Category: Tenants

Good News on Rents Tempered with Bad News on Arrears

Posted on 24th May 2012

After several months of stagnation, news from two different sources suggests landlords are once more seeing rents begin to increase.
In what will be greeted as good news by property investors across the UK, a report by leading letting agents and surveyors LSL suggests that rents are once more on the up. They reported an increase in April of half of one per cent, the first national increase for three months. It really was good news for virtually all of the UK with increases reported in […]

Landlords To Face More Regulations In Wales

Posted on 23rd May 2012

Property investors with an interest in landlord insurance may find themselves weighed down with more regulations in the near future if they own homes in Wales.
A proposal by the ruling Labour Party in Wales will see private landlords come under the microscope more intensely than ever before as they will be required to prove they are “a fit and proper person” to let homes to paying tenants. If the white paper introduced to the Welsh assembly this week is passed then landlords throughout the principality […]

Private Landlords Warned Not To Let Arrears Get Out of Hand

Posted on 21st May 2012

Figures released by a letting agency showed that the cost of renting a property from a private landlord went up by half a per cent last month, pushing up the average UK monthly rent to £710. LSL Property Services’ research showed that this was the first recorded increase for three months and now means that rents are 2.4% higher than twelve months ago.
As expected, rents are highest in London where they have increased by 4.5% in the last year to an average of £1,032 each […]

Older Residents Set to Benefit from New Housing Development

Posted on 16th May 2012

One of the biggest housing associations in the United Kingdom has announced their plans to build 186 affordable homes which will be specifically designed to appeal to older residents. Within the next two weeks, Orbit Homes will submit their formal planning application to Warwick District Council to build the £26 million independent living complex in Leamington.
Both Orbit Homes and their partner in the scheme (Coventry-based Deeley Group) believe the site is perfectly located for this type of development. The project is on the site of […]

Tenants Move into New Council Eco-Friendly Bungalows

Posted on 14th May 2012

A Staffordshire family of three are delighted with their new home which has been built by their council to help meet a chronic shortage of housing for those with special needs. Hannah and Stephen Lowe have moved into the bungalow with their 16-year-old son, Josh. Their new home is one of seventeen eco-homes built in the area as part of a £1.8 million project to meet the demand for two-bedroom bungalows.
Building work on the bungalows finished in April and all of the homes which come […]

Tenants Prefer the Personal Touch

Posted on 4th May 2012

A survey conducted by a leading online letting agency will provide food for thought for many property investors with an interest in landlord insurance.
The survey suggests private landlords should conduct preliminary viewings of their properties with tenants themselves rather than leave it to agents. Online letting experts Upad questioned almost 400 tenants in private accommodation across the UK and found the assumption that tenants preferred to view their potential new home with a professional agent totally wrong. The survey revealed only 15% actively preferred an […]

Landlord Organisation Forecasts Housing Crisis for Benefit Claimants

Posted on 24th April 2012

A report from a major landlord association shows that tenants on benefits are struggling to find decent accommodation as Government cuts in Housing Allowance take effect.
The report issued by the National Landlords Association (NLA) shows that thousands of landlords are becoming ever more reluctant to let their properties to benefit claimants and are turning to tenants who are not on benefits to ensure they keep their business healthy. The survey of members showed that over 50% of the respondents said they no longer consider tenants […]

Landlords Could Lose Under 25 Market if New Housing Policy is Introduced

Posted on 20th April 2012

Property investors with an interest in landlord insurance believe new Government proposals aimed at the jobless, could have a serious impact on the livelihood of many buy-to-let investors.
Provisions in the new Welfare Bill mean unemployed people under the age of 25 will have their housing benefit cut. Whereas before young unemployed people renting in the private sector received Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in accordance with their rent, they now only receive LHA to the equivalent cost of someone renting a room in a shared house. […]

Deposit Protection Schemes Fostering Understanding between Landlord and Tenant

Posted on 19th April 2012

A Government initiative to protect tenants from losing tenancy deposits unfairly has changed relations between landlords and tenants dramatically, according to a leading sector expert, and it is all for the better.
Steve Harriot, head of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), one of just two insured tenancy deposit protection schemes in England, believes Government legislation to introduce mandatory tenancy deposit protection has brought greater trust between landlords and their tenants. According to figures only 1% of tenancy deposit agreements now end in dispute since the introduction […]

Glasgow Tenants Facing an Average Rent Increase of Almost 5%

Posted on 10th April 2012

Research has found that tenants renting from housing associations in Glasgow are facing an average rent increase of 4.8%. The data was collected from the ten biggest social landlords in the city and they have all increased their rent by more or less the same amount at a time when many are still struggling with money woes.
Between them the housing associations provide homes for hundreds of thousands of people and manage nearly 70,000 properties that are all protected by landlord insurance. The hike has prompted […]