Are the price of flats in London about to fall?

Reply to the comment left by "Bill Williams" at "18/10/2014 - 08:32":

Perhaps it might be an idea to start a new discussion thread about licensing discouraging property investment or even acting as a driving force behind existing landlords selling up and moving their letting businesses out of affected boroughs or just exiting the letting market.

Any thoughts?

Reply to the comment left by "Bill Williams" at "18/10/2014 - 08:32":

Bill Williams, I would really like to ask you a question - did your flat sell for what you were expecting, or did you feel you had to drop the price because of the licensing scheme? That is the crux of the issue for me with these licensing schemes and I would be very interested to hear your thoughts.

Sorry if this is not the right place but how can I find out which boroughs in London have introduced/will introduce this licensing scheme? Is it optional or mandatory? Also, does it apply to London only or other big cities (Manchester, Sheffield, etc)?

Reply to the comment left by "Milena Toncheva" at "19/10/2014 - 00:01":

Google search would probably do it! It seems THE thing at the moment and many large towns and cities either have something similar or are bringing them in. So even if a London borough does not have it at the moment, it may well choose to bring one in the future. It is not only London. If you researchUniversity towns they are most likely to have them eg. Oxford.

Reply to the comment left by "Milena Toncheva" at "19/10/2014 - 00:01":

Hi Milena,

Scotland and Wales both have nationwide blanket schemes. English councils can decide whether to implement their own schemes or not on an individual basis. Of these, the only list of areas affected I'm aware of has been compiled by Propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk http://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/landlord-licensing/. The list doesn't include the most recent London boroughs which are consulting on this, Southwark and Brent.

Reply to the comment left by "Mandy Thomson" at "19/10/2014 - 08:42":

Hi Mandy, do you know when the decision whether the licensing scheme in Croydon is going ahead will be taken? Thank you...

Reply to the comment left by "Milena Toncheva" at "21/10/2014 - 16:07":

Hi Milena

Unfortunately, with most of these schemes the consultation is not about the council deciding to implement, but simply a rubber stamping exercise that they're legally obliged to go through. The decision has often already been made, and only a small number of councils have changed their minds. For example, Milton Keynes Council changed their minds, but I personally believe that this was because they were only implementing it as a reaction against an appalling tragedy in which a young child died in a fire that was started during an incident of anti social behaviour in a privately rented property.
Naturally, emotions were roused, but after everyone had had time to calm down and see things from a logical perspective, they saw it wasn't such a good idea. This is quite different from most councils, who are taking a stance based on ideology. In the case of Croydon, this is part of their flagship policy they were elected on. The only doubt they've expressed is about costs being passed on to tenants - given that this would mean rents being raised by £200 per year, I don't think the majority of tenants will be affected, though there could well less accommodation available to rent, and housing standards could be affected as landlords will have less to spend on maintenance.
The landlord consultation is over, the consultation for other interested parties starts 1st November.

Hi Mandy, thank you for your detailed response. I am looking to buy my first BTL and was determined to find a property in Croydon but not so sure anymore...Do you know grom your experience and discussing with other landlords how the implementation of the scheme has affected landlords in Newham and Barking councils? Have they increased the rents to account for the higher maintenance costs? Do they find it more difficult to find tenants? Any information will be much appreciated... Thank you

Reply to the comment left by "Milena Toncheva" at "21/10/2014 - 17:00":

Hi Milena

I'm not 100% sure myself - it would be interesting to hear from landlords with properties in licensed boroughs. However, the fees (Newham's is £500) are little easier for landlords to swallow than the proposed Croydon fee (£1000).
I had a discussion with my mortgage broker the other day, and he seemed to think that licensing could be an issue for several lenders, however, I believe he might have been confusing "selective" licensing with additional licensing for small HMOs.