Propertymark says arrears in the private sector rental are rising once again as the Omicron variant continues to push across the country. “Looking towards the sector’s immediate challenge as the pandemic rears its head once again, the unfortunate reality is that we may see an increase in the number of renters falling into arrears. It is therefore vital that vulnerable tenants are adequately supported during this time” explains Propertymark chief… Continue Reading Arrears Rising As Omicron Hits Private Sector Rental

ARLA Propertymark has launched a radical programme of rental reforms for the private rental sector – getting in before the government’s own Renters’ Reform White Paper expected in the New Year.  Propertymark’s 38-page and highly detailed rental reforms ‘The Future of Renting’ position paper tackles areas of the sector that have been under the microscope by the UK government – affordability, consumer protection and access to justice. The paper highlights… Continue Reading Agents Demand Radical Rental Reforms

The government is clamping down – at least a little – on unvaccinated tenants in some specific circumstances.  New guidelines issued by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities say that… …if a tenant or buyer is aged 18 years and six months or more; …is not fully vaccinated; and  …if they live in the same household as someone who has tested positive for Covid  …then they must legally… Continue Reading New Rules For Unvaccinated Tenants

As the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the global community at the start of 2020, landlord Raj Kumari Byford was horrified by headlines showing families struggling to get by. As lockdown was announced, she felt compelled to help and raced down to her local garden centre café to buy everything she could to help those in need. Fast-forward 18 months, and that act of kindness has spawned a major social enterprise project,… Continue Reading Meet the landlord supporting a global community

Proposals to force landlords across the country to pay up to £10,000 to improve the energy efficiency of rental housing require a rethink, according to the national body for landlords. In a consultation which closed in January the Government proposed that by 2025 all new tenancies in the private rental housing sector should be in houses with an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C or better. It is proposed that… Continue Reading Energy Improvements In Rental Housing Need Rethink

Students face chaos as government plans to reform the rental market threaten to cause widespread uncertainty as to whether housing will be available at start of each academic year. That’s the view of one of the sector’s leading trade bodies, the National Residential Landlords Association.  Under the plans all student housing, with the exception of purpose-built blocks, will be subject to open-ended tenancies. This move means landlords and their agents… Continue Reading “Chaos” – trade group despairs at open-ended tenancy suggestion

Following the release of a new National Audit Office (NAO) report today on the regulation of the private rented sector (PRS), the NRLA has responded to its key findings and explains what needs to be done to deliver an effective PRS which works in the interests of both landlords and tenants. The NAO’s report scrutinises the extent to which the private rented sector is fair for renters, and closely examines… Continue Reading Strategic Approach To Private Rented Sector (PRS)

Average covid rent arrears still owed by renters as a result of the pandemic have increased by 41 per cent since May according to new research. A survey of over 2,000 private renters in England and Wales by research consultancy Dynata for the NRLA found that average COVID related rent arrears owed by affected tenants had increased to £1,270, up from £900 in May. Whilst the proportion of tenants who… Continue Reading Covid Rent Arrears Increase

Lloyds Bank Rental Plans – which this year announced its intention to become a private landlord through the acquisition of new build apartments – is already talking about quadrupling its initial investment. In June the mainstream press revealed that under a plan called Project Regeneration the bank would buy and manage a range of new build and existing properties across the UK, through a purpose-created subsidiary called Citra Living. Lloyds… Continue Reading Lloyds Bank Rental Plans To Quadruple

A senior Labour politician in the capital claims that there’s been “a stark rise” in people losing their homes since the ending of the final eviction ban in June. Sam Moema, a member of the London Assembly and the senior housing spokesperson in the capital, says that from April to June 2021 there were 172 landlord repossessions per 100,000 households in London, which increased to 1,302 per 100,000 from July… Continue Reading Final Eviction Ban Causes Stark Rise In Homeless

