As of today (1 October 2021), changes to Section 21 and Section 8 notice periods have returned to their pre-pandemic levels in England. Since the introduction of measures in this area in March 2020, Section 21 and Section 8 notice periods conditions have been altered on several occasions due to the ongoing instability caused by the pandemic.  While most landlords and tenants have tried to sustain tenancies throughout the pandemic, this has… Continue Reading Changes To Section 21 and Section 8 Notice Periods

The chief executive of Shelter says the experience of Scotland shows that the scrapping of S21 eviction powers produces benefits that far outweigh disadvantages. Polly Neate, speaking on BBC Radio 4, says that Scotland effectively scrapped its equivalent of Section 21 almost four years ago.  “We’ve done a lot of research on the scrapping of S21 eviction powers in Scotland and the benefits for renters have been huge and the… Continue Reading S21 Eviction Benefits Outweigh Problems

Today the Government will go ahead with a planned cut to Universal Credit of £20 per week which will worsen rent arrears crisis says NRLA. The level of welfare support had been increased in light of the impact of the pandemic on household incomes. With the rent arrears crisis at historically high levels, the NRLA’s view is that this cut will significantly worsen the levels of rent debt accrued by… Continue Reading Universal Credit Cut Will Worsen Rent Arrears Crisis Says NRLA

After 10 days of reports of soaring energy costs, PropTech supplier Goodlord has produced a series of tips for letting agents on how they can help tenants with the issue. Rik Smith, head of tenant services at Goodlord, says: Point fuel-poor tenants towards financial support – If your tenants are struggling to keep up with the energy costs, it’s important that they are aware that most suppliers do have support available… Continue Reading Agents Advised To Help Tenants Reduce Energy Costs

New research reveals that student property portfolios based in smaller university towns or cities typically generate the best returns. The findings, from Paragon Bank, reveal the 10 best locations for student property portfolios investment, highlighting the places where investors can generate the highest rental yields.  Swansea tops the list with an average yield of 9.56 per cent for student property, with an average property price of £231,534. Towns and cities with… Continue Reading Best Areas For Student Property Portfolios

A £65 million fund to cover rent arrears built during the Covid-19 pandemic has been announced today, following months of NRLA campaigning. The cash will be given to councils in England to support low-income earners in rent arrears – with payments expected to be made directly to landlords. The NRLA has been calling for a comprehensive package of financial support to tackle arrears built since the start of the pandemic.… Continue Reading £65 Million Fund To Cover Rent Arrears

A PropTech company says virtual tours should now be made to abide by GDPR regulations to increase privacy for landlords and vendors advertising their homes. Stewart Bailey, director of PropTech firm Virtual Viewing, says: “Client privacy should be the absolute priority when creating virtual tours of existing homes. We warn our partners that particularly self-made 3D tours carry an increased risk of exposing personal details of the current landlords and vendors,… Continue Reading GDPR Regulations To Increase Privacy For Landlords And Vendors

Not-for-profit accreditation scheme safeagent wants the government to help tenants clear Covid related arrears through an overhaul of Discretionary Housing Payments. Enhancing these payments – which can be made to tenants in need by councils – would be the most effective way to support those who are in Covid related arrears, it claims. This marks out safeagent from most industry bodies, which have recently united to call on government to… Continue Reading Safeagent At Odds Over Covid Related Arrears

Propertymark is telling politicians to stop demonising landlords and letting agents. The unusually blunt message has come in response to the latest delay in reinstating normal eviction powers in Wales. The Coronavirus Act 2020 includes a range of powers for Welsh Ministers including the ability to extend existing pandemic-specific evictions rules. For the past 12 landlords and agents have had to give six months’ notice; this was first due to run out… Continue Reading Landlords And Letting Agents Demonised

Councils across Scotland have been given £10m to provide grants to tenants who have Covid-related arrears and risk eviction. The grants will help tenants who are struggling financially as a direct result of the pandemic, allowing them to reduce or pay off arrears. They will be available in both the private and social rented sectors. This is part of a package of measures available to local authorities to prevent homelessness, alongside… Continue Reading Grants To Tenants For Covid Arrears

