Energy Efficiency Changes 'Could Cost Landlords Billions'

A review of the proposed increases to energy efficiency standards in homes has concluded the overall bill for the private rental sector could reach £29 billion. Geospatial technology company Kamma has released their analysis which estimates that 2.9 million privately rented homes (65% of those on the EPC register) are below the Government target energy efficiency grade C. With 2.9 million homes needing to improve, and an estimated average cost of £9,872 per home, the total bill facing the sector could hit £29 billion. While an enormous cost, this could cut emissions by 2.8 million tonnes a year. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/energy-efficiency-changes-could-cost-landlords-billions.html 

Rented Housing Laws "Not Fit For Purpose"

LAWS underpinning the private rented sector are not fit purpose as new research reveals that some date back to the 18^th century. According to the analysis, by the time the forthcoming Building Safety Bill is given royal assent, the number of statutory provisions applying to the sector in England will have risen by 40 per cent over the last decade to 168 pieces of legislation. This includes the Landlord and Tenant Act 1730 and the Distress for Rent Act 1737. The National Residential Landlords Association is warning that far from the private rented sector being under-regulated, the sheer number of laws means councils are unable to enforce them properly. Read more on the NRLA website.

https://www.nrla.org.uk/news/rented-housing-laws-not-fit-for-purpose-argue-landlords

Legal Support Pilot For Housing Disrepair

Online support to help resolve housing disrepair issues in the private rented sector (PRS) has been launched in England and Wales guiding tenants to establish what the issues are and offer tailored information and signposting. The pilot aims to help tenants understand their rights and responsibilities and identify appropriate next steps to resolve their issues before they escalate. The UK Government is exploring several changes across the full breadth of legal support, focusing on what legal support works for the people who need it. Read more on the ARLA website.

https://www.propertymark.co.uk/resource/uk-government-launches-legal-support-pilot-for-housing-disrepair.html 

Landlords Made Scapegoats For COVID Rent Debt Crisis

The Chancellor is making landlords the scapegoats for the COVID rent debt crisis as he turns his back on the support the sector needs. A new report published by the National Residential Landlords Association outlines the toll that COVID-19 has taken on the private rented sector. It warns that without financial support to tackle COVID-related rent arrears, the Chancellor is forcing landlords into a corner. They either have to accept continuing to receive no income or resort to repossessing their property with all the consequences this course of action entails for tenants. The NRLA is warning that the goodwill of landlords in the face of mounting rent debts cannot continue without support from the Treasury. Read more on the NRLA website.

https://www.nrla.org.uk/news/landlords-made-scapegoats-for-covid-rent-debt-crisis 

Renting Now Cheaper Than Buying A Home

It is cheaper to rent a property than it is to buy a home for the first time in more than six years, says Hamptons. Research by the estate agency suggests that before the pandemic began in March 2020, people buying with a 10% deposit would have been better off than renters by £102 a month. But last month, it found the average private sector tenant was better off, spending £71 a month less in rent. There are now only four areas in the UK where it is cheaper to buy than rent. Read more on the BBC website.

Renting now cheaper than buying a home, Hamptons says - BBC News 

Universal Credit: Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

 Lord Bird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the Universal Credit housing allocation adequately supports recipients to pay their rent.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: In April we increased Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates so that they cover 30 per cent of local rents in the Private Rented Sector. This significant investment of almost £1 billion will mean over one million households will see an increase, on average, of £600 this year. A decision on LHA rates from April 2021 will be taken prior to the start of the financial year. For those living in the Social Rented Sector, maximum housing costs support is based on actual rent and eligible service charges less any deductions for under-occupation. For those who require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available.  http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2020-10-21/HL9408

Demand From Tenants Continues To Reach Record Levels

Propertymark’s Private Rented Sector Report for August shows a record-breaking month with the number of new prospective tenants continuing to rise, along with the average letting agent branch registering 101 new tenants, breaking July’s previous record. 208 rental properties were available per letting agent branch in August. This remained the same as the record-high figure recorded in July, which beat the previous record of 192 properties managed per letting agent branch in July 2017. Read more on the ARLA website.

