As we reach the end of the summer and head into the autumn, we are pleased to bring you our review of the past 6 months in the world of country lettings. We have had a busy and exciting few months as we launched BCM Wilson Hill. The merge of two market leaders brought together a huge amount of experience, knowledge, and exceptional service and our Residential Lettings continues to thrive.
A New Government
Clearly, the main headline has been the change of government following the General Election. As we reported previously, none of the main political parties had any particularly eye grabbing policies for the private rental sector. And so far, the Labour government seemed to have continued with ‘much of the same’ as their predecessors.
The Renters Rights Bill restarts its journey through parliament, and there is a feeling that this will be accelerated through. The headline of removing the Section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction continues to make waves, although in reality, in many cases, this system isn’t currently fit for purpose, with landlords having to wait for months and incurring a great deal of cost (not to mention loss of rent) to recover possession. If the government do deliver on previous promises to get the court system functioning efficiently to facilitate the use of Section 8 notices, could this ultimately be a blessing in disguise?
Taking away fixed term tenancies is one of the other main changes, although interestingly, more and more tenants are becoming concerned about this as they feel it takes away their feeling of being secure in their home. As ever, our view is that provided there is a good landlord and tenant relationship, this shouldn’t cause too much of a problem for many of our clients.
For us, the reintroduction of MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards), requiring rentals to be a ‘C’ rating as a minimum is a backward step. Although this has been stretched out to 2030, the issues of how to get a housing stock of predominantly older houses to these sorts of levels remains a great challenge. That said, we are re-engaging with our energy assessors to work out the best ways of getting houses as efficient as possible. The government will shortly announce the full details of MEES, including spending caps, grants, loans, and requirements for properties such as listed buildings and those in conservation areas.
Market Insight
The rental market itself has been something of a challenge this year, especially for houses over £2,000 per month. There have been noticeably fewer tenants at these levels, possibly a knock-on effect of the challenges being experienced in the sales markets, and certainly the ‘heat’ we have experienced over the past few years has come off. That said, at the time of writing it does feel as if the market is in a better place now than earlier in the year. Perhaps this is due to pricing levels re-adjusting, but there does seem to be more activity now as we go into the autumn. Take a look at our current listings.
As ever, if you would like any further advice on any aspect of your rental property, please do contact us and we would be delighted to assist you
