News items by Tag: News Category

Working with the PRS and why councils don’t have to re-invent the wheel

Ask any housing advice or homelessness officer what the most common question is that they get asked, apart from “Can I have a council house please?” and you will usually find it is “Do you know any landlords or agents who take DSS?”

In London at the moment there are between 5 and 9 people chasing every rental property. Although figures vary, depending on who you read what isn’t in dispute is the fact that landlords don’t have any problems finding tenants and can rent properties perfectly happily without councils, and yet councils need landlords to meet the massive demand for housing. 

Pros and cons of letting to tenants on housing benefit

DSS tenants get a bad press - often unfairly so. Here are the advantages, and disadvantages, to renting to this type of tenant.

Key points:

1. According to research, DSS tenants stay in properties for twice as long compared with non-DSS ones.
2. You can apply to the council to get housing benefit paid directly to your account if you have a good reason (like a failed credit check).
3. It can be harder to evict a DSS tenant. 

Letting specialist warns landlords must learn the rules

A North East lettings specialist is pressing the importance of new and ‘do it yourself’ landlords to follow the right procedures in order to avoid things turning sour.

Ajay Jagota, managing director of KIS Lettings, is sounding the warning after a series of instances of landlords being taken to court and penalised for not following the law. 

Universal Credit claimants could keep fortnightly payments for two years

Welfare reform minister Lord Freud says Universal Credit claimants could keep fortnightly payments for up to two years with their cases reviewed periodically.

Delivering a speech at the Centre for Responsible Credit Annual Conference earlier this week the minister said the Government was still developing guidance on exceptions to monthly payments – following concerns claimants would struggle to move from fortnightly payments. 

Full council tax to be introduced on void properties

The largest local authority in the UK has announced that it plans to charge full council tax on empty properties from next April.

Birmingham City Council, like other local authorities, currently allows a ‘council tax free’ period of six months for empty properties, and an exemption of 12 months on properties undergoing structural repair. 

Private rents hit yet another record high

Rents have risen for a fifth consecutive month to reach a new record high of £734 a month.

LSL, reporting on the August market, said that average rents were up 1.2% on July, hitting new peaks in five regions – London, the South-East, East of England, North-West, and Yorkshire & the Humber.  

50% increase in households renting privately in five years

The number of households renting privately has increased by nearly 50% in just five years, according to a new report, which estimates that an additional £57bn funding will be needed per year if the sector is to provide the homes needed to meet demand.

The Jones Lang LaSalle report, however, notes the positive moves by Government - through the Montague Review and changes to the Real Estate Investment Trust structures - to reduce the barriers to institutional investment in the sector.