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The story that Newham council is looking into sending families in receipt of housing benefits to other parts of the country brought a lot of media interest to the issue of housing benefit payments. The controversial move to house tenants outside their communities is, however, unnecessary. There is much that could be done to improve the way the Local Housing Allowance (LHA)… Continue Reading
Category Archives: News
Benefit Cuts Reduce Options for LHA Tenants
A survey* by the National Landlords Associaion (NLA) has found that “more than half of landlords can no longer afford to rent to Housing Benefit tenants because of cuts to the allowance”. Nearly half of landlords (46.9%) believe tenants aged 35 and under will be hit hardest by the changes, and almost 69% of landlords say… Continue Reading
Families Need to Earn £52k to Rent a 2 Bed Home in London
According to the housing charity Shelter, families need to earn in excess of £52k per annum to afford to rent a two bed home in London. The cost of renting in London was analysed during Shelter’s “Homes for London” campaign, and found that in order to afford a two bed property, a family would need… Continue Reading
Tenants Struggling to Pay their Rent
In a recent poll of ARLA members, in excess of 40% of landlords have reported that their tenants have struggled to meet their rental payments in the 6 months running up to March 20120. The result, according to ARLA, is that more and more tenants are trying to negotiate a reduction in rent with landlords.… Continue Reading
Rental yields Highest in North West, According to Paragon
Paragon Mortgages have comissioned a report by independent researchers, BDRC Continental, to identify where rental yields are highest. And the results? Well, according to the survey of in excess of 500 landlords (some of whom were Paragon Mortgage and Mortgage Trust customers), landlords in the North West of the UK have been attaining average yields… Continue Reading
Landlord Prosecuted for Falsifying a Gas Safety Certificate
Terence McBride, a landlord from Wigan, has been prosecuted for falsifying a gas safety certificate. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) took legal action against the landlord after discovering that the dates on his gas safety certificate had been altered to make it appear that it was still valid. The tenant of his property had… Continue Reading
Complex Buy To Lets Offer the Best Rental Yields
According to the latest index from Mortgages for Business, the rental yields for complex buy to lets reached their highest level in the first quarter of 2012, at 10.7% per annum. Complex buy to let’s include investments such as Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO). The index has shown that the complex BTL market place continues… Continue Reading
Buy to Let boom Set to Continue, According to Mortgage Brokers
According to mortgage brokers, the buy-to-let boom is set to continue, with landlords predicted to buy more properties in 2012. Interestingly the number of first-time investors in this sector is also growing, with newbie landlords making up around 23% of the buy-to-let market. While life is still tough for first-time buyers and home owners, with… Continue Reading
Ken Livingstone’s Manifesto for Lower Rents and Better Homes
Concerned by the cost of living in London, Ken Livingstone is making some big pledges in his 2012 Manifesto for the London Mayoral elections on May 3rd. Amongst other things, he promises to “establish an all-London non-profit making lettings agency which, by cutting out Estate Agents’ profit, will help reduce rents and provide secure tenancies” and to campaign for a London Living… Continue Reading
DPG and Zoopla Merger Approved by The Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has now given clearance for the proposed merger of Zoopla with Digital Property Group to go ahead. Digital Property Group is the umbrella for some of the biggest property websites, including Prime Location, Find a Property and Globrix. The transaction is expected to complete within the next few weeks… Continue Reading