Tenants Hit Hard As Rents Reach Record High

Tenants are being hit by record-high rents and the added cost of the Government's stamp duty rise on buy-to-let properties, a report has found. Rents rose at their fastest rate for six months in April, hitting an average of £793 across England and Wales, according to the latest Buy-to-Let index. The study from Your Move and Reeds Rains means tenants have seen an increase of 0.3% month-on-month, while rents are also 2.4% higher compared to the same point last year. The average tenant is now paying an extra £19 a month, with rents reaching all-time highs in the East of England, the West Midlands and the East Midlands, the research revealed. Download the Index from the Your Move website.

Landlords Enjoy 'Best Returns Since 2014'

Landlords are typically seeing the best returns on properties since 2014, according to a buy-to-let index. The average annual return per property for landlords across England and Wales was £21,988 in January, estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains said. The figure includes income from rent as well as the rising value of the property and also takes into account any void periods, when the property may stand empty. It is the highest in cash terms since August 2014. But it does not include money which will be paid out by landlords for costs such as maintenance and mortgages or rent which is owed but goes unpaid. Read more on the Daily Mail website.

Rents Rise At Fastest Pace Since 2011

Tenants faced the fastest rise in monthly rent bills since 2011 last year, according to a report by estate agents which found arrears were also on the increase. A monthly index compiled by Your Move and Reeds Rains suggested that despite a dip in December, rents grew by 3.4% during the year - rising £27 on December 2014 to an average £794 per month. It showed that at the same time, the percentage of all unpaid rent had risen to 9.3% of the total due - up from 8.2% in November - as Christmas loomed. That is despite the official rate of inflation - which excludes housing costs - running around zero for much of the year. Read more on Sky News.

Serious Rent Arrears Worsening

Cases of tenants seriously behind on rent are rising once more – rising 13.8% between Q2 and Q3 2015, according to the latest Tenant Arrears Tracker by estate agency chains Your Move and Reeds Rains.

·         Those more than two months behind on rent now number 84,200 – the most households since Q2 2013

·         Landlords absorb arrears spike, as evictions maintain improvement, dropping 4.3% on a quarterly basis

·         Landlord’s own finances remain solid, with buy to let mortgage arrears steady at 5,700 as of Q3 2015

There are now 84,200 tenants more than two months behind with paying their rent, as of Q3 2015, compared to 74,000 in the second quarter. Read more on 24dash.

Starter Home Initiative Is Urgently Needed

Average rents across the country have risen above £800 a month for the first time on record, according to the latest Buy-to-Let Index from the estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains. Rents in England and Wales rose by 1.9 per cent in July to an average of £804, up from £789 in June in the fastest monthly rise since records began in 2009. Tenants in London now pay an average of £1,282 a month. Compared with July 2014, when the average rent in England and Wales stood at £753, people taking out new tenancies in July 2015 were expected to pay 6.8 per cent more – the largest annual rise on record. Read more on the Independent website.

Residential Rent Gains Expected To Slow

Mortgage rates are falling, capital values are rising, and in the past five years residential rents have outstripped consumer price inflation by 3.6 per cent. Much of that increase has come in the past year, with rents up by 3.7 per cent, the fastest pace for two years. It's important to remember, though, that this embraces considerable regional variations. Rents in the east of England, for example, grew by an annual 12 per cent, even outstripping London, while rents in the East Midlands actually fell by 0.2 per cent. But a recent survey by Your Move, and letting agents network Reeds Rains, suggests that landlords expect rent inflation to tail off to 1.7 per cent by next year. Read more on the Investors Chronicle website.

Housing Shortage Hits First-Time Buyers Despite Government Help

The UK’s chronic housing shortage is forcing first-time buyers to accept lower quality properties. Natural light was cited as not being vital by 51 per cent of prospective buyers, survey figures released by estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains show. Additionally, 63 per cent would go without a bath while 11 per cent said a kitchen was not vital. Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, suggests current policies such as help-to-buy are stoking demand instead of solving the supply problem. “The lion’s share of new housing policy has been stoking demand, rather than supplementing supply,” Gill said. Read more on the City AM website.

Private Rents Up 3% Over 2014

Rents in the private rented sector (PRS) rose by 3% across England and Wales in 2014, leaving tenants paying an average of £767 a month.  Figures from Your Move and Reeds Rains' latest buy to let index show that, despite falling by a fractional 0.1% between November and December last year, renters are now on average paying £22 more than at the end of 2013. However, compared to a year ago, the East of England has seen the sharpest rise in costs, where rents have shot up but 7.6%. The East Midlands has also experienced a strong increase (6.2%), as has London (4.1%) and Yorkshire & the Humber (3.4%). Read more on 24dash.

Rent Levels Reach Record High

Rent levels across England and Wales are at a new high, according to a new report. The latest figures from Your Move and Reeds Rains show the average rent is £10 higher than September 2013 at £768 per month - this is up nearly one per cent compared to August. The report shows that rents in five regions of England and Wales are higher than 12 months ago with the fastest annual increase in the East of England (3.1 per cent), followed by the South West (2.3 per cent) and London (2.2 per cent). Meanwhile, rents in the West Midlands are now 2.4% lower than a year ago, followed by an annual fall of 2.3% in the North East. Read more on the Independent website.