Company Issues Apology After ‘No DSS’ Advert

Housing association Great Places has been forced to issue a public apology after its letting agent arm posted ‘no DSS’ advert. High street agency Equity Housing, which advertises properties for sale and rent on behalf of Great Places, other registered providers and private landlords, posted an advert for a private rented property that stated individuals on benefits would not be accepted as tenants. The listing, which was posted on behalf of a private landlord, included a description of the Stockport-based property followed by the phrase “full-time applicants only and no DSS considered”. Read more on the Property Industry Eye website.

https://propertyindustryeye.com/company-issues-apology-after-letting-agent-posts-no-dss-advert/

Almost 800,000 Homeowners At Risk Of Repossession

Almost 800,000 households could be vulnerable to repossession if they suffered a loss of income, according to a new think-tank report. Think tank, the Social Market Foundation, analysed official data and found that of the 770,000 at risk of repossession, just over a quarter – 26% – worked in retail or manufacturing, sectors badly hit by the pandemic. An independent SMF report funded by the Building Societies Association (BSA) shows that the pandemic has reduced the savings of many mortgage-holders, with around 14% of owner-occupiers not having sufficient savings to cover a single month’s mortgage payment. Read more on the Property Industry Eye website.

https://propertyindustryeye.com/almost-800000-homeowners-at-risk-of-repossession-new-report/

Buyers Demand Stamp Duty Holiday Extension

There is growing demand for an extension to the stamp duty holiday from many of those who have started the buying process but have yet to complete, fresh research shows. According to a new survey of existing homebuyers, 67% of respondents want to see the stamp duty holiday extended while almost half are deeply concerned that they will miss the current end of March deadline. The holiday has given the housing market a much-needed boost after it ground to a halt during the second quarter of last year following the lockdown in late March. Read more on the Property Industry Eye website.

https://propertyindustryeye.com/buyers-demand-stamp-duty-holiday-extension-as-petition-hits-72000-signatures/

Almost 450,000 Homeowners Set To Benefit From New EWS1 Agreement

Owners of flats in buildings without cladding will no longer need an EWS1 form to sell or re-mortgage their property, following a new agreement reached between the government and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Regulations introduced to improve fire safety following the Grenfell fire had inadvertently left flat owners trapped in near-unsellable homes.After the Grenfell tragedy in June 2017, the rules implemented meant that mortgages for flats in buildings over 18m tall would only be approved if they had passed an External Wall Fire Review (EWS1) survey.However, the government and RICS have agreed that buildings without cladding do not need an EWS1 form. Read more on the Property Industry Eye website.

https://propertyindustryeye.com/almost-450000-homeowners-set-to-benefit-from-new-ews1-agreement/

Housing Market Is Playing ‘A Major Part In Building And Sustaining An Economic Recovery’

The important contribution that the housing market makes to the UK economy should not be underestimated. While there is no single source of data providing comprehensive information about the total economic impact of a housing transaction, fresh analysis from Knight Frank, produced in partnership with the Home Builders Federation (HBF), attempts to quantify that figure. It shows that for every resales housing transaction that takes place the economy benefits by around £9,559 on average. Scaling that figure up means that for every 100,000 housing transactions, there is a net impact of almost £1bn. In addition, more than 11,500 jobs are supported either directly or indirectly by these transactions. Read more on the Property Industry Eye website.

https://propertyindustryeye.com/the-housing-market-is-playing-a-major-part-in-building-and-sustaining-an-economic-recovery/ 

Huge Drop In Transactions As Year Gets Under Way

There has been a huge drop in transactions in the first quarter of this year, while the  number of first-time buyers using Stamp Duty relief has fallen for the first time since the perk was launched, analysis reveals. There were 46,800 46,800 first-time buyer transactions using the relief in the first quarter of 2019, down from 60,800 at the end of 2018 and the lowest since the scheme was unveiled in November 2017. The research by London Central Portfolio (LCP), also found Stamp Duty receipts and liable transactions are lower than initially revealed earlier this week once Welsh figures – which are no longer included in the data by HMRC – are added back in. Read more on the Property Industry Eye website.

https://www.propertyindustryeye.com/huge-drop-in-transactions-as-year-gets-under-way/

