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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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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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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Tenants kicked out in the run-up to London Olympics

In the run –up to the London Olympics, to be held from July 27, trends of tenant evictions are reported. It has been reported that the landlords are asking the tenants to leave their houses so that they can rent it the tourists who’ll be coming to see the games.

For this, the tenants are usually illegally evicted by giving them no notice or a lesser time or else they are being made to sign a clause that for the particular time period, the tenants shall have to make some other arrangement and they can come back and stay after the Olympics.

The private landlords are leaving no stone unturned to seek higher profits from this event.  With more than a lakh visitors would be coming to see the Olympics and with the only availability of around 110. 000 hotel rooms in London, thus, most of the landlords are seen capitalizing on this issue in order to make killer profits.

According to the report by Property Wire web site, it revealed, that there has been an increase in the short term lets by 35% available in London’s Olympic boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.

All this has an effect on the rental market in London and that is the fact that the rent rates would in future be seen increasing.  To add on, a website has been launched called campinmygarden.com for people to set up tents temporarily in the backyard.

To this, the UK Housing Minister, Grant Shapps said: "Landlords should be under no doubt that it is a criminal offence for them to evict a tenant without giving proper notice, and that anyone found guilty of doing this - or of harassing a tenant - could lead to a custodial sentence of up to two years."

All in all, the playing of Olympics in London, would certainly enhance its image in the world over and that it will help strengthen its Global brand image, but what is more ironic is the fact that the locals are a part of the place, either as students from other countries who have come to study or work or people who just can’t afford to buy, are being kicked off for a temporal period only as  to woo the  visitors.

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