ROOF Blog

Private tenants are routinely being ‘conned’ by letting agents imposing unjustified fees for providing a poor or nonexistent service, a report from the Citizens Advice said today. It said that it was dealing with 6,000 tenants’ complaints a year regarding letting agents, and that the behaviour of some is ‘out of control’. The report has found that 94 per cent of agents imposed up to seven additional charges on tenants, not counting the deposit and rent in advance, costing up to £600, and some agents were caught billing tenant and landlord for the same service. Citizens Advice wants the government to extend the recent regulation to include a ban on additional charges.

Ahead of today’s debate in the Commons, party leaders have agreed to proposals for interim changes to MPs’ expenses. Mortgage interest and rent claims will be capped at £1,250 a month, claims for furniture, cleaning and stamp duty will be banned, and they will not be allowed to flip the designation of their second home. An independent review of allowances is expected by autumn.

In the buy-to-let world, new lending fell for the sixth consecutive quarter, accounting for 6 per cent of all gross mortgage lending in the first quarter of 2009, down from 12 per cent in year on year figures. There were 1,700 buy-to-let repossessions in the first quarter of the year (0.15 per cent of all buy-to-let mortgages), up from 1,300 during the previous three months (or 0.11 per cent of the market). A receiver of rent was appointed in 2,400 properties – enabling tenants to stay in their home by paying rent to their lender rather than the landlord.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is writing to 200,000 pensioners who receive pension credit to encourage them to contact their local council to check if they are entitled to help with the council tax or housing costs. Pensions minister Rosie Winterton said the government wanted everyone to receive the help they are entitled to, and some people on pension credit may not be aware that they can also receive help with their rent and council tax.

The average monthly rental bill in the UK increased 1 per cent in March, to £638. However, compared to the peak in July 2008 rents are down £85, or 12 per cent, and are down 6 per cent in year on year figures. The cheapest rent is in Yorkshire and Humber, averaging £491 a month, whereas rents in London – the most expensive in the country – average £850 a month. The largest falls were in the East of England, down 10 per cent in the past year, while the North West saw the largest increase, up 8 per cent.

Cities with large numbers of flats bought for the buy-to-let market are facing a huge rise in evictions. In some of these areas there has been a 20 per cent rise in the number of instructions from landlords wanting to get rid of tenants who are not paying their rent. The length of time landlords are prepared to wait before commencing action is also decreasing. Cities affected include Manchester, London, Liverpool and Birmingham.

North London residents have reacted angrily over proposals to rent out council housing on the private market. Camden council, which has 17,000 people on the housing waiting list, says it wants to renovate up to 500 homes but locals warn that families could miss out on a flat if it is rented to people who have more money. Residents want all available homes to be used to help those who cannot afford to rent privately or buy.

Rents are cheaper than a year ago, but rents on larger houses are increasing because of a lack of supply. In figures from website findaproperty.com, the average rents stood at £819 a month in April, down from £827 in March and £873 a year earlier. The growing supply of flats on the market – increasing for the sixth month in a row – has pushed down prices. The overall number of properties available to rent has fallen for the second month in a row. On average a property was on the market for an average of 63 days, 15 days longer than a year ago.

A tenant who campaigned against rent increases by his housing association has been found hanged in his flat. Neil Hill sent a suicide letter to Treasury lawyers two days after losing his case against City West Housing Trust and after being served with the legal bill of £3,000. Mr Hill claimed the rent rise was a breach of contract under the stock transfer agreement, but the judge dismissed the case because of a lack of paperwork.

Insurance giant Legal & General is in talks with the government about investing in the residential housing sector. It is looking into so-called ‘build to let’ opportunities to develop homes from scratch to take advantage of increasing rental returns.