New Year Surge In Demand From Prospective Tenants

The number of new prospective tenants soared 27 per cent in the New Year according to figures released over the weekend from the Association of Residential Letting Agents. The increase was from 64 in December to an average 81 per agency branch in January. Year-on-year this is marginally lower than in January 2020 when the figure stood at 88 but is higher than January 2019 when the figure stood at 73. Read more on the Letting Agent Today website.

https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2021/2/new-year-surge-in-demand-from-prospective-tenants 

Rents In UK Up 2.6% In January

New rents in the UK increased by 2.6% in January overall year on year, the fastest rise for the month in two years but continued to fall in London. January saw 36% of landlords increase the rent when signing a new tenancy, up from 27% at the same time last year. A breakdown of the figures reveals that rental growth has been led by areas outside London, with rents in the capital 2.7% lower than they were last year but up 8.8% in Wales, up 8.2% in the South East and up 7.8% in the East of England. The highest rents are now in £2,298 a month in central London and £1,260 in Greater London, down 6.6% and 2.7% respectively compared with January 2015 while the average rent nationwide is £929. Read more on Property Wire.

Calm Before The Storm For Private Tenants

Letting agents reported a “seasonal lull” last month as both demand and supply dropped off – but it has been called a calm before the storm for private renters, as changes to the buy-to-let market kick in later this year.  In its December private rental sector (PRS) report, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) said its agents registered an average of 29 prospective new tenants last month, down from 34 in November. This represents a decrease of 15%. Supply also decreased marginally in December, with an average of 182 properties managed per branch, down from 189 in November. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Housing Benefit Cap Would Be The Death Knell For Supported Housing

Housing groups are anxiously lobbying the Government to reconsider proposals to cap Housing Benefit for new tenants in supported housing at Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates. Supported housing provides specialist accommodation for older people, the mentally ill and people with disabilities. Experts warn that the LHA rate is insufficient to meet the housing costs of tenants in supported housing, and could leave schemes on the brink of collapse or only open to wealthier tenants. Around half of housing associations and social landlords provide supported housing, with 110,665 new tenancies granted in 2014/15. However, news of the new cap has resulted in supporting housing providers placing a hold on new developments. Read more on the Welfare Weekly website.

Rent Prices Continue To Slow

The latest figures from the HomeLet Rental Index reveal that rents on new tenancies agreed over the three months to November fell in most areas of the country. The report suggests that nine in 10 landlords do not intend to raise rents on their existing tenancies during the first six months of 2016. The Index reveals that in 10 out of 12 UK regions, rents on new tenancies remained flat or fell slightly over the three months to November 2015 compared to the three months to October. Across the country as a whole (excluding London), the average rent on a tenancy signed during the three months to November was £743 a month, 0.7% down on the previous three-month period. In Greater London, the average rent was £1,544, down 1%. Read more on the HomeLet website.

Social Housing: Future, What Future?

The government is preparing to regulate to prevent social landlords offering lifetime tenancies. This would mean that new tenants could only be offered a home for a period of five years or so. Very short-term tenancies make sense if stock is limited and you want to regularly check that it is only housing those who genuinely need it most urgently. There also seems to be a less charitable view in some quarters that, if social housing is an emergency safety net, life shouldn’t be too comfortable. Imposing fixed term tenancies could also cynically be seen as a further attempt to ensure that the positive features of social housing – first affordability, now security – are diluted to the point where the tenure becomes too diminished to be worth defending. The affordable council home for life eventually becoming a folk memory, along with outdoor loos and milk delivered to your doorstep. Read more on the Shelter blog.

Government Plans To Scrap Lifetime Tenancies

The government is planning to scrap lifetime tenancies for new social housing tenants in favour of fixed-term contracts. Under government plans, social landlords would no longer be able to automatically issue tenancies on a lifetime basis and would instead be forced to offer fixed-term lets for prospective tenants. Since 2012, councils and housing associations have been able to offer five-year fixed-term tenancies to new tenants. However, according to official figures, just 13% of new general needs social housing lets were made on a fixed-term basis in 2014/15, compared with 9% in 2013/14. Read more on the Independent website.