Happy Weekend – I trust you have had a great week and haven’t been blown away by Storm Eunice!
Well, hold onto your hats because the weather is not the only thing rocking the UK as it continues to struggle back to its feet in the property and development sectors. With heavy demand for home builders and private landlords, the importance of maintaining a balanced market has never been so prominent.
Now, let’s take a look at all the headlines that caught our attention this week. I always try to summarise the links to save you having to click through.
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Property News This Week
- Government Forces Property Development Sector to Fix Cladding Issues – In the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has proposed changes to the Building Safety Bill that will hold developers and home builders financially accountable for unsafe build practices. The plans outlined aim at preventing innocent leaseholders from shouldering the burden of fixing unsafe structuring and materials such as unsafe cladding, which has seen them face costs of over £100,000 in some cases. The policy change will also give building owners and landlords the right to take legal action against manufacturers whose use of shoddy materials has resulted in a home that is unfit for habitation. It is also expected that increased transparency will be written into the new legislation, preventing developers from hiding behind shell companies to avoid prosecution.
- Tax Incentives Needed to Boost PRS Investment – Undersupply of housing in the UK and its economical repercussions continue to wreak havoc throughout the property sector, from house building to the sales and rental markets. A new report commissioned by the NRLA has reported that the UK is currently in need of nearly 230,000 new private rented homes per year in order to meet government housing targets. The report also found that government targets would need 340,000 new homes per year across the UK by 2025. The report was completed by Capital Economics, whose modelling predicts that PRS stock will drop by over half a million in the next decade unless positive policy changes, government support and incentives for landlords. The report has stated that providing this much-needed support would result in more new builds, increased commercial-to-residential conversions and the re-entry of unused housing back onto the market.
- 27% of Landlords are Unaware Their Tenants Keep Pets – A study of 1,000 renters recently conducted by the property management company Quintain Living has found that comparatively, almost one-third of pet owners in the UK have been keeping their pets hidden from their landlord for over three years. This comes as new governmental guidelines are now in force, preventing landlords from issuing a blanket ban on renting to people with pets. In the study, 38% admitted they feel uneasy asking their landlord for permission to keep a pet in case they are denied and then forced to either give up their pet or move out. Almost one-third of respondents reported difficulty in finding a rental property that accepted pets. Out of all participants, birds were reported as the most common secret pet in the UK, with rabbits coming in close second.
- London’s Prime Property Market Influenced by Undersupply – The most recent data on prime London property published by Knight Frank has revealed that despite the number of prospective buyers rising by around 72%, the number of actual sales instructed has dropped by 12%. This disparity between interest and both affordability and availability is a stark reminder of how the UK’s supply-demand imbalance continues to put pressure on the property market. Looking ahead short-term, it doesn’t appear that much is on the cards to mark a turn-around. However, a steady flow of overseas interest is expected to create a more normal-looking landscape for the capital’s prime market, with supply slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels.
That is all we have for you this week. If you have any comments or questions on this week’s news summary then please feel free to send us an email at [email protected] – if not, see you next week.
