Department store John Lewis is set to become a residential landlord as the pandemic-battered company finds new business avenues.  The employee-owned retailer said it plans to build rental homes above or beside Waitrose supermarkets around the UK which will be furnished with stock  from the John Lewis stores while tenants will be able to have Waitrose food delivered to their door.  The chairman, Sharon White, an economist who joined the business in February this year, said John Lewis would back new business ideas with £400m of investment. The new ideas are part of a st ..read more

On Wednesday, chancellor Rishi Sunak laid out an unprecedented set of measures to help economic recovery in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.  Several of the announcements were aimed at kick-starting the housing market and incentivising greener homes.  What will these measures mean for landlords and letting agents? Stamp duty holiday Among the most obviously appealing to anyone looking to invest in property was the announcement of an immediate stamp duty holiday for homes sold for up to £500,000 in England and Northern Ireland, which is set to run until 31 March next year. This ..read more

Two million households will struggle to pay rent in the coming months amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis, according to a recent poll. The survey of more than 1,000 renters conducted by ideal flatmate shows that 40% of tenants worry they won’t be able to pay their rent, rental payments given as the number one concern of tenants during the pandemic. Renters other fears included paying council tax, financial instability and ‘survival’. According to the Office for National Statistics tenants who privately rent spend 34% of their gross household income on rent. Many renters are furloughed or face ..read more

Many short-let landlords and agents have been forced to switch to longer rentals as the coronavirus crisis all but obliterates the short-lets market. Airbnb and other short-term rental sites are reporting huge falls in demand since the outbreak leaving many landlords with little choice but to switch to a longer let to see out the crisis.  A SpareRoom report blamed the Covid-19 outbreak for a 20% drop in people looking for rooms. In contrast the flat sharing website has seen an increase in the number of adverts from agents and landlords keen to rent rooms before any nationwide lockdown ..read more

For those who can stomach all the tax changes and tighter regulation, the private rental sector remains an excellent investment, with new market trends research showing a strong end to 2019.  According to the latest study by Paragon, 27% of landlords saw an increase in tenant demand, while separate research from Hamptons International found the average rent had risen significantly over the past 12 months.  Despite the positive outlook, the study by Hamptons International also found the number of landlords had fallen to its lowest level in seven years. The latest government figures sho ..read more

Over half (53%) of landlords say they would not have purchased their rental properties had they known how regulated the private rented sector (PRS) would become, according to new research. The study by property development firm Accumulate Capital found over a third (37%) of property investors plan to downsize their portfolio this year, while a separate survey found over a quarter of landlords aim to quit the sector entirely by 2021 blaming stress – and Brexit.  Of those who wanted to scale back their investments, three in five (61%) blamed red tape and tax changes, which 72% of participa ..read more

After a year of rising rents, prices levelled out in December, and even dipped in some areas.  The final Goodlord Rental Index of 2019 saw rents in most areas unchanged from November but in the North East average rent prices fell by 3%, from £607 to £588. Despite the stall in numbers, the figures cut an “encouraging note” during the traditional pre-Christmas slowdown, according to Goodlord,. Some areas did see rises: Greater London saw an increase in rent of 2%, while rent prices in the North West and Wales rose by 3%.  The average cost to rent a property in the UK during December ..read more

Landlord associations are urging the new Conservative government to ensure reforms to the buy-to-let sector benefit both landlords and tenants as section 21 moves a step closer to being abolished.  The Tories, who won a majority in the general election on December 12, pledged to end section 21 repossessions, and they appear to have kept their word with no-fault evictions set to be one of four key issues in Thursday’s Queen’s speech.  But alongside abolishing no-fault evictions, the Conservatives also promised to strengthen landlords’ rights of possession by reforming the law courts ..read more

Conservative and Labour proposals for the private rented sector have been criticised by landlord groups after both parties unveiled renter-centric pledges in their election manifestos. Boris Johnson said a Conservative majority government would “empower” renters and give them “greater piece of mind”. Should the party be returned to power in December’s election, the Tories would push forward with a plan to scrap Section 21. The National Landlords Association (NLA) said the Conservative Party manifesto did nothing to encourage and support landlords to continue investing in the sector and ..read more

Legal experts have called for greater protection for landlords after a tenant trashed a rental property and left owing £30,000 in rent.  Buy-to-let landlord David Wright was forced to issue his tenant with a notice to vacate after she missed several rent payments.  Wright is unlikely to recoup any of the unpaid rent, which he let accumulate over several months as he “felt sorry” for his tenant. He was also saddled with a £2,000 clean up bill after the tenant left the property in a “terrible state”, including piles of rubbish, ruined carpets and a filthy shower. Wright said the experie ..read more