Letting Agent 'Demanding Money To View Properties'

A letting agency has been demanding hundreds of pounds in payment before prospective tenants are allowed to view properties for rent. The practice, by Flintons, breaches guidelines and could be unlawful. Shadow housing minister Melanie Onn said renters needed more rights and the case was the "tip of the iceberg". Flintons, in London, denied any wrongdoing and said it did not charge any fees for viewings. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46111015

20% Of Landlords Plan On Selling Up

The National Landlords Association’s (NLA) latest research shows that 20% of its members plan to reduce the number of properties in their portfolio in the next year – the highest level of intended property sales in 10 years. The NLA believes this is due to recent tax changes, and has created a series of videos to assess and explain the impact of these changes on landlords and tenants. The four videos contain research, conducted by Capital Economics for the NLA, which shows that landlords and tenants will pay more than their fair share in tax as a result of changes made by the Government to curb buy-to-let activity in the private rented sector. Read more on the NLA website.

Renters Face a Tougher Fight for a Place to Live

Tenants and those looking to rent in the private sector face even tougher times ahead as a shortage of properties to let collides with rising demand to fuel fierce competition, suggests the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA).  ARLA’s third quarterly report found that over a third (68%) of respondents reported more would-be tenants than properties available. This figure represents the third and biggest successive increase, from 46% in Q3 2013, 54% in Q1 2014, 59% in Q2 2014; meaning an increase of nine percentage points between Q2 and Q3, and the largest increase since numbers were on the up. This is reinforced by the fact that supply of residential property on the private rental market decreased in the last quarter, with ARLA Licensed members recording a 6% drop in the average number of managed buy-to-let (BTL) investment properties on their books. Read more on the ARLA website.

Rents Have Risen By 8% over the Last Year

The number of new rental properties coming onto the market is up by six per cent over the last 12 months, says a new report. Figures from Sequence, whose network includes Barnard Marcus, William H Brown and Fox & Sons, also indicates that national monthly rents rose eight per cent between December 2012 and December 2013 to £763, in spite of a drop of two per cent compared to November. The number of new tenancies agreed also increased over the last year, by 13 per cent. Read more on the Independent website.