Chancellor Urged To Back Longer Rental Tenancies In Budget

RLA wants tax relief on rental income, which could increase each year a tenancy continues – up to a maximum of five years if the tenancy is renewed. Landlords are urging the government to back longer tenancies in rented housing to meet the needs of the growing numbers of families with children who rely on the sector for their home. David Smith, Policy Director for the RLA, said landlords recognise the demand for longer tenancies which provide stability for they and tenants alike. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/chancellor-urged-to-back-longer-rental-tenancies-in-budget/

Government Confirms NO Announcement Due On Long Term Tenancies

The MHCLG has confirmed there is NO announcement due on long term tenancies and reassured landlords all responses will be taken into account before a decision is made. An unnamed source said Housing Secretary James Brokenshire is backing calls for mandatory three-year tenancies, with a ‘formal decision’ due to be announced by the Government. In an official response to an enquiry made by the RLA, his department confirmed:

·         The consultation ends next week and Ministers will consider responses ahead of announcing next steps.

·         No date has been set for an announcement.

The RLA had expressed concerns about the news report, with the consultation into the Government’s proposals not due to be completed until August 26th. Read more on the RLA website.

https://news.rla.org.uk/government-confirms-no-announcement-due-on-long-term-tenancies/

Builders Of Rental Flats Welcome Move Towards Longer Tenancies

The bosses of some of London’s largest rental flats builders have shrugged off concerns that new longer tenancies could be bad for business. Communities secretary James Brokenshire has published proposals that could see landlords forced to give renters three-year contracts in a move to help them “put down roots”. Some small property owners warned the plan could make it harder to manage difficulties with problem tenants, while the National Landlords Association slammed a shift to “a more rigid system”. However, listed Telford Homes and developer Quintain, which are currently constructing 3700 rental homes in the capital, welcomed the update. Read more on the Evening Standard website.

https://www.standard.co.uk/business/londons-builders-of-rental-flats-welcome-move-towards-longer-tenancies-a3876856.html

Could Landlords Be Offered Tax Relief For Offering Longer-Term Tenancies?

Landlords are set to benefit from new incentives if they offer longer agreements to their tenants.  Perks could include clawing back tax relief that is currently being withdrawn from thousands of landlords, a leading property expert has suggested. The government wants to offer greater support to those who rent, as the number of people who do not own their own home continues to grow. Policies introduced could benefit landlords who comply.  Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Sajid Javid indicated in his Conservative party conference speech that details will be revealed in the Autumn Budget on November 22.  Read more on the Daily Mail website.

Do Lenders Really Oppose Longer Tenancies?

As market conditions have steadily improved in the aftermath of the financial crisis lenders have shown an increasing appetite to advance mortgages to landlords who want to offer longer tenancies to those renting in the private rented sector.  Although it is for individual firms to determine their own lending policies, an increasing number of lenders are now willing to offer mortgages to landlords who want to provide extended tenancies. The housing charity Shelter has acknowledged this. Last year, it published a blog pointing out that there is now a growing number of lenders who are willing to offer mortgages to landlords wanting to provide longer tenancies. And these mortgages are still available. Read more on the CML website.

Another Buy To Let Lender Encouraging Longer Tenancies

Leeds Building Society has changed its mortgage criteria in a bid to encourage longer-term private rentals. The UK’s fifth largest society will now accept tenancy agreements for a period to suit both the tenant and the landlord, and will not stipulate a maximum tenancy period, which was previously set at 12 months. A number of lenders will now accept longer term tenancies, but most will only go to a maximum of three years and Leeds will be amongst the few with no maximum. Read more on the LettingAgentToday website.

Housing Minister Backs Longer Private Rental Tenancies

The new housing minister, Gavin Barwell, says he is behind the concept of longer tenancies for renters in the private sector. In response to a House of Commons question, Barwell said he was investigating how to make longer tenancies easier to obtain for renters.  “My department has developed a model tenancy agreement for use by landlords and tenants in the private rented sector, which encourages longer-term tenancies for those who want them. We are working with the sector to actively promote the use of this and to identify any barriers. We have also established a working group, focussed on affordability and security in the private rented sector, which will look at what more we can do to help people who require longer tenancies to get them” he said. Read more on the Letting Agent Today website.

End Of Long-Term Tenancies Will ‘Damage Family Life’

Ministers face intense pressure to drop plans to end long-term, secure tenancies for families in social housing, amid rising concern that it would harm the education of children and damage family life. The former head of the civil service Lord Kerslake, now a crossbench peer, said that the proposals, which were quietly inserted by the government into the housing and planning bill at the end of last year, were unacceptable.  Kerslake, who is backed by Labour and Liberal Democrat peers as well as other crossbenchers and bishops, said that families would lack any sense of security about where their long-term home was, and that children would have to move schools several times during their years in education. Read more on the Observer website.

