Garage Space Is Top Of The Tenant Wish List For 2021

Some 21% of tenants in major UK cities want a rental home with a garage, making it the most in-demand of all rental property features, research from lettings and estate agent Benham and Reeves has found. Gardens aren’t far behind (18%), while balconies also rank high, with demand at 16%. Pet-friendly properties are the wanted rental feature in Bristol, Plymouth, Southampton, Leicester, Swansea, Oxford and Bournemouth. A concierge was the most in-demand feature in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, while furnished homes were most in-demand in Belfast. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/garage-space-is-top-of-the-tenant-wish-list-for-2021/

Right to Buy Scheme – Parliamentary Written Answer

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to extend right to buy to local authority-owned garages; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: [Holding answer 27 June 2017]: Local authority tenants who have garages included in their secured tenancy have the right to buy their garage when they exercise the Right to Buy. If a garage is not in the tenancy the landlord may decide whether to sell.

Tenants Facing Rent Rise Of £15 Per Week

In July ministers ordered that all social landlords, including councils and housing associations, reduce rent by one per cent per year each year for the next four years. But Wolverhampton council has based its long term strategy for building maintenance on rents going up. Bosses have launched a consultation featuring a series of options aimed at making up for the shortfall. They include charging 'affordable rent' instead of 'social rent', meaning rents will go up by £15 per week for new tenants. Another proposal is to increase service charges by £2 per week, meaning garage rents and hostel charges would go up by one per cent, along with concierge charges. Read more on the Express & Star website.

Former Garages Reborn As New Affordable Homes

Seventeen new homes created from converted garages on an Islington council estate have been formally opened.  Fifteen one-bed properties have been created from 60 disused garages beneath homes where residents had experienced anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping. Two further homes - a four and a five-bed - have been built on a disused car parking area. The scheme is self-funding with 75% affordable housing.  The new builds have been allocated to local residents who either live in overcrowded homes, want to downsize or have mobility problems and needed homes that are easier for them to access and get around.  Read more on 24dash.

Run-Down Garages To Provide Almost 100 Homes

A collection of run-down garages could soon be turned into almost 100 new homes after a council agreed in principle to the change. Tamworth Council, in Staffordshire, agreed to free up 26 garage sites to provide land for 87 new homes. Final decision on redevelopment is subject to results of a feasibility study, but if given the go-ahead, the homes would be let through the council’s choice-based letting scheme, Finding a Home, to households in need. Around 2,200 people are currently on the waiting list for social housing in Tamworth, while there are 6,230 social rent homes in the borough. Read more on the Tamworth Herald website.