Most fragile items you need to take care of while relocating

When you're relocating, you surely even consider moving your belongings, which could range from big furniture to smallest of the crockeries. Whatever that is being moved, however important or unimportant it may be to you, breaking any of those belonging could prove to be a loss making deal for you.

While many of you on relocating may choose to move their belongings either through a removal or a moving company or you can choose to do it just by yourself.  However, you do is of the least concern, but it has been said that removal companies or moving companies are much careful and experienced in doing this job and most important, these companies in the process uses perfect materials, which ensures safety of your belongings.
However, there might be some of your belongings which are so fragile that you might need to take an extra care of it.

Here, is the list of top fragile most items of which you should take care while moving:

1. Electronic Appliances:

Electronic appliances include the like of computers, laptops, Televisions, Music recorders, DVDs, Washing machines and Refrigerators.

All of these mentioned items are extremely fragile, if moved here and there without care, can suffer damage, making you incurs a loss.

Moreover a washing machine, that's broken during a move, can cause significant damage or loss of water.

It is for this reason to always consider making your belongings moved with the help of a removal or a moving company, for they have all the latest materials in form of containers help secure your belongings in a perfect shape, sound ad function that it is supposed to perform.

Else from that, if you're following the "DO IT YOURSELF (DIY) route, you can then use the containers/ boxes of these appliances in which they have had come when you bought it fist. Never through away these boxes as you never know when you might need them again.

2. Tables:

If you own any old table, that has become totally redundant, or the one which is made up of glass or marble, then you should know that it has full chances of it being broken or at least damaged. Moving company can help you at its best on this.

3. Mirrors:

While you're transfer cupboards with mirrors or any furniture that is made up of glass, then be extra careful and make sure you pad it up properly.  Mirrors can break if its frames fail to withstand the force of it being plunged down.  In this scene you can use the pillows, by making it cover the mirrors or such glass furniture.

4. Glassware/Crockeries:

These are small glass made products/containers, thus most fragile of all the items and once broken; you can't even mend and re-pack its pieces properly.

5. Frames and paintings:

These objects are prone to damage and breakages if you drop them or pack them with other objects and keep them under heavy objects. Thus, while transporting, make sure you always keep such objects on the top.

Moving is indeed a hard-hitting job. You don't want to incur any damages in any of your belongings, especially on occasions when you're making a move into a new place which means a new beginning of your life. This not only creates a financial expense for you but may also hurt you physically and emotionally.

Therefore, always consider moving services from renowned removal companies while you relocate.

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Housing association - a better option for tenants than private renting

Today, half of the UK generation prefers to stay on rent, since buying homes have become difficult, living on rent is the only way out.

However, seeing a marked increase in this trend, landlords, especially the private rented sector's landlords have got a chance to exploit the desperate and vulnerable tenants by charging from them exorbitant rent.

Research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation predicts that 1.5 million between the ages of 15-30 opting to live in private rented houses by 2020.

While the country faces a surge in the number of people needing housing facilities, there aren't that many houses prepared, even those prepared are not affordable, paving way for private renting sector to grow at an unmanageable pace, and an only next best option to live. Now, since even that is becoming unaffordable for people to stay as tenants, social housing or housing associations, is a sole silver lining for this generation of tenants.

These housing associations could help solving the scenario. They could purchase and develop new homes. This would help them meet the needs of the young people and low and middle-income families.

These housing associations also provide a quality rented accommodation, thereby being best possible alternative for UK's Generation rent.

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UK’s short -term let market grows by 41%

According to the report by Easyroomate, a UK, flat sharing site, noticed the number of short- term lets in UK to have jumped up in April.

Short -term lets accounted to 41% of the properties listed, leading to an increase of 2% in the last 6 months to over 6000 properties.

This trend is seen to be occurring in the major cities of UK.  Majority of them taking place in:

• London – 21%
• Manchester- 3%
• Birmingham – 3%
• Bristol- 2%
• Leeds – 2%

The report further gives information on people who availed short-term letting in UK. These groups include professionals, students with age groups ranging between 26-30, closely followed by the age groups of 31-39, and 21-25.

Many have been talking positively with regards to the benefits landlords and tenants are deriving from short-term letting.

While for tenants, the short-term lettings have helped them get a shelter at a quicker pace than usual and at an affordable price and exactly for a time that they want to live for.  On the other hand, the landlords have benefitted by getting a guaranteed, regular income without having to bother about the usual complains arising from long tenancy by tenants.

Jonathan Moore, director of Easyroommate.co.uk, comments: " A short term let is a great way for homeowners to boost their income without the long term commitment usually associated with the average tenancy, our figures show that a growing number of our users are switching on to the freedom short term let's provide."