Landlords Must Prepare For Longer Tenancies

Landlords and property managers must prepare for long-term tenancies. The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC) says heightened preparation must include thorough administration and more thought about the choice of furniture and interior design themes. The organisation draws attention to the recent English Housing Survey 2014-15, which shows average private tenancy length is now four years – up from three and a half years in the previous survey. It also found that some 46% of 25-34 year-olds lived in the Private Rented Sector in 2014-15, up from 24% in 2004-05. Read more on 24dash.

PRS 'Needs Rent Controls and Indefinite Tenancies'

Inflation-busting rent rises should be banned and indefinite tenancies should become the norm in the private rented sector (PRS), a leading think tank has said. Civitas also said Ed Miliband’s controversial proposals for reform of the private rented sector ‘do not go far enough’. It warned that the availability of housing benefit is creating a ‘vicious cycle’ of inflation with landlords able to fix ‘artificially high’ rents at the lower end of the market. Dismissing concerns that rent regulation would deter investors from the sector, the report said rent should not be allowed to rise above inflation once freely set at the start of the tenancy. It also said tenants should ‘ordinarily’ be allowed to remain in the property ‘for as long as they wish’ to make the tenure suitable for families. Read more on Inside Housing.

What We Really Need Now Is a Living Rent

The living wage campaign has been a huge success. But while housing costs continue to eat up so much of renters' incomes, we need to go one further. Based on the principle that nobody should have to pay more than a third of their income on rent (the widely recognised threshold of housing affordability), we want councils to create a living rent where rents would be linked to average local earnings. Social housing providers would be encouraged to provide truly affordable homes and be accredited as living rent providers. In the private sector, we want landlords to commit to capping their yearly rent increases at 2% above inflation and offer long-term tenancies to those who need them. Read more on the Guardian website.

Labour’s Policies Put Housing Investment at Risk and Lack Crucial Detail

Outlined by Ed Miliband, Labour’s reforms to the private rented sector would introduce three year tenancies, enforce a ban on letting agent fees and impose a ceiling on rent increases.  However, responding to Miliband, the British Property Federation  (BPF) said his proposals lack crucial detail and also risk investment in housing, especially institutional investors.  Ian Fletcher, the BPF’s director of policy said: “Those who are investing already are very receptive to offering longer tenancies and many are doing so and the Labour Party’s aspiration on that is not objectionable, but the rent control aspect of this announcement makes no sense.”  Read more on the BPF website.

Housing: Private Rented Sector – Parliamentary Written Answer

Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op): There are 48,000 homes in the private rented sector in Liverpool. All those tenants had been heartened by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he said that he wants  “longer fixed-term, family-friendly tenancies that meet their needs.” May we have an urgent statement about when the Government will honour that aspiration and support the proposals announced today by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition to scrap letting fees, end excessive rent rises and introduce long-term tenancies?

Mr Lansley: If the hon. Lady is saying that she supports what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is doing to promote flexibility, quality and supply in the housing market, I am pleased. I suspect, however, that what she is saying is that we do not want to go beyond that to a rent-control policy of the kind advocated by her leader. In that respect, she probably takes the same view as the shadow Housing Minister, the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East (Emma Reynolds), who said on “Channel 4 News” in January that  “rent controls are not going to work in practice”. What the hon. Lady said was right then and it is right today.

Nationwide Allows Landlords to Offer Longer-Term Tenancies

The Nationwide Building Society Group is the first mainstream buy-to-let-lender to allow landlords to offer their tenants longer-term contracts.  Most lenders restrict buy-to-let borrowers by requiring them to offer their tenants a maximum contract of 12 months. By allowing customers the choice to offer longer-term lets, The Mortgage Works, part of Nationwide, hopes to give more stability to some of the nine million people in England who rent their homes privately.  Read more on the Shelter website.

Vulnerable To Be Offered Long-Term Tenancies

Social landlords will be expected to offer long-term tenancies to families and vulnerable households. All housing associations and local authority landlords will be expected to publish tenancy policies which show how they will provide for the most vulnerable families as part of the government’s overhaul of the sector. Last November the government published a consultation paper, Local decisions: a fairer future for social housing, which suggested social landlords should be able to offer fixed-term tenancies rather than lifetime agreements. In their response to feedback on the consultation, housing minister Grant Shapps and junior local government minister Andrew Stunell have said that though fixed-term tenancies will be offered for a minimum of two years, most would have longer term. Read more on Inside Housing.