Seasonal fall in rents

Property Hawks sister website the Rentindex gives us unique access to AST rental data.  Interestingly, it reveals a seasonal pattern in rents where the level tends to peak in the late Autumn.  During this summer, rents have been rising strongly as demand for rental properties has outstripped supply.

We have noticed however over the last couple of weeks that rents which peaked at about £605, have dropped back to below £600 and are now 0.4% down over the last month.

The tip for landlords looking to set their rent is that they should attempt to negotiate the new rent with the tenant between September to October to maximise their likely rental returns.

Instant tenant reference

Property price twitter - ho ho ho

Christmas starts earlier and earlier .......

Mortgage lending slumps to lowest level for a decade - Independent
Properties stick and prices drop - Estate Agency Today
Renting a home is more expensive than buying - Telegraph
Inflation could lift housing market - Guardian
Christmas market comes early as buyers and sellers play wait and see- Rightmove
Bleak outlook for house prices - FT
Homeowners slash prices to sell properties - Daily Mail


See all the property price tweets

Cheap online tenant reference

Landlord with a foot fetish

A London landlord, Florin Vlasceanu, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison following a series of disturbing sexual assaults on his tenants.

The landlord who seemingly has a strange fetish for sucking and caressing feet has also been placed on the sex offenders register for ten years following a series of indecent acts against 4 different tenants.

Get our discounted landlord insurance

Burns tenant makes civil claim

A Norwich student who suffered horrific 80 percent burns in a fire at her rented flat has made a £2million damages claim against her landlord.

The civil claim at London’s High Court follows the landlord, Michael Billings been jailed for 21 months and made to pay £20,000 in compensation after admitting to breaking a number of health and fire safety laws.

More on health and fire safety laws for landlords

Tenancy Deposits - Legal Update

Finally we have a decision by Court of Appeal on the protection of tenancy deposits and the sanctions following the failure to protect the deposit.

The Housing Act 2004 states that a deposit must be protected within 14 days of receipt in an approved scheme.

Under the Act, if a deposit is not invested the tenant can apply to the Court for the deposit to be protected and when making the Order, the Court must order that the Landlord pay the tenant compensation equivalent to three times the amount of the deposit. If the deposit is £500, this could mean that you would have to pay the tenant £1500.

There has been legal arguments since the Tenancy Deposit Scheme came in April 2007 as to when the compensation was payable. Many Solicitors argued that if the deposit had not been protected within 14 days of receipt then the compensation was payable. Other Solicitors, including myself were of the view that providing the deposit was protected when the matter came before a Judge, the compensation was not payable.

A binding decision was handed down on 11 November 2010 by the Court of Appeal in Christelle Tiensia v Vision Enterprises Ltd (t/a Universal Estates) and others.

It was held that provided the deposit was protected at the time of the Court hearing, the Court would not order that the landlord pay compensation to the tenants.

It should always be the case that the deposit is invested immediately upon receipt, however, if it comes to your attention that it has not be protected you should ensure that you protect it immediately.

If you fail to invest it preferring to wait until the tenant takes Court action, but then protect the deposit, you could still find that you loose out financially as a Court can order that the Landlord pay the tenant's legal costs of bringing the action.

My advice therefore is, if you have not protected a tenancy deposit, it's not too late but do so today to prevent action being taken against you.

Rebecca Brough is a Solicitor at Fidler and Pepper who deals with Residential Landlords on a daily basis. Rebecca offers landlords requiring legal help a Free initial consultation.


Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

Undervaluing opportunities

The increasing trend by mortgage surveyors to undervalue a property can play into the hands of landlords looking to drive down the acquisition costs of a new buy-to-let property.

This recent article in EAT highlights the phenomenon where properties are down valued despite both buyer and seller agreeing terms.  This means where a buyer is reliant on a certain sized mortgage they are required to find additional funds to complete the purchase.  The alternative which many landlords can use to their advantage is to push for a price reduction.

In the current climate where properties are failing to sell a prices are falling, many vendors are prepared to compromise on price in light of the views of an RICS valuation report even where the report is not commissioned directly by the landlord but for the buy-to-let mortgage company to saveguard their security.

We have seen as a result of the recent Scullion case that surveyor's valuation have gained greater significance.

Landlord insurance - market beating rates