Brandon Lewis MP Multimillion pound fund to to deliver 200,000 UK new homes
Housing minister Brandon Lewis unwittingly put a smile on the face of the UK’s 1.5 million private landlords when he announced a multimillion pound fund to help deliver 200,000 new homes on brownfield sites across the country.
The minister said this will enable councils to bring forward plans to develop brownfield sites of 100 homes or more, making it quicker and easier for developers to get work started. But the government’s update to its actions on housing delivery is too little, too late.
In 2012/13, a post-war low of 135,500 homes were built in the UK. Although that figure rose to 141,000 homes in the last financial year, it is still well short of the 240,000 homes the Labour Party said were needed to be built each year by 2016.
This is why three-quarters of the British public think we are suffering from a housing crisis. Research by the Chartered Institute of Housing reveals the situation is felt most sharply by people who live in London and tenants.
Eight out of 10 (81%) Greater London residents say there is a housing crisis in Britain and three-quarters (76%) agree there is a housing crisis in their local area. Meanwhile, eight out of 10 (81%) tenants also say there is a housing crisis in Britain while 60% agreed there is a housing crisis in their local area.
Private rented sector is growing
Change in relative size of the Private Rented Sector from 2001 to 2011 for households renting from private landlord or letting agency – Image Source: Author’s calculations taken from Office for National Statistics (2013)
Prices rise when supply is short, which explains why the percentage of owner-occupiers is falling and privately rented households are on the up. In fact, the private rented sector accounted for 4m households in 2012/13, exceeding the social rented sector which now numbers 3.7m households.
But landlords who base their return around the rising property values that are a consequence of a shortage of supply could be missing out on a significant chunk of income. The most successful landlords make rental income a large part of their rental return. And the best way both buy-to-let and accidental landlords can maximise this is to carry out regular maintenance on their properties.
The first is a Property Maintenance Details Sheet. No matter what size your property empire is, it’s easy to lose track on where things like the stop-cock and electricity meter are located. The free download can be printed out and filled in for each rental property you own. As well as keeping a copy for yourself to hand to tradesmen before they visit the property to carry out maintenance or repairs, it is also advisable to attach a copy to the back of the tenancy agreement.
All content on this form and other forms for landlords published by Property Division are provided “as is”, with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy or timeliness, and without representations, warranties or other contractual terms of any kind, express or implied. Property Division does not represent or warrant that this letter or other material supplied by Property Division will be accurate, current, uninterrupted, error-free or omission-free.
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The information presented on this site should not be construed as legal or any other professional advice or service. You should consult with a professional adviser familiar with your particular factual situation for advice concerning specific legal or other matters before making any decision.
Property Division is also giving you a Property Maintenance Activity Log. This free download allows you to not only keep track of maintenance activity that has taken place in each property you own, but will also serve as a reminder as to whether the same fault is recurring.
All content on this form and other forms for landlords published by Property Division are provided “as is”, with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy or timeliness, and without representations, warranties or other contractual terms of any kind, express or implied. Property Division does not represent or warrant that this letter or other material supplied by Property Division will be accurate, current, uninterrupted, error-free or omission-free.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, PROPERTY DIVISION DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY TO YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE IN RESPECT OF THE CONTENT ON THIS SITE AND ALL SERVICES PROVIDED THROUGH IT, WHETHER UNDER ANY THEORY OF TORT, CONTRACT, WARRANTY, STRICT LIABILITY OR NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE, AND WHETHER IN RESPECT OF DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR SIMILAR DAMAGES, EVEN IF PROPERTY DIVISION WAS ADVISED, KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
The information presented on this site should not be construed as legal or any other professional advice or service. You should consult with a professional adviser familiar with your particular factual situation for advice concerning specific legal or other matters before making any decision.
Why you need to keep track of your maintenance programme
1. It’s the law
As a landlord, you have a legal responsibility to ensure gas equipment is safely installed and maintained by a Gas Safe-registered engineer. You must also ensure your property’s electrical system is safe and, if your property is an HMO, provide fire alarms and extinguishers that are in working order.
Tenants don’t always know how to carry out even basic maintenance on a property, and often won’t tell you about problems until they leave. Regular checks will give you a good idea about the state of your property, and allow you to maintain its rental value.
And don’t be tempted to put off fixing faults in order to save money. The fault won’t go away and is likely to end up costing you more.
3. Good records can provide evidence to tenants and authorities
Tenants have a tendency to believe that a problem has been going on longer than it actually has. Remember, you are only responsible for sorting something out from the time the problem is made known to you. Your Property Maintenance Activity Log will allow you to record the dates that the faults were identified and the actions you have taken so that you can present the facts to your tenants.
But don’t take our word for it. Valerie Bannister, president of the Association of Residential Letting Agents, advises: “The winter months bring along a whole plethora of problems that unfortunately many landlords do not foresee until it is too late and they have been lumbered with a hefty bill. Maintaining property in the winter is important, not only to reduce the likelihood of damage and unwelcome costs, but also to ensure tenants are provided with good quality accommodation. By undertaking simple property maintenance on a regular basis, risks can be kept to a minimum.”