Rightmove Asks For ‘Conversation’ With Housing Minister Over ‘No DSS’ Listings

Rightmove has asked for a “conversation” with the Ministry of Housing about ‘No DSS’ lettings listings. The portal is concerned that while the ministry has called for an end to all ‘No DSS’ advertisements, the Competition and Markets Authority guidance is that all ‘material information’ should be communicated in listings. ‘Material information’ includes having to disclose any restrictions on the type of tenant, such as housing benefit claimants. Zoopla has said it will be banning ‘No DSS’ adverts, and amending its property software so that the option cannot be selected. Rightmove has now written to its letting agent members saying that they can still explain that there are restrictions on certain tenants, but asking them to review their listings. Read more on the  Property Industry Eye website.

https://www.propertyindustryeye.com/rightmove-asks-for-conversation-with-housing-minister-over-no-dss-listings/

Optimistic Rightmove Forecasts Brexit Delay Could Boost Market

An optimistic Rightmove has said that it is hoping that the Brexit extension which could see the constitutional crisis drag on until October 31 will release some of the pent-up demand in the market. Its upbeat message is based on record traffic to the site, which it says shows there are buyers in the market. However, the search engine Home says that new listings are down 8% this month compared with a year ago, with both buyer and seller activity “slowing considerably”. It sees little prospect of improvement in the foreseeable future, and expects the market to stagnate. Read more on the Property Industry Eye website.

https://www.propertyindustryeye.com/optimistic-rightmove-forecasts-brexit-delay-could-boost-market/

Housing Minister Under Attack After Blaming Leasehold Buyers For Their Own Plight

Housing minister Heather Wheeler is under fire after apparently blaming home buyers for lumbering themselves with their own leasehold ‘nightmares’. Wheeler apparently refused to accept that thousands of leasehold owners are trapped in homes they cannot sell because of escalating costs. Wheeler is in trouble after telling MPs that buyers were too “excited” and too “caught up in the moment” to read the small print before they bought leasehold homes. Dismissing claims of mis-selling, she said new legislation would trigger a “horrendously expensive” wave of compensation claims. Instead, she called on developers to voluntarily give buyers better terms. Read more on the Property Industry Eye website.

https://www.propertyindustryeye.com/housing-minister-under-attack-after-blaming-leasehold-buyers-for-their-own-plight/

Right to Rent Pilot Branded A ‘Fiasco’ By Top Housing Lawyer

A leading housing lawyer has condemned feedback on the Right to Rent pilot scheme as a fiasco and  “even worse than I expected”. Giles Peaker was commenting on the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) report on the Right to Rent pilot that has been taking place in the west midlands since last December. Peaker, a partner at law firm Anthony Gold, said the policy “is going to have to take some quite astonishing justification in any Home Office evaluation to take forward nationally.  “It is, on a purely practical basis, a fiasco”. The JCWI report found that 69% of landlords do not feel they should be made to undertake checks and 77% are not in favour of a national roll-out. Read more on the propertyindustryeye website.

Labour Names New Shadow Housing Minister

Durham MP Roberta Blackman-Woods is the new Labour shadow housing minister, the party has announced. The Durham MP, who comes from Northern Ireland, has been in Parliament since 2005 after being selected as candidate on an all-women list. She is a sociologist with an interest in housing, and her CV includes being welfare rights officer at Newcastle City Council, a job she had before she became a university lecturer. Her last role in Parliament was as shadow planning minister. Ms Blackman-Woods will now be responsible for both housing and planning. Labour previously split these two positions up. Read more on the propertyindustryeye website.

Council’s Licensing Scheme to Target Rogue Landlords

Rogue landlords who provide poor quality housing are the target of a new licensing scheme to improve private rented accommodation for tenants in Croydon. Under the scheme, every private landlord will be required to obtain a licence, whereby they will have to demonstrate they have met a series of health and safety standards. The proposed selective licensing scheme is a key part of the 'Don’t Mess with Croydon' campaign to clean up the borough by improving conditions in private rented accommodation. The licensing process will also require stringent ‘fit and proper’ checks of landlords for any criminal convictions.  Read more on the propertyindustryeye website.