Nottingham Letting Agent Property Blog

The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) is hoping the forthcoming budget on March 21 will give a boost to the private rental sector. They are hoping the government will support growth of the private rental sector, and that landlords will be treated as entrepreneurial businesses. They point out supporting growth in this sector would encourage greater investment, which in turn would help boost the economy. There is still a healthy demand for good quality private rental homes, and there are 3.4 million tenants who rely on the private rental sector. This number has increased by 1 million since 2005.The association...

Latest figures show that just 66% of homes are owner occupied, down from a peak of 71% nine years ago. This means one third of homes are rented from the council or housing association, or are privately rented. This is the largest percentage seen since 1988 when the push towards home ownership was at its peak. It's no surprise to hear that the major obstacle facing young people is trying to afford a mortgage, and data from the Department for Communities and Local Government shows just 10% of homeowners are less than 35 years of age.Young people have been amongst the...

Latest research from an independent consultancy shows that in spite of newspaper reports about the burgeoning buy to let business, many professional landlords are feeling the pinch. Research by BDRC Continental, who is the largest independent market research consultancy in the UK, shows a substantial rise in the number of portfolio landlords making a loss. According to them the fourth quarter of last year showed that the number of portfolio landlords making a loss increased from 1% during the previous quarter to 8%. They classify portfolio landlords are those owning 20 properties or more. Their research also showed this group of...

Many homes in the UK suffer from being badly insulated, especially older terraced properties which are often ideal as rental homes, and this is once again drawing the attention of the Friends of the Earth and the Citizens Advice Bureau. They estimate some 680,000 tenants are living in poorly insulated homes and are being forced to either shiver through the winter, or to spend hundreds of pounds on heating. According to them, tenants living in homes which have an energy performance certificate of F or G are spending an average of £488 a year on extra fuel, with many unable to...

The government released its consultation on its Green Deal last week and announced an additional £200 million worth of funding including a special introductory offer which it is hoped will boost early uptake of the scheme. It's important for landlords because after 2018, rental properties must have a low EPC rating otherwise they will be banned from the market.Energy secretary Chris Huhne expects the initiative to decrease household fuel bills by up to 7% by 2020, but this will be partially offset by the £8 billion annual bill taxpayers which will fund new nuclear power stations, wind farms and a new...

The London Borough of Newham is looking at licensing all Private landlords, and recently started a 10 week consultation as to whether or not the scheme should go ahead. If it does, then Newham thinks it will be the first borough in England to implement such a scheme. The borough estimates that around a third of all households are in the private rented sector, which is around 35,000 homes, and is far higher than the national average. Newham has already tried out a pilot scheme, and has set up a team to stop the use of a substandard property as housing.The...