Navigating the UK property market from an investment point of view can be a task in itself, but in the midst of a pandemic and market instability it can seem overwhelming. So where do you start? The latest research by the peer to peer lending platform, Sourced Capital, has taken a look at the average annual return available on a £500k investment across both the commercial and residential buy-to-let markets,…

Today looks like it is set to be the hottest day of the year and, with millions of us still in lockdown, homeowners are being urged to take extra care at home following a recent rise in house fires. Life under lockdown has seen Lloyds Bank Home insurance record a 91% increase in fire claims between March and May alone. On top of this, there has also been a 10%…

Two thirds of letting agents will still have staff on furlough next month according to a survey of 231 agencies – and 40 per cent of agents are not even fully open. The findings of a study conducted by the Property Redress Scheme show that 26 per cent of letting agents anticipate they will not have every employee return to work before September. This includes 13 per cent who feel…

The BBC has shone a spotlight on lockdown parties being held in contravention of social distancing rules at properties advertised on Airbnb and other short let online websites. The corporation quotes the Bed and Breakfast Association as saying the parties are putting “communities at risk” as gatherings of up to 30 people have been the subject of complaints from neighbours. “BBC News has been told of several such parties in…

Figures unearthed by the Daily Telegraph show the scale of the arrears and eviction court case backlog likely to face the industry later this year. Quoting information from The Lettings Industry Council, which represents 100 companies across the rental market, the paper claims some £3m is now owed in arrears by private rental sector tenants. The average owed is around £1,250. There are now 2,444 pending court cases, over 600…

A Labour Baroness, Alicia Kennedy, has been named as the new director of the fiercely pro-tenant Generation Rent campaign group. The announcement gave an indication that the new leader would continue the direction of the group to date – it spoke of the “suffocating debt” suffered by private tenants during the Coronavirus crisis. In a statement accepting the position, Baroness Kennedy says: “This Coronavirus pandemic, and the particular challenges it…

The number of rental deposit disputes lodged with one of the government-authorised deposit schemes has fallen 15 per cent across England so far this year. Analysis of the Mydeposits data by sister company Ome found that London, the South East and the North East have all seen the largest drop in deposit disputes – down a hefty 23 per cent compared to this time in 2019. The East Midlands and…

Irwin Mitchell says rushed referencing by landlords as they scrambled to fill vacant properties before the lock-down hit now means many are faced with anti-social or non-paying tenants. The scramble to fill properties during lockdown means some landlords are now paying the price for poor referencing, according to law firm Irwin Mitchell, which warns them not to ‘panic let’ if they want to avoid problems with tenants who haven’t been…

Since the industry’s two leading membership associations merged to form the NRLA, the British Landlord Association has overnight become the only other national alternative. We shine a light on the five-year-old organisation, its directors and purpose. The British Landlord Association’s CEO Sajjad Ahmad admits that his organisation will never rival the newly-formed NRLA. This is both in terms of political clout – his has no Westminster lobbying operation – or members. While…

Thousands of commercial landlords face a difficult day as up to half of tenants either cannot or decide not to pay their rent three months in advance. Thousands of landlords with commercial properties will be watching their bank accounts nervously today as they wait to see if tenants are able or willing to pay their quarterly rent in advance. Dubbed watershed Wednesday and largely predicted to be a disaster for…

A local authority is imploring private landlords and providers of short-term lets, including Airbnb hosts, to lease their properties and thus allow homeless people to become tenants. A representative of the Highland council in Scotland says: “The COVID-19 outbreak has affected all aspects of our daily lives and we have seen increased pressure on our homelessness service, including demand from the loss of tied accommodation in the hotel industry. The…

On Friday 5th June the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced the government’s two month extension to tenant eviction bans in England and Wales. Obviously this will give some renters in financial difficulties some comfort in the knowledge that they will not have to ‘leave’ their homes over the summer. However there is very little thought given to those unlucky landlords who have not yet received a single penny in rent…

Recent activity in the private rental market shows there is a distinct possibility of recovering faster than the sales market. The latest online lettings platform’s Lettings Activity Tracker during May and the beginning of June, states there has been an amazing rebound for the rental market in spite of a major fall in March and April. On June 1st new tenant applications was higher than 2019 levels as it achieved…

According to a recent survey carried out for a trade body, nine out of ten private renters have paid their rent in full since the onset of Covid-19. The research was carried out between May 20th – 25th in England and Wales with 90% stating that they had made rent payments as normal. The trade body commissioned the survey of over 2,000 tenants which also found that 84% of tenants did not…

Unsurprisingly both Shelter and Generation Rent had previously blasted the government by saying that the original eviction ban, because of the pandemic, was for too short a period and demanded an extension…..and Guess What? With the announcement that the eviction ban has now been extended until August 23rd it is now being damned by the two baying organisations when saying that once again the government is not doing enough for…

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has recently updated its guidelines prior to the July 1st implementation of the new electrical safety checks for new tenancies. Below is a section taken from HCLG guidelines for landlords operating in the private rented sector. • Ensure national standards for electrical safety are met. These are set out in the 18th edition of the ‘Wiring Regulations’, which are published as British Standard 7671. • Ensure the electrical…

A chairman of an agency chain believes that landlords should be aware there could be a glut of empty private rented housing stock in various areas throughout the UK, and says that to entice new tenants in they should seriously consider offering a 50% reduction in rent for the first three months. Simon Shinerock – chairman of the estate agency chain has told a PRS website that it’s “an enormous mistake” if landlords insist…

A solicitor involved in the Court of Appeal case which ruled in favour of the private rental sector has spoken of the relief the decision represents for the industry – but has also suggested there may be more challenges. Sarah Cummins of the Anthony Gold law firm acted for the landlord in the case of Trecarell House Ltd v Rouncefield, which last week ended with the ruling that the late…

Brent Council’s decision to overhaul its tenancy strategy reflects reality that banning Section 21 notice evictions will, in effect, introduced open-ended tenancies through the back door, as has happened in Scotland. Brent Council hopes to inspire private landlords to follow its lead by giving tenants more security by introducing life-time tenancies. The London borough has overhauled its tenancy strategy and will be working closely with all private and social housing…

Successes for the private rental sector may seem few and far between these days but the Court of Appeal has now given a legal boost following a key judgement on repossessions. The case of Trecarrell v Rouncefield centred on the relationship between Section 21 notices and gas safety certificates. The landlord, Trecarrell House Limited, was initially granted an order to repossess the property using S21 powers; however the tenant successfully appealed…