ROOF Blog

Recent figures from the Association of Residential Lettings Agents and National Landlord Association have found 65 per cent of estate agents experiencing an increase in the number of tenants struggling to pay their rent, and as many as one in three landlords have tenants in arrears.

The number of tenants struggling to pay their rent is rising, according to the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA). Around 65 per cent of agents have seen an increase in renters falling behind on their rent during the past six months, while 93 per cent said they had seen a rise in the number of tenants haggling with landlords about the level of rent. ARLA said the increases were not just about tenants experiencing financial problems, but were also likely to be due to people cashing in on falling rents.

Homeowners who fall victim to rogue sale and rent back companies will be able to claim compensations from July. Those who unfairly suffer loss of money or of their homes through the schemes will be able to take their cases to the Financial Ombudsman. The Financial Services Authority will be able to stop, ban or fine firms that break new rules.

A government review of water charges has suggested that residential landlords could be made liable for unpaid water bills left by departing tenants. Water companies argue that they are vulnerable to bad debts because they are not permitted to disconnect their supply for non-payment. Landlords call the prospect ‘alarming’ and say it will increase rents.

Housing and mortgage groups, including chairman of the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association John Heron and chief executive of the National Housing Federation David Orr, spoke before a Communities and Local Government select committee on the effect of the credit crisis on the mortgage market, and said the government had missed an opportunity to boost house builders and mortgage lenders. They argued that measures introduced in the Budget were insufficient to stop the downward slide affecting the markets. Mr Heron called for more support for buy-to-let lenders, while Mr Orr called for ministers to try to keep rents high, even if deflation occurs elsewhere.

The government’s £285 million mortgage rescue scheme has helped just two families since it was launched in January. The scheme, where homeowners can sell part or all of their homes to housing associations and rent them back, was expected to help up to 6,000 households stave off repossession. A spokesperson from Communities and Local Government said the slow progress in rolling out the measures and the length of time between applications and receiving the help had meant that it was only now the first of many cases were coming through. CLG added that a further 450 applications were currently being considered.

Margaret Beckett has announced a proposed amendment to the law that would give tenants whose landlords are facing repossession more time to find somewhere else to live. Under the new proposals tenants will be given two months’ notice by mortgage lenders who have taken possession of the landlord’s home. The Council of Mortgage Lenders has warned that a number of tenants will slip through the cracks, especially those renting a property unofficially.

Typical rents in the UK remained unchanged in May, after nine consecutive months of falls, findaproperty.com has found, as the average rent remained at £819 a month. This was 5.5 per cent lower than the same month a year ago. Rents had been falling as the supply of rentals increased, reflecting the rise in the number of ‘accidental landlords’ because of the housing slump. But the survey reported the rate at which properties had come on the rental market in May had slowed compared to a year earlier.

The number of homes completed in Scotland has fallen 23 per cent in the final quarter of last year and 13 per cent for the whole of 2008. The number of new homes started in the fourth quarter of the year was 48 per cent down on the same quarter in 2007 and overall down 19 per cent from 2007 to 2008. However, there was a big increase in the number of houses for rent or low cost home ownership, with 29 per cent more homes built than in 2007, and the highest level in eight years.

In Scotland, a housing association has apologised after sending an overdue rent letter to a woman who died nine years earlier, and who had never lived in the property. A hand-delivered letter arrived from the Scottish Borders housing association demanding £300 in rental charged for the house, but the widower of the woman to whom it was addressed said they had never lived in the property.