"Whilst a normal tenancy within a flat share typically lasts a year, a short term let can last from one week up to six months, and is typically used to fill rental voids. The short term option is  extremely popular amongst live-in landlords, with 44% of the short term lets  listed on the Easyroommate website during April being offered by live in landlords, they are closely followed by current flat mates, who attribute to 35% of the short term lets available, says the site director.

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Private Residential Rents in UK tumbles

Report from the independent estate agency in UK, haart, noticed a fall in the average residential rent in UK up to 4.3% in May.  The report further states a marked fall at round £919 a month in May for residential properties in London, in the month of May.

Also interesting fact was a fact that, outside London, saw an increase in rental rates by 0.7%. to £791 over the same period.  However, on the whole, the overall average rate of rent has have only been slowing since the beginning of 2012.

The trend is seen as a sigh of relief for tenants. As such, with the current economic changes and stagnancy being experienced, owning a home is as much difficult as selling and therefore, renting is the only way out.

This is making people to seek a house for rent in London and South East.

While a report from Knight Frank shows rental dips in prime central London by 0.3%. The report also stressed on the lower supply in relation to the demand of the rented houses. This is seen evident in mid-market, where the mid- level city jobs have been affected by the cutbacks.  'With the ongoing troubles in the Eurozone and associated uncertainty in the finance sector, there is little sign of this reversing in the coming months,' the report says.

With regards to the higher and lower rental brackets, the market is seen much more active as it sees a rise in seasonal demand of family houses with four or five bedrooms, priced above £2,000 per week are being preferred as families look to settle over the summer before the academic year starts in September.

Further there were also the reports which stated the negative effect in terms of shortage or no houses on rent during the summer Olympics in London. Had this been effected upon, then the rental market in UK would have surely seen a surge. However, the reports stated, 'rental accommodation in prime London could be in short supply due to this summer's Olympic Games have clearly not yet been borne out. While this could be because this high demand for short lets simply wasn't there, it could be argued that the demand was in effect removed by the move by LOCOG, the London Organizing Committee, to release a further 600,000 hotel room nights which were previously set aside for officials and the media but are no longer required.'

The demand could rise further when in summer families search for houses before their children start going to school in September and also the with that there will be higher rate of foreign student lettings, who will be coming to London to study further, sometime in August.

That said, other findings of the report were low tenant registration down to 8% and property viewings down to 7%, new property instructions were up by 21% and while tenancies commenced were up 1% while the ratio of new applicants to new instructions registered a fall from 4.6 in 2011 to 3.6 in 2012.

All in all, UK did see a downfall in its average rental rates and that this is a sign of relief for tenants but also what is a bit depressing is the fact that the mid-market is suffering from deflated demand. Else from that, at present the tenancy scene in UK seems to be stable.

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Student Letting - A bright property sector in UK

The student letting in UK as a part of UK property market has undoubtedly outperformed every other property investments.  With UK, being one of the most preferred destinations for higher studies, students, around the globe are considering to go there. This is made the student letting, one of the top performing sector.

There are many reasons for the sector showing out performance.  The biggest reason is the number of overseas students choosing UK as their destination for higher studies. Now, since these are students, with low budgets, they don't mind living in lower or middle rent bracket houses of UK. Therefore, landlords with smaller property portfolios can now attract such overseas students as their prospective tenants. 

These overseas students choose cities, which have great income generating potentiality and the ones which have best universities.

According to one of the UK property consultancy firm, Savills, provides data on the cities in UK which are experiencing a higher level of student letting demand.

The report points Lancashire and Edinburgh as areas experiencing high student letting demands. This was seen in rise in first year applications by 105% at Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, and by around 100% at Lancaster University. Similarly, the Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, saw a 100%rise in undergraduate applications.

That side, other UK Universities which have witnessed a 60% rise in their applications and those include Dundee, Huddersfield and Stirling.

"There is a strong likelihood that universities will increasingly seek to avoid calls on capital and revenue arising from their own ageing accommodation and will look to generate capital receipts and improvements to their accommodation from investors through stock transfer. This offers unprecedented opportunities for investors in high-quality university locations not otherwise available to them due to lack of newly built supply. We have analyzed where the best opportunities lie.", said the Savills report.

Further the report suggests that UK will witness a growth in terms of number of students coming from overseas to study there from countries like rest of the Europe, US, India, China and more so, from the developing economies of the countries like that of South America, Africa and Far East.

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The thriving rental market of UK

Latest report from Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), states a marked increase in the rental rates of residential property in UK from the onset of the year till month.  The increased rental rate has been due to an increased demand over the supply.

