Tenants with pets are finding themselves increasingly disadvantaged in the rental market. A recent article from the Guardian found that many landlords are now charging ‘pet rent’ of up to £50 per month – sometimes for each individual pet. This can make it much more expensive to rent a home, but why has it started happening, and what are the alternatives?
Figures show that HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupancy) are now the second largest rental sector in the UK with some 4.3 million households taking advantage of this low cost housing option, including many visitors from overseas. Although HMOs are a smart solution for many, they are open to abuse and, the police authority is now calling for information sharing to help keep tabs on this growing sector.
The government recently announced that the budget for its Future High Streets fund is to be substantially increased, from £675m to £1 billion. This means that a lot more local areas will be able to benefit from grants to help them redevelop their high streets, and there will almost certainly be knock-on effects for local businesses and the private rented sector.
If you are considering buying a home in the near future, one of the options available to you may be the Help to Buy scheme.
This government scheme helps home buyers to buy a property with a deposit as small as 5% of the property’s value.
A new report commissioned by the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has found that the government’s Universal Credit benefits scheme is forcing huge numbers of tenants into rent arrears. The report (available in PDF format here) was based on a survey of more than 2,000 landlords carried out between March and May 2019. Of the landlords who responded, more than half of those with tenants who were on Universal Credit reported that their tenants had got into arrears during the previous year, with an average shortfall of £2,187.
Next month will mark the beginning of a fairer deal for Welsh tenants as a ban on unfair letting fees comes into place.
