Archived Industry News - July 2007
East London 'is good for long-term property investment'
Landlords looking to expand their portfolio with long-term investment options could consider buying property in east London, an industry expert has sa...
31-Jul-2007
Landlords 'need to watch out for rogue builders'
Local council leaders have warned landlords whose properties were damaged by recent flooding to be careful who they hire to carry out repair work.Offi...
31-Jul-2007
Ignorance about TDS 'among tenants and landlords'
Despite regulations being in place for several months, many landlords and tenants are still unaware of Tenancy Deposit Protection Schemes, an industry...
30-Jul-2007
Landlords 'must use Corgi-registered workers'
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned landlords to always check that anyone carrying out work on gas appliances or fittings in their proper...
30-Jul-2007
Insurance 'vital before carrying out renovations'
Landlords should always make sure they have appropriate insurance before carrying out major renovation work on their property, an industry expert has ...
30-Jul-2007
Ten per cent of graduates 'will rent forever'
Graduates are increasingly struggling to afford to buy their own property, suggesting that they will have to continue to rent for the foreseeable futu...
27-Jul-2007
New rules on service charges
The government has outlined plans which would mean that landlords could have to regularly explain to tenants how service charges are being spent.Under...
27-Jul-2007
'Buy-to-let helps fill the housing gap'
Landlords with buy-to-let properties continued to enjoy steady growth in the first half of 2007, new research suggests.Data gathered by Paragon shows ...
26-Jul-2007
Landlords 'confident in the future'
Landlords in the UK are confident that they will continue to see good returns from their property in the future, a study suggests.Research carried out...
26-Jul-2007
House price inflation slows
House price growth slowed markedly in July, suggesting that landlords could look to pick up bargain property if they are planning on expanding their p...
26-Jul-2007
Internet 'is allowing landlords to cut out agents'
The rise of the internet means that landlords can more easily buy and sell properties without using an agent, an industry expert has said.Mark Davis, ...
25-Jul-2007
Arla welcomes government Green Paper
The Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla) has welcomed the government's recent Green Paper on the housing market, explaining that it pu...
25-Jul-2007
London's house prices exceed£300,000
House prices in London and the south-east of the UK continued to rise, reaching record levels in the second quarter of 2007, a new report suggests.Acc...
24-Jul-2007
Government acts to provide affordable housing
The government has pledged £8 billion of investment funding to try and tackle the shortage of affordable housing in the UK.Announcing a new Green...
24-Jul-2007
Chester 'increasingly attracting landlords'
Landlords are increasingly opting to buy new properties in cities - like Chester - which offer both heritage and modern comforts, an industry expert h...
24-Jul-2007
Buy-to-let 'not damaging' first-timers
The recent boom in the buy-to-let market has not necessarily been at the expense of first-timer buyers in the capital, as they are likely to be seekin...
23-Jul-2007
House price growth set to slow
Recent interest rate rises are set to take their toll on the rate of housing market growth in the UK, according to a new report.Rightmove's House ...
23-Jul-2007
Buy-to-let's future 'is stable'
Landlords are likely to continue to find property a good long-term investment option, an industry expert has said.Recently, some people have predicted...
20-Jul-2007
Landlords 'pass extra costs on to tenants'
Landlords have been able to pass recent interest rate increases onto their tenants and so avoid the financial difficulties they could have caused, new...
20-Jul-2007
More regulation for private housing proposed
The Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) should have its remit extended so private sector tenants can easily air their complaints.Housing ombudsman Dr Mike...
19-Jul-2007
Landlords 'need to consider disabled tenants'
Landlords will increasingly have to make sure their properties are accessible for disabled tenants, an industry expert has explained.John Stanford, a ...
19-Jul-2007
People rent 'as uncertainty about house market grows'
More people are renting for longer as they remain uncertain about the future movements of the housing market, a new report suggest.Figures released by...
19-Jul-2007
Tories pledge to cut landlord red tape
The Conservatives have said that they would free landlords from the burden of red tape in an effort to improve the supply of housing.Writing on politi...
18-Jul-2007
RLA secures fire safety concession
The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has revealed that it has succeeded in its campaign to get the government to reconsider how fire regulation...
18-Jul-2007
Landlords urged to help flood victims
The heavy rain and flooding in much of the UK in recent weeks has caused an acute shortage of available rental properties in these areas, a new report...
17-Jul-2007
Landlords warned over dangerous appliances
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned landlords that there could be serious financial and legal consequences if they do not make sure gas a...
17-Jul-2007
Private landlords 'can help alleviate housing shortage'
Only through further investment from more buy-to-let investors can the UK hope to meet future housing needs, a new report suggests.Hometrack said that...