Housing minister Chris Pincher has written an open letter to all landlords and agents in England, telling them how to enact the government’s Omicron Guidance Winter Plan to tackle rising cases of Covid-19. The emphasis is on agents and landlords making sure that all rental properties can be properly ventilated to minimise the spread of Covid-19 and particularly the new Omicron strain in enclosed spaces. There are five key Omicron… Continue Reading Omicron Guidance For Private Rental Sector

Shocking figures produced by a council in the south west show the vast number of short lets available – and by contrast the very few mainstream rental listings. Data for Devon County Council shows that as of late last week there were 253 listings for Airbnb in the seaside town of Exmouth in the south of the county – and there were just four residential rental listings available. And in… Continue Reading Airbnb Outnumber Rental Listings By 60 to 1

The Minister for Business, Energy and Corporate Responsibility has acknowledged that the financial burden of green upgrades for homes falls more heavily on landlords than homeowners. When quizzed during a Lords debate on raising standards in the sector, Lord Callahan admitted: “There are a number of financial packages private landlords letting to low-income tenants can take advantage of, but it’s true that there’s a dilemma in the PRS that the… Continue Reading Landlords Hit Hardest Under Green Upgrades

Shelter claims its helpline has received 1,000 callers a day since the eviction ban began easing at the start of summer. It says the eviction ban helpline – free to use and part-funded by M&S Food – has been “inundated” with over 60,000 people ringing between June and October. Of those calling 70 per cent were already homeless or at risk of homelessness. A new statement from the charity claims… Continue Reading Shelter Blames Eviction Ban For Help Pleas

The private rental sector is already attempting to improve its EPC results according to research from Shawbrook Bank. From 2025 new rules mean rental properties with EPC results rating of D, or below, will not be able to take on new tenants. The bank’s study found that 17 per cent of landlords had made efforts to improve the energy efficiency of their property, rising to 22 per cent of portfolio… Continue Reading Rental Sector Cleaning Up Its Act On EPC Results

The government says it’s finalising plans for a new tax regime to apply to additional homes, and in particular those used for holiday and short lets. There has been widespread criticism of some holiday home owners who have registered their additional properties as businesses, thus making them entitled to rate relief for small businesses. Lord Greenhalgh, speaking at a House of Lords debate on second homes, has said: “The government… Continue Reading New Tax Regime For Airbnbs And Holiday Lets

It’s understood there will be a Christmas truce with tenants not enduring bailiff-enforced-evictions between December 13 and January 10. HM Courts and Tribunal has confirmed that this will follow the pattern of previous years. In line with formal protocol the Lord Chancellor will inform the High Court Enforcement Officers’ Association – this association, in turn, will instruct its bailiff members no bailiff-enforced-evictions during the truce period. An informal truce of… Continue Reading Bailiff-Enforced-Evictions Suspended Over Christmas

New figures from the Ministry of Justice show a dramatic long-term decline in the number of possessions in the private rental sector – and take the wind out of the sales of calls for S21 eviction power to be scrapped. The MoJ data says: “When compared to the same quarter in 2019, landlord possession claims, orders, warrants and repossessions by county court bailiffs have decreased by 64, 75, 69 and… Continue Reading Why Scrap S21 Eviction Power With Cases Plummeting

Just as COP26 is drawing to a close, so one of the lettings industry’s leading legal voices is warning that the next change proposed to EPC regulations will affect almost half of the UK’s entire buy to let sector. Since April last year landlords can no longer let a property with an EPC rating of F and G, unless they have a valid exemption in place.  The government propose to raise this… Continue Reading New EPC Regulations

Investors could be ‘severely impacted’ by government plans to raise the required Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating for buy-to-let properties in Britain. Some experts have warned that the plans could lead to some homes becoming ‘unmortgageable’. Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings rank properties from ‘A’, the most efficient, to ‘G’, the least efficient – with new proposals on the table to change the minimum rating from ‘E’ to ‘C’ by… Continue Reading Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Change