The House of Commons Library, an independent body not controlled by government, has published a detailed history of the many measures undertaken to help landlords and tenants during the Coronavirus pandemic. It may be of use to agents facing criticism from others, especially renters’ pressure groups, suggesting that little has been done during the Covid period. The 55 page document is authoritative and covers the extended notice periods for tenants… Continue Reading Covid Help To Landlords And Tenants

The rush for space to work and relax at home will still dominate the rental trends for the short term at least, despite the pandemic appearing to ease in most of the country. That’s the view of Savills which has surveyed its predominantly-upmarket client tenants to discover that despite more workers back at their desks, private outdoor space (72 per cent) and space to work from home (66 per cent)… Continue Reading Pandemic Rental Trends Are Here To Stay

A lettings agent has branded an ever increasing band of tenants, as career rent criminals who are using the pandemic’s law changes to get away with not paying their rent. The director of a leading agent, Marc von Grundherr says: “The situation for landlords throughout the pandemic has been shocking and while eviction notice periods have now been reduced to four months, many continue to lose thousands in rental income every… Continue Reading Career Rent Criminals Hijack Coronavirus Laws

The letting agents trade body has issued a warning to landlords that short lets may provide quick profits – but they have hidden costs too. Latest figures from letting agents trade body ARLA Propertymark have demonstrated the lack of rental stock available across the UK, with some of that drought put down to landlords quitting the long term letting sector and moving their properties to Airbnb and similar short let… Continue Reading Letting Agents Trade Body – Airbnb Lets May Backfire

There is a growing demand for adapted properties. With an ageing population, and an increased share of total housing stock, private landlords need to be ready to cater for a wider range of needs than they traditionally have.  The NRLA launched its  adaptations campaign to raise awareness and to assist landlords in adapting properties. This included the release of our guidance for landlords that can support landlords in better managing tenant requests for home adaptations.   Last month, the… Continue Reading FAQs On Adapted Properties

PRIVATE renters and landlords across the country face a cliff edge as the end of furlough coincides with cuts to benefit support. Failure to address COVID rent debts shows Government has given up on those struggling through no fault of their own. With the Bank of England warnings indicating  that renters are more likely than any other group to have lost their jobs or been furloughed, the National Residential Landlords… Continue Reading Renters And Landlords Face Cliff Edge

The latest research by Birmingham estate and lettings agent, Barrows and Forrester, examines the true impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on landlords due to rent arrears among private renting tenants in England, revealing that the total amount of arrears during the initial wave of the pandemic was dwarfed by arrears during the second. There are 4.8 million private renting tenants in households in England. During wave one of the pandemic restrictions figures… Continue Reading Private Renting Tenants Rent Arrears Up

The latest property market analysis by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed that the costs incurred by UK landlords who have been unfortunate enough to encounter a nightmare rogue tenant during the pandemic. While the vast majority of tenants are respectful and treat their rented homes with great pride and care, rogue tenants remain a professional hazard for landlords. Utilising every trick in the book, they… Continue Reading Lettings And Estate Agent Market Analysis

Tenants are paying almost £70bn of rent for landlords a year, research claims. Buy-to-let specialist Sequre Property Investment has found the best regions for rent for landlords in relation to the local gross domestic product (GDP). It found that across the UK, the average tenant pays £12,636 in rent each year equating to total rental income in excess of £69.4bn across the 2.2m privately rented homes. When compared with the… Continue Reading Regions Generating Most Rent For Landlords

An estate and lettings agent has analysed how the level of rental arrears has grown between each wave of the pandemic. The research by Barrows and Forrester Estate and Lettings Agent found that, during wave one of the pandemic restrictions, figures from the ONS estimated that 7% of the 4.8 million private rented households in England were at least one month behind on their rent payments. This equated to some 335,860 homes.… Continue Reading Estate and Lettings Agent Claims Arrears Rise