There have been an increasing number of MPs discussing ways in which the housing crisis could be alleviated, which is causing a fair amount of tension in the government. At the moment, there are thousands of people looking for both private and rented accommodation, and whilst landlords are doing their best to try and accommodate everyone, the government are concerned that the markets are too risky and that borrowing more to invest in housing could be detrimental to the economy.
This is why business secretary […]
Evicting a tenant isn’t easy, especially as all landlords have to go through the courts in order to get a possession order before they can legally evict their tenants. Many landlords used to find this difficult due to the fact that it could take a long period of time for the courts to decide whether to agree to a possession claim, meaning that if a tenant is defaulting on payments then the landlord would continue to lose money.
However, the courts have now introduced an […]
Exactly one month ago we published an article discussing how Halifax claimed that the UK housing market is improving, and that hopefully this would lead to the alleviation of the housing crisis in both the private rented sector and the buy-to-own sector. Critics were initially wary of Halifax’s findings, and even those that agreed with them said that they did not expect the improvement in the housing market to continue throughout 2013. However, it has been reported today that a new survey commissioned […]
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 […]
We have all heard that the amount it costs to rent private housing in the UK has been increasing, meaning that many tenants are now struggling to pay for basic things such as their rent, heating and food bills. This has caused widespread concern amongst landlords, as it means that it is very likely that at least some of their tenants will eventually fall into rent arrears, and unless a landlord has a landlord insurance policy with rent guarantee insurance included they will have […]
The upcoming welfare reforms are already leading to local councils having to change certain policies so that they can still afford to help the most vulnerable families even though they will be receiving less funding from the government. Swindon Council have announced that after the welfare reforms they will only be receiving £11 million a year from the government, which is two million pounds less than what they are receiving now. In order to make up the difference they have therefore decided to […]
Posted on 28th February 2013
There have been a number of calls recently for there to be stricter regulation when it comes to landlords and letting agents as the amount of people now living in private rented accommodation has increased dramatically. Due to the fact that there is such a huge demand for private rented accommodation, rogue landlords are now letting out properties that are not up to the required standards, and many tenants believe that there is not much they can do about it.
However, Westminster City Council has […]
Posted on 27th February 2013
It has been a week to remember when it comes to buy-to-let mortgage lenders, as there have been multiple announcements from companies concerning the management and running of their businesses. Firstly, Nationwide has announced that its buy-to-let lending subsidiary The Mortgage Works will no longer be offering mortgages to landlords that have tenants which receive housing benefits.
It is believed that The Mortgage Works is trying to distance itself from landlords with tenants that receive housing benefits due to the fact that as of April […]
Posted on 26th February 2013
Housing associations and social housing companies are having to make some difficult decisions recently, and many are concerned that the upcoming welfare reforms will mean things will only get harder. We have published numerous news articles recently discussing how private rented sector landlords are protecting themselves against the upcoming reforms with landlord insurance, however many housing associations and social housing companies are choosing to discuss with their tenants how the reforms will affect them.
One social housing company has gone even further though, and has […]
Posted on 25th February 2013
Housing associations are under a large amount of pressure recently due to the fact that the current economic climate and housing crisis have created so many families in need. Many have been criticised in the news recently for not keeping up with demand, however one chair of a housing association has recently been awarded a massive accolade when she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to community relations, social housing and diversity.
Janet Storar became chair of […]
