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Tenant Safety must come first in Tier 4 areas

Tenant Safety Must Come First

As the country is once again living in lockdown, the government’s latest guidance to Letting Agents is to put the safety of their tenants first. Agents are encouraged to remain supportive where ever possible and help keep tenants in their homes. Remote checks should also be the preferred option where new or tenancies or renewals are required, the guidelines state.

Edinburgh to Introduce Short-Lets Regulation

As the subject of the regulation of short property let activity on sites such as Airbnb remains a hot topic, Edinburgh will be one of the first UK cities to introduce rules for the sector. This will include identifying areas of the city where short lets will be permitted, to help manage the supply of longer-term residential lets and short holiday lets in the popular Scottish capital.

UK Rental Homes Rise to Record High in 2020

A recent survey snapshot suggests the number of rental homes across the UK rose to a record high in 2020 with letting agents managing over 200 properties on average. The survey also shows that even as many landlords and property investors chose to sell up, only around one third of tenants experienced rent rises.

Government Consults on Retail to Residential Conversion

While the coronavirus pandemic has affected many areas of people's lives, often not in a positive way, one development that has been embraced by many of us in the UK is the increased use of online shopping and services options. This has escalated the rate at which mainly online retailers are growing and also, the rate at which some bricks and mortar retailers are losing business. Amid this development and the continued lack of residential homes in the right areas across the UK, the government has launched an unexpected consultation on the conversion of retail units into residential homes in England.

UK Government Announces £15mn Extra Funding for Vulnerable Homeless

Homelessness in the UK is something that doesn't often make headline news. That's despite an increase in the number of households who have become homeless during the pandemic. Following recent figures showing an increase in the number of homeless households in the UK in the three months to the end of June, the Government has announced £15 million of new funding to support homelessness through the Protect Programme. 

Rural Rents Rise as City Locations Lose Out

As the end of a difficult year comes into sight, recent research delivers an unusual result in the UK's rental market; average rents in countryside locations rose in October, while city properties proved less popular with tenants and rents fell. This dynamic, which is a reversal from the same time a year earlier, means the difference in average rents between the two locations has narrowed.