The number of landlords seeking to recover debts owed to them by former tenants has risen nearly two-fold, latest figures from leading evictions specialist Landlord Action reveals. It says that over the past 12 months the number of landlords seeking to recover money owed by former tenants has jumped by 180% year-on-year. This is because in the past many landlords worn down by protracted eviction battles have written off debts rather than…

Tenants are piling pressure on landlords to fix a multitude of minor jobs, with boiler repairs and general wear and tear maintenance on the increase as a result of the trend to work from home. “In the last few years, we have witnessed people being more cautious and trying to reign in their spending,” director Callum Lee (main picture) at Adam Lee Property Maintenance tells LandlordZONE. “At the same time, we’ve…

Shelter has stepped up its campaign to ensure Section 21 evictions are abolished within the looming Renters’ Reform Bill, details of which are expected in next month’s Queen’s Speech. The organisation has claimed that a private renter has been handed a Section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction notice every seven minutes in England since 2019 when the measure was first mooted, or some 230,000 people. It also claims that landlords ‘kick…

Research from price comparison service Comparethemarket suggests that 48 per cent of renters do not have contents insurance. Of those, more than two-fifths have sacrificed it in a bid to save money. Some 54 per cent of renters that have previously had items lost, damaged or stolen say that the value of their impacted possessions is over £200. For more than one in five tenants this figure rises to over…

Agents have voiced their reservations over aspects of the widespread rental sector reform announced by the government in the Queen’s Speech. Yesterday the government confirmed that it would publish a White Paper ahead of a Renters Reform Bill, within this next legislative year, with a series of radical reforms. These include scrapping what the government has called ‘no fault’ evictions – section 21 evictions – “giving renters better rights when…

Propertymark has made an uncharacteristically strong attack on the campaigning charity Shelter for its portrayal of letting agents. Ahead of yesterday’s Queen’s Speech the charity posted a highly provocative video and statement accusing some letting agents of “cutting corners.”  The video shows the fake Only Choice Lettings company, in which an agent, played by comedian Rory Marshall, relentlessly tries to let properties to prospective tenants.  At first glance, the listings…

In welcome news for landlords, the Government has made it easier to perform right to rent checks from April this year.  Under the new rules for right to rent, landlords now have a range of options for performing a right to rent check on prospective tenants, including using digital verification technology that can be performed remotely.  Prior to the pandemic landlords had to perform right to rent checks in person…

Government efforts to dampen investment in rental housing are fuelling a supply crisis, hiking rents and making homeownership more difficult to afford, according to new research analysed by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA). That’s the warning from the NRLA, with data showing that demand for rental property is at a record high. Since 2015 the Government has embarked on a deliberate effort to reduce investment in rental housing. This…

This week, following the publication of new research on Section 21 evictions by Shelter, our Chief Executive Ben Beadle wrote a letter to Shelter’s CEO, Polly Neate, to challenge the misleading claims set out in their report. In this blog, Ben explains more. Many of you, like me, will have been astounded by outlandish claims from Shelter last week, stating PRS tenants are receiving Section 21 repossession notices at a rate of…

Propertymark says one lasting legacy of the Grenfell Tower tragedy is that agents letting properties in high rise blocks must engage with residents over safety issues. The trade body’s policy and campaigns chief, Timothy Douglas, says this more collegiate approach is effectively enshrined in the new Build Safety Act, which has just been given Royal Assent and which mostly comes into effect in 2023. Propertymark remains critical of one aspect…

The small number of rental properties listed on websites and portals as Price on Application have now been deemed illegal by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team. POA labels are usually found only on high-end properties, and typically those for sale rather than to let – but some agents, typically those marketing homes to rent in parts of prime central London, use POA rather than displaying a…

Propertymark has dismissed suggestions from critics of the lettings industry that higher rents are leading to more homelessness.  The trade body says that instead, it’s clear from the latest England homelessness data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities that the biggest cause of homelessness among renters is in fact landlords selling or re-letting properties. This is often down to landlords being discouraged by increased tax burdens and…

Shelter has made an outspoken attack on a government proposal to extend Right To Buy to housing association tenants. The idea – believed to be a personal hobbyhorse of Prime Minister Boris Johnson – would involve substantial discounts for housing association tenants, adopting the same principle that was used for Right To Buy for council tenants. The idea has come to light in the form of a government leak to…

The NRLA has branded claims one renter every seven minutes is handed a Section 21 notice by their landlords as nothing more than scaremongering. The claim, by homelessness charity Shelter, while gaining traction in the press, flies in the face of official figures which show that fewer than 10 per cent of tenants who move house do so because they have been asked to leave by their landlord or letting…

The Building Safety Bill this week received Royal Assent and passed into law – although it won’t come into force for two months. The conclusion of the bill process sees confirmation about the level of funding available for the remediation of unsafe cladding in medium-rise buildings (11-18 metres high) in England. Following a robust campaign by the NRLA, the UK Government reversed its original suggestion to completely exclude leaseholder landlords from plans for developers…

NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle, on why the Government needs to rethink its stance on benefits as tenants struggle to make ends meet As the cost-of-living crisis bites across the country we are all being forced to tighten our belts. Soaring utilities costs, along with rising food and fuel bills are affecting all, but for those on benefits, such increases could have a catastrophic effect, with many already choosing between…

New research suggests tenants could save an average of £147 per household on their electricity bills each year by switching off so-called ‘vampire electronics’ which drain power when left on standby. The study by British Gas reveals that almost one in five people are unaware that many household appliances use up electricity whilst not in use, with 44 per cent admitting they only occasionally switch these appliances off.  Surprisingly, 21…

Official statistics found the majority of private tenants receiving Universal Credit housing benefits are having to cope with a monthly shortfall of £100 to pay their rent, according to an industry body. The stats show that nearly 60 per cent of tenants with two children receiving Universal Credit to pay their rent are not receiving enough funds to cover the full cost. Across different regions the percentage of tenants suffering’…

New research appears to be adding to the momentum to have more flexibility over pets in private rental accommodation.  Nearly one in five tenants say that permission to keep pets is one of their top three must-haves for renting. A study of over 1,300 tenants by Paragon Bank, undertaken by the Social Market Foundation think tank, asked for their priorities when looking at a home to rent. The most important…

An insurer’s recent research found that private tenants are highly at risk financially as they have little or no knowledge at all of their liabilities Announcing its findings the insurer brands tenants as “clueless” with their lack of basic knowledge regarding their obligations. However the research was only carried out with 455 PRS tenants, but it did find that nearly half (46 per cent) have not taken out a contents…