The Renters’ Rights Act came into force on the 1st of May and marked a significant change in the relationship between landlords and tenants. The Act introduces a range of substantial changes, placing greater emphasis on landlords understanding the updated legal framework and their ongoing obligations.
Meanwhile, the House Price Index suggests a stable market for home ownership, debates over which land to use for home building continue, and hotspots are identified in the rental market.
Landlords may be more selective about tenants, survey suggests
Landlords will experience a radical change in the overall landscape of the private rented sector.
Following on the heels of the Renters’ Rights Act implementation on the 1st of May, a survey of more than nine hundred landlords revealed that 25% of them planned to quit the buy-to-let market altogether, according to Landlord Today on the 27th of April.
Nearly eight out of ten of the landlords surveyed said they knew the details of the new legislation, but six in ten of them considered that it would expose them to greater risks.
Six out of ten of those landlords choosing to stay in the market also insisted that they would be more selective in the tenants they chose. Tougher checks would be made on affordability criteria, and at least half of the landlords surveyed expected to be asking for more rent guarantors when granting tenancies.
Rightmove: Latest House Price Index
The online listings website Rightmove published its latest House Price Index on the 20th of April – the key points of which revealed that:
- in the face of widespread political uncertainty and somewhat higher mortgage rates, the housing market remains relatively stable;
- new homes coming onto the market in April were 0.8% higher than in February and March – an increase of £2,929, bringing the average to £373,971 – but this is still lower than the long-term average for April;
- mortgage rates have gone up – the average fixed-rate mortgage rising from 4.25% before the beginning of the war in Iran to a current 5.42%.
Should golf courses make way for housing? The debate continues
What takes priority – the open, green spaces provided by golf courses or the need to build more houses? The debate has rattled on for a long time but appears to be heating up as many local authorities struggle to designate areas suitable for housing development.
A report by the BBC on the 23rd of April illustrated the challenges faced by councils which have to balance “public amenity” against planning commitments to provide additional housing.
Competing land use demands are thrown into sharp relief by the fact that almost a quarter of all Europe’s golf courses are in the UK, where there is a chronic shortage of land for housing.
The government has a target of 1.5 million new homes in England alone by 2031, and that would require 300,000 to 370,000 every year until then. The 270,000 hectares (about 2% of Britain’s total land area) occupied by golf courses is roughly the same as the area currently covered by housing.
Rental hotspots identified as asking rents rise despite wider price stability
Although the national picture overall is one of relatively stable rent levels, some hotspots were revealed in a story in the Standard newspaper on the 16th of April.
Substantial annual rent increases were recorded in various places around the whole of the UK, as follows:
- Iver, Buckinghamshire – where a 21.8% increase has taken average rents to £2,893;
- Godalming, Surrey – a 19.8% increase to an average £2,341;
- Truro, Cornwall – 19.4% increase, average rent £1,494;
- Harrogate, North Yorkshire – 18.9% increase, average rent £1,621;
- Urmston, Greater Manchester – 17.6% increase, average rent £1,600;
- Runcorn, Cheshire – 15.1% increase, average rent £1,087;
- Ascot, Berkshire – 14.9% increase, average rent £4,014;
- Warrington, Cheshire – 14.9% increase, average rent £1,321;
- Batley, West Yorkshire – 14.6% increase, average rent £972; and
- Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland – 14.5% increase, average rent £931.
Although these are notable hotspots, Rightmove reported that 26% of its listings have, in fact, registered rent reductions.
