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Survey reveals where tenants in England are most satisfied with their landlords
More renters in the East Midlands are satisfied with their landlord than in any other part of England according to new research. The survey by the National Landlords Association (NLA) found that 83% of renters in the East Midlands said they are satisfied with their landlord. Tenants in the North West and South West were jointly second on the list, with 82% satisfaction. However, there are some stark regional differences. For example, 82% of tenants in the North West are satisfied with their landlord but just 67% of tenants in the North East, the lowest satisfaction rate in the whole of the England. Overall, on average across all regions, some 79% of tenants taking part in the poll are satisfied with their landlord. In third place was the South East with 80% satisfaction, followed by the West Midlands at 79%, Yorkshire and Humber at 73%, London at 72%, the East of England at 71% and the North East at 67%. ‘Good landlords make up the majority of the market so it’s not surprising that the majority of tenants are satisfied,’ said Richard Lambert, NLA chief executive officer. ‘Private renting is far from the insecure, uncertain and unhappy picture that it is often made out to be, and these findings will help to reassure existing renters and those looking to make their home in the private sector. However, it doesn’t help the minority of tenants who are dissatisfied,’ he explained. ‘The NLA provides a range of training and accreditation opportunities for landlords in order to help them develop and improve standards so they can provide a better service but this is only part of the solution. Both central and local government must also commit more resources to tackling poor standards and weeding out bad landlords,’ he added. Continue reading
Research reveals the extent of sub-letting in the UK without landlords’ permission
One in six tenants in the UK have rented out part or all of their property to someone who isn’t on the lease agreement, new research has found. Some 25% who sub-let their property didn’t check the terms of their lease to see if it was permitted, while 34% had not informed their landlord of the decision, according to the survey by landlord insurance provider Direct Line for Business. Of the sub-letters who did not inform their landlord, 23% got found out in the end anyway and the firm points out that the consequences when landlords catch tenants sub-letting can be severe. Indeed, some 11% of cases the tenants named on the lease were evicted with 6% losing their deposit in the process. Other repercussions include landlords increasing rental charges which happened in 22% of cases, 14% were fined and 8% given a formal warning. In spite of this, Direct Line for Business’s research reveals that 2016 could see an increase in the number of people sub-letting their properties. Some 15% claim they are thinking about sub-letting part or all of their rented property by advertising on property letting websites such as Airbnb. ‘The average monthly rent across the UK currently stands at £739. This means on average, approximately a third of people’s income goes towards accommodation. With the market having seen a five per cent increase in average rents in the last year, it seems that a larger number of renters are tempted to offset this expense by sub-letting their properties,’ said Nick Breton, head of Direct Line for Business . Over the last two years, Landlord Action, a firm that represents landlords, said it has seen an 18% increase in the number of instructions from from landlords with sub-letting cases. ‘Sub-letting is fast becoming one of the leading grounds for eviction, alongside rent arrears and Section 21 for possession only. This has been fuelled by sky high rents preventing some tenants from being able to afford even single-unit accommodation, forcing many to resort to bedsits or shared accommodation,’ said founder Paul Shamplina. ‘Organised sub-letting scams are also becoming more prevalent, where tenants, or sometimes even fake tenants, advertise properties and rooms on holiday/accommodation websites in order to cream a profit without the landlords’ consent,’ he added. The research also found that 28% of tenants who had sub-let had done so to friends or people recommended to them. Family members accounted for 21% while 19% of renters have sub-let to strangers responding to an advert. Sub-letting is most common in the North West and West Midlands with 27% of private tenants say that have sub-let their properties. In London it was 23%, it was 9% in the South East 7% in Northern Ireland. ‘There could be some serious consequences for tenants who sub-let, but landlords need to be aware that in these circumstances there could also be insurance implications. Sub-letting is not covered under… Continue reading
Commercial property rents in London saw average growth of 8.5% in 2015
Growth in commercial property rents across London fuelled average total return of 18.1% from investments in the capital during 2015, new research shows. The London markets analysis report by Levy Real Estate and MSCI examined more than £30 billion of assets across 20 key submarkets and found that rental growth increased year on year from 7.8% in 2014 to an average uplift of 8.5% last year. The strongest rental growth was registered by the Camden/King’s Cross submarket where the continued success of the King’s Cross Central development saw the prevailing level of rents grow on average by 17%. High occupier demand and a lack of space in other submarkets is also driving rents, the report says, adding that Mayfair, for example, where the continued conversion of office property to residential has limited the supply of new space saw rental growth of 11.9% last year. ‘The latest research shows a market which still has significant momentum. Returns are now increasingly being driven by a growth in rents and this suggests that London’s commercial property investment sector can expect further sustainable growth in values,’ said Levy Real Estate Investment Partner, Simon Heilpern The progressive rents in and around King’s Cross also meant that the Camden/King’s Cross showed the highest total return for a single submarket of 27.3%. It was followed in the total return rankings by the Eastern Fringe at 24.7% and Marylebone and Euston at 23.1%. Overall, Mayfair retained its position as the submarket with the most keenly valued property: the average equivalent yield for its property was just 3.7%. The area has also seen a continued conversion of office property to residential which has contributed to an upward shift in rents, the report points out. The biggest inward yield shift during 2015 was in the Western Fringe locations of Clerkenwell, Smithfield and Farringdon where average equivalent yields moved in 80 basis points to 5.2%. However, the general picture is a slowing down in yield shift which illustrates the growing importance of rental growth. ‘The London investment market had another good year in 2015, with strong returns on the back of healthy rental value growth across the commercial property market. As in 2014, fringe markets outperformed last year with locations such as Camden/King’s Cross and the Eastern Fringe remaining attractive to both occupiers and investors,’ said Colm Lauder, MSCI vice president. ‘Pricing in the London market also strengthened further during the course of 2015, but the rate of yield compression has slowed as key market locations begin to reach record yield levels which question price fundamentals,’ he explained. ‘This has resulted in rental growth taking over as the main performance driver, as confident, and expansionary, businesses compete for space,’ he added. Continue reading
