search.noResults

search.searching

dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
Industry news


A third of millennials ‘face renting their entire life’


Foundation think tank has found. The Foundation's ‘Home Improvements’ report


U


says Generation Rent need much more help in the housing market. It called for more affordable homes for first-time buyers to be built, as well as better protection for those who rent. The think tank said 40 per cent of Millennials


(those born between 1980 and 1996) were living in rented housing by the age of 30, a figure that is twice as many as for Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980). Although renting is often a reasonable choice for people who have few ties, the private rented sector is "far less fit for purpose" for those with children because of a lack of security. It predicts an explosion in the housing benefits


bill once the Millennial generation reaches retirement age, with the housing benefit bill for pensioners forecast to rise by 250 per cent from £6.3bn today to £16bn by 2060. Lindsay Judge, senior policy analyst at the


Resolution Foundation, said: "Britain's housing problems have developed into a full-blown crisis and young people are bearing the brunt - paying a record share of their income on housing in return for living in smaller, rented accommodation. "While there have been some steps recently to


support housebuilding and first-time buyers, up to a third of Millennials still face the prospect of renting from cradle to grave. If we want to tackle Britain's housing crisis we have to improve conditions for the millions of families living in private rented accommodation. That means raising standards and


p to a third of young people face living in private rented accommodation for all of their lives, a new report by the Resolution


reducing the risks associating with renting through tenancy reform." The report says the tax system should be changed


to discourage second home ownership, reducing stamp duty for people who own one home and increasing surcharges for second home owners.


PRS OVERHAULL It also calls for a radical overhaul of the private rented sector, proposing a three-year cap on rent increases, limiting rises to the consumer price index inflation rate and the introduction of ‘indeterminate’ tenancies as the sole form of contract in England and Wales. These would replace the standard six-month or 12-month tenancies used by most landlords. They say this would follow Scotland’s lead, where


open-ended tenancies began in December 2017, and is the standard practice in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. Not surprisingly there was a robust reaction from


the private landlords body, who criticised any suggestion of rent controls. David Cox, Chief Executive of the Association of Residential Letting Agents, said: “The last time rent controls existed in this country, the private rented sector shrunk from 90 per cent (of all housing) to just seven per cent. “At a time of demand for private rented homes


massively outstripping supply, rent controls will cause the sector to shrink. In turn, this means professional landlords will only take the very best tenants and the vulnerable and low-income people that rent controls are designed to help will be forced into the hands of rogue and criminal operators, who may exploit them.”


Call for tax changes as young renters face ‘perfect storm’


The Residential Landlords Association has asked the Government to reconsider the way landlords are taxed after a report from the Resolution Foundation claimed 16 per cent of young people will never own their own home. Responding to the report RLA policy director


David Smith said Government needs to focus on pro-growth taxation policies to help landlords provide the extra homes to let that are needed. “The report shows the perfect storm that young


people face. With home ownership remaining difficult for many to access, demand for homes to rent continues to increase. This is at a time when Government tax increases are discouraging many landlords from investing in new homes to rent out. “Ministers need to make pragmatic changes to their approach to private rented housing, with a


series of policies that support, rather than attack, the majority of private landlords who are individuals to invest in the new homes to rent we need alongside all other tenures. “This includes greater support and


encouragement for those prepared to offer longer tenancies but who are concerned about being locked into agreements where tenants might be failing to pay their rent, not looking after their property or committing anti-social behaviour.” Surveys by the RLA’s research arm PEARL found


69 per cent of landlords are put off investing in further homes to rent as a result of the Government’s three per cent stamp duty levy on the purchase of homes to rent out. The RLA is calling for a number of reforms to support those in rented housing, including:


The Resolution Foundation’s report says that


public policy has failed to keep up with extraordinary changes in those who are renting. “In 2003, the number of children in owner-occupied housing outnumbered those in the private rented sector by eight to one. That ratio has now fallen to two to one.” Resolution’s intergenerational commission is also


calling for the UK to tax foreign investors in rented property more heavily, along the lines of Vancouver in Canada and Australia, where external buyers face levies of up to 15 per cent. It also sets out a number of reforms to improve the supply of houses in the UK, including giving local councils more powers to compulsorily acquire land and greater access to finance to build affordable homes.


• Waiving the stamp duty levy where landlords invest in property adding to the net overall supply of housing;


• Using a combination of tax incentives and improvements to the process for regaining possession of a home where tenants are neglecting it or not paying the rent (73 per cent of landlord have told the RLA that they would be encouraged to offer longer-term tenancies if such reforms were made);


• Action to stop mortgage providers from prohibiting landlords from offering longer tenancies (44 per cent of landlords have told the RLA that they have mortgage conditions that limit the maximum length of tenancy that can be offered);


• Establishing a new housing court to improve and speed up access to justice for tenants and landlords when things go wrong; and


• Providing relief from Capital Gains Tax where a landlord is prepared to sell a property to a sitting tenant to support first time home ownership.


www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM May 2018 | 13


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