One of the effective reason for seeking rental houses is due to the struggling times the economy is challenging people to lead a different style. This had made renting a "way of life".  It is for this reason we see the private rental sector growing wherein more household are seen renting houses for a longer time of period.  With the house price rising, and mortgage finance becoming expensive, renting is the only way out as it is a feasible option and easy to fund.

Now these rental rates for residential properties are not high everywhere.  It is true that rates have roared in general, but if considered city/area wise, the rents could be much more higher/lower than that of other areas.  For instance, in London, a two bed house is equivalent to 53% of the average single person's salary whereas the same property in North East of England is equal to 25% of an individual's salary.

Other factor affecting the rent, other than the area is the size of the property.  The smallest of the properties have seen a rush of demand for them since they are cheaper. This is good for the landlords holding small property but on the whole, this has been creating enormous demand over supply, thereby only letting to increased rental rate, which in future will have a detrimental effect on the present as well as prospective tenants.  While the rental rates for big properties and those in posh areas have registered a downfall, while making the median band of property remain stable.

Many people in UK are considering buying a property but with the higher mortgage finance, renting only seems to be an affordable option.  But, however, even here the demand will make sure the tenants pay more rent. Therefore, the rental rates are expected to go up further in the next one year.

The survey by the RICS prompts a positive growth trend of the renting marking from the second quarter of 2012. 13% of the survey participants predicted a rental increase while the rest predicted for the stability in the rental market.

While on the whole the rent market of UK looks too good and promising, there is the problem of rent arrears, with the unpaid rent going up to as high as 10%, around £306 million.

Today, with the changing times and the economic pressure faced, people are choosing to rent rather than to buy. Keeping the factors in mind, it becomes vitally important to regulate the renting sector and provide the best services to the needed.

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UK landlords not returning tenants’ deposits

According to the reports from the Shelter, a housing charity, complaints have been surging of private landlords deny repaying rental deposits of the tenants.  Shelter, worrying about the trend measures 86% of such grievances from the UK tenants.

 The UK government have had come up with several schemes ensuring tenancy protection, despite; the tenants are unsecured about their stay/occupancy.  In the face of that, shelter helpline is still getting calls on this issue.

Under the rules of schemes established, it is needed requisite on behalf of the landlord to place the tenant's deposit in any one of the authorized tenancy protection scheme in 30 days from the time he has received it, failing that, the landlord can face severe penalties in from of being taken to court and making them pay fine of between one and three times the value of the deposit.

However, according to the research by digital data Collector Company, it was noticed that 57% of people who were tenants in private rental properties weren't aware of such schemes, thereby making it defensive stance for the private landlords.

Such instances can snatch a roof from someone's head and that could prove disastrous for them. There have been complaints on not returning deposits having to lead tenants going bankrupt or homeless.

Keeping in mind the importance of having a proper shelter over your head, it becomes way too necessary to be abreast of all the rental schemes. For, they are for the tenant's good. These schemes are meant to protect and empower tenants, so that they can live a peaceful, secured life under the rented house.

However, for that it is needed on part of tenants to read property news from journals, magazines, websites and newspapers, ask out people, consult property consultants before staying in the rented property. 

Shelter , is urging tenants to visit its new webpage –shelter.org.uk/depositprotection – to use its new three-minute checker to make sure their deposit is protected.

According to Countrywide, the estate agency, have pointed a marked rise 275,000 new tenants have registered to rent private accommodation in 2011, making it an increase of 24% in 2010.

Campbell Robb, chief executive at Shelter, said: "It is extremely worrying that we have seen such a huge rise in problems with tenancy deposits at a time when privately renting is no longer just a stepping stone to something better but a long term reality for more and more families.

"While we know that most landlords do the right thing, some cause absolute misery for their tenants, accusing them of owing thousands of pounds for damage that doesn't exist or falsely claiming to have protected their deposit and then never returning it."

Withholding tenants' deposits is indeed a very stressful situation for them as that deposit can be used for so many things, even for letting another house. In such grievous economic time, the money out of these deposits can be tremendously useful.

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Families in London need, £ 3, 500 per month to afford a rented home

A report analysis, Homes for London campaign, by Shelter, analyzed the cost of renting across the capital . The report showed that people in London needs to earn £3,500 per month, making it a total of £ 52,00 per annum to afford themselves rented property in UK.  More important, that this amount is needed to afford a two bed house only.

However, if you're eyeing to be a tenant in eight London boroughs including Hackney and Tower Hamlets, then they would need to earn more than £60,000 per annum.  The numbers of tenants under private renting have increased to about one in every four households and on the same, even the rents have risen by 7% in 2011.

