News

Two prominent groups representing landlords have published reports this week in an effort to state their case as sweeping reforms to the sector are expected to be introduced as part of the Renters’ Reform Bill which promises a ‘new deal’ for 4.4 million households.

Rental growth rises hit 11% in Q1 according to Zoopla’s latest rental report, growing more than both wages and inflation for the first time since 2016, driven, in part, by constrained supply and a post-pandemic return to city living for office workers and students.

Revealed during the Queen’s Speech, the comprehensive new rental portal will work in a similar way to existing versions in Wales and Scotland, using the address of each private rental property to create a database of properties and their landlords or agents.

Online tradesperson marketplace ‘Rated People’ released a report detailing the biggest eco home improvement trends for 2022 – among them, the improvements likely to increase the value of your property the most.

With six primary recommendations and criticism of a government which has ‘only made piecemeal legislative changes in recent years’ the report aims to provide real direction for a sector which has doubled in the last 20 years and now houses eleven million people.

With demand consistently outstripping supply, house price inflation seems to be continuing from 2021s 11% annual growth, pushing the average UK house price above £280,000 following the 1.4% rise in March.

Preparing your garden for viewings is landlord 101, but with few tenancy agreements including a garden clause, are landlords simply preparing a cause of future dispute in doing so?

Despite a VAT cut on renewables, landlords facing more than 8% inflation and a possible crisis of rental delinquency will certainly have been hoping for more help across the board, but Sunak’s latest budget will see everyone out of pocket despite claims to the contrary.

Report from Opinium and The Social Market Foundation finds that, while dissatisfaction with renting is widespread, it is not the quality of rental properties or landlords that are to blame.

Advice published on the 22nd by the UK Government pertaining to right to rent checks advises that the stated end of temporary checks (previously the 5th of April) has been deferred to the 30th September 2022.

In what must be seen as an indictment of Government communication on changing regulations, a recent report from Direct Line business insurance has found that almost one in four respondents were not up-to-date with changing regulations.

The latest rental market report from Zoopla details the huge rise in rental demand and offers some insight into what the rest of the year might hold for landlords across the UK.

The Government’s new ‘Levelling Up’ white paper sets out a commitment to improving the private rental sector. In addition to confirming plans to end section-21 evictions, the plan includes a requirement for rental properties to meet a minimum standard.

2021 may well have been bid a not very fond farewell, but the latest Zoopla house price index reward still has some important insights to impart to anyone interested in the UK housing market.

As a recent YouGov poll found that, of 1,000 landlords, 9% (90 respondents) had tenants experiencing difficulties resulting from the £20 per week cut from Universal Credit payments, the National Residential Landlords Association has criticised the government’s response to a growing crisis.

HomeLet’s Rental Index is among the largest, most up-to-date overviews of the UK’s private rented sector. The trends reported, coming from a brand with access to huge amounts of data, are always worth checking out – and here we look to condense that report and discuss key insights.

Whether because of a new found ability to work from home, or simply because of an extended period in the same place causing dissatisfaction (familiarity breeding contempt), moves were massively increased during 2020/21 – so would a further lockdown prompt more movement?

We’re at the end of one turbulent year in the private rental sector and on the verge of another – but while there are always things that we can’t do much about, it pays to ensure that we’re acting on those we can before they become a problem.

New proposal could see tenants facing eviction provided ‘on-the-day’ legal advice from the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme as part of a shake-up that could see it rebranded to prevent needless evictions.

Following a two-month consultation, there will be updates made to the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, and the statutory guidance (Approved Document J) supporting Part J of the Building Regulations, to improve the safety of tenants.

While the news is reasonably good for landlords, the Q3 report from Zoopla highlights that shortfall in rental properties is underpinning rental growth – a situation likely to continue into 2022.

Wednesday’s budget may have been lost amid climate talks and an almost farcical escalation of rows with France over fishing, but there were items in the Autumn budget of which landlords should be aware.

The National Residential Landlords Association has been in conversation with the Government which has indicated that landlords will be able to apply for £5,000 grants to replace gas boilers with more environmentally friendly systems.

Any eviction notices served or deemed as served after October 1st of this year will need to use new paperwork as government shifts eviction rules back toward pre-pandemic standards. Any evictions issued using previous forms will not be deemed as served.

A government initiative pushing for the 'end of the tax return' and a 'transformed tax system', the main goal of MTD, according to HMRC, is to make tax administration more effective, efficient and simple, but the roll out has been pushed back by twelve months.

There’s a lot going on over the next few years, and while there have been promises of investment in the past, Wirral looks set to start reaping the rewards of investment in several long-discussed projects following public consultation.

Leading parliamentarians have joined with members of the House of Lords and leading organisations representing the private landlord sector to call for a change to the Tennant Fees Act 2019 in order to make it easier for landlords to offer pet-friendly rental agreements.

Zoopla predicting an eventual return to normal levels of market activity due to reduced stock of available homes in their latest report which outlines a fast-moving market which sees Merseyside and Wirral properties selling quickly.

Relaxing regulations and reopening of offices and other businesses are driving rental demand according to the latest research from the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), leading to growing optimism around recovery in the north.

With any efforts to improve a property’s energy efficiency currently classed as improvements, landlords are unable to claim tax relief, leading to slowing movement toward the government’s 2025 target for all new tenancies to be for at EPC grade D or above.

The latest HomeLet rental index report shows areas that had experienced drops during the pandemic are beginning to recover while demand remains high elsewhere – including the growing Build-to-Rent market which HomeLet identify as a trend for the future.

A combined report from Hive and Rightmove suggests that a range of eco-friendly improvements could represent up to a nine percent premium on property value when sold by 2030. Is it time for landlords to begin moving the environmental concerns of tenants up the list of priorities?

