private landlords
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Latest property news
Agent and landlords ‘face eviction delays and bigger bills’, solicitors warn
Evictions firm says a new government service to help tenants at risk of homelessness will hinder landlords.
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Latest property news
Private landlords reject claim over childminder shortage
The NRLA says landlords refuse to accept any blame for problems recruiting childminders.
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Latest property news
Private landlords downsize in record numbers, NRLA reveals
The NRLA says 12% of landlords sold properties in a three month period this year.
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Features
Public policy and the Private Rented Sector
Nigel Lewis wonders if the Government’s exciting initiatives in building and regulation are actually a veiled attack on the private landlord and letting agent.
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Latest property news
Private landlords letting without contracts
New research by Direct Line for Business reveals that one in ten private landlords has no formal tenancy agreement in place with their tenants. Even where contracts are in place, landlords may unwittingly be asking tenants to sign documents that are not legally compliant. Of the landlords who don’t use a letting agent, 58 per cent used adapted tenancy agreements from either old agent contracts or other landlords (38 per cent) or an updated template they found online (20 per cent). Direct Line said that it appears that some landlords employ letting agents when they first rent out the property, then use the old contract template when agreeing a direct rental with new tenants or upon renewal with their existing tenants. The lack of professionally reviewed tenancy agreements may explain why more than one in eight (13 per cent) landlords have experienced disputes specifically arising from tenants’ rental contracts in the last two years. Also concerning is that nine per cent of landlords have not informed their tenants that their deposit is held in a government-backed tenancy deposit protection scheme (TDP). Nick Breton (left), Head of Direct Line for Business said, “Tenants and landlords need a contract in place to…
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Latest property news
Right to Rent slammed
The vast majority of landlords have not received any information from the Government about the new Right to Rent scheme which was rolled out across England this week, new research shows. From Monday 1st February 2016 it became compulsory for all private landlords in England to check that new tenants have the right to be in the UK before renting out their property. Under the new rules, landlords, including those who sub-let or take in lodgers, who fail to check a potential tenant’s ‘Right to Rent’ will face penalties of up to £3,000 per tenant. But Right to Rent, which was introduced in the Immigration Act 2014 as part of the Government’s reforms ‘to build a fairer and more effective immigration system’, has been criticised after it was revealed that most landlords are still not prepared for the new legislation. “There has been an influx of new legislation relating to the rental market made in recent years and we know that UK landlords are struggling to keep on top of these changes. Despite knowing many of the basics, many find it difficult to navigate the minefield of changing renting rights and wrongs and this is particularly so for accidental landlords,”…
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Latest property news
Fresh cash boost to tackle rogue landlords
The Government’s approach towards private landlords risks hurting tenants, a major property consultancy has warned, after the Housing Minister Brandon Lewis last week announced a £5 million cash boost for local authorities to tackle rogue landlords in their area. Forty-eight councils will share the funding so they can take on the irresponsible landlords that force tenants to live in squalid and dangerous properties. It is hoped that the cash will also allow councils to root out more ‘beds in sheds’. Since 2011 almost 40,000 inspections have taken place in properties with over 3,000 landlords facing further enforcement action or prosecution. The funding will allow local authorities to carry out more raids, increase inspections of property, issue more statutory notices, survey more streets and to demolish sheds and prohibited buildings. The Housing Minister said last week that the funding is part of a package of measures that will ensure millions of tenants get a better deal when they rent a home. Mr Lewis (left) said, “Many private rental tenants are happy with their home and the service they receive, but there are still rogue landlords that exploit vulnerable people and force their tenants to live in overcrowded and squalid accommodation. “We…
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Housing Market
Rental yields fall
Average rental yields on buy-to-let properties fell in the second quarter of this year, the latest buy-to-let index compiled by Mortgages for Business shows. Returns on residential rental properties fell from 6.4 per cent to 5.8 per cent between the first and second quarters of 2015, led by declines in the Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) sector which saw yields drop 1.3 per cent to 9.3 per cent. The figures also reveal that the average loan-to-value (LTV) ratio in the second quarter of 2015 for standard buy-to-let and multi-unit freehold blocks remained unchanged at 66 per cent and 67 percent in relation to the first quarter of this year. David Whittaker (left), Managing Director of Mortgages for Business, said, “While rental yields are still robust they seem to have lost the momentum they were gathering between the end of last year and the start of this one.” But Whittaker pointed out that multi-unit freehold blocks seem to have avoided the yield downturn, demonstrating once again that complex property types produce higher yields “because they offer tenants more features and facilities”. He added, “While many landlords had hoped that the improving economic climate may have pushed loan-to-value ratios even higher, the…
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