Keeping the economic downturn in mind, many people are coming to London for work, and with the current trend, as such earning is a hard thing, and on top almost many tenants spend half their incomes on paying rents. This brings us to question the trend of high rents and its detrimental effect on tenants'' savings.  If this rate of rent is to continue, then this will seriously pose financial for tenants the challenge of struggling financially, in the already finically odd time.

Shelter chief executive Campbell Robb said: "With so many Londoners locked out of homeownership, more and more families have no other option but to rent – but rents are now so out of touch with wages that some families are spending over half of their income just to keep a roof over their head, leaving little left for food, fuel and other essentials."

The only thing that Homes for London campaign is asking for lowering or at least regulating the private rented sector, so that the private landlords don't charge the economical /vulnerable tenants high rental charges.  For this, the Homes for London campaign is wanting the next mayor to stand up for this cause and help influence the sector by formulating local policies that will help bettering the position of the tenants and prevent the capitalist tendency of the private landlords when they charge high rents, or deny repaying the tenant deposits, or any of such scrupulous acts performed.

This was seen true in an Ipsos Mori poll released last week, where the people of London, more precisely, the tenants in London have had only stressed on making policy with the mayoral candidates to chalk a way to reduce the cost of private renting.

Since, in this hard hit economic time, buying and selling home doesn't fetch you a regular income, renting does exactly what you need. It is this very mentality attached to renting, that has made the minds of the landlords, private landlords especially, capital minded.  If the landlords can get a steady monthly income, then why not increase and earn more in these times? This very mindset makes leads to tenants' exploitation. This is why we see, the value of let homes in UK mounting to £840bn. If this trend continues for a long then by 2016, we'll see the rental incomes generated by the private landlords shall be to the tune of £70bn.

With the problems of house building happening to the minimum and the demand increasing as hell due to the increase in population, changing needs of ageing population, the changes in family pattern, the break-ups and divorces, have all led to an exceeding demand not able to keep pace with the supply.

Keeping in mind the problems, UK needs policies and laws both at state and national level to ensure its people their right to live in a house, securely and safely.

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Social housing in UK

Housing plays a central role by providing a roof; it ensures a quality life to us in the community and society that we're all a part of.  But many people unfortunately cannot make it to buying a house of their own, so they simply choose to rent and stay. However, you might not be as lucky in today's market driven world to get a well, furnished house at a low price.  This situation is true for all the people of all the countries. Needless to say that such situation also arises in fist world or developed countries.  This doesn't mean that there is no way out to get your head under a roof; called home, even at if you don't earn much, for there is the provision of social housing facility.

What is Social Housing?

Social housing UK is a governmental provision in UK, where the houses are being rented at lower prices, much more affordable, with secured tenure to the people who are in need of house and have no option left than being homeless.  Social housing as a facility is always provided by councils and non-profit organizations. There are many housing associations which provide such services. In UK, the service of social housing is provided by several of such organizations apart from the government side.

The main aim behind the service is to provide rented housed to low income group people at affordable rents ensuring them with secured tenancy.  Further, unlike private rented sector, in which there are no need criteria, where the deal is fixed on the basis of the money you're able to shed, the home under social housing is rented only and only if you are eligible on certain criteria, the most important being, that you're in utter need of a roof above your head and that you've zero options left and hence have come to rescue yourselves at the behest of social housing facilities.

According to the 2005 statistics, from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), there are 20.5 million residential in England, of that; 3.6 million are classified as "Social Rented houses".  However, at present, the situation is gloomy as UK housing associations are facing hikes in their pension contributions after the Social Housing Pension Scheme deficit soared to over £1 billion in the past three years.  Else from that, keeping in mind the poor economy of UK, it is observed that there shall be a rise in the demand for social housing.  Under the current bad economic scenario faced by UK, the growth of the social housing sector would remain at around 2.5% .  This means demand to get doubled than the supply.

All, in all, with the present circumstances at the way, for all those on the brink of homelessness, has only an option of social rented houses, marking a ray of hope.  But, even in that, with factors such as rising rents in private sector, unemployment, poor economic performance and stagnant economy, there could be much more demand for rented houses and more so for social rented houses. Unable to contain the demand, might lend UK government and population into a grim state of affairs. Having to know this, the government should seriously consider steps to regulate the social housing market, housing market on whole and work on bettering the economy.

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Banking reforms to make mortgages and banking services expensive

A recent report from the UK Government is all set to limit the retail operations of UK banks from their investment operation department.  The plan detailed in the banking reform white paper which aims at safeguarding the deposits of retail customers  with taxpayer money should there arise any situation where a bank breaks down as a result of riskier investment activities.

Now, the called reforms will have a detrimental effect on various parties involved in the banking activities and also the business of banking as whole.  What effect it could have is that these profits from investment transactions would not be used to subsidize the retail banking operations. This means a higher charge of retail banking services for the consumers. This shall make mortgage finances/mortgage loans expensive, as the rate of interest charged on them will increase.

