Chris Potter

Chris Potter

The government has launched some kind of consultation and it looks like they are going to try and reform their routes to justice. The most radical option would be for them to set up a new housing court. The evidence has shown that landlords are very fearful of longer tenancies because of the time and even the cost as well. There has been an argument at the ARLA PropertyMark and the consultation shows that there are barriers to overcome. This is especially interesting if you work in lettings recruitment or if you are looking for estate agent jobs.

The latest government data shows that the average time that it takes to progress a landlord possession from a claim is around 16 weeks. The MHCLG have also added that they understand the fact that it can take longer than average and that they also need to try and seek enforcement through courts as well. The consultation invites views from landlords and tenants as well. They also have to try and aim to help the government understand the process better as well.

They want to try and help the government so that they can better understand the process and they also want to try and improve the experience of people using the court and even the tribunal service. This is going to be done in most cases and they are also going to try and make the case for specialist housing as well. This would be done in an attempt to try and reduce delays and to even try and simplify the whole process too. This was called for back in 2016 and they also have various constitution responses as well. This is going to try and speed up the system and it is also going to hopefully give people the chance to really get a much better service from the government in general as well.

The SNP Annual Conference has been billed as giving MSPs and even supporters the chance to come together. They really want them to vote on any resolutions and they also want to get them passed as well. Those who work in letting recruitment, property management jobs and even lettings jobs will know this more than anyone. The housing topics that are on the agenda were contained to policies that are completely aimed at tackling those who are homeless and they are also trying to do whatever they can to minimise the negative effects of universal credit as well.

Sturgeon happened to call on the UK government to try and get them to halt the roll-out of the universal credit. They have stated that it is causing far too many problems and that now it is beyond repair. They have also stated that the Minister is responsible now and that this could easily cause families £200 a month. They have also gone on to explain that the Scottish Government is utilising their own limited powers over social security and that they have also made it very possible for the Scottish parliament to introduce the social act which passed earlier this year, The new department are also going to be responsible for administering a huge range of benefits and this even includes discretional housing payments as well so this is very important for you to keep in consideration.

Of course, only time will tell if anything is going to happen beyond this point and it is safe to say that if things keep on going the way that they are right now then this could really have an impact on Scotland's own future. That being said, people are doing everything they can.

 

There has been some new research done by the insurance giants known as AXA. They have stated that in future elections, they are going to be influenced by the UK and the power that it has to grow. Of course, there is also way more private renters now when compared to ever before. A lot of new research has been done and it shows that future elections are going to be set and that they are also going to be way more influenced when compared to ever before as well. Of course, it is important to know that 53% of voters were private renters in 2017 and this is a huge jump when you look at some of the previous elections. This could rise to 69% if there is going to be a snap election and this is very interesting to say the least. Those who work in letting recruitment, lettings jobs or even property management jobs will know this more than anyone. The annual research has been done and it is also been done on 2000 tenants across the UK. They have shown that if there is an epidemic then this could really fuel even more political engagement.

Of course, it is important to know that 72% of renters happen to suffer from financial anxiety and this affects their sleep as well. They have also stated that this goes way beyond the British high of 69%. The single biggest trigger is the fact that they are not able to save enough to put their deposit down and that they also find it hard to pay their own rent as well. Female renters tend to save a third less every month when compared to male renters and the areas of Scotland and even Wales are even lower when you look at the saving ability. As a result, two out of three tenants who are under the age of 35 have sated that they are looking for a cheaper alternative when compared to renting.

A report has been released by Which and it shows that an alarming number of agents who work in Scotland may be failing to mention carbon monoxide detectors during housing viewings. At the end of the day, it is the responsibility of the landlord to make sure that they have a good level of gas safety in their properties but at the end of the day, agents have to know this as well.

Letting agents need to be aware of the law so that tenants can be given a clear and accurate picture of the property before they make the decision to move in. It is however the job of the tenant to make sure that the alarms are in good working order before they move in. Members in Scotland also have access to fact sheets as well. These outline the responsibilities of the landlord and even the gas register as well. It also shows how you should fit a carbon monoxide detector as well. Members can easily go on to download their form online as this will tell them everything that they need to know.

Of course, there are so many regulations that need to be met and if you work in lettings recruitment then you will understand this more than anyone. By the looks of things, those who work property management jobs have their work cut out for them and this is especially the case when you look at the bigger picture and the regulations that are coming out all of the time. Of course, if you want to find out more then there are so many resources out there for you to choose from. This is the best way for you to find out everything you could ever want to know.

 

The English Housing Survey has now been done and it has been published by the government. They have shown that only one out of every five people are now in the private renting sector. This has increased dramatically since the year 1994 and the study also shows that most of them are in fact happy with their accommodation. Another area in which the PRS excelled at included tenant satisfaction. 72% of all tenants stated that they were more than happy with the way that their landlord handled their repairs and this is especially interesting when you compare that to the statistics from years ago.

If you work in property management jobs or even in letting recruitment then you will know more than anyone else how important satisfaction can be. PRS are still more than likely to fail the Statuary Minimum Housing Standard however because 15% of all private houses have a Category 1 hazard. This is great news however as this has halved since 2008. The survey also indicated that 60% of those who were surveyed had the intention to buy a property. Most of them were between the ages of 16 and 24.

