LANDLORD NEWS
Government to introduce Renters’ Reform Bill this week
The Government’s Renters’ Reform Bill, which will end “no-fault” evictions, will finally be introduced to Parliament this week. Despite being a Conservative Party manifesto commitment in 2019, the bill has been delayed since being announced by former Prime Minister Theresa May. Housing Secretary Michael Gove is expected to push the bill through, despite opposition from some Conservative MPs who are landlords. The bill will be the first major reform of private renting since the 1988 Housing Act, which deregulated the market in favour of private landlords. The bill has the support of No 10, and concerns about whether landlords will still be able to evict tenants for antisocial behaviour or rent arrears have been addressed by Mr Gove. The contents of the bill are still being finalised by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
The Independent
Government faces backlash over new eco-requirements for landlords
The Government is facing backlash over new eco-requirements which demand landlords upgrade their homes to an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C or higher before they can be let out. The policy is expected to affect 13% of homes in England and Wales, approximately 14.6m properties, which are currently rated E, F or G. A failure to meet the new standard will result in a £30,000 fine. Energy assessors warn the move is unrealistic and costs landlords and tenants alike, who will be forced to pay higher rents or relocate during the upgrading process. According to a survey by the Mortgage Advice Bureau, two in three landlords could be forced to sell their buy-to-let properties in the next five years, as they fear they will be unable to meet these requirements.
Daily Mail
Landlords quitting student market
Landlords are quitting the student rental market amid rising taxes and regulations, according to trade body the National Residential Landlords Association. The introduction of open-ended tenancies, a ban on “no-fault” evictions and loss of tax relief on mortgage interest payments have all deterred investors. The NRLA says students are now bearing the brunt of changes that are pushing investors out of the sector, resulting in increased rents and some students moving out of their study cities to find homes. The NRLA is calling for student landlords to be granted specific protections in the forthcoming Renters Reform Bill to guarantee the vacancy of properties for the following academic year. Oliver Knight, of Knight Frank estate agents, says the number of available rental properties has fallen by as much as 40% in the past year, which has left students competing for fewer and fewer homes. He says students are trying to secure accommodation earlier and earlier, fearing they will be left without somewhere to live at the beginning of the academic year.
The Daily Telegraph
Airbnb to fight holiday let crackdown
Airbnb is preparing to challenge the Government’s proposed crackdown on holiday lettings, with senior leaders at the company expected to pressure Housing Secretary Michael Gove to water down the plans. The proposals would require second homeowners to obtain planning permission before renting out their properties as holiday lets, with local authorities responsible for overseeing registers and granting permission. Critics argue the plans could unfairly penalise part-time landlords who rent out their homes or rooms for only a few weeks per year. Airbnb public policy chief Theo Lomas warned of “unintended consequences” and highlighted concerns about local authorities treating all rentals as the same.
The Sunday Telegraph
COMMERCIAL
Derwent reports strong results amid rising demand in London
Derwent London has reported a 6.6% increase in the number of leases secured, totalling £17.1m, in the first quarter of 2023. The FTSE 250 real estate firm’s strong quarter was led by a flagship letting to fashion brand Uniqlo on Oxford Street and a new office space for consultant company Buro Happold. Demand in the capital has heated up as companies encourage workers to return to the office more frequently after a trend of hybrid and remote working during the pandemic. This has led to a shrinking in vacancy rates, which fell from 6.4% in December 2022 to 4.9% during the quarter. Derwent’s CEO Paul Williams said: “London, particularly the West End, is busy and people are back in the office.”
The Times City A.M.
British Land gets green light for London microhub
British Land has secured planning permission for a 120,000 sq ft urban logistics hub, called ‘The Box,’ in Paddington, London, to serve the whole of Westminster. The scheme will be located underneath its 5 Kingdom Street office tower and is expected to appeal to parcel carriers. It will provide inbound access to HGVs with outbound deliveries via smaller electric vehicles and electric cargo bikes. Construction is expected to complete by 2026. The development is a response to the demand for last mile deliveries in city centre locations and will remove around 100 large vans from the borough’s roads every day, cutting annual carbon emissions.