Also what is proposed under the policy is that the banks in UK shall have to keep a reserve of 17% capital as a safeguard should there occur any losses from risky investments.  The brunt for the same shall have to be bored only by the ordinary customers.

Today the mortgage industry is in a colorful period enjoying the benefits of getting more consumers to be home owners by allowing home mortgage finance.  Since, the renting price in UK is already on a high range; retail banking is attracting consumers by serving them options of owning home at low interest rates.

However, this booming trend is facing a challenge from the abovementioned banking reform policy by the government.  The proposed policy measures will have beneficial aspects for savers and the proposed measures are not disadvantageous in least sense, but, the other side should also be considered and accordingly the policy measures me initiated and implemented, such that positively affects all the stakeholders I the economy.

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Tips to deal with your Mortgage Debt

If you've taken a mortgage loan and are unable to make regular mortgage payments, then you've just started to build for yourself the situation of "debt trap".  You may have been unable to pay because of certain other financial commitments or simply you didn't have that much cash.

Now, you can't keep the situation sustained. For, if it sustains your lender will take you to court and you may then end up with no options else then losing your home. In most of the situation, if the debtor fails to repay the debt after considering the repayment holidays or extending the term or type of mortgage, then there is no option left else than repossessing the property of the debtor. In order to solve this situation, you need to consider on various options to make some way out of it.

Here are some tips and guidelines and initiatives that might help you to pay back the money you owe to your lender. These include:

1. One such initiative is where the non-profit housing associations shall buy your property and then even allow you to stay there.  This scheme is popularly known as Mortgage Rescue Scheme in England and Wales and it is run by the local authorities there.

2. Similarly, in Scotland the scheme is known by the name of Mortgage to Rent Scheme and is run by the Scottish government as a part of its Homeowners' Support Fund.  The same fund also includes the scheme of Mortgage to shared Equity Scheme, which enables Scottish government to own part of your home.

3. In Northern Ireland, there is a government initiative called Housing Advice NI.

4. The scheme of Homeowner Mortgage Support, makes it easy for the debtors who have seen a change in their incomes dropping, the chance to defer their part of mortgage payment up to two years. However, there are only a few lenders who have told that they would be a part of this scheme.

5. The Support for Mortgage Interest scheme, spanning across UK, allows people receiving benefits. Under the scheme, there are only those eligible homeowners who have lost their jobs, that their mortgage interest payment be cut from 39 weeks to 12 weeks, making the assistance viable and lasting for only up to 2 years.

 Else, from that, you can directly talk to your mortgage lender and ask him to consider some options for you. This might help you. Apart from that, the aforesaid government and organization initiatives are always there, besides also the presence of mortgage advisers, to help you make your way out smoothly from this financial rut.

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UK's younger generation forced to stay tenants

With the current gripping housing crisis in UK, owning homes for more than 1 million UK's younger generation is a dream that lies on schizophrenic border, making the population lot vulnerable and dependent on renting, as a choice for their shelter.

According to the report by Joseph Rowntree Foundation, it is found that the number of home buyers under the age of 30 shall decrease from 2.4 million to 1.3 million by 2020, registering a marked fall of 46%. The report further indicates the danger of a situation cropping up of more than 40, 000 youngsters, won't be able to either buy or rent an accommodation.

This leaves the young Britons with limited options of either renting their house for eternity or create enough savings to let them buy house in future, only by living at present with their parents. A poll by Council of Mortgage Lenders, points that 1.5 million 18-to-30-year-olds shall be renting a home in 2020, while another half a million young people shall be staying with their parents.

What is interesting to note, is the aspiration of the young Britons to be home owners. This was reflected in a poll by Council of Mortgage Lenders, pointed hat how 81% of Briton's youngsters were aspiring to own homes. 

With the increased number of people wanting to stay in a rented accommodation, the competition in the renting market is fiercely increasing, resulting to an increased demand over supply, that resulting into a situation of exploitation of tenants by the landlords.

The report by Joseph Rowntree Foundation stated the danger of 400, 000 young generation of Briton turning homeless. Before it gets too late for the situation to be tackled, the government needs to step in to ensure rented homes at affordable rents.

Jack Dromey, the shadow housing minister, said the predicament of young people arose from the government's austerity drive. "It's an absolute tragedy that 1 million young people could be locked out of home ownership by 2020. One of the biggest consequences of the housing crisis is the rise of 'generation rent' as young people face a squeeze on their wages, increasingly unaffordable rents and greater difficulty saving for a deposit."

