Property News

Calls for ‘ethical consideration’ of short-term lets as 3,000 second homes registered in south-west in pandemicTourists heading to holiday homes in the south-west of England are being urged to check before they travel if their rental will worsen the area’s affordable housing crisis.The call for “ethical consideration” of the potential negative impact of short-term […]

More than 500 larvae will be released in Hampshire and Cornwall as part of a four-year project to revive the declining speciesThey once lit up summer nights, people read by their luminescence and they’ve been celebrated by everyone from William Shakespeare to Crowfoot, a 19th-century North American chief.But glowworms have had their lights dimmed […]

Shelter says a private tenant is handed notice every seven minutes despite government promise to ban practice in April 2019More than 200,000 private renters have been served eviction notices without doing anything wrong in the three years since the government first promised to ban the practice, housing campaigners have claimed.Every seven minutes a tenant […]

Serious health and safety risks costing NHS £340m a year, public accounts committee report findsMore than one in eight privately rented homes in England pose a serious threat to people’s health and safety, costing the NHS about £340m a year, according to a report from a committee of MPs.It also uncovered evidence of unlawful […]

In England last year a home cost an average of 9.1 times earnings – up from 7.9 in 2020House price rises outstripped wage growth in more than 90% of England and Wales last year, according to official data that prompted talk of a possible full-blown “affordability crisis”.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said house […]

Research underscores the growing importance for owners of rental yields over capital growth Source : ft.com Read more…North-east England outpaces London in buy-to-let returns

Exclusive: figures show Covid has not deterred people from moving to Manchester and other city centresCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageWhen Covid hit in 2020, it was a nerve-racking time for many urban developers. As gardens – or the countryside – seemed ever more important for locked-down house hunters, some wondered if […]

Lords claim flagship £29bn policy would have been better spent on social housing Source : ft.com Read more…Help to Buy has pushed up house prices in England, says report

Workspace declined 2% last year as construction stalled and developers adapted to flexible working Source : ft.com Read more…England’s office space shrinks by millions of square feet

Charity estimates 55,000 ordered to leave privately rented homes in past 3 months Source : ft.com Read more…200,000 children in England face winter eviction, warns Shelter

The average house price on Tite Street in Chelsea is £28.9m, says mortgage lender HalifaxIt was once home to literary and artistic greats including Oscar Wilde, but now Tite Street in west London has a new claim to fame after Halifax named it the most expensive street in England and Wales, with an average […]

Resolution Foundation says biggest rise for decade of 4.1% will coincide with higher taxes, rising inflation and soaring energy billsAlmost 5 million families in social housing in England are facing the biggest rent hike for a decade from April amid a mounting cost of living squeeze, according to a report.The Resolution Foundation thinktank said […]

Peatland vital carbon store but campaigners say lack of immediate action makes plan a ‘damp squib’The sale of peat to gardeners in England and Wales is to be banned by 2024 under plans published by the government on Saturday. Ministers said they also aimed to end peat use in the professional horticulture sector by […]

Bank wants to scrap rule that borrowers must be able to afford rate rise of three percentage pointsThe Bank of England has announced plans to ease mortgage lending rules in a move that could help thousands of first-time buyers get on to the property ladder.The central bank said it wanted to remove a requirement […]

Residents of East Asia and tax havens lead flood of buyers over past decade Source : ft.com Read more…Foreign ownership of homes in England and Wales triples

Lights switched on and off, and the temperature would suddenly changeIn 1999, I was in my mid-40s and had just escaped from my stressful and joyless career as a management consultant. I needed a project. I loved small period buildings and decided to throw my energy into restoring one; I started combing through auction […]

Number of families renting privately has doubled in two decades but many are living in dangerous homesPressure is growing on the government to introduce a registration scheme to help councils target rogue landlords renting out thousands of dangerous homes to families.A white paper spelling out the government’s plans for raising standards in the private […]

Mortgage lenders continuing to offer lower interest rates amid price war sparked by stamp duty tax cutA mortgage price war that has brought the cost of monthly payments down over the last year is expected to continue until at least next month despite warnings that lenders’ profit margins could be squeezed by a hike […]

Source : ft.com Read more…Demand for private rented housing in England and Wales hits 5-year high

