I hope you survived the wet and windy bank holiday weekend. The traditionally awful weather at least felt like it was part of our return to normality! Especially with our next big step out of lockdown coming in just a few days’ time (17th May).
We are already seeing activity increasing across the board - there are far more people out and about – many shivering outside pubs and restaurants - and traffic levels are going up by the day. In the property world, things are moving even faster - with the current market best described as ‘frenetic’. The majority of that activity, though, has been in the sales sector, with the stamp duty holiday providing a substantial boost. Even though lettings have been far more steady, the latest report from Nationwide suggests that might soon change. According to their research, 40% of tenants are currently thinking of moving home! That’s 8% more than the number of homeowners who want to do the same (32%). We’ll have to see how that translates into real-world activity, but it certainly sounds promising.
Talking of good news, specialist BTL lender, Paragon, has just revealed that the average landlord’s yield on their properties has hit a 3 year high at 6%. When you think that deposit accounts are often now paying as little as 0.1%, that’s an impressive level of return and may well help encourage investment in the sector.
What’s not such good news is that there is yet more legislation that landlords need to be aware of. Although the evictions ban is due to come to an end on 31st May, from the 4th of this month, the government’s new ‘Breathing Space’ scheme came into operation. Essentially, it gives debtors a 60 day period to get their acts together if they have gotten into financial difficulties. During that time, it will not be possible to proceed with or begin an eviction. And, from now on, eviction paperwork must include information about the scheme. The intentions behind it are good but, as usual, it’s landlords that are likely to bear the brunt of the cost.
New scheme to give people in problem debt breathing space launched.
Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space) guidance for creditors.
Well, that’s about it for this month but if you need any help or advice about a rental property, please feel free to give us a call.