He added: "As a growing number of young people lose hope of buying a home and come to live with mum and dad, or in the private rented sector, they will be asking what the government is doing to tackle the housing crisis. So too will their parents."

Further initiatives by the government includes, proposals by  the housing minister, Grant Shapps, to prevent tenants those are earning high, to stay in local authority owned house, to make social homes available for the most needful. The Hammersmith & Fulham council also making an attempt to stop couples who earn more than £40,000 to live in council homes.

Thus, before this chaotic trend causes the disaster of homelessness for the Britons, it is the right time for the government to intervene with policies and programs that are reasonable for the tenants as well as buyers to rent and buy homes respectively.

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Need for regulating the private renting sector

Housing is the essential most need for humans. In UK, with the ongoing trend of economic downturn, this basic necessity is literally now turning into a luxury with the private landlords trying to charge much more to the tenants than usual.

Unusual growth of the private renting sector has made lives hard for the tenants. More often, issues regarding safety and security of tenancy are neglected by the private landlords. There are many cases to prove this fact. One of such recent case in the sector was investigated by Guardian's journalist; Amelia Gentleman who helped unearthed the corruption occurring in the sector.

Guardian's journalist exposed how many of the vulnerable and low income earning's tenants are asked to pay exorbitant rents for merely a shed with a toilet. Examples of such practices are rampant and widespread.  This makes it a total visible case of corruption in the private rending sector, of how heinously, the private landlords are cashing on the situation of lower supply and higher demand of housing in UK.

With the further deteriorating economic condition in London and South East, the minimum wages of the low income workers are seen falling below their real wages, making them so vulnerable at the hands of private landlords.

This phenomenon serves as the latest example of how capitalists rule the society and how they exploit, till date the needy and destitute.
Other problems faced by private tenants are that of high energy costs, absence of security of tenure and landlords' reluctance to repair to improve the property.

If this trend is to continue more, then this will only lead to an addition in the already increased demand, thereby increasing the rents, and those, in utter need, most of the time the poor, get pushed aside and denied of their right to live in securely and safely.

This problem needs to be solved for housing is a basic need for poor as well as wealthy in a nation and to provide a secured roof to its citizens is the foremost duty of the state. Keeping the fact in mind, there is a dire need for regulating the private rented sector.

Regulation of private renting sector needs to be made in the form of holding licenses for private landlords a compulsion. A compulsion should be made for all the private landlords, in fact all the landlords, to hold the license, and only that shall act as a basis for trading. Besides, the license, they should also be guaranteeing on adhering to certain standards required and letting a property that is genuine.

The task of this can be given to professional property management companies, who shall also see that the regulation is followed and implemented on, regularly.

All in all, there is an utter need to regulate the private rented sector, before it expands exponentially at this chaotic speed and exploits the poor further.

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How to deal with Rental Crisis

A report from Halifax stated that in most parts of UK, people are preferring to buy a house on mortgage rather than renting.  The simple reason being, interest rate for mortgage loan is much lesser than the monthly rate of rent.

The reason of this unusual trend is based on the infrequent yet fast growth of the mortgage market in UK.  The banks in UK are providing mortgage finance at the lowest interest rate. However, there are reports that sate about the changing of this trend soon, where the rate of rent would decrease and lending rates for mortgage loans will increase.  To support that, a report from "The Resolution Foundation's Essential Guide to Squeezed Britain" stated that despite of the fact that mortgage rates are much lower than the rate of rent, still, the monthly mortgage payment consumes more than 25% of monthly incomes of quarter of UK's middle and lower-middle class families.

The solution to this ever increasing rent crisis is the proposed policy of rent control. The real problem faced by the renting market in UK is that the there is a lack of supply , so proposing a rent control would only lead to a further lack in supply.  Hence, there needs to be some other options to deal with the problem.

One of the suggested solutions lies in by making investments in purpose built rental accommodations by pension funds and insurance companies.  This would help meet the needs of ordinary people of UK.  But investors won't invest in rental accommodations if they rental caps are proposed.

That aside, the other solution lies in public –private partnership in terms of investment. This will help bring new rental schemes.

These are some of the possible solutions to deal with the UK rent crisis, in absence of the option of "rent controls".  Since rent controls will have a negative effect on supply, it would be wise if not implemented, and since supply of homes cannot be increased that quickly, the stated solutions, at present are feasible way to deal with the problem.

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Finding a rented house right for your pet

If you are out there a pet owner, finding a house for rent where your pet is welcomed with you, then you're just at the right place to get your thing get done.

More often than not, finding a rented property where even your pet is allowed to stay is hard to find. You always come across nasty landlords for whom pets are just a "NO-NO" for pets have been known for their notoriety of damaging and dirtying the house furniture.  So, even if you possess all the qualities of a good tenant, having found you to live with your pet, might just let your landlord turn away from you.