London Evening Standard
London luxury property market set for recovery
According to new research from TwentyCi, the high-end central London housing market is set to see property prices rise faster than values in the outer boroughs for the first time in almost a decade. Demand for luxury inner London property is recovering as demand ebbs away from the more affordable periphery of the capital that has dominated the market since 2014. The number of home sales agreed in inner London in Q1 2022 is up 5.8% on 2019, while the number of sales agreed in outer London has fallen by 9.1%. The return of Middle Eastern buyers this summer has been seen as a true turning point, with JLL forecasting prices in prime central London to rise by 2.5% by the end of 2023, while values are expected to fall by 4% across Greater London and 6% across the UK.
London Evening Standard
AUCTION NEWS
Auction House sells property worth over £7.5m
Auction House East Anglia sold over £7.5m worth of property and land sold at an online auction last week. Auction surveyor Robert Hirst said the firm sold 47 out of 72 lots as rising mortgage costs and the cost-of-living crisis results in a reduced number of buyers. The highest price lot on the day was three acres of land with development potential near Norwich Airport, which sold for £370,000. The lowest price was a building plot with planning permission for two flats in Wisbech, which made £40,000.
Eastern Daily Press
Sutton Kersh signs off latest catalogue
Sutton Kersh Auctions has signed off its catalogue, comprising of 140 lots, for its latest event, which is set to take place later this month. Associate director at Sutton Kersh Auctions Cathy Holt said the business hasn’t seen these types of numbers “for two or three years.” The auction is set to take place on Thursday, May 25. Among the lots are two huge “doer uppers” in desirable locations, one of which has a swimming pool.
Liverpool Echo
PROPERTY FINANCE
House prices rise by 0.5% in April
House prices rose by 0.5% in April after seven months of decline, according to Nationwide building society. The modest increase took the average price of a home to £260,441 last month, up from £257,122 in March, but still 4% below their August peak. Compared with April last year, prices were down 2.7%, after a 3.1% annual decline in March. Robert Gardner, the Nationwide chief economist, said the latest figures suggested there were “tentative signs of a recovery”. He said that according to Bank of England data, the number of mortgages approved for house purchase in February was almost 40% below the level a year earlier, and about a third lower than pre-pandemic levels. However, in recent months industry data on mortgage applications point to signs of a pickup. He added: “This chimes with recent shifts in consumer sentiment. While confidence remains subdued by historic standards, people’s views of their own financial position over the next 12 months, and general economic conditions in the year ahead, have both improved markedly in recent months.”
Financial Times The Daily Telegraph The Times
Commuter towns see increased demand and house price growth
According to a study from estate agents Hamptons, Britons are showing more interest in homes located in commuter areas as more companies call for their workers to come back to the office. Research found the proportion of people leaving small towns or villages to move to commuter areas has risen to 41% at the start of this year, up from 31% at the same time in 2022. Some specific areas of ‘Commuterville’ have seen huge percentage growths in house prices when the last three months of 2022 are compared to the same period in 2021. Top of the list is Saffron Waldon in Essex, a commuter town for Cambridge, where average prices were £460,590 by the end of 2022, up 19.9% in a year. Next is Foxwood near York, where prices rose 19.7% to £346,770; and behind that is Honiton near Exeter, posting a 19.5% rise to £298,180. David Fell, senior analyst at Hamptons, said: “While these price growth figures will undoubtedly come down this year, we still think they’re likely to be the areas with the highest growth and smallest falls.” He added: “These areas in particular have benefitted from hybrid working, meaning they can offer a commute which isn’t too punishing two or three days a week, alongside the larger home at a more affordable price for the days spent working from the study.”
Daily Mail
LENDING CONDITIONS Mortgage approvals rise 18%
The number of mortgages approved for home purchases rose by 18% between February and March 2023, from 44,100 to 52,000, according to Bank of England figures. However, March’s total is still below the average of 62,700 approvals a month in 2022, and mortgage lending remains well below pre-pandemic levels. Lucian Cook, head of residential research at estate agent Savills, said: “The bounce in mortgage approvals reflects an increasingly stable and competitive mortgage market. The ability to better plan their prospective mortgage outgoings has brought buyers back to a housing market that has proved more resilient than we feared would be the case six months ago.” Meanwhile, the annual growth rate for consumer credit rose for the sixth month in a row, accelerating from 7.7% in February to 7.9% in March. This includes borrowing through credit cards, personal loans, and overdrafts.
Financial Times Daily Mail The Independent