A survey of more than a thousand UK tenants has found that 93% of respondents felt that there should be an increase in options to rent for longer than the standard twelve months as pandemic uncertainty drives a desire for stability.

Zoopla’s May 2021 UK House Price Index report, which finds a continuing increase in the 2020 price growth, finds further evidence to suggest that their early June predictions of a busy year are set to come true – even as stamp duty holiday comes to an end.

While UK devolved governments put in place anti-eviction legislation during the course of the pandemic, they had previously done little to assist tenants falling behind with their rent due to various lockdowns and business shutdowns.

Following a story in The Mirror a couple of weeks back, a story has been running in many of the regional outlets about the potential for tenants to claim back a year of rent from landlords that breach the conditions laid out in the Tenant Fees Act – but what is it and should you be concerned?

Nationwide predicted a potential crisis of negative equity if bidding wars artificially inflate prices in the final weeks and months of the stamp duty holiday, but is that likely to impact Wirral home-buyers and buy-to-let landlords?

According to recent data, events of the last year may produce the busiest year for property markets since 2007, with an increase of 45% YoY meaning that more than 1.5 Mn homes are projected to change hands in the course of 2021.

The most important recent pieces of news for Wirral landlords are developments from Wirral Waters – a project likely to improve the overall desirability of the local area, and a new scheme from Wirral Council which can help you improve the efficiency of your property.

Last week we noted that HomeLet reported that UK rent had reached £996 (£853 excluding London). Zoopla has the figure slightly lower at £923; but the latest Zoopla Report also predicts that downward pressure on urban properties will be ameliorated as offices reopen.

The average UK rent reached a record high for the fifth consecutive month according to HomeLet, with the average reaching £996 – or £853 excluding London. The latest HomeLet Rental Index Report shows that every region in the UK apart from Greater London has seen increases year on year.

There’s a lot to look forward to in Q2; with things beginning to return to normal by degrees, and the property market still buoyed by the stamp duty holiday and the changing requirements of various office-based roles, it’s an interesting time to be in the property market.

For any new landlord, one of the most difficult hurdles to overcome is getting used to the regulatory requirements for letting a property. For the protection of both landlord and tenant, there are a host of certifications which are required (and some just nice to have) which a landlord will need to safely and legally let a property.

The reopening of parliament on the 11th May is expected to see confirmation that the Renter Reform Bill will be put before parliament and begin the process of becoming law.

Marketing a property is arguably one of the more difficult and most important aspects of being a successful landlord – especially if you decide to go it alone. While we love nothing more than looking after our landlords, we’ve decided to pass on the Wirral Homes wisdom on marketing a rental property.

With Birkenhead regeneration taking its next steps, Wirral Council has opened up a consultation for its Birkenhead 2040 Framework which offers a view of their vision for the area as a green, climate friendly town of the future.

There are many pain points in the management of a property portfolio, but the right advice (or years of experience) can make for an easier experience for both landlord and tenant. As such, we’ve decided to tackle one of the trickier aspects of the landlord/tenant relationships – the management of inventory and deposits.

In addition to the various measures that Rishi Sunak announced to attempt to stave off further economic consequences of the pandemic, there were also various changes to tax law – some of which will need to be taken into account by landlords for the 2021/22 tax year.

In its latest review of the property market, Zoopla has broken down the changes that February brought to property prices and demand throughout the UK. Each month, we bring you the highlights to help you make informed decisions.

The 25th of March 2017 changed New Ferry forever, and progress has been painfully slow in the quest to rebuild and regenerate the area devastated by the gas explosion that left almost 100 people homeless and destroyed businesses. However, things seem to be moving in the right direction as we approach the four-year anniversary of the event.

The recent announcement from the chancellor of the exchequer that the government will be creating freeports throughout the UK has been met with mixed reactions, but data from the UK land registry suggests that the previous Merseyside Freeport was at least good for Wirral property values.

With plans dating back several years, regeneration of multiple areas of the Wirral moved forward this week according to announcements in several of the region’s local newspapers. With the end of lockdown delays approaching and stamp duty extended, could now be the ideal time to buy?

Selective Licensing Areas were updated on the 1st October 2020, so we've created this searchable list to help potential investors in the Wirral property market.

While letting properties can be extremely profitable – with rental payments supplemented by the rising value of property – it is far from a passive source of income and if a landlord begins to increase the number of properties they are letting, it can quickly become a juggling act that can damage a portfolio’s profitability.

Big drops in the rental values of city property – particularly London, which saw an 8.3% drop – have been balanced by growth in commuter towns and rural areas according to the latest Zoopla report.

Once a month, the largest online property sites – Zoopla and Rightmove – release market data based on the tens of thousands of properties they deal with, and in our role as advisor and partner to both landlords and tenants, we make sure we’re always up to date with the latest facts and figures.

New ‘Model Tenancy Agreement’ rules out blanket ban on pets as UK Ministry of Housing seeks to end ‘unfair’ practice – a first step to a possible legal end to a landlord’s ability to restrict their tenant’s pet ownership.

At Wirral Homes, we always do the best we can to provide a return on investment for our landlords – but we also believe that honesty is the best policy, and a letting agent isn’t right for everyone. So, here’s the information you need to decide what’s right for you.

2021 may not have started particularly well, but there's plenty to be optimistic about for landlords. However, to get the most out of the new year, landlords will need to be up to date on what the year has in store.

While we can't begin to cover everything - we've put together this beginner's guide to the legal requirements for a landlord wanting to rent out their residential property.

We're excited to launch our new website! We've worked hard to make sure it's everything you need - but we want to hear if you need more!

The 2020 global pandemic has led to people re-examining their priorities - and a large number of people are not happy with where they live.

Being visible is the first step to letting your property - and that starts online!