Labour suck up to Generation Rent

Labour are set to lay out their stall to attract the 'Generation Rent' vote.

The Telegraph have listed a bunch of Ed Miliband's election proposals for the private rented sector, including the introduction of new three year tenancies with limited rent rises and a plan to abolish 'rip off' letting agency fees.

Tory Minister for Housing and Planning, Brandon Lewis, has warned that Labour's policy of freezing rents would harm the housing market, saying

“Rent controls never work – they destroy investment in housing leading to fewer homes to rent and poorer quality accommodation.”

Whereas Labour's, shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds, justifies the proposals by saying 

“A Labour Government will introduce three year stable tenancies, put a ceiling on rent rises over the course of the contracts, ban letting agent fees on tenants, drive up standards and tackle poor energy efficiency.” 

NOTE: We've got another three months of this bickering.


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Rental voids near a low

Paragon's latest survey of landlords showed a decline in rental voids.

The Q4 2014 Paragon survey recorded the average rental void as 2.6 weeks. This compares with 2.8 weeks recorded in their Q4 2013 survey. 

The survey data  compares to the all time lowest rate of 2.5 weeks, recorded back in Q4 2002.

The highest average rental void recorded by Paragon's survey was the 3.5 weeks of Q2 2010.

John Heron, managing director of Paragon Mortgages, commented

‘The low average void periods we have seen over the past year, and in previous years, reflects the strong and growing demand we have seen for private rented property together with effective property management by landlords and letting agents in renting out properties,’ he added.

‘This is positive news for landlords and, as tenant demand continues to rise, it is possible that void periods may decrease even further in 2015.’ 

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Vacant Building Credit called 'insane'

The Guardian criticises the Government's new Vacant Building Credit policy that reduces the required allocation / contributions for affordable housing in the re-development of empty properties into private housing.

Since December, the government has exempted developers who turn an empty building into private housing from paying for further affordable units.

The amended paragraph of Vacant Building Credit (VBC) was added to the Government's Planning Objectives .

John Walker, director of planning at Westminster, describes the changes as “a government gift to developers”, going on to describe the changes as "insane." and "On just three schemes we consented [in a planning meeting] on 13 January we lost £29m."

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MPs after housing vote

Tory MP are  looking for the housing vote. We all love MPs at this time in the electoral cycle. They suddenly find a soap box to stand on. This is just like Tory MP Laura Sandys the MP for Thanet South.

Her beef is with landlords when she can smell the damp or lack of proper ventilation.

In her words:

"When I visit bad housing in my constituency, I can “smell” the damp, the lack of proper ventilation, the lack of care and attention long before I get to the door. These properties are not decent – not homes for children, and they make a mockery of my belief that everyone deserves a place of security that can and should be called home. Last Wednesday, I called on the Government to extend the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented housing sector. "

Landlords all know that damp & mould problems in rental properties  are frequently a management issue where tenants fail to ventilate a property correctly or take measures to reduce condensation.

It will be interesting to see what Laura's strategy is to find a reasonable way though this management minefield.  Talk as we all know is cheap and you can read more on Conservative Home.

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Darlington landlord fined for leaving tenant in the cold

A Darlington landlord has been fined £1,000 for failing to keep a rental property adequately warm. 

The landlord Kieron Munnelly, of South Street, Derbyshire left the tenant, a mother and her three children without working central heating throughout the winter period of 2013, then failed to act upon an Environmental Protection Act Notice served by the council March 2014.

He was fined £1,000 for the offence and ordered to pay court costs totaling £500.

David Burrell, private sector housing manager, for Darlington Borough Council said: “Action was taken against a landlord who left his tenants over winter without adequate heating."


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The West Brom BS verdict

A group of landlords, lead by Property118's Mark Alexander have lost their case against the West Bromwich Building Society.

Today in the High Court, Justice Teare ruled that West Brom BS were within their rights to increase the premium (margin) on the rate they charge above the Bank of England base rate.

The judge also ruled that the building society had the right to call in mortgages with 30 days notice. 

Mark Alexander commented "I am extremely disappointed to report that we didn’t get the News we were so desperately hoping to receive." 

The decision leaves the group of 360 landlords, who had donated £500,000 to fund the fight wondering as to whether to fight on with an appeal.

Read Mark Alexander's full and frank assessment of the West Brom BS case verdict

Read more comment on the verdict -

The West Brom verdict from MoneyMarketing 
The West Brom victory in This is Money
The West Brom verdict in the Telegraph



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