Owning a home is a phenomenon which is mostly unique to the United Kingdom. Throughout the USA and most of Europe renting is the norm. Changes to the housing market over the past decade has made it virtually impossible for first time buyers to get onto the property ladder and now it has been forecast that the next generation may never own their own property.
With tighter controls over mortgages, the average first-time buyer will need to find close to £30,000 for a deposit which is […]
Landlords in Dundee are being advised to be realistic when setting the monthly rent for a tenant and some are being urged to think about reducing the rents as the changes in housing benefit are now just over six months away.
From January, single people who have no dependants will be losing their entitlement to rent for a one bedroom flat. They will instead be switched to the lower rate which is paid for a room in a shared property. According to the latest figures released […]
Property landlords Beech Properties are celebrating after they beat supermarket giant Sainsbury’s at the British Renewable Energy Awards. The company was named winner of the Pioneer Award which is a national prize for innovation in environmentally friendly properties
The South Manchester Company clinched the award for their pioneering use of renewable technology in properties which are rented by the large student population in the area. The company have installed green technology such as solar panels and air source heat pumps in their eighty-two properties which are […]
Waltham Forest council are about to launch a new scheme which will determine if privately rented properties throughout the borough are meeting decent standards of both safety and sanitation. The council claim the new Property Accreditation Scheme will help both the landlords and their tenant.
Twelve months ago the council’s cabinet member for housing, Councillor Marie Pye, admitted they had to do more to protect tenants after it came to light that a property which was recommended by the council had a huge array of faults […]
Campaigners are calling for party flats to be banned and new laws brought in to restrict the number of occupants allowed for short term lets. This is because of the increasing number of revellers organising stag and hen parties, which are both disturbing and keeping neighbours awake all night.
As many as fifteen people are being regularly crammed into two and three bedroom city centre properties which are being marketed by letting agencies who are hoping to attract what is a lucrative market in both Edinburgh […]
Council chiefs in Scotland’s Capital are to lend over £21 million to Housing Associations in the city to facilitate the building of another two hundred affordable properties in order to help with the current housing shortage.
The new homes will be covered by landlord insurance before being leased to tenants for what is being classed as a “mid-market” rent. This will be set somewhere between social and private rents, but at a level that low-income working families can afford.
The council are planning to borrow the money […]
Increasing monthly rents and positive house price forecasts are thought to be behind the huge resurgence of property investors showing interest in buying a property with the sole purpose of letting and protecting it with landlord insurance.
Both estate agents and mortgage lenders have reported a significant increase in business as investors are seriously taking note of Great Britain’s increasing army of tenants. Landlords will still have to find a substantial deposit and in the current patchy property market they will also have to ensure they […]
LSL Property Services have released new data which shows private landlords are optimistic about adding a property to their portfolio and protecting it with landlord insurance. Almost half believe now is an ideal time to invest their money, this figure has increased from the 47% recorded in the first week of June last year.
Increasing demand for rental accommodation was thought to be the main reason for this confidence. Only 1% of landlords surveyed thought now was a good time to reduce their portfolio. This means […]
Landlords in the areas of London where the 2012 Olympic Games will take place can expect to see massive demand for their properties as the games get ever closer. However, housing charities are concerned that unscrupulous landlords may evict sitting tenants in a bid to gain from the £2000 a week rents some experts forecast are possible while the games are on.
With the demand for rental properties outstripping supply in the Capital the average rental charge looks set to go over £1000 a month any […]
Liverpool’s largest social housing landlord LMH (Liverpool Mutual Homes) has brought its maintenance and repairs service in-house, as they look to cut the amount of money they pay out and at the same time improve the repairs service delivered to tenants’ homes.
LMH hope the move will save jobs after breaking away from former contractor Kinetics. A subsidiary company HMS (Housing Maintenance Solutions) will take over the running of all repair work across their entire 15000 property stock which is all covered by landlord insurance from […]