Scope of existing plans to reform leasehold contracts should be expanded Source : ft.com Read more…Fixing England’s home service charge scandal

Sales, new inquires and price expectations have softened, according to monthly survey Source : ft.com Read more…Housing market in England and Wales loses momentum

Many flats left effectively unsellable as government struggles with aftermath of Grenfell disaster Source : ft.com Read more…England’s cladding crisis leaves 2m as ‘mortgage prisoners’ in own homes

Builder Vistry Group reports strong demand but warns market could slow next year Source : ft.com Read more…House sales surge in England despite threat of recession

From January 2021, any of Hong Kong’s 2.9 million BN(O) passport holders – and their immediate dependants – will be able to apply for a special visa which gives them the opportunity to live in the UK for five years and a path to permanent residency.The announcement has sent BN(O) passport holders scrambling for […]

Critics fear proposed reforms will fail to help those most in need Source : ft.com Read more…England planning shake-up provides few affordable housing guarantees

Better foundations are needed for a new Bath, Belgravia and Bournville  Source : ft.com Read more…A flawed plan to solve England’s housing shortage

There was good news this week for 4.3 million homeowners. But it’s not time to celebrate yetA report by the Law Commission published this week should have made uplifting reading for the 4.3 million homeowners in England and Wales trapped in our feudal leasehold system. It appeared to (finally) spell the end to many […]

Fears stamp duty holiday could be swallowed up by competitive house biddingVirtual viewings, no open-house tours, and getting out of the city are the order of the day for would-be homebuyers spurred to action by this week’s announcement of a stamp duty holiday on the first £500,000 paid for a new homeEstate agents have […]

Median rent was highest in London – at £1,425 a month – according to ONS data Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage Private-sector rents in England hit a record high of £700 a month just as the country was heading into coronavirus lockdown, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics […]

More and more lenders halt such deals despite the English housing market reopening First-time buyers in England are being locked out of the recently reopened housing market because there are hardly any mortgages available to those who can only manage a 10% deposit, it emerged this week.Mortgage lenders have been busy pulling home loan […]

Ministers seek to cut red tape to accelerate approval process for developers Source : ft.com Read more…England’s planning system set for shake-up

We would like to hear from people who are relocating outside cities due to the coronavirus pandemicWith estate agents in England allowed to conduct viewings via video or appointments where people are physical distancing, some have noticed an increase in people wanting to move out of cities amid a rise in home working.Whether you […]

Online agent says pent-up demand is firming up asking prices but data shows London market has failed to reboundProperty sales in most of England have swiftly rebounded to the same levels they were just before the lockdown, although London lags behind the rest of the country and markets in Scotland and Wales remain closed, […]

The new laws have become increasingly complex as restrictions start to ease Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageOff to play tennis or purchase fresh dahlias? Changes to emergency health protection regulations have significantly altered the laws restricting our ability to leave home and travel during the coronavirus crisis.Although more permissive than the […]

Customers flock to buy plants after forced lockdown as owners worry closures came at worst time of year Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSpaced 2 metres apart, many wearing masks and gloves, customers were queueing outside Chessington garden centre in Surrey at 8am on Wednesday morning, an hour before the doors were […]

More than 400,000 UK transactions have been on hold since shutdown in March Source : ft.com Read more…Property market in England starts slow return to work

Estate agents back to work on Wednesday as new laws permit key house-hunting activitiesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe housing market in England has been given the green light to reopen after seven weeks of lockdown, with renters and buyers allowed to move home and view properties as long as they observe […]

Bills could fall by 20% if system mirrored house price growth over past 30 years, says IFSMore than 10m households would benefit from lower council tax bills if the government reformed the “arbitrary and unfair” annual property charge to reflect the growing divide between London and the south-east and the rest of England.The Institute […]

Generation Rent says majority believe landlords should foot bill for making tenants movePrivate renters in England are losing out on about £70m a year when landlords kick them out as missed time at work, cleaning bills and moving costs stack up to £1,400 each on average, housing campaigners say.An estimated 146,000 households have been […]

Research shows people in need outnumber those on social waiting lists by two to oneMore than 8 million people, equivalent to the population of London, are living in unsuitable housing in England, according to analysis suggesting the scale of the housing crisis could be far worse than officially estimated.Research by Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh […]

