Tenants will almost certainly have to pay higher rents because of the government's policy to improve all housing stock's energy efficiency performances.

Reducing carbon emissions of 'homes' means that heating, ventilation, insulation and even types of fuel must be of a certain standard otherwise property owners will be prosecuted. Upgrading the residential energy efficiency is expensive and at the end of the day some of these costs will be placed onto the tenants.

Cars and planes receive the most media coverage about being responsible for a large amount of emissions; however homes are twice as high.

A high percentage of rented properties that were built before 1919 will have to undergo major work to be compliant with the government's measures that come into force in 2018. If the properties do not meet the required level then they will not be able to be rented out. The costs for the improvements will eventually be handed down to tenants through increased rents.

The government is heavily criticised by an association in the private rented sector, as it made no reference to the PRS in its consultation on the future ECO (Energy Company Obligation).

The ECO focus was to be on how to combat fuel poverty and it proposes to extend the scheme to social sector which receives heavy subsidies as fewer of it homes and consequently tenants suffer from fuel poverty.

The government had provided subsidies to private landlords to improve energy efficiency in the Green Deal coupled with tax allowances. Since stopping this support it will cost landlords up to £5,000 to comply.

A spokesperson for the an association Richard Jones, said: “Whilst we all want to see improvements in the energy efficiency of homes to rent, that cannot come at the expense of driving up rents.

“The government’s proposals will amount simply to another tax on tenants.”

It is common knowledge that lettings agents charge tenants fees (except in Scotland) when they first sign up to a rental contract. The fees vary widely as tenants can be charged anything from £50 to £500 when moving in.

However very few landlords may be aware that the government has plans to abolish many of the fees, perhaps even scrapping all of the letting agents’ fees charged to tenants throughout the UK.

A major UK online letting agent has just released their research that claims more than half of landlords (54%) are unaware of the government’s plans. Baroness Grenader has proposed changes to the Renters’ Rights Bills that will abolish letting agents’ fees and in some cases landlords.

The research surprisingly states that the majority of landlords who are aware of the proposed changes do not seem perplexed at all; of course tenants are extremely happy if the government goes ahead.

The online lettings agent feels that perhaps the government is making a mistake by abolishing the fees as far more tenants (60%) would opt for a cap on rents instead of capping agents’ fees.
In a statement the firm proposes that “maybe the government should focus more of its efforts on increasing supply rather than the removal of tenant’s fees, as this would reduce the rent prices nationally and save tenants more money in the long run.”

It is understandable from a letting agent’s viewpoint to suggest that government caps rents rather than their fees. However in the long run a rent cap could have a decided effect on PRS, it hasn’t worked for previous governments and lower yields will determine whether new landlords expand the market, or existing ones increase their portfolios...which of course will mean fewer rented properties to manage.

Numbers Of Landlords In Buy-To-Let Arrears Are Decreasing

The good news is that the number of landlords who are three months or more behind with their buy-to-let mortgages has dropped from 9,300, in the first three months of this year, down to 8,500 in the second quarter.

Brexit will not stop the fall of landlords in arrears as a finance company predicts that numbers could drop as low as 7,000 by the end of the year. The Managing Director of the finance company, David Whitaker, is basing the prediction on the Council of Mortgage Lenders official figures.

David Whitaker said: “The referendum result was unexpected, the precise impact is unknown, and it is still rather early to tell what will happen.

“But we have seen no let-up in demand for buy to let mortgages and we don’t expect to see any change in the downward trend in buy to let arrears as a result.

“Landlords are confident – and lenders have no reason to feel any differently.”

At the end of first three months of 2015, buy to let mortgage arrears fell by 25 per cent from 11,300, largely due to low interest rates.

David Whittaker concludes: “There are many landlords out there who still need finance, particularly professionals who are in the process of remortgaging to secure a solid five year fixed rate or selling their personally-owned portfolios to their limited companies.”

Parents Now Funding Buy-To-Let Properties For Their Kids

There now seems to be a change from parents helping their children to buy their first homes to people using their parents’ money to purchase buy-to-let properties.

Many new buyers are opting to purchase buy-to-let properties in areas that are more affordable to get onto the property ladder.

More than £5 billion every year is given by grandparents and parents to help their children buy properties which are being snapped up in the East and West Midlands, house prices are more affordable and one can expect to achieve rental yields of 5-6%.

A report was conducted by a company that provides mover conveyancing services, claims that gifted deposits in the East and West Midlands have risen by 6 % and 12% per cent.

CEO of the company, Doug Crawford, said: “When we talk about the Bank of Mum and Dad, people usually think of first-time buyers who are struggling to afford their first home.

“It is interesting that these investors, those who have had the deposit gifted, have made the decision to buy in areas outside of the Capital – suggesting that they either wanted to make their money go further by buying in less expensive locations, or there just wasn’t the stock available to buy in London.”

More Retirees Are Now Renting

A poll claims that since 2012 the number of people who have retired and are now living in rented property has increased by 200,000.

Those who are 65 years and over living in rented homes, has increased by 13% over the last four years, there is a high concentration of 17% in the south east with just 3% in London. Throughout the North West 15% of retirees live in rental accommodation, the West Midlands have 8%, whilst East midlands and North East both have 4%.

Surprisingly numbers of landlords who renting out properties to this age group have dropped and since 2012 it has fallen from 19% to 9%, which could be down to increasing competition for tenants.

Carolyn Uphill, the spokesperson the organisation that held the poll, said: “More and more people are turning to private rented housing at every stage of their lives, including in retirement. Landlords appreciate the stability and assurances often provided by older households, but are finding it increasingly difficult to build businesses around the needs of potentially vulnerable tenants. Successive cuts to the welfare budget, uncertainty about pension provisions, and the devastating impact of the Government’s tax changes are likely to mean that private landlords will soon be unable provide homes in high cost areas like Central London for anyone without a well-paying job.

“As the proportion of retired renters continues to grow there’s a real worry that homes won’t be available in the private sector, forcing people to look further afield – leaving communities they have known and contributed to for decades.”