Hundreds Of Thousands Living In Squalid Rented Homes In England

Rented housing so squalid it is likely to leave tenants requiring medical attention is being endured by hundreds of thousands of young adults in England, an analysis of government figures has revealed. Rats, mouldy walls, exposed electrical wiring, leaking roofs and broken locks are among problems blighting an estimated 338,000 homes rented by people under 35 that have been deemed so hazardous they are likely to cause harm. It is likely to mean that over half a million people are starting their adult lives in such conditions, amid a worsening housing shortage and rising rents, which are up 15% across the UK in the last seven years. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/28/hundreds-of-thousands-living-in-squalid-rented-homes-in-england

Surge Of Rent Increases Subsides

Demand for rental accommodation rose by 10% month on month in September, while supply remained the same, according to the latest ARLA Propertymark PRS report.  After several months of rising rent costs, the report reveals signs that the rental market is moving in the right direction, marking the first month-on-month decrease since May, when the figure also stood at 27%. Year on year however, the number of tenants experiencing rent hikes is up; in September 2016, only 24 % agents reported this. In September, there were 79 prospective tenants registered per member branch, up 10% from August when there was 72 per branch. The number of properties managed per member branch remained the same in September, at 189. Read more on the ARLA website.

Zero-Hours Contracts 'Trapping Young People In Homelessness'

Zero-hours contracts are trapping young people in homelessness. Centrepoint has said that the controversial contracts are making it harder for 16 to 25-year-olds to escape homelessness and more likely for them to be saddled with rent arrears leading them being evicted. The result was young people trying to get back on their feet after having been homeless were effectively being penalised for getting a job. For young people on zero-hours contracts the first problem was getting a landlord willing to accept them as a tenant in rented accommodation. With the current affordable housing shortage landlords could pick and choose tenants, and many viewed zero-hours workers as worse than jobless benefits claimants. Read more on the Independent.

Landlords Scramble To Avoid Higher Buy-To-Let Taxes

Buy to let landlords are scrambling to avoid the impact of tax changes that come into effect next year. The Buy to Let Britain report found landlords were restructuring their portfolios to escape higher taxes on their rental income, which will be phased in from April 2017. Some landlords have set up limited companies while others have increased rents or transferred properties to family members. The average rent in Great Britain has hit a record high of £881 a month, and landlords indicated they intended to raise prices by an average of 5.4% – the equivalent of £571 a year for households. Strong house price growth has pushed the value of rented accommodation in the UK to £1.3tn, up by 16% in the last year to September. Read more on the Guardian website.

Most Renters Unlikely To Buy Home In Next Five Years

Almost two-thirds of renters in the UK believe they are unlikely to buy a home in the next five years, according to research for a Labour-backed inquiry into the housing crisis. The Redfern review, led by Pete Redfern, the chief executive of housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, has examined the reasons for the decline in homeownership. A poll of about 2,000 people from around the UK found 62% of those living in rented accommodation felt they were unlikely to buy in the next five years. Among the population as a whole, 49% thought more should be done to disincentivise buy-to-let, while two-thirds thought the government should do more to help first-time buyers. Eight out of 10 people believed buying a property had become more difficult over the past decade. Read more on the Guardian website.

Over A Quarter Of UK Tenants Felt Rushed Into An Agreement

Over a quarter of tenants in the UK feel that they were rushed into entering their tenancy agreement, particularly in London, a new survey has found. Overall 27% felt rushed and more than half regretted renting their current property, according to the research commissioned by Ocean Finance. Such is the competition in the rentals market that 1.5 million tenants, some 8% of renters, signed their tenancy agreement on the day they viewed the property. One in 10 said the turnaround between viewing and entering the tenancy was two to three days, and a similar number said they signed the agreement between four and seven days after the viewing. Read more on the Property Wire website.

ARLA Reports Temporary Rise In Supply Of Rented Housing

The supply of rented housing has increased from March this year but overall it is down from April 2015, according to the latest market report from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). ARLA says the number of rental properties managed per branch increased by 8% cent in April 2016 to the highest level this year: The jump from March follows a rush from buy to let landlords pushing to complete sales ahead of the April stamp duty increase deadline. But supply still stands at 5% lower than in April last year and continues to fall year-on-year.  Download a copy of the report from the ARLA website.

Tenant Evictions Up In England And Wales

The number of households evicted from rental accommodation in England and Wales rose by 5% in the first three months of the year, while the repossession rate for homeowners fell to a record low. Seasonally adjusted figures from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) show there were 10,732 repossessions of rented homes by bailiffs between January and March, up from 10,253 in the final three months of 2015. The number was, however, down on the 10,855 in the first quarter of 2015. Meanwhile, separate figures from banks and building societies show that the repossession rate among mortgage customers has fallen to its lowest level. Read more on the Guardian website.

Young Families Priced Out Of Rental Markets In Two-Thirds Of The UK

Having a child while living in rental accommodation has become unaffordable for young families in two-thirds of the UK.  Using the average regional full-time wage for workers in their 20s and 30s and the cost of privately renting a two-bed home in the area, the Guardian, in conjunction with Generation Rent, found that young couples would have to spend more than 30% of one full-time earner’s wage to keep a roof over their head in 66% of the country. There is no official definition of what a family can afford in the UK, but housing charity Shelter says it amounts to 33% of income, while the National Housing Federation says it is 25%. he findings have renewed calls from MPs and housing campaigners for rent caps to be reintroduced after being abandoned more than 20 years ago. Read more on the Guardian website.

Landlords Reluctant To Rent To Young People Denied Housing Benefit

The Government’s proposal to abolish housing benefit for those aged 18 to 21 will make it far more difficult for them to rent a home, according to the Residential Landlords Association (RLA). In a survey of over 1,000 landlords, the organisation found that 76% will be reluctant to rent accommodation to this age group once it comes into effect in April, because they fear they may not have enough money to pay the rent. The survey also showed the “devastating effects” of the Government’s planned benefit cap, with over 65% of landlords being reluctant to let properties to tenants who are of working age and on benefits because the cap might affect their ability to meet rent costs. Furthermore, the RLA said its data showed that those under 35 may also face problems accessing rented accommodation. Read more on the RLA website.

Tenant Evictions Reach Highest Level On Record

The number of tenants evicted from their homes by bailiffs reached a record high in 2015, according to official figures for England and Wales showing that 42,728 households in rented accommodation were forcibly removed. Housing campaigners blamed welfare cuts and the shortage of affordable homes for the 2% rise in repossessions over the year, revealed in figures from the Ministry of Justice. More than half the evictions are thought to have been by private landlords. The data show the number of evictions increased by 53% over the five years from 2010, to the equivalent of more than 170 a day. In England, 19,093 evictions were by social landlords while 5,919 were by private landlords. Download the figures from the GovUK website.