Nottingham Letting Agent Property Blog

According to minister, Grant Shapps, the government is considering drawing up a charter with the aim of simplifying the private rental sector. The charter of requirements would be intended for both tenants and landlords, and could include rules covering antisocial behaviour, and rules covering legal fire safety standards.The question arose in the House of Commons after Liberal Democrat MP Adrian Sanders asked Grant Shapps if the government had thought about simplifying the private rental sector in the same way the planning system has recently been simplified. The intention would be to reduce the regulatory burden on landlords while helping to improve...

Housing Minister Grant Shapps was speaking at the Home builders Federation annual lunch last week, and again pledged to help those people who would like to move. He plans to do this through the NewBuy scheme which should help first time buyers as well as homeowners who have outgrown their present property. According to a recent survey, around 40% of homeowners aged under 34 feel their present home is too small for their needs. Another survey by the HSBC found many of the 360,000 home owners who bought property after 2007 were unable to move due to lack of equity.It is...

The current finance bill is to encourage more investment into social housing through Real Estate Investment Trusts(REITs), and the Housing Minister Grant Shapps, and the Economic Secretary, Chloe Smith have just published a consultation looking at ways to encourage more private investment. The consultation is seeking to make changes to encourage more REITs for the social housing sector. It’s hoped the consultation will be just as successful as the Affordable Homes Program which brought in private funding of almost £10 billion, and which will deliver 170,000 new homes which is 20,000 more than originally anticipated. The aim is for the consultation...

There is to be a new partnership between the National House Building Council and the government, as the government is keen to learn more about the industry in an effort to get more new homes built. According to housing minister, Grant Shapps, government ministers will have greater access to more information about a number of details including such things as information on stalled projects and why, new home sustainability, building quality and design, and how long it takes to build and construction activity levels. The hope is that by sharing this information the government will be able to see how best...

Housing Minister Grant Shapps wants local councils to give more help to older people in a plan which apparently is aimed at giving them more control over where they live, and which includes help for downsizing to a smaller home. A government backed Freespace scheme was recently piloted by the London Borough of Redbridge and helped elderly homeowners move into rental accommodation while the council assumed full responsibility for letting and maintaining their property. Shapps feels moving people to more suitable accommodation could "make a life changing difference for some older people." He claims the pilot scheme in Redbridge shows what...

Last week Grant Shapps announced more details about the revitalised right to buy programme. Social tenants will be able to receive discounts of up to £50,000, with more people will being able to access the scheme. For example, a tenant who had lived in social housing for five years would be able to purchase a £160,000 property for a discount of £50,000, whereas before they would have been eligible for a maximum discount of £26,000. It’s hoped this generous discount will breathe life into the housing market.Shapps has also promised that these new proposals will protect the housing stock as every...

The Council of Mortgage Lenders recently published new research that found 1.8 million mortgage holders whose fixed-rate deals have ended, and who are currently on their lenders variable rate, are paying an average of £2,600 a year less than on their previous deal. This is no real surprise as the base rate is currently incredibly low, but the report also pointed out that half of those 1.8 million mortgage holders had more than 10% equity, allowing them to remortgage if they wish.At the moment it seems as if most borrowers are content to wait and see what happens with the bank...

Housing Minister, Grant Shapps has called for mortgage lenders to introduce fixed rate mortgages with much longer terms as he believes it will help families on a tight budget and would encourage greater market stability. At the moment there are no mortgage deals available which guarantee the interest rate for the life of the mortgage, and the majority of longer-term deals usually require large deposits.The housing minister was speaking at the Building Societies Associations Annual Mortgage Seminar last week and pointed out that the longest current term for fixed rate mortgage is generally five years. He thinks longer term fixed mortgages...

According to government figures the numbers of people classified as being homeless by local authorities has increased 17% during the last year, and there are worries that the worst may still be come. During the second quarter of this year, the Department for Communities and Local Government said local authorities accepted 11,820 homeless families, compared with 9,590 during the second quarter in 2010. It looks as if it could become a serious problem as this is the first year-on-year increase in homeless figures  is for five years. The housing minister, Grant Shapps has said homelessness is at an historic low, but...

According to a survey by the National Landlords Association, two thirds of private landlords in the UK are thinking about taking advantage of the Green Deal scheme to improve their properties. The deal enables landlords to obtain loans to make improvements to their properties energy efficiency, and includes improvements such as loft and wall insulation. The loans are repaid through utility bills, and should result in lower energy bills. According to the survey nearly a quarter of landlords intend to take advantage of the Green Deal, while another 38% are considering it. However 21% are unsure about its effectiveness, and another...