Greedy landlords are putting up rents

The research by money.co.uk shows that almost half of Britain’s private landlords are planning to increase their rates by at least 4% this year. Around two million households will be affected by the hikes paying around £550 extra each per year. That’s collectively over one billion pounds of rent increases!


These hikes will come as bad news for many tenants already struggling to cope with rising inflation and the extra costs of the VAT hike.

But unfortunately rising costs hit landlords as well as tenants – so in many circumstances while rent increases are frustrating, they may also be justified. But it’s still important to know your rights as a tenant and be aware of what you can do if you believe your rent is being unfairly hiked.

Click here to read the full story Greedy landlords are putting up rents

NetRent Comment

This appears to be a classic case of provocative headline to grab the reader whilst the article says something quite different. However, there are some good points raised in the article, especially for tenants who may not understand their rights and landlords who might also be a bit fuzzy about what they can and can't do!

Further information can be obtained from our Landlord Resource Centre, please click here The Landlord Resource Centre.

House prices fall as first-time buyer numbers plummet

Continued evidence of a faltering housing market emerged today with Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) figures showing the number of first-time buyers plummeted by 42% year-on-year to 14,500 in December.


The number of first-time buyers in December fell by 3% from November giving a total of 194,600 loans granted to first-time buyers last year – down 1% in number on 2009's 198,200, and vastly lower than the average of 600,000 first-time buyers who bought a home 10 years ago.

The figures also showed that the total number of loans for house purchase fell 4% in December to 39,900. In total, 529,300 house purchase loans and 313,200 loans for remortgages were advanced last year. The CML, which yesterday also said home repossessions had fallen for the fourth month running, claimed its figures showed evidence of a stable but subdued mortgage market last year.

Click here to read the full article House prices fall as first-time buyer numbers plummet

Mary Portas: Estate Agent friend or foe?

Hats off to managing director Simon Gerrard and his team. Whatever your views about the format of the show and host Mary Portas’ view on the industry, we should be commending the North London agent for having the courage to allow Portas to dissect his family business on national TV.

So, what have we learnt? Tweets posted since the show aired on Channel 4 On Demand last night have been mixed, with many suggesting we’ve learnt nothing. I disagree. Firstly, the show addressed one of my biggest bugbears – failure to greet clients when walking through their door. Irrespective of where we are in the housing market cycle, every single person walking through an agency’s door should be made to feel welcome, appreciated, and that they are in the presence of a team with whom they want to do business.

Click here to read the full article Mary Portas: Estate Agent friend or foe?

NetRent Comment

It would be easy to dismiss the programme as just entertainment, or worse still just another attack on Estate Agents but that would miss the central point. We all like to feel valued, especially when we are paying for the service. Both Estate and Letting Agents can learn a great deal from the programme - and so too can Landlords.

We know from tenants that contact us that far too many Agents and Landlords regard tenants as fodder. In far too many cases Agents and Landlords fail to realise that tenants, both new and existing, are the reason that Agents and Landlords are in business and any business should look after and value it's customers. The stakes are too high to get this simple message wrong.

If you would like to comment on the programme or any other aspect of letting then please do so via the NetRent Forum. Please click here the NetRent Forum.

Edinburgh Council's Inside Letting Welfare Reform Special Edition

We are very pleased to let you know about the latest edition of Edinburgh Council's excellent on-line publication for landlords. In this issue of Inside Letting you will find an explanation about how changes to housing benefit will affect you and your tenants

The forthcoming Housing Benefit / Local Housing Allowance changes will transform large parts of the private rented sector.

You might think that these changes won't affect you because you don't have any tenants who receive Local Housing Allowance (LHA). Remember, LHA is normally paid directly to tenants so you won't necessarily know whether your tenants depend on LHA to help pay their rent.

Click here to view Inside Letting

London council looks to private landlords to cut waiting list

In a "London first", Harrow Council has set up a letting agency to match residents on the housing waiting list with private landlords.

Called Help2Let, the agency is a way to bridge the gap between the high demand for social housing and a lack of supply, which is getting worse due to reductions in government funding and the impact of the recession. The council said it ensures the less well off who are unable to secure social housing are not forced to find sub-standard accommodation.

Under the scheme, the council puts residents in need of social housing in touch with approved private landlords, whose properties must meet set standards. This tenant finding service is paid for by the landlords, who in turn receive expert advice and support from an account manager in the Help2Let team. In addition, the council provides landlords with a two month rent guarantee bond.

Click here to read the full story London council looks to private landlords to cut waiting list

Mary Portas goes shopping at estate agents

Mary Portas, Queen of Shops, is focusing on estate agents in her Secret Shopper programme this Wednesday evening (C4, 9pm), in particular Simon Gerrard, boss of north London’s highly reputable Martyn Gerrard.


Judging by the blurb, he may have wished she’d done the usual telly thing and gone to Foxtons:

“Mary wants to start a revolution in the world of estate agents.

“Buying a house is the most important purchase of our lives, but Mary thinks estate agents have been letting us down in a big way. Last year complaints rocketed by 40% and Mary’s secret cameras show why."

Click here to read the full article Mary Portas goes shopping at estate agents

A lifetime of renting? No thanks, say under-30s

Almost all young people under 30 want to make buying a home a top priority, and don’t want to settle for long-term renting.

