Nottingham Letting Agent Property Blog

The Department for Communities and Local Government has published its English housing survey for 2011 to 2012. One of the most important findings was that the private rental sector has been growing substantially in the past few years, and is now at its highest level since the early 1990s. It is now equal to that of the social rented sector with 38 million households. However in 2011 and 2012 two thirds of households were still owner occupied. Not surprisingly the report found the average rete rent within the private rental sector was considerably more than in the social rented sector, but...

The National Landlords Association has launched new software. It is aimed at helping landlords interested in the government’s Green Deal to make energy efficiency improvements to their properties, with the least amount of fuss. The software will help landlords assess the eligibility of their property, and will help them find a provider for making the improvements. The NLA has partnered with United Legal Services (ULS) and providers MITIE.Improvements are paid for with a loan that is attached to the property's electricity bill, but this bill cannot be more expensive than if the work hadn't been carried out. The idea is for...

According to recent research from the Association of Residential Letting Agents, more landlords are ensuring their properties are energy efficient, and are becoming more aware of the energy performance ratings. In December of last year 61% reported they didn't have any properties with an energy efficiency rating of F or G which is an 11% increase compared to 2011. This may be due to landlords selling less energy efficient properties, or investing in upgrades to older properties. The number of landlords who are unaware of the energy efficiency of properties in their portfolio has also fallen by 12% year on year.Perhaps...

The new government scheme to help homeowners become more energy-efficient was launched this week. The aim is to reduce the country's carbon footprint by giving people access to cheap loans so they can upgrade their homes to become more environmentally friendly. A key part of the initiative is the fact that homeowners will be able to pay back the cost of the improvements through savings made on their energy bill. According to Nick Clegg the Green Deal should help thousands of families stay warm for less money.The green energy sector in the UK is the sixth largest in the world, and...

Apparently most landlords are at least considering taking advantage of the new energy efficiency measures that become available next month. A survey found 63% are well aware of the Green Deal, and 56% are thinking of using this energy initiative to make improvements. The Green Deal is a government initiative designed to make rental properties more energy efficient. It's pretty vital to take advantage of this initiative, as any rental properties that have an Energy Performance Rating of F or G will not be able to be legally rented out after 2018 due to new legislation coming into effect.The Green Deal...

Just a couple of weeks ago it was announced the government would try to force homeowners to spend money improving the energy efficiency of their home whenever they wanted to complete other home improvements such as fitting a new conservatory or boiler. Now it appears these plans have been completely scrapped, as they are seen as being an attack on people's aspirations to do better. Apparently the plan was extremely unpopular with Tory MPs, even though loans to pay for the energy measures will be available under the government's Green Deal scheme. Ministers were worried it would deter families from carrying...

Anyone looking to purchase an investment property might be well advised to choose one with energy efficient essentials already in place, or they should be prepared to spend a bit of money making it more eco-friendly. Apparently tenants are becoming more concerned about keeping their household bills low, and are likely to be more interested in renting quality homes available from letting agents in Nottingham, which already have simple energy efficient upgrades. Energy efficiency is going to become more important in the near future, especially with the governments up-and-coming Green Deal policy which aims to upgrade the country's housing over the...