https://www.arla.co.uk/news/september-2020/demand-from-tenants-continues-to-reach-record-levels/ 

Government Pledges £236m To Tackle Rough Sleeping

The government has announced extra funding to tackle rough sleeping, as well as a review into the wider causes. The twin announcement, including an extra £236m in funding to help people off the streets, comes a day before the publication of annual figures on the problem. The money will go towards accommodation for up to 6,000 people who are already sleeping rough or at risk of homelessness based on the housing first model. It will create new housing through refurbishments or leasing new private-rented sector properties, which will be set aside for those affected by rough sleeping. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/feb/26/government-pledges-236m-to-tackle-rough-sleeping

More Tenants Than Ever Seek Housing As Rental Stock Dwindles

ARLA Propertymark’s Private Rented Sector (PRS) report shows that the demand for rental accommodation has reached a record high in January, with an average of 88 prospective tenants registered per member branch. However, the supply of rental stock fell to the lowest level seen in seven months. Demand from tenants in January increased to the highest level on record with 88 prospective tenants per branch compared to 56 the previous month. This means that agents witnessed a 57 per cent increase in the number of tenants registered since December. Year-on-year, demand for rental accommodation has increased by 21 per cent, rising from 73 in January 2019. Read more on the ARLA website.

https://www.arla.co.uk/news/february-2020/more-tenants-than-ever-seek-housing-as-rental-stock-dwindles/

Short-Term Lets Could See Tenants Leave 500,000 Properties

Nearly half a million properties could be left unavailable for residents looking to rent in the private rented sector, as more landlords exit the market and move into short-term lets due to the raft of legislative changes they have been faced with. ARLA Propertymark, in partnership with leading research consultancy Capital Economics, has launched its Impact of Short-Term Lets report, which looks at the scale of the UK’s short-term lets sector and the wider implications on the private rented sector. Download the report from the ARLA website.

https://www.arla.co.uk/media/1048597/the-impact-of-short-term-lets.pdf

Proportion Of PRS Households Remains Unchanged

The Government has published headline findings from the 2019 English Housing Survey (EHS), which shows that the proportion of private rented sector (PRS) households remained steady for the sixth consecutive year at 19 percent or 4.6 million households. A demographic breakdown confirmed that while the proportion of 25-34 year olds living in the PRS declined from highs of 48 percent in 2013-14 to 41 percent in 2018-19, the proportion of 55-64 year olds relying on the sector increased by three percentage points in the last decade, to 10 percent in 2018-19. Download the report from the MHCLG website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2018-to-2019-headline-report

Affordable Homes, UC Advice And Calls For Rental Minister

The House of Commons Library has published a briefing paper considering how affordable housing is defined in England.  It examines the supply of affordable housing and the role of Housing Benefit in allowing families to access and keep affordable housing. The paper states: “Home ownership has been difficult to access in recent years, particularly for first-time buyers, while access to social housing is constrained by a lack of supply. The private rented sector has been the beneficiary and now houses more households than the social rented sector. Private sector rent levels in high pressure areas have increased in response to demand.” Download the paper from the Library.

https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7747

Rents Plummet To Lowest In Eight Months

ARLA Propertymark’s Private Rented Sector (PRS) report shows the number of tenants experiencing rent rises fell dramatically with 32 per cent of agents witnessing landlords increasing them in November. This is the lowest figure since March 2019. However, year-on-year, this figure is up from 21 per cent in November 2018, and 16 per cent in November 2017. Read more on the Arla website.

https://www.arla.co.uk/news/december-2019/rents-plummet-to-lowest-in-eight-months/

