Rental costs seen rising more quickly than house prices over the next 5 years
The latest housing market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reports on a number of different elements of the UK’s housing market. When it comes to the rental market, its members are of the view that the imbalance between supply and demand remains very much in place and this is something that will likely push rents higher in coming years.
Government updates its PRS enforcement guidance for local authorities
The Government's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has updated its Private Rental Sector enforcement guidance for local authorities. The updated toolkit and knowledge bank are there to help local authority’s PRS enforcement team understand exactly what they should expect from landlords operating in their area, which rules they need to enforce and why they need to be enforced.
Average rent moves mixed, while void periods rise in much of the UK
Average rent changes were mixed across the UK in September, rising in some regions and falling in others. At the same time, the period for which properties were void, was less positive, rising in most areas in the UK. Despite those mixed moves, overall, it still appears that the UK’s rental market remains well supported with high levels of demand.
Landlords spend an average of £12,000 per property refurbishment
While much is often made of unscrupulous landlords in the UK’s still growing Private Rental Sector, research based on official data shows that thanks to investment from buy-to-let landlords, the standard of rental properties in the PRS has actually improved dramatically over the past ten years. Indeed, thanks to refurbishment by PRS landlords, which costs an average of £12,000 per property, the proportion of rental homes classed as non-decent has almost halved in a decade.
Why Bracknell could be the next property investment hotspot
With so much uncertainty remaining across the UK, it might be difficult to know where to go next with your property investment plans. However, even though Brexit and politics are far from certain right now, a new development in Bracknell suggests the town that is already very much part of the UK's tech corridor, still has some value for residential property and BTL investors.
First UK landlord banned from the PRS after investigation
A Private Rental Sector landlord has been banned from the sector and ordered to pay back housing benefit paid to him by Telford and Wrekin council, after he was found not fit and proper to receive an HMO (house of multiple occupation) license. This is the first time a landlord has been banned from the PRS sector since new rules were introduced and is a landmark case.