The poll, of 2,465 consumers of all ages, blows wide open the theory that more and more will go the European way and choose to be tenants for lifestyle reasons.

People under 30 are more opposed than any other age group to ‘continental’ models of tenure in which families routinely rent for the duration of their adult lives.

Some 90% of 18 to 29-year-olds would not be happy if they had to live in rented accommodation for the rest of their working lives. A majority (64%) do not want to start a family while they are renting and 43% do not want to get married until they own their own home

Click her to read to full article A lifetime of renting? No thanks, say under-30s

NetRent Comment

This poll was conducted for Barratt Homes and it's findings may not surprise anyone, but the reality of buying a home is now beyond many people. Whether or not this situation changes relies on a combination of factors, the biggest of which is the lack of competitive mortgage lending.

Young people who are currently renting are finding it increasingly difficult to save for the larger deposits demanded by lenders. If first time buyers are prevented from entering the housing market then the whole housing market suffers. It is vital that methods are found to enable first time buyers to get onto the housing ladder, without first time buyers the whole housing market will eventually stagnate.

Ministers Urged To Support Better Landlords

Ministers have been urged to avoid a looming housing benefit crisis after new research revealed that welfare cuts may spark an exodus of better landlords from the housing benefit sector.


Data launched at the British Property Federation's (BPF) Residential Conference this morning showed that almost nine in ten landlords (88.3%) would not reduce their rents to claimants, despite the raft of cuts to the housing benefit received by tenants announced by the government.

This flies in the face of government's key argument in favour of the changes – that landlords would reduce their rents in line with housing benefit cuts – and suggests that the high demand for homes in many areas will simply prompt landlords to instead let their properties to paying tenants.

Click here for the full story Ministers Urged To Support Better Landlords

NetRent Comment

Private landlords are not charitable organisations and should not be expected to reduce rents to fit in with Government housing policies. Landlords are even more reluctant to listen to a Government that will not listen to them. If the Government re-introduced direct payment of Local Housing Allowance and seriously reduced the amount of red tape then perhaps landlords would be able to reduce rents, they would certainly be more willing to listen to the Government.

In addition to restoring direct LHA payments and reducing red tape the Government should also persuade the banks it now owns on our behalf to start lending to the Buy-to-Let market again. There are many landlords who would be pleased to expand their portfolios but cannot due to the restrictive lending criteria imposed by the 'nationalised' banks.

Landlords owed more than £267 million in unpaid rent

Figures recently released for December show that landlords in the UK are owed a staggering £267 million in unpaid rent. Unpaid rent increased from 9.7% in November to 11.7% according to the LSL December buy-to-let index.

This shocking news prompted Ian Fletcher, director of policy at the British Property Federation to say: "Christmas is an expensive month for all with the pressure to ensure presents under the tree come the 25th. But Christmas should not be bankrolled by long suffering landlords by not passing on December's rent."

We agree with Ian Fletcher, but most worryingly we believe that this increase in unpaid rent is set to continue upwards. Landlords who rent their properties to DSS tenants have seen a dramatic change in their income since the introduction of Local Housing Allowance. More and more tenants unused to dealing with their rent struggle to balance their spending and it is often their landlords who suffer with unpaid or late rent. Despite a torrent of warnings and complaints from landlords the Government have still to address this problem.

Local authorities across the UK have been deluged with complaints from landlords who have not had their rents paid. In landlord forum meetings council employees have faced a barrage of justifiable anger from landlords who face serious cash flow issues because tenants have spent their rent elsewhere.

But this problem is not confined to the benefits sector, working people are now under serious pressure as the cuts following the recession start to bite. Young people in particular are vulnerable to redundancy and job changes and young people make up the majority of the private rented sector tenants.

Landlords need to take action to protect themselves from the affects of unpaid rent. We have always advised landlords to take up comprehensive references on prospective tenants. In addition products like rent and legal protection can be added to landlord insurance policies - but a word of warning, ensure that you clearly understand how you can make a claim on these policies. Far too many rent and legal policies have clauses that make it difficult or impossible to actually make a claim.

Through NetRent.co.uk landlords can actually guarantee their rent is paid on time and in full. Our business partners Rent on Time will guarantee that your rent is paid every month, on time, whether the tenant pays or not. Please click on the links below for more information.

Please click here for more information about guaranteeing your rent - Rent on Time through NetRent.co.uk

Please click here for information about rent & legal protection - Landlord Insurance through NetRent.co.uk

Please click here for tenant referencing through Experian - Tenant Referencing

For more information about all aspects of renting property please click here - The Landlord Resource Centre

Street-level crime maps launched online

New online crime maps for England and Wales have been launched, allowing users to see which offences have been reported in their local streets.

Home Secretary Theresa May said people had lost confidence in national crime figures, and the maps would give real facts and make police more accountable.

The public can search for information on crime and anti-social behaviour by entering a street name or postcode.

Click here to read the full story Street-level crime maps launched online

NetRent Comment

It is highly likely that tenants will use this website before making a decision on renting a property, especially as the amount of information on the site grows. Landlords and house purchasers are also very likely to use the site.

It will be interesting to see if this encourages landlords to get more involved in the areas where they own property. The previous Government tried to make landlords more responsible for the behaviour of their tenants but that met with only limited success. The information contained on this website may have a much greater impact.