Tag Archives: london
Research suggests a third of UK tenants sublet without consent
Around a third of private rented sector tenants in the UK say they are currently subletting without the landlord’s consent and four out of 10 tenants plan to do so in the near future, new research has found. The survey from online lettings agents PropertyLetByUs, also shows that the vast majority of tenants, 96%, are subletting the property for short time to help a family member or friend out and 82% claim they are subletting to help pay the rent. Over half of tenants, 52%, say that they planning to sublet their property in the near future, with the landlord’s consent and 78% think they should be able to sublet the property without the landlord’s approval. According to Landlord Action, there is a growing number of instructions from landlords who want to start possession proceedings against tenants who have sublet, via Airbnb, without their consent. Subletting is fast becoming one of the leading grounds for a tenant eviction. According to Jane Morris, managing director of PropertyLetByUs, it is very worrying that so many tenants are subletting without telling their landlords. ‘It is imperative that landlords make regular checks on the property to check for additional occupants. Many tenants will try to hide the fact they are subletting, so the warning signs can be excessive rubbish and accelerated wear and tear,’ she said. ‘When there is multiple occupancy in a property, wear and tear and damage is dramatically accelerated. There can be increased mould and condensation with more occupants. Landlords can also face expensive repairs for damage and redecoration costs, to bring the property up to the standard it was at check-in,’ she pointed out. Morris also pointed out that illegal subletting falls under tenant fraud and renting a property makes landlords vulnerable to fraud. ‘It is vital that landlords and agents carry out thorough pre-letting checks. The purpose of referencing a tenant is threefold; to check the person is who they say they are, that they can afford the rent and that they have honoured past commitments,’ she explained. Last year, the government said it planned to make it easier for tenants to sublet a room by legislating against the use of clauses in private fixed term tenancy agreements that expressly rule out subletting, or otherwise sharing space on a short term basis. However, it has not yet set a date for a consultation on the plans. PropertyLetByUs recommends that landlords make regular checks on their property, ideally every three to six months and when doing so should look out for additional clothing and shoes, excessive rubbish for the number of registered tenants, additional bedding like sleeping bags and pillows, suitcases and rucksacks and extra toothbrushes ‘Before taking on a new tenant, make sure you carry out a thorough reference to ensure you know who your tenant is,’ added Morris. Continue reading
Property prices up modestly in UK in May but now likely to see fall due to Brexit
Residential property prices in the UK saw modest growth in May but central London experienced a fall in values, according to the latest market survey report. UK house prices are now expected to experience a short term drop for the first time since 2012, according to the monthly report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). House prices in central London are already falling, according to the survey with 35% more property professionals reporting that prices had fallen rather than risen over the past month. While prices are continuing to climb modestly across the rest of the UK, this trend looks set to fade, with 10% more respondents predicting that prices would fall rather than rise over the coming three months. This is the first time that a fall in prices has been predicted since 2012. London and East Anglia are expected to be worst hit with 43% and 33% of respondents saying that prices will fall over the next quarter. ‘Sadly, for the many young people looking to enter the property market, it is unlikely that we are seeing the emergence of a more affordable market,’ said Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist. ‘Instead, it appears to me that what we are looking at is a short term drop caused by the uncertainty resulting from the EU referendum coupled by a slowdown following the rush to get into the market ahead of the tax change on the purchase of investment properties,’ he explained. ‘Certainly, that’s the story we are hearing from our members. There is not at this point a sense that a fundamental shift is taking place in the market,’ he added. The market report also shows that buyer demand fell across the UK for the second consecutive month and at the fastest pace since 2008, with 33% more property professionals saying that demand decreased last month. The survey revealed that in the longer term, while house prices are thought likely to regain momentum, rents look set to outpace them, with UK rents predicted to increase by 4.7% year on year for the next five years, compared to house price increases of 4.1%. The number of agreed sales also fell for the second consecutive month with a net balance of 22% of respondents reporting a fall rather than a rise in activity. Continue reading
Weekly rents across Australian capital cities down by 0.4% in June
Weekly rents in capital cities in Australia fell by 0.4% in June and annually they are now 0.6% lower, the latest rented property index shows. However, while a majority of capitals saw a drop in rental rates over the month, on an annual basis, half of Australia’s capital cities actually recorded a rise in rents. These included Sydney up 0.4%, Melbourne up 1.7%, Hobart up 4.6% and Canberra up 1.9%. This takes the combined capital city rental rates to $487 a week for houses and $469 a week for units, the data from the CoreLogic June Rent Review report shows. According to CoreLogic research analyst Cameron Kusher, the large rental falls in Perth of 8.6% and Darwin at 16.2% have pulled the combined capital average lower, with rents also down by 0.3% in Brisbane and by 0.4% in Adelaide. ‘It is anticipated that the weakness in the rental market will persist and where on an annual basis, we will see rents fall even further over coming months,’ he said. At a combined capital city level, gross rental yields were recorded at 3.2% for houses in June 2016 and at 4.1% for units, each of which are sitting at record low levels. ‘A year ago, gross rental yields were recorded at 3.5% for houses and 4.4% for units across the combined capitals, indicating a fairly sharp compression of yields over the year,’ Kusher pointed out. ‘It’s also likely that we’ll see yields compress further over the coming months. However, this will be dependent on growth in home values as well as the direction of rental rates. As a result, capital growth, which has slowed from its peak, will continue to be a much more important factor for property investors than rental returns,’ he added. He explained that changes to rental market may have repercussions for older stock, particularly units as tenants look to move into newer dwellings and making it harder for owners of older units with fewer amenities to compete with better located and facilitated new unit stock, particularly if there is little pricing differential. The factors forcing rental rates lower include the lowest wages growth on record, relatively high levels of housing investment following record highs recently, historically high levels of new construction, most of which are units which are more than twice as likely to be rented, and the slowing of population growth which creates less overall demand for housing. ‘The combination of all these factors means that landlords have little scope to increase rents. There are reports that some landlords are having to reduce rents in certain areas in order to maintain their renters,’ Kusher added. Continue reading