Landlords Warn Of ‘Sharp Drop’ In Private Rental Supply

Landlords are warning of a crisis in the private rental market, as new figures show a sharp drop in supply over the last year. According to the latest Residential Market Survey by the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors, last month saw a net balance of minus 29% of surveyors reporting a fall in landlord instructions – twice the negative rating in November 2018. With tenant demand continuing to increase, RICS predicts that this will lead to rent increases of around 2% over the next year and around 3% a year over the next five years. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/landlords-warn-of-sharp-drop-in-private-rental-supply/

Making The Most Of Our Private Rented Sector To Tackle Homelessness

Nottingham City Council wanted to explore how they could further utilise the private rented sector to discharge their homelessness prevention and relief duties. Effective use of the private rented sector as a housing resource is very important in Nottingham because the private sector is often both the cause and solution for homelessness. As well as exploring ways in which the Council could better engage with the PRS in order to secure more properties, it wanted to look at the ways in which it could deploy earlier interventions in order to prevent people from becoming homeless from PRS homes. Read more on the LGA website.

https://www.local.gov.uk/making-most-our-private-rented-sector-tackle-homelessness

Rent Costs Hit Record High

The private rented sector has seen sharp rent increases due to the tenant fees ban, an outflow of landlords from the market, and Brexit uncertainty. The supply of rental accommodation increased in 2019, from 187 on average per branch in 2018, to 197 this year. As landlords continued to feel the pinch, the number of buy-to-let investors selling their properties remained high, at an average of four in 2019. In April, the figure spiked to five per branch. The number of tenants experiencing rent hikes hit a record high this year, rising from an average of 26 per cent each month in 2018, to 46 per cent on average this year. Read more on the ARLA website.

https://www.arla.co.uk/news/december-2019/prs-2019-trends/

Nine In 10 Homes Unaffordable For Families

The benefit freeze is pushing low income families to the brink, with more than nine in ten homes for private rent (94%) too expensive for those on housing benefit. And new NHF research reveals two thirds of these families (65%) are in work. Now, NHF is calling on the government to:

·         End the freeze and increase LHA payments so that they cover at least the bottom 30% of private rent homes in any local area

·         Commit to investing £12.8bn annually in building new social housing, so that fewer families have to depend on unaffordable and insecure privately rented accommodation

Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/housing-benefit-freeze-means-9-in-10-homes-unaffordable-for-families/

Abolishing Section 21 Could Have Serious Impact On Private Rented Sector

The private rented sector could shrink by 20% if Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions are abolished, according to a new economic analysis report. The report by Capital Economics also forecasts a reduction in housing available to tenants on housing benefit or Universal Credit. But it suggests a possible solution, namely a reformed court process that made dealing with Section 8 cases faster and cheaper could nullify the removal of Section 21 for many landlords. However, the PRS would still see a likely reduction of between 180,000 to 390,000 homes, between 130,000 and 300,000 fewer homes available to benefit claimants, and rent increases for between 110,000 to 240,000 properties. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/abolishing-section-21-could-have-serious-impact-on-private-rented-sector/

PRS Housing Quality Has Improved Over Past Decade

Landlords’ spending on refurbishment has seen the quality of PRS properties improve in the last decade, a report says. According to InterBay Commercial – part of OneSavings Bank –  the proportion of non-decent homes in PRS fell from 44% to 24.5% over that period. In spite of the sector growing by 45% over the period, adding 1.5m homes, Interbay’s analysis suggests the number of non-decent homes has fallen in absolute terms too; down by 275,000. Read more on the InterBay website.

https://www.interbay.co.uk/latest-updates/unlocking-value-the-role-of-refurbishment-in-buy-to-let

UK Rents Increased By 1.3% In 12 Months To August

Rents paid by tenants in the private rented sector in the UK rose by 1.3% in the 12 months to August 2019, unchanged since May 2019, the latest official index shows. In England rents increased by 1.3%, in Wales they were up by 1.2% and in Scotland rents rose by 0.9%, according to the data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Excluding London rents increased by 1.5% in the 12 months to August 2019, unchanged since January 2019 and in the capital they were up by 0.8%, the data also shows. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/uk-rents-increased-by-1-3-in-12-months-to-august-2019/