Since 1997, the PRS has doubled in size and now more and more people do want to live in privately rented homes. People who are over the age of 75 have 17 years in their rented homes but those who are aged between 16 and 24 only have less than a year. The number of private renters across all age groups is ever rising and this stands at 46% at the moment. This is good news for the housing industry and it is great to see how far things have come over the last couple of years. That being said, there is still a lot of progress to be made.

 

The Welsh Assembly's Equality and even the Local Government Committee are going to be taking evidence sessions after the summer recess is over. The ARLA Propertymark chief, David Cox has come forward to provide evidence from the rental pressure community and even Citizen's Advice as well. Those who work in estate agent jobs or even in property management jobs will understand what a huge deal this is. The bill is going to set out the Welsh government intention to try and ban any letting agency fees and this is something that is not allowed in Scotland. It is also on its way to being debated in the UK parliament as well.

The renting fee bill will try and stop tenants from being charged when they go for an accompanied viewing and it will also stop them from being charged when they receive inventory. It will even stop charges if they renew a tenancy and sign contracts. It will also only let letting agencies and even landlords charge fees that relate to the rent and their security deposits. The enforcement regime is going to allow fixed penalty notices as well and these are going to be issued against anyone who requires a banned payment. If the penalties are not paid at all then the local housing authorities are then able to prosecute offenses and this can be done through the Magistrate's Court.

Convictions for the offense could easily result in an unlimited fine and this is all going to be taken into account by the Rent Smart Wales team. This is especially the case when they are taking into consideration whether or not they should be granted a new rent license. Of course, all of this is very interesting and only time will tell if it ends in a good result.

 

The government have said the Green Paper proposals are going to try and change the balance between the landlords and the residents. They are also going to try and tackle any stigma and they are even going to try and make sure that they offer very high standards throughout all types of social housing. They also took the chance to try and launch a consultation and this is going to give every single person the chance to submit their own views on how the framework for social housing is going to operate.

The paper has five key points and you need to take this into consideration if you want to make the most out of the movement. This is especially the case if you work in real estate agent jobs or even in property management jobs. The project is going to try and tackle any stigma and they are also going to try and expand the supply and even support home ownership as well. They are also going to handle any resolution complaints while empowering residents to strengthen their regulator. Lastly, they plan on making sure that homes are both decent and safe. The project has even outlined a new deal for social housing and one of the key themes is trying to de-stigmatise it. They met with some people who live in social housing and they found that the main concern is the perception of council tenants. A lot of people believe that those who live in social housing are scroungers and that they are also trying to do everything they can to get what they want for free but this is not the case at all and it is a hurtful picture to say the least.

 

DWS were formally known as Deutsche Asset Management. They have purchased an office that is over 278,000 square feet at the International Quarter London. The mixed-use development building is currently used for residential towers and they also have more than a million square footage of office space. This is being pre-let at the moment, but the building is under a new construction. It at Redman Place (IQL) and it will form a huge part in the new neighbourhood. Some are even saying that it is going to be the gateway to the Queen Elizabeth Park.

Investments from DWS have totalled way more than £615 million so far and this was done for the first two commercial buildings. TFL took the handover from one of them and the Financial Conduct Authority took the other. IQL have seen a very strong level of interest from a ton of clients for the space that is leftover and Unicef have also announced that they are moving their office to the location as well.

Dan Labbad, who is the executive chief officer at Lendlease has stated that it doesn't matter whether there are sporting facilities or even educational institutions around the space, because the focus is on the arts. The capital of the area is being completely transformed and the confidence of investors is actually being buoyance by the decisions of people like Unicef. LCR and even Lendlease are going to carry on managing the delivery of the building and they are also furthering a lot of advancements as well. Those who work in property management recruitment will find this especially interesting, but there isn't much else to say until the whole thing actually goes through. We will bring you more on this story as it happens.

 

The House of Commons have released a paper on the Tenant Fees Bill way ahead of the report stage. This is said to be announced very shortly, but only time will tell if this is the case. The 50-page report is going to provide some background to the bill. This will abolish a lot of the fees that tenants in England have to pay. It will also abolish the cap security deposit as well, and this is going to be at a maximum of six weeks rent.

Of course, this is also going to include England, Scotland and Wales. It also goes on to explain, in detail the Bill's provisions, summaries and reactions from tenants. Those who work in lettings recruitment or even letting agencies have also had the chance to raise a number of issues but the date for the report phase of all this is yet to be released.

The ARLA Property Mark have mentioned early in the report that when they were discussing the reaction to the Bill, they expressed support for the wider regulation of letting managers and that they also feel as though this will drive up the standards. They also believe that they do not support the abolishment of most up-front fees. Their argument is that the tenants rental prices will now increase as the result of the ban, and that this removal of revenue will actually result in a lot of places closing down. It may even go on to result in job losses, and even less competition on the market.

As a result of this, other fees are going to come into place and this could cause even more problems for the future. Only time will tell what happens when the report stage of The Bill is released, but it's safe to say that right now, things aren't looking good.

 

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