Help To Buy Prices Stay 'Comfortably' Below Regional Price Caps

The Whathouse? New Homes Index, which tracks Help to Buy average new build prices across Britain, has revealed that prices are comfortably below the regional price cap limits in all regions. This is, Whathouse believes, a sign that concerns over the new Help to Buy scheme - which came into effect 1 April 2021 - and potential lack of affordability are not playing out.  This provides reassurance to first-time buyers now able to benefit from the scheme, with many having made the most of lockdown to save the 5% deposit required to get onto the property ladder. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/help-to-buy-prices-stay-comfortably-below-regional-price-caps.html 

Half Of Landlords Unprepared For ‘Right To Rent’

A new survey of 5,000 landlords by online agent Urban.co.uk has found that half of UK landlords are not prepared for new 'right to rent' legislation, which comes into force on 1 February 2016. 20% of those questioned believed that they had until April 2017 to get ready for the changes and 3% believed they had until 2018. The legislation will be in place nationally next month and require all landlords and agents in England to check a tenant’s immigration status (‘right to rent’) in the UK. Landlords failing to do so could find themselves with a potential fine of £3,000. Among the other findings in the report are that only 10% of landlords provide the correct information to their tenants at the start of a lease; most landlords (90% of those surveyed) were unable to identify the characteristics of a House in Multiple Occupancy (HMO); and 16% were failing to provide a valid contact address on tenancy agreements, risking a substantial fine. Read more on the What House? website.