Sector Has Scope To Save ‘Millions’ Annually On Repairs

The sector has the scope for multi-million pound savings year-on-year if repairs demand was managed more effectively, a new report reveals. Vantage has published its  financial state of the sector FY17/18 to show last year’s improved financial position has largely held with total turnover up  just over £1bn. But the analysis sees scope for improvement in the overall spend on repairs and maintenance –  with its increase by 5.7%. Notwithstanding the costs of restructuring, the analysis offers little sign of economies being achieved in any of the major cost areas. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/sector-has-scope-to-save-millions-annually-on-repairs/

Letting Fee Ban Will Hit Loyal Tenants Hardest

The Government’s proposed ban on letting agent fees will cost tenants who stay in properties the longest hundreds of pounds, ARLA in partnership with Capital Economics can reveal.

·         There are 4,000 jobs at risk if an outright ban is passed

·         The Exchequer is in receipt of £400m in employee taxes from letting agents

·         Some landlords expected to exit the market if they don’t inflate rents, adding to already high pressure on supply and demand in the rental sector

Read more on the ARLA website.

Home Ownership Is Only Rising For The Over-70s And Under-20s

Property ownership is growing fastest among the grandparent generation while their children are increasingly driven into the rental market, figures reveal. The over-70s and the under-20s are the only groups in which home ownership is rising, according to findings by the House of Commons library which prompted a Tory ex-minister to warn of a unhealthy generation gap. The figures suggest the older generation is building up buy-to-let portfolios and brought fresh demands for the government to intervene to tackle a growing housing crisis. Falling levels of ownership have been blamed on a shortage of supply of affordable homes and resulting increases in property prices across the UK. Read more on the inews website.

Business Leaders Urge Government To Tackle UK Housing Crisis

Business leaders have urged the government to tackle the housing shortage by expanding the rental sector and creating incentives for older homeowners to vacate large properties. The CBI set out 10 recommendations to get more people into suitable housing ahead of the publication of a white paper by the CLG on tackling the housing crisis. Warning that the status quo is “clearly unsustainable”, the employers’ lobby group called for a “step change” in housebuilding, including the creation of more rental homes, if the government is to meet its ambition of a million new homes by 2020. The UK population is to increase by 10 million in the next 25 years, leading to an even greater scramble for homes as the government fails to meet a target of 250,000 properties built a year. Download the report from the CBI website.

More Than 30,000 New Build-To-Rent Homes Launching Across London

Thousands of young Londoners need homes but will never be about to own one. It’s a dilemma that developers are addressing with new-build, attractive, secure and fair-priced rentals launched for a new generation of lifelong tenants. More than 30,000 new flats for rent are under way or poised to be built in all but three London boroughs. And many more rental homes are coming down the pipeline. This renting revolution is confirmed by the latest research from property analyst BNP Paribas. Already, for the first time in decades, more people are living in private rented homes than in social housing. Read more on the Homes & Property website.

Rental Expert Calls On New Housing Minister To Reverse Tax Changes

The head of the UK's largest property franchise group has called on the new Housing Minister, Gavin Barwell, to reverse 'punitive tax policies' in order to increase supply and demand in the rental sector. Dorian Gonsalves, managing director of 170 branch agency Belvoir, says that George Osborne's 'disastrous anti-landlord policies' are deterring landlords from investing in the market. He says the policies are affecting tenants, too, as restricted rental supply is pushing up rents. Some of the firm's franchises have reported instances of tenants submitting increased rental offers to landlords without being prompted in order to try and secure the property of their choice. Read more on the Homecouk website.