Undoubtedly one of the biggest stories of the Autumn Budget Statement was the scrapping of tenant fees for lettings agents. Billed as a boon to renters, other parts of the market saw this as yet another move to punish private landlords on the back of the Stamp Duty rise earlier in the year.
However, with lettings agents unlikely to be willing to roll over and accept a squeeze on their incomes, many predict that the industry will still find a way to extract the same amount of money from tenants – and most see rent rises as the way in which this will happen.
Respondents questioned by online letting agent Upad.co.uk showed that four out of 10 UK landlords plan to increase rents to combat the removal of tenant fees. Only a third of the respondents say they will not raise their rents.
James Davis, Chief Executive Officer and founder of Upad.co.uk, says,
Once again a measure that has been brought in to punish landlords has come home to roost.”
“Due to the chronic housing shortage we face in the UK, the lettings market is under immense pressure and this attempt to help potential first time buyers has actually done more harm than good. Instead of punishing landlords, we need to find ways to increase the supply of quality and affordable rental property to help house the millions of people who need it. Frustratingly for everyone involved, this research suggests that landlords will be left with no choice but to further increase rent.”
The survey results further showed that 42% of landlords plan to raise rents, 24% are unsure and 33% say they will not pass on the cost to renters.
The research also revealed that 75% of landlords have no plans to sell their buy-to-lets, despite a barrage of charges inflicted on them over the previous 12 months.
Rather than save hard-pressed renters money, the survey means that potentially two-thirds of tenants, or up to 2.6 million renters, could face a permanent increase in rent as a direct result of last week’s announcement.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the market, The Times reported on a potential new phenomenon where well-heeled and cash-rich downsizers choose to live out their retirement in the heart of the city, rather than out in a rural idyll. According to the article in the Bricks & Mortar supplement, those choosing to move out of the larger family homes are buying apartments in the same city-centre developments as their friends, citing the social aspect alongside the increased opportunities to avoid loneliness in old age.