But, you know how much you adore your pet and can't think of living without it, and then you might want to look for landlords that allow you to stay with your pets.

Consider the following tips:

1. Not every landlord that you may come across to will deny you their property on rent with your pet. There are animal lover landlords or some might just agree on your proposal provided they trust you enough that in case of any damage, you shall be present ever for repairing cost.

2. Apart from that, you can consider, training you pet. Try making them obedient. Be conscious about your pet's all activities. If you show this seriousness for your pet, your prospective landlord might just agree you to with your pet, thinking that you'll take care enough of your pet, should any mischief be done by your pet.

3. If you think your pet is all obedient and well-mannered then ask your landlord to make them introduce your pet. This shall provide them with enough evidence that the pet is indeed well-mannered and if kept, can be of no harm.

4. If that doesn't work, ask your landlord that you're ready to pay a higher rent and deposit, should anything go wrong in terms of damaging done by your pet to landlord's property.

Don't think that you will have live without a roof on top until you've a pet. Just consider these tips and be honest and open about your pet. Make all the necessary clarification about your pet's nature, what all you'll do to keep the property clean and stiff the way it is. Make sure you tell all and when agreed, make sure to include all the clauses in the renting contract.

With that, you would surely be able to find a landlord welcoming your stay with your adored and much loved pet.

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Prime renting rates in Central London take an upswing

The latest Prime Central London Rental Index shows a rise in prime renting rates in Central London by 0.1% in April this year. This is followed by the trend of following falls in the past six months; rents have increased by 1.2% over the past one year.

But a further rent rate hike shouldn’t be expected by the landlords, says Liam Bailey, Head of Knight Frank Residential Research. This should be avoided over the fact that demand is outpacing the supply.

According to the report it was found that the property instructions were at 56%, new tenancy starts were up at 40%, whereas new tenant registrations were just up at by 5% and property viewings up buy 15%, thus resulting into a distorted ratio.  Also a further gap in ratio of new applicants to new instructions, which last year stood at 4.3 and this year, to date, stands at just 2.9, was noticed.

The factors that can be attributed to this situation are incessant pause in the city’s employment market and making of tight budgets at individual and corporate levels respectively. Interestingly, the sale market in central London is on high, which means people prefer to buy than let.

Else from that what was observed from this report was that the there are differences in performances within this prime market. For instance, in Belgravia, the price had risen by 1.2% in April will Hyde Park, witnessed a 0.9% fall.

All in all, while properties in certain areas are not catching high attention, there is good number of viewers for properties in different area of UK.

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Scotland rental market creeps up

The new statistics show that around 30% of UK tenants are spending their net incomes on paying their rents. The percentage of tenants is seen escalating in to 32% in London The newest report from property lettings portal Citylets noted a strong growth in the Scotland’s rental market. The average rent in Scotland at present is £664; a 2.6% rise compared with the first quarter of 2011.Average rents in the city saw a moderate rise of 0.7% as a whole.

Going city wise, Aberdeen has seen the most expensive rent rates of three bed flat reaching an average of f £1,200. The city’s one bed rent rose to an average of £574, an increase of 1.1% on the same time last year whilst two bed rents saw a bigger increase of 1.5% to £864.

The city of Edinburgh saw an overall increase in 2.9% in the average monthly rent. Whereas Glasgow, saw an increase of 10.6% in three bed rents making an average rent rate increase to £832. The city also saw rise in one bed rents e to £463, a promising increase of 2.9%.

Scotland’s most affordable city is Dundee, the rents of which for two beds stand at £534. The rent figure is down to 6.6% as compared to last year. This is due to the increased advertising of these properties.

‘It is welcome news that while the rental market is continuing to expand rapidly in Scotland that on the whole the market appears to be meeting demand which is why increases in rents at the national level tend to be relatively modest,’ said Dan Cookson, senior analyst at Citylets.

‘This quarter’s figures are reassuringly steady which has continued to cement the confidence in the rental market. The key thing is that the market is steadily expanding at a time when the housing sales market is still in recovery mode,’ he added.

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UK tenants net salary goes on rent payments

and East Midlands and 33% in South-West and Wales, to a severe upswing of 36% in the south-East.

The Rightmove, had warned 61% of tenants to expect their rent to be higher in 12 moths’ time. "This is unique evidence of a rental squeeze that may be leaving some tenants with little, or no, headroom left to pay more," says Rightmove director Miles Shipside.

The report further noted the presence of trapped renters who are forced to pay rents to their landlords as they are not able to access a mortgage loan.

