Monday 30 April 2012 - Friday 4 May 2012

London rents 75% more expensive than rest of UK
As the UK enters a double-dip recession, tenants in the capital are faced with even more financial strain, as new research reveals the average cost of renting a home in Greater London is now 75% more expensive than the rest of the UK.

Portfolio landlords are still buying
Independent research from the specialist buy-to-let lender Paragon Mortgages has revealed that residential property acquisition activity by landlords remained strong in the first quarter of 2012.

Landlords need to ‘go green’
One fifth of commercial and residential property may be excluded from the rental and lease market as soon as 2015 unless property owners move to comply with energy efficiency rules.

Government to crack down on ‘criminal’ landlords
The government’s plans to tackle criminal landlords and illegal immigration have been welcomed by The National Landlords Association (NLA).

Auction buyers need to be diligent
A quarter of searches on property websites are being reported for potential buy-to-let purposes, with an indication that these figures are set to rise further this year, so a regular provider of fast funding for auction purchases is reporting increasing interest in auction rooms from buy-to-let investors.

Landlords need to be wary of pet damage
The boom in the rental market has led to a large number of former homeowners with pets looking for accommodation. Many prospective tenants find it difficult to find landlords that will accept pets in their properties. The result has been a rise in the number of ‘undeclared’ pets living in rented accommodation, with the landlord or agent, often being none the wiser.


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London rents 75% more expensive than rest of UK

As the UK enters a double-dip recession, tenants in the capital are faced with even more financial strain, as new research reveals the average cost of renting a home in Greater London is now 75% more expensive than the rest of the UK.

The March 2012 HomeLet Rental Index shows that the average cost of renting a home is now £1,158 per month – some 6% higher than the same time last year.

This month’s report also shows the average cost of renting a home around the rest of the UK, excluding Greater London, now stands at £661 per month – an increase of 3% from 12 months ago.

With tenants earning an average of only 1% more than last year, it appears their budgets are being increasingly stretched. Combining this with an increase in rental costs, fuel and inflation, suggests tenants have less disposable income than ever before.

Responding to the new findings, Ian Fraser, HomeLet’s Managing Director, said: “As economic uncertainly continues it’s likely that income could remain flat for many tenants this year, especially with the UK’s economy shrinking once again to enter a double-dip recession, and their income not growing at a proportional rate to rents.

“This is a worrying trend for tenants, and with recent reports saying almost one million people will have been out of work for more than a year by end of 2012, an increasing number of tenants will not only be short of disposable income, but also maybe unemployed and relying on benefits to pay for their living costs.

“Whilst the private rented sector has traditionally provided additional stock for tenants who receive housing benefits, changes to Local Housing Allowance (LHA) means many tenants are facing a predicament when trying to move into a property.

“The changes intended to encourage landlords to lower their rental costs – however, it seems many landlords have chosen not to let their properties to such tenants.”

Mr Fraser concluded: “Tenants who receive LHA may be forced to move to more affordable areas outside the capital. As with home ownership, rented accommodation is becoming less affordable in the capital and many household budgets are really being stretched.”