wales there were 31,276 adjudications in the past year, representing a decrease of 1,579 from the previous year. In Scotland, a similar picture emerges with 6,678 disputes in 2019-20, but…

The law around the requirement for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in rental properties will change in England on October 1. Propertymark has prepared a comprehensive guide for letting agents. The rules have been extended so that carbon monoxide alarms must be installed in rooms of a private rented property where there is any fixed combustion appliance such as gas and oil-fired boilers and be in proper working order at…

London faces a possible homelessness spike this winter due to the cost-of-living crisis and increases in private rents, a group of councils has warned. The cross-party group called London Councils claims that its research shows fewer than one in 10 properties listed for private rent in the capital are affordable to Londoners who depend on welfare support for meeting their housing costs. London Councils also estimates 125,000 low-income households in…

The number of ‘bills inclusive’ tenancies has plummeted, just as energy prices soar. That’s the claim from PropTech firm Vouch, which says there’s been a steady collapse in the number of properties offering fixed costs for rent plus bills.  Specifically, it claims the number of tenancies advertised as having ‘bills included’ in July 2022 was 90 per cent lower than figures recorded in January this year.  The proportion of tenancies…

The Government recently closed a consultation seeking opinions on a proposed Statutory Debt Repayment Plan (SDRP).  The proposals set out a new method for debtors to repay creditors over time, while being protected from enforcement action.  This is primarily aimed at repaying things like credit card debt and other consumer spending, but both mortgage and rent arrears can be included in the plan at the discretion of the debt advisor. …

Government plans to reform the private rented sector risk becoming a charter for anti-social behaviour without urgent changes. That was the warning from the Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) as he appeared before MPs on the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee. The latest data shows that around a third (32 per cent) of landlords asking a tenant to leave a property had done so…

Following calls by tenant campaign groups for the Government to introduce a national rent cap to prevent rent increases, the NRLA has appeared in the national press in order to vigorously oppose the introduction of any form of rent control in the UK’s private rented sector. Towards the end of last week our key spokespeople Ben Beadle, CEO of the NRLA, and Chris Norris, our Policy Director, set out the…

With the debate ranging over pets in lets, a new analysis by comparative website Compare The Market suggests pet damage is typically more expensive than that caused by children. Although pets cause less damage to the home than kids overall, the survey found that pet owners are more likely to claim on their home insurance with 24 per cent of pet owners admitting to doing so, compared to only 15…

Maintenance costs now account for over a fifth of the average rental income of a property, it’s been claimed. A company called Help Me Fix analysed the current cost of maintaining a property and how this has changed since the start of the year. It claims the current annual cost of maintaining a property now sits at an average of £2,864 across the UK. This is a 4.7 per cent…

With rents still rising and a new peak in the number of people looking to rent, Propertymark’s latest research shows more tenants are choosing to renew their existing tenancies rather than moving. Some 73 per cent of agents say they have seen an increase in the number of tenants renewing their tenancies over the past 12 months. With the recent lack of stock, it suggests many tenants are preferring to…

Requesting sellers slash an agreed price just before exchange, without valid cause, might be immoral — but it is not illegal. House buyers in London are ‘gazundering’ sellers by demanding thousands off an agreed sale price just before an exchange is about to take place. According to property experts this latest wave of gazundering, also called ‘price chipping’, is gathering pace as the housing market slowly begins to respond to…

A series of BBC reports over the weekend highlighted what the broadcaster calls “a brewing cost-of-living crisis:” triggered by high rents. Citing figures from property company Dataloft it says a growing share of young renters are signing new tenancies with rents costing more than 30 per cent of their pay. It says that while London predictably has the highest rents, affordability has worsened in towns such as Rotherham and Bolton for…