Another week and another Newsround, let’s see what housing news has caught the teams’ eye this week.
More than half of letting agents worried for the Renters Rights Bill
Statistics recently released by Propertymark show that 50% of all letting agents are concerned for when the Renters Right Bill becomes law.
They claim that it will add much more administration to their roles of agent, including making sure that all their landlords are fully briefed and up to date with all the changes.
Furthermore, 12% of letting agents are worried over the EPC reforms and 7% are concerned that landlords will sell up.
You can read more here.
Landlords remain optimistic but face Renters’ Bill with trepidation
New data out claims that landlords’ confidence remains high about the future of lettings, with 37% admitting to that they were ‘very good’ about their prospects in Q4 2024 compared to 33% in Q4 of the previous year.
Those landlords with smaller portfolio’s are less up beat (33%) than those with more profitable larger ones (71%).
This positive outlook comes despite landlords’ growing trepidation regarding the Renters Right Bill and what impact it will have on them. 43% think that the bill will have a negative impact on their business whilst 65% believe it will affect the the PRS as a whole.
Rents still remain under market rates according to 80% of landlords with 62% saying they will be increasing their rents this year.
Bethan Cooke, director of Pegasus says
While the Renter’s Rights Bill may make life more difficult for landlords, the unintended consequences are likely to be much harder on tenants themselves.
Some landlords perceived unfavourably by their tenants
12% of tenants ‘view their landlord negatively’ according to a new survey out by lettings agent Leaders Romans Group.
Half of the tenants surveyed claimed that better communication and faster response time to fixing repairs were their main gripe, with 34% of tenants unclear on rights and responsibilities between the two parties, and ‘that a more balanced dialogue could help bridge the gap between the two groups’.
Interestingly, 17% of tenants did not think that additional regulation would improve things, with only 16% in favour of an independent ombudsman.
On a positive note, 75% of tenants admitted that maintenance requests are addressed within a week, 41% of which receiving responses in as little as 48 hours, and that 60% of tenants state that landlords are unfairly represented.
Allison Thompson from the National Lettings Managing Director at LRG said
Our findings show that most landlords are committed to providing quality housing and building positive relationships with their tenants. While there’s plenty to celebrate in these results, there’s also a clear message about the importance of open communication and responsiveness to tenant needs.
Council displays shocking double standards
Plymouth Council has been been issued with a ‘C3 grading’, which means it needs ‘significant improvement’ by the Regulator of Social Housing after it failed to meet safety standards in its social housing. It failed on fire safety, 85% of its homes had not had an electrical condition test in over five years, lack of regular surveys on their properties and an unclear repairs process with with tenants.
However, they are being called out as having double standards as they brought in a complex new licensing scheme for the private rental sector last year, offering discount and a longer licence for those landlords that managed their properties well and met certain criteria.
The council said at the time
‘Good private landlords’ registered with its dedicated HMO website so “the council will be able to dedicate more time to less well performing landlords or agents to help them improve if they are issued with a shorter licence.
Snippets
NE town reveal plans to start selective licensing for landlords
Uswitch has produced the latest ‘Mouldy Nation Report’
DWP program that automatically approves landlord benefit deduction requests ruled unlawful
Landlord given 28 days to pay £20,000 – or risk prison
See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law
Newsround will be back again next week