In the past couple of months we have seen a number of positive reports claiming that the UK economy is starting to become even more stable, and now it has been revealed that the UK is actually improving much faster than its European counterparts. According to a report released today by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development the forecast for growth in the UK during 2013 is 0.8 per cent, while for Europe the economy is set to decline by 0.6 per cent.
There has been much discussion recently over what to do about the UK’s flagging high streets, especially as so many former shops, offices and restaurants have now been unoccupied for an extensive period of time now. One idea that came from the government is to relax planning rules when it comes to converting offices and other commercial properties into residential homes, which they hope will not only benefit landlords but also help alleviate the housing crisis which is currently sweeping the UK.
The school year is almost at its end, which means that parents with children about to leave their primary schools have been desperately trying to make sure that they are able to get into a good school within their area. However, with the demand for school places so high, especially for schools that have a good reputation, many are becoming stricter when it comes to catchment areas, meaning that properties that are available in these areas are becoming extremely sought after.
Posted on 23rd April 2013
It seems as though whenever the property market or the private rented sector has been mentioned in the news for the past few years it has all been doom and gloom. This is mostly due to the fall in property prices, the lack of affordable housing throughout the UK, a growing number of people not being able to buy a home and the government urging for stricter rules to be placed on landlords. However, it has now been revealed that for the first […]
Posted on 22nd April 2013
After George Osborne announced his plans to help the housing industry during the Budget last month many of those that work in the private rented sector claimed that his efforts may not be enough as he focussed too much on helping people in the UK buy a home and not enough on the struggling private rented sector. Currently, a huge amount of the population now rents their home as so many can no longer afford to save up for a deposit for a mortgage. […]
Posted on 18th April 2013
The demise of the high street has led to a large number of companies going into administration in the past couple of years including Woolworths, Jessops and more recently HMV. Many blame the fact that more people now choose to do their shopping online instead of visiting stores, which is not only changing the face of the high street but also the commercial property sector for the worse.
Due to the housing crisis, the economic climate and the introduction of the welfare reforms, many buy-to-let landlords are concerned that their tenants will soon start to struggle financially and end up falling into rent arrears. Banks across the country are also concerned by the expected increase in tenants falling into rent arrears, as if they do so it is likely that landlords will start defaulting on mortgage repayments, which is leading to banks becoming more discerning when it comes to lending new mortgages.
To […]
Due to the high demand for private rented accommodation the amount of rogue landlords across the UK has increased over the past year, with many now offering what has been named ‘beds in sheds’. This is where ‘landlords’ offer tenants rooms in sheds at the end of gardens, which are generally of appalling standards, however as some people have nowhere else to go they have little choice but to stay where they are.
In order to combat rogue landlords Newham Council introduced mandatory landlord registration […]
Posted on 13th March 2013
A considerable amount of recent news stories have been commenting on how many people living in the UK are not able to get onto the property ladder and therefore have to rent private accommodation instead. The articles usually talk to tenants who complain that the amount it costs them to rent a property is too high, and that they would prefer to buy a property yet cannot afford to save for a mortgage deposit. However, it now seems that there are some people […]
George Obsbourne will be announcing his spending plans for the UK during his annual Budget report on March the 20th, and due to the fact that even the smallest decision could impact millions of families there are already rumours flying about concerning what he plans to invest in. The housebuilding industry is therefore excited to hear the rumour that the government is planning on investing two hundred million pounds into the industry in order to provide more private rented accommodation and ease the current […]