The reasons that can be attributed to this effect are certainly the inequilibrium between the supply and demand for rented properties and higher standard of living.  The demand is seen exceeding the supply, thereby, making rental payment double and therefore this situation.

This could lead to situations like allowing more people to stay as tenants in one house, more grown-up kids to live with their parents, etc.

Calls for rent controls have been going on in UK but landlords and property think tanks are of the view that tapping the rental rent would further accelerate the demand, leading to excessive rental prices. This situation, however, unreasonable and rude, is seen to bring the demand supply equilibrium in the rental market.

The National Landlords Association is in stiff opposition with regards to capping the rents. Chris Norris, head of policy, at the NLA says: "Government intervention through rent controls would be counter-productive to encouraging supply at a time when it is so badly needed.

"Past experience shows that imposing artificial controls on the market deters investment, which is the last thing anyone wants. Previous rent controls resulted in the shrinking of the private rented sector to just 8% in the late 1980s.

"Rent control, or the artificial suppression of rents, may also serve as a barrier to further investment in the stock of private rented properties, as the rent generated was historically often too low to allow the landlord to operate a proper maintenance regime without making a financial loss."

We have already seen the negative impacts of rent rise on peoples income. The figures we see paint a worrying picture of rented households in UK, who are doing all that they can just to keep a safe roof over their heads amidst this down trending economy.

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UK buy-to-let market on a positive growth trajectory

According to the survey carried out by UK’s leading estate research company, it has been noticed that UK’s landlords are extremely positive about the buy-to-let market in UK. According to the survey held by CHL Mortgages, 71% of the respondents indicated that they were positive about the growth and stability of the buy-to-let market, whereas 5% of them indicted their negativity in terms of sector’s growth and stability.

However, dwelling deep into the reasons for this positive growth trajectory of buy-to-let market, many reasons could be attributed to this trend. One of the key factor of this positivity is intense confidence in tenant demand. The market trend shows a rise in tenant demands for private lets. The economic hardship in Eurozone continues making the cost of living higher, making wage earners wanting to spend their income in renting a house rather than buying a property. It is this increased demand which has led to increased rental rates.

This is decreasing the number of first- time- buyers. The reason behind it lies in the fact that more and more people in UK are turning to buy-to-let mortgages. According to the Landlord Expert, the Council of Mortgage lenders has seen a growth by 32%  in buy-to-let mortgages given to the landlords in the first quarter of 2012 itself, making a total of 32, 300 mortgages.

It is this very fact seen perpetuating the growing demand and thus promising stability of the buy-to-let market in UK’s housing market. The more the trend to continue, the more is good for this sector and less profitable and attractive for first-time properties on sale.

All in all, this sector is seen growing at robust rate, thanks to the growing rental demand and squeezing standard of living in UK.

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How to choose a right tenant - some useful tips

If you're a landlord out there and after showing many prospective tenants your house has been liked by one of such tenant, then it is for sure a sign of relief for you. But before fully finalizing your deal, here are some of the guidelines that you should go through and follow when you choose a tenant for you house.

Here are a few tips on choosing a right tenant:

1. The most essential tip of choosing a right tenant for your property lies in the fact of getting up-to-date references of the tenant from his former landlord and his present employer. The information will help the landlord know as to how regular was the tenant in paying rents, what are his habits, good, bad, the time he used to come home, was he messy or cultured and civilized in nature, etc. From the employer valuable information in terms of his work ethics, of how regular and hardworking he is at his work. The landlord will have to ensure the authenticity of the information and that of the people who have referred as well. As these days, friends can lie and be approached for writing references.
2. The second most essential tip is to ask for the tenant’s identity documents. As these days, people who don’t have good working record, or have bad image, or wants a house on rent for doing unethical works, do create wrong identity documents. It is therefore of uttermost importance to ask, check and verify personal identity documents of the tenants, such as birth certificate, passport, driving license, etc. This will ensure landlord’s trust for his/her tenant.
3. The next most essential thing to get it known of tenant is his affordability. More often than not, a prospective tenant might often want to go for a better furnished house which always costs higher. Even if the rent is out of his capacity to pay, he would still want to live on rent in that house. Then there would surge the problem of non-payment of rent resulting into arrears in rent. To avoid such a situation, it is therefore, advisable to ask the current employer of the tenant about his wage/salary and get it known that the amount might change later on. This information will help landlord know if his rent income would be regular or not.

So, if you are a landlord and have already found a tenant for your house, then you should only finalize the deal once all of the enlisted three things have been given to you by him. If you feel satisfied after verifying, only then should you finalize the deal.

However hassled process it may be, but the aforesaid tips must be any landlords list for his tenant, if he wants his house to be in safe hands and wants regular income from rent.

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