HOMES & GARDENS / PROPERTY Battle of the amenities
When selling a house, the close proximity to local amenities, or even just their presence in the area, can be a selling point to potential buyers. But how important are they and which in particular take precedence? Leading online estate agent, www.
eMoov.co.uk, surveyed more than 1,000 UK homeowners to discover as buyers, which local amenities mattered the most when searching for a property. The great British corner shop topped the list, with nearly half (43%) of those asked placing it as the most important. The convenience of popping to the shop for a loaf of bread beat the dominance of Britain’s supermarket chains to the top spot, with the presence of a nearby mainstream supermarket only the second most important amenity (30%) to buyers. This said, the majority of corner shops have now become a hybrid of the supermarket. Shops like Tesco Express or Sainsbury’s Local offer a larger variety of goods, but with the convenience of a corner shop location.
Top 5 most important amenities on your doorstep 1. Corner shop – 43%
2. Mainstream supermarket – 30% 3. Hospital – 19%
4. Budget supermarket – 12% 5. Restaurant – 10%
Although not your traditional amenity, the close proximity of the local hospital was also high in importance, with 19% of those surveyed placing it as signifi cant in the decision-making process. While us Brits opt to spend a bit extra on our shopping, it would seem that’s as far as we are willing to go when it comes to treating ourselves to dinner, as just 10% stated the presence of a local restaurant was an appealing factor. Russell Quirk, Founder and CEO of
www.indexmagazine.co.uk
eMoov.co.uk, said: “It’s interesting to break down the term ‘local amenities’ and see which are actually the most appealing to potential buyers. It won’t surprise many that a local restaurant is the least in demand, but it’s great to see buyers still value the local corner shop as it’s somewhat of a British institution.”
RENTAL ROUND-UP
New safety regulations for landlords
New rules to protect private sector tenants came into force on 1st October – and landlords now face a fi ne of up to £5,000 if they fail to comply. The changes are contained in The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 and mean all private sector landlords will have to install and maintain working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in all rental properties. Failure to comply
means that a local authority which has knowledge, or reasonable grounds to believe that a landlord is in breach, can serve a remedial notice giving 28 days in which to remedy matters. If the landlord doesn’t comply a fi ne of up to £5,000 can be levied. So what are the new rules? • All landlords of private residential rental properties are required to install a smoke
130
alarm on each storey of the premises on which there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation. • Landlords of such properties are obliged to install carbon monoxide alarms in any room of the premises which is used wholly or partly as living accommodation and which contains a solid fuel burning combustion appliance. While this doesn’t currently apply to gas appliances it’s likely the gas safety regulations may be updated in the future. • Landlords are required to make checks to ensure that each alarm installed is in proper working order on the day a new tenancy begins, if it’s a tenancy that began after 1st October 2015. • As best practice,
landlords are advised to keep records of the checks that they carry out.
Right to Rent checks introduced
From 1st February 2016 all private landlords in England will have to check new tenants have the right to be in the UK before
renting out their property, the Government has announced. Under the new rules, landlords who fail to check a potential tenant’s ‘Right to Rent’ will face penalties of up to £3,000 per tenant.
The new law will mean that private
landlords, including those who sub-let or take in lodgers, must check the right of prospective tenants to be in the country. Right to Rent was introduced in the Immigration Act 2014 as part of the Government’s reforms to build a fairer and more effective immigration system. Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said: “Right to Rent checks are quick and simple, and many responsible landlords already do them as a matter of routine. We are providing landlords in England with all the advice and support they need before the checks go live on 1st February 2016.” Under Right to Rent, landlords should check identity documents for all new tenants and take copies. The scheme has been designed to make it straightforward for people to evidence their right to rent and a range of commonly available documents can be used. The checks are backed up by codes of practice – including guidance on avoiding unlawful discrimination that was drawn up with the assistance of the Human Rights Commission. • Guidance can be found at
www.gov.uk
www.indexmagazine.co.uk getting married? –
www.planningyourwedding.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148