Brexit uncertainty takes toll but prices climb slowly in east Midlands and east of EnglandHouse prices have fallen across the south of England for the first time since the last recession in 2009, as Brexit uncertainty holds down the property market.In a sign that falling prices in London are spreading to other regions as […]

Regulation chief says stricter rules could be imposed as price war threatens stability The Bank of England has raised a red flag over the state of the mortgage market, warning lenders that stricter rules could be imposed if they take on too much risk.The head of the Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority, which is responsible […]

I interviewed private landowners across the UK – if we want to stop them trading what is morally ours, we need radical changeFour years ago I asked a simple question about our most basic resource that feeds, waters and houses the nation, while providing energy, timber, recreation for millions and much else besides. Why […]

Research by author reveals corporations and aristocrats are the biggest landownersHalf of England is owned by less than 1% of its population, according to new data shared with the Guardian which seeks to penetrate the secrecy that has traditionally surrounded land ownership.The findings, described as “astonishingly unequal”, suggest that about 25,000 landowners – typically […]

Slide driven by London and south-east slowdown as Brexit chaos seems to put off buyersHouse prices fell in England for the first time in seven years in the first three months of 2019, dragged lower by the traditional property hotspots of London and the south-east in a sign that Brexit turmoil is putting off […]

Only 5% of those who complained about conditions were protected by councilsJust one in 20 private tenants who complain to their council about poor living conditions gets protection from a revenge eviction by their landlord, according to figures released today.Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the housing campaign group Generation Rent […]

Long-term vacant homes now account for £53.6bn of property, analysis findsThe number of empty homes across England has risen for the second consecutive year to more than 216,000, the highest level since 2012, according to official figures.The number of long-term vacant properties – those that have been empty for at least six months – […]

More than 300,000 households squeezed into too few rooms, official figures showOvercrowding in social housing has increased to the highest level since government records began 24 years ago with more than 300,000 households in England squeezed into too few rooms, official figures have revealed. Related: Council houses were once a glory of the public […]

Aberdeen and Cambridge suffer sharpest falls since 2016 Brexit voteHouse prices have grown fastest since the UK voted to leave the EU in cities in the Midlands, the north of England, Wales and Scotland, according to the property website Zoopla.Birmingham (up 16%), Manchester and Leicester (both up 15%) have seen the fastest growth since […]

Commission including Sayeeda Warsi and Ed Miliband has been researching ways to tackle housing crisis‘Bounced from place to place’: the unsettled lives of housing crisis victimsEngland must launch the biggest council and social house building drive in its history to rescue millions of people from a future in dangerous, overcrowded or unsuitable homes, a […]

By converting an old Quakers house, Habitat for Humanity is tackling the rise in homelessness in a wealthy southern town Source : ft.com Read more…Working but homeless: a tale from England’s housing crisis

Third-quarter fall follows years of rising receipts, with thresholds and Brexit blamed Government revenue from stamp duty on property sales fell by a tenth in the third quarter of 2018 compared with the same period last year, with the Treasury’s coffers now likely to fall more than £1bn short of earlier forecasts.Behind the fall […]

North-south property trend will be reversed over next five years, according to Savills House prices are forecast to rise strongly in northern England, the Midlands, Wales and Scotland over the next five years, far outstripping London’s single-digit rate and reversing the trend of previous decades, according to a report.Savills, the upmarket estate agent, predicts […]

One man let out a shed as a home, while another treated his tenants to pigeon droppings Continue reading… Source : theguardian.com Read more…From Westminster to Wirral: England’s rogue landlords

Source : telegraph.co.uk Read more…Bank of England Governor warns of emerging market ‘fire sale’ triggered by asset management

Source : telegraph.co.uk Read more…Bank of England to face MPs over rise in bullying and harassment cases

Source : telegraph.co.uk Read more…Level of automation in the UK ‘pretty rubbish’, says Bank of England economist

Source : telegraph.co.uk Read more…Bank of England fires warning shot at EU

Source : telegraph.co.uk Read more…Workers can help make boardrooms better, says Bank of England chief economist 

Source : telegraph.co.uk Read more…Just one in 10 banks preparing for climate change risk, warns Bank of England