17-Jul-2007
House prices begin to cool
House price inflation is cooling in the UK, meaning that landlords could soon look to expand their portfolio of property comparatively reasonably, a n...
16-Jul-2007
Landlords report healthy growth
The yields that buy-to-let landlords enjoy fell slightly in the last year, but average rents increased, a new report suggests.Figures published by Bir...
16-Jul-2007
New builds 'won't reduce house prices'
Building more new homes might not cause house prices to fall significantly, an industry expert has warned.Paul Miner, a planning campaigner for the Ca...
13-Jul-2007
Tenants 'leave without paying utility bills'
Landlords are facing administrative headaches because tenants are leaving without settling gas and electricity bills, a new report suggests.Figures re...
13-Jul-2007
Landlords 'must report illegal activities'
Landlords need to be careful that their properties are not being used as 'drug factories' a local police force has warned.Hampshire police sai...
13-Jul-2007
IFAs encourage landlords to invest
More landlords are opting to enter the buy-to-let market after taking advice from independent financial advisors (IFAs), new research suggests.Data ga...
12-Jul-2007
Void periods continue to fall
The average time private rented properties remain empty between tenants has steadily fallen over the last nine months, new research suggests.Figures f...
12-Jul-2007
New builds should be 'more European'
In the future, landlords may be able to buy homes which are "more European" in design and therefore more energy efficient, an industry exper...
11-Jul-2007
House prices continue to increase
House prices continued rise in the second quarter of the year, albeit at a slower rate than previously, a new report indicates.The latest Nationwide Q...
11-Jul-2007
PM vows to tackle housing issues
Gordon Brown has vowed to make new housing reforms a priority for his government.Breaking with tradition, Mr Brown revealed which bills he plans to in...
11-Jul-2007
Mortgage lender competition 'good for landlords'
While increasing interest rates mean that landlords now have to pay more for their properties, stiff competition among lenders means that investors ca...
10-Jul-2007
Graduates 'have little choice but to rent'
While the majority of graduates have little choice but to live in rented accommodation at the beginning of their career, it is also a "lifestyle ...
10-Jul-2007
'Best value' properties in the country identified
New research has identified which towns in the UK remain the best value for landlords and other homebuyers.Overall, the data from Halifax shows that C...
09-Jul-2007
No demand for energy efficient rental properties
As tenants still do not care that much about how energy efficient a property is, landlords are not keen to improve the energy rating of their portfoli...
09-Jul-2007
Internet 'is useful for landlords'
While using the internet to find tenants can be easier and cheaper for landlords than using a traditional letting agent, there are some risks to the t...
09-Jul-2007
Landlords 'must take health and safety seriously'
Residential landlords have been warned that they must make sure their properties are safe - or face hefty fines.The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) ...
06-Jul-2007
TDS 'has failed'
Some landlords have stopped asking tenants for a deposit as a way of avoiding dealing with the newly introduced Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS).Research ...
06-Jul-2007
More people 'will have to rent for longer'
More and more young people may have to live in rented accommodation for longer as rising house prices and interest rates are making it increasingly di...
05-Jul-2007
House type 'important when considering new property'
An industry expert has advised landlords that it is vitally important to choose the correct types of rental property if they want to continue to enjoy...
05-Jul-2007
Interest rate increase 'good news for landlords'
Today's rise in interest rates will make it easier for landlords to let their properties, a new report suggests.Earlier today (July 5th), the Bank...
05-Jul-2007
Conference for landlords and tenants in WGC
A conference for council landlords and their tenants is to be held in Welwyn Garden City this weekend, the Welwyn and Hatfield Times reports.Hosted by...
04-Jul-2007
Rising house prices 'force people to rent'
As house prices continue to rise, people will have little choice but to remain in rented accommodation, an industry expert has said.Last week, Nationw...
03-Jul-2007
Good landlords 'to be rewarded'
New government policy could see social housing landlords could be rewarded if they treat their tenants well.In a recent speech, former communities sec...
03-Jul-2007
Landlords 'pick up bargains at auctions'
While some first-time buyers may look to purchase residential property at auction, the majority of buyers at these events are still landlords looking ...
03-Jul-2007
Government considers property policy change
The government is planning on looking at alternative ways in which landlords could be taxed on land price increase, reports suggest.Industry magazine ...
02-Jul-2007
Official figures show house price growth
House prices in the UK rose sharply in May, new government figures suggest.Data released by the Land Registry backs up figures unveiled last week by N...
02-Jul-2007
Landlords 'vital to UK housing market'
Buy-to-let landlords are vital to the continuing success of the UK housing market, industry experts have said.Recently, some people have called on the...
02-Jul-2007
