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Rental deposits worth over £500,000 not claimed in Scotland
Thousands of private sector tenants in Scotland have failed to collect their deposit when they moved out of their home, it has been discovered. Staff at tenancy deposit scheme SafeDeposits Scotland have calculated that money due to tenants amounts to more than £500,000. Tenancy deposit schemes were introduced in July 2012 and since then more than 156,000 deposits have been repaid by SafeDeposits Scotland. While millions of pounds have been returned to tenants at the end of their leases, a small proportion of people don’t claim back the money that is due to them. It is those people who SafeDeposits Scotland are trying to track down. A large proportion of missing tenants are students, according to the firm. With the start of the academic year, September is the busiest time for deposits being paid both in and out. The busiest day sees almost 90% more deposits being paid in than the average day through the year. Just over 2,000 tenants have ended their leases without claiming back the money due them, totalling more than £500,000. The clock is ticking and if deposits aren’t claimed back within six years, unclaimed funds go to the Crown, a process which will start in 2018. SafeDeposits Scotland’s finance team do everything they can to reunite former tenants with their money including sending letters to forwarding addresses, emailing, calling and texting. While successful in the majority of cases, some people are more elusive. Money cannot be paid directly back into accounts as this isn’t information that tenancy deposit schemes have been given. The Scottish Government introduced the tenancy deposit scheme in 2012 to make deposits safe for tenants. When landlords and agents take a deposit from a tenant they’re required by law to lodge the money with one of three approved schemes who ring fence the money until the end of the lease. SafeDeposits Scotland is the largest of these three approved schemes in the UK, holds an estimated 60% of all private rental deposits and the only scheme to be based in Scotland. ‘It’s extremely surprising that people can leave their rented property and forget to ask for their deposit back. The vast majority of tenants remember to claim their money but there’s a small minority who don’t,’ said Jennifer Paice, chief executive of SafeDeposits Scotland. ‘Our finance team do a great job in tracking most of them down but there are a significant number they can’t get hold of. We don’t think it’s right that people lose out on what’s due to them so we do everything we can to try and get people the money they are owed,’ she added. Continue reading
Finance access and VAT are key barriers to housing supply in Ireland
Access to finance and input costs such as VAT are the key barriers to increasing the housing supply in Ireland, according to new research from chartered surveyors. In particular they say that the introduction of rent certainty measures have forced private landlords out of rental sector and that treating residential investors on par with commercial property investors is needed. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) is calling for a reduction of VAT to 9% for houses under €300,000 and the establishment of a finance agency to support house building. Over half of the 300 chartered surveyors who took part in the survey said the introduction of rent certainty measures by the government was one of the main reasons private landlords are exiting the sector. The other reasons cited were the indebtedness of private landlords and tax restrictions. SCSI president Claire Solon said that reducing VAT on affordable housing and establishing a Development Finance Agency with expertise in construction lending were measures the government should introduce in the upcoming Budget. She pointed out that the ESRI has estimated that Ireland needs to build 25,000 residential units per annum, with the bulk of them being required in the capital. However in the second quarter of 2016 planning was only granted for 2,590 units in Dublin, of which only 620 have commenced construction. ‘The VAT reduction for the hospitality sector has worked extremely well. We would like to see a similar reduction to 9% for a defined period focusing on houses under €300,000. We feel such a move, access to finance for builders and a Capital Gains Tax ‘holiday’ for a set period to free up development land, are three measures which would provide a much needed kick start to house building,’ she said. She explained that the return of boom era rents caused by the shortage of housing supply together with the slow gearing up of the construction sector meant Ireland might not be in a position to avail of any opportunities created by Brexit unless swift action was taken. ‘It is crucial for the Government to address the depletion in investor activity in the overall residential market. One solution would be to apply the principles of commercial property investment to residential development and investment. Specific measures which would help level the playing field would be to reinstate full mortgage interest relief and to remove USC and PRSI on rental income,’ she pointed out. The survey found that the most significant challenge facing provincial towns and villages in Ireland was the inadequate provision of broadband services. In its submission the SCSI calls on the Government to provide additional funding for the roll out of reliable, high speed broadband services in all rural and provincial areas, a doubling of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme Grant Scheme to €20 million and an overhaul of the regulations of the… Continue reading
Home prices and rents in the US up for over 45 months in a row
National home values in the United States increased to an average of $187,300 in July, the 48th month in row of appreciating values, the latest index data shows. Home values have risen by 5% over the past year and have been consistently climbing since August 2012, but still remain 4.7% below the peak of April 2007 when the median home value was $196,600. The index report from real estate firm Zillow shows that Portland, Dallas and Denver reported the highest year on year home value appreciation among the 35 largest metros across the country. In Portland, home values rose almost 15% to a median value of $334,900 while in Dallas and Denver prices were up 11.9% and 11.3% respectively. In notoriously expensive San Francisco, however, home values have been slowing down since the beginning of the year. In January, home values were up almost 12% year on year and are now appreciating at about half that pace, up 6.6% over the last 12 months. ‘The consistent rise in home values that we've been seeing for the past four years masks a number of region specific trends that have taken place over the past few months,’ said Zillow chief economist Svenja Gudell. ‘In most areas, the market is being driven mainly by a strong labour market and tight supply, especially among entry level homes that first time buyers are after. But some markets, especially the red-hot Pacific Northwest, are adding more jobs and attracting more residents, putting the pressure on home values and rents,’ she explained. ‘The Bay Area and Southern California are still growing at a faster pace than the nation as a whole, but growth rates have come back to earth a bit after several years of rapid growth. And markets in other regions, like the Northeast, keep steadily chugging along. All housing is local, and as the local economies in individual metros ebb and flow, housing will follow suit,’ she added. She also pointed out that more than at any time since the boom and bust, the US housing market is being driven by local fundamentals, and not by national trends. Zillow’s latest figures also shows that rents across the country have increased by 2% over the past year to $1,408 per month and have now increased for 47 months in a row. Of the 35 largest US metros, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco reported the highest year on year rent appreciation. In Seattle rents rose almost 10% to a median of $2,052 per month, while rents in Portland rose just over 8%. In San Francisco, the median rent price rose to $3,407 per month, the second highest of all metros, right after San Jose in California while rents in San Francisco appreciated 6% over the past year. Continue reading
