0:05 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago 9
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Rightmove has outlined a series of urgent priorities it wants to see from the incoming government, including sustainable housing policies and action to force landlords to improve the EPC rating of their properties.
The property portal questioned more than 14,000 homeowners and renters – and found most people wanted long-term solutions to a range of issues – including housing.
That’s rather than short-term offers that only help some regions and some people.
The research highlights the issue of housing undersupply, which has led to a 40% increase in rents to reach an average of £1,479 per month and a 22% surge in average asking prices over the past five years.
The portal highlights that since April 2019, renter demand has grown by 32%, with supply reducing by 38%, while buyer demand has risen by 15% and supply dropped by 6%.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert, said: “One way that could help to accelerate housebuilding is to streamline the planning process, which is highly complex and challenging.
“If the government can create smoother processes, working closely with all key stakeholders, it could transform the delivery of new homes and produce more affordable housing.”
He added: “Not only could this help first-time buyers, but it could also open up a big opportunity to help downsizers move to greener homes with lower running costs.”
A previous deadline for landlords to improve the EPC rating of rented homes to a minimum of C was scrapped, and Rightmove says there is a lack of awareness among homeowners about what green changes they should make and why.
However, there has been a decline in the number of landlords planning to make energy-efficiency upgrades to properties with lower EPC ratings.
Rightmove says that in 2022, 36% of landlords said they planned to make improvements to properties rated below a C.
In late 2023, after the government had announced they were scrapping targets, this dropped to 26%.
The firm’s lettings expert, Christian Balshen, said: “Landlords need clarity around any legislation that may come in, but also need help with incentives such as bigger, more widely accessible grants or tax savings, as these in turn will help tenants.”
Rightmove also points to the expansion of the Build-to-Rent (BTR) sector as partially addressing the private rented sector’s needs – but supply is lacking.
Renters also expressed a strong desire for the government to prioritise the building of homes and offer more help for first-time buyers.
There’s also a call from homeowners and real estate agents for a stamp duty overhaul.
The top five priorities from tenants for the next government: More support for first-time buyers, more mortgage schemes to help people afford to move, simplifying the home-buying process, building more homes, and legislation to improve the energy efficiency of rented homes.
Cider Drinker
9:25 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago
Of course RightMove think the solution to the housing crisis is more houses. More houses will help their business to grow.
I think we have plenty of houses and that the real problem is too many people. We need an immigration policy where the U.K. government decides who can enter the U.K., rather than allowing people smugglers (potentially linked to Russia and China) to flood the U.K. with people of their choosing.
Andy
10:31 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago
Land acquisition; planning; consultants; labour; materials; turnover taxes - all are costs that have increased significantly in the last 2 years and will continue to go up as the economy enters stagflation. There is no such thing as 'affordable housing' anymore and there hasn't been for a long time.
Supply-demand imbalance is the issue. Lack of affordable housing rhetoric is a smoke screen that a lot of "property experts" never question.
Cider Drinker
10:47 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago
It’s time to drop the EPC hogwash.
Just last week, the BBC reported on the ‘Insulation scandal’ with claims that hundreds of thousands of homes could have faulty cavity wall insulation fitted under ‘green energy schemes’ (Homes insulated in government scheme go mouldy - Zoe Conway).
Older properties were not designed to have cavity wall insulation. They weren’t even designed to have uPVC windows and central heating. Nor were they designed to have showers running multiple times every day.
The cost benefit analysis doesn’t stack up. Even if we ignore the damage that is often caused to the fabric of the buildings, spending many thousands of pounds to save a few quid on heating bills is irrational. And it causes rents to rise.
Besides, as we transition to ever greener sources of energy, the need to reduce heating bills diminishes.
Maybe families could learn to live like I did as a child. No central heating, no double glazing, ice on the inside of windows in the morning. We didn’t even have a fridge until the early 70s and there was no phone in the house until 1979.
Perhaps we could save electricity by not airing TV 24/7?
How much environmental damage have the warmongers in Russia, Ukraine, Palestine and Israel inflicted on our planet? Supported by the U.K. government amongst others,
The U.K. needs to stop building homes designed to last centuries and instead, build homes from sustainable materials that are designed to last a lifetime. This would allow homes to be built in a way that allows them to be built to satisfy the up-to-date needs of the population.
Private landlords own a disproportionate number of older properties. Many are not suitable candidates for improved EPC Ratings.
Cider Drinker
11:06 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Andy at 04/06/2024 - 10:31
I agree Andy.
The supply vs demand imbalance could be improved by reducing the demand side of the equation. A lower population would also improve NHS waiting lists, the shortage of dentists, congestion on our roads.
Perhaps increasing salaries would improve housing affordability.
LaLo
12:20 PM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Cider Drinker at 04/06/2024 - 10:47
Hi C.D. I had a similar childhood and we had nothing - couldn’t get anything as it wasn’t available! Looking at the Labour manifesto - wanting to sell a property is not a good enough reason to evict and neither are rent arrears!! So, after spending many £1000s on maintenance/upgrades/taxes etc a property can only be sold with a sitting tenant . This would rule out many buyers apart from investors at a knock down price wiping out thousands that I’ve worked hard for! Brainwave’ - I’ll rent out tents instead and sit in a ‘blob’ and be better thought of!
Seething Landlord
12:34 PM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Andy at 04/06/2024 - 10:31
All property that sells is "affordable", except in the eyes of politicians who have invented their own definition that denies reality.
What is lacking is low cost housing, which can only be provided when heavily subsidised by local or national Government i.e. the taxpayer.
Beaver
15:43 PM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 04/06/2024 - 12:34
Here's a headline for you: "Thousands of rental homes hoovered up by US giant in bet on Britain’s housing shortage."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/06/04/thousands-uk-rentals-blackstone-uk-housing-shortage/#:~:text=US%20private%20equity%20giant%20Blackstone%20has%20agreed%20to%20acquire%20a,580m%20deal%20with%20developer%20Vistry.
What all political parties need to do is stop penalising small portfolio landlords from providing competition in the UK housing market. Big companies like Blackstone are allowed to offset their finance costs against their revenues.
Stella
17:36 PM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 04/06/2024 - 15:43
Black Rock buying up a large number of houses now creates a very big hole in the argument that small landlords are preventing first time buyers from getting on the property ladder.
I wonder if Black Rock will be penalized like we were with section 24
I believe that Mr Osborne has now taken up a post with them.
Beaver
11:42 AM, 6th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Stella at 04/06/2024 - 17:36
They won't be penalised. The reason we have seen such a growth in properties held in limited companies is that limited companies can still offset their finance costs against rents and limited companies pay corporation tax, not capital gains tax. If you are a small portfolio landlord and you sell your property, unless you are able to claim that it is a business and qualify for roll-over relief (difficult if you only have 1-2 properties) then you pay capital gains tax at your marginal rate. Section 24 only directly penalised small portfolio landlords. Indirectly it penalises tenants by driving competition out of the market.