The government has just uploaded details of its new Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space) – which will become law in May. The incoming regulations is aimed at people in ‘problem debt ‘allowing them the legal right to protection from being ‘harassed’ by creditors which of course will have a major impact on private landlords and agents with tenants in rental arrears as they will be unable to chase them up to pay…

The majority of housing lawyers have been highly critical of the ‘watering down’ of the continued evictions ban; however, one real estate solicitor says that many landlords will very much appreciate what is seen as ‘a more balanced threshold’ regarding rental arrears. The recent Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s announcement of extending the bailiff evictions ban until 21st February which is more than likely to be further extended, except for the most serious of…

Some parts of the house are no wider than a bath London’s thinnest house is back on the market but you will need a fat wad of cash if you fancy buying it. The unique property in West London is sandwiched between a doctor’s surgery and a shuttered hairdressing salon so you won’t need to travel far when feeling poorly or in need of a post-lockdown haircut. It is thought that as…

A Northampton ‘rogue’ landlord has been ordered to pay £50,000 worth of civil penalties for committing a total of 33 offences in his property. Zaheer Uddin Babar, who owns the property in Northampton, was first contacted by the local council in March 2015 requesting that he licenses it as a House in Multiple Occupation. After ignoring five more requests to apply for a licence, council officials gained a warrant and inspected the property…

Changes created by Brexit for fishermen and other food as well as manufacturing and retail businesses has been well documented in recent weeks, but now it’s the turn of the private rental market. Analysis of 300,000 transactions completed since the referendum has revealed a dramatic drop in the number of EU nationals taking up tenancies across the country over the past four years as the UK has waited to exit…

A landlord in London has contacted LandlordZONE to plead with DWP ministers to tackle the failings of the Universal Credit (UC) system as her tenant racks up rent arrears of over £19,000. Michelle Dighton says her tenant, who in receipt of housing benefit via UC, stopped paying the rent 18 months ago well before Covid struck but is still in receipt of housing benefit. But she says it’s not so…

Contract awarded to build replacement and 205 new flats Plans to redevelop Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s Town Hall and surrounding buildings have taken a step closer. Ardmore Construction has won the £155 million contract to build the scheme, which will also include 205 new flats and the council’s offices extended to create over 15,000 square metres of office space. The development also includes another 10,000 square metres of office space…

A LandlordZONE Twitter poll of landlords asking them about their experience of Universal Credit has found that 59% of their tenants are claiming the benefit and that 58% of those claimants have fallen into arrears. But the majority of landlords who responded to our survey reported that they weren’t receiving direct payments from the DWP – a whopping 70% – meaning that they can often have trouble getting paid. Since…

Covid-19, Brexit, cladding issues and a collapsing economy have little effect The latest official data suggests that residential property prices in the Hammersmith area finished the year where they started despite the huge challenges 2020 presented. The robustness of the market has given some local agents hope that 2021 provide a more calm and rewarding experience. According to the Land Registry the average price of a property sold in the…

London’s mass transit service, Transport for London, has won consent for 853 homes at a huge scheme in the west of the capital. Most of the homes in Acton will be for rent, although some will be sold as shared ownership too. The scheme stretches from Acton Town tube station towards Chiswick and the homes will be constructed in nine buildings. The affordable homes will be a combination of homes at…

The government has been urged to backtrack on proposals for letting agents to check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms on day one of every tenancy. Instead, agents and landlords should check before the tenancy begins – but not necessarily on day one. That’s the view of Propertymark in its response to the official consultation on extending the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Regulations in England, just released to ARLA members. The consultation ran…

Our rental price analysis for Hammersmith summarises the advertised rents for homes to let, calculated daily from the rental properties found by the Home.co.uk Property Search Engine Summary of Properties for Rent in Hammersmith Total properties for rent in Hammersmith: 2,513 Properties for rent in Hammersmith listed in the last 14 days: 422 Average* property rents in Hammersmith: £2,728 pcm Median* rent: £1,950 pcm Properties for Rent in Hammersmith by Price No. of properties Rent under…

Propertymark has responded to the official consultation on the government proposals called Energy Performance of Privately Rented Homes in England and Wales – and it says it’s worried councils may not be up to enforcing the rules. The government wants all new tenancies from April 2025 and all existing tenancies from April 2028 to meet band C or higher on an Energy Performance Certificate. The government also wishes to increase…

Data from PropTech platform SpareRoom suggests that London’s typical room rent has dropped further, this time in response to the new variant of Coronavirus which has deterred tenants. SpareRoom says average room rents in London fell eight per cent from £781 in the final quarter of 2019 to £715 in the same period at the end of last year. This is the third consecutive quarter that London has seen a…

A charity claims that young people under 25 in full-time work across England are unable to afford privately rented accommodation anywhere in the country. The research – conducted by the Yorkshire Building Society for the End Youth Homelessness charity – says the problem lies in a mix of causes including the size of the minimum wage and application of Universal Credit, as well as average rental costs. The charity says for rent…

London renters are increasingly looking to Hammersmith and Fulham, where rental enquiries have surged by 67% from last year, research from proptech lettings service Home Made has found. Other areas with strong demand, based on the total number of enquiries per property, are Ealing (2nd), Camden (3rd), Kensington & Chelsea (4th) and Tower Hamlets (5th). The data reveals declining interest in some outer boroughs such as Richmond, which Home Made…

The government has announced yet another ban on bailiff-enforced evictions in the private rental sector. The existing ban was due to expire on February 21 but now this has been put back some six weeks until March 31. Responding to the announcement of an extension, Ben Beadle – chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association – says: “[This] does nothing to help over 800,000 private renters who have built…

International research suggests that short lets – Airbnb and similar platforms – cause housing shortages and push up private rents. Research by the University of Cologne looked at the impact of short-term rentals on the Cologne housing market and says the “findings come as a stark warning to other urban areas”. The research found pressure on the housing market steadily increasing over 10 years, with the number of short-term rental…

ARLA Propertymark has hit out at a growing number of local councils introducing licensing schemes, calling it “socially irresponsible” to do this during the pandemic. “This is because in these unprecedented times landlords and agents are not able to comply with the requirements and council resources are unlikely to be able to effectively enforce them” says the association on its website. In response to proposals from Liverpool, Oxford, Doncaster, Gedling and…

Landlords have complained for many years that incoming housing ministers have little or, usually, no experience of the property market. But not so with latest arrival Eddie Hughes. Not only does he claim a lifelong desire to be a housing minister, but he has a property background including time spent in construction and a long-term membership of the Chartered Institute of Building. More importantly for landlords, Hughes has been a…