OnTheMarket reveals London area where tenants spend most on rent

OnTheMarket, which is beginning to undertake occasional property research, has released data identifying what proportion of tenants’ salaries are spent on rent in London.

Based on renting a one-bedroom property, Camden is the borough where tenants are spending the highest percentage of their salary on rent - 61 per cent.

For a two-bedroom home in Camden the proportion is 46 per cent and for a three bed it’s 51 per cent. A four-bedder comes in at 60 per cent.

The portal emphasises that this data does not show Camden as the most expensive London borough to rent a property - just where the highest percentage of typical salary is spent on rent.

Kingston upon Thames is where tenants spend the lowest percentage of their salary on rent across the capital. 

When renting a one bed property in Kingston, the percentage spent on rent is 25 per cent; for a two bed it’s 17 per cent while a three bed is 15 per cent and a four bed just 14 per cent.

“While it’s no surprise that cost remains the most likely primary factor when considering a new home, our analysis shows some stark variations across each borough of salary percentages being spent on rent” says OTM spokesperson Vikki Bennett.

“While London rents remain high across the board, considering all available options, such as moving to a nearby borough just a few miles away, can prove to have significant cost savings” she adds.

"Hampstead, within the borough of Camden, is likely to be of high significance as to why Camden comes out with the highest percentage, due to the exceptionally high rental prices within this particular area.”

https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2018/11/onthemarket-reveals-london-location-where-tenants-spend-most-on-rent

Work-from-home havens:new live-work houses in Ashford with fast train links to St Pancras — and Brussels

Home-based working is Britain’s fastest-growing employment sector.

Housebuilders are coming up with fresh design solutions to meet the demand, including work zones, attic spaces and purpose-built garden offices with fast-fibre technology, foldaway furniture and storage systems with sliding walls.

Finberry is a new 1,180-home development with a primary school being built by the River Stour on the outskirts of Ashford, Kent. 

Alongside cottages and detached houses are three-storey live-work homes with a self-contained ground-floor “work” area and separate entrance. 

The homes have 1,687sq ft of space, a rear garden and access to shops and a community hall.

“The properties would suit a range of businesses, from small architectural practices and accountancy firms to artists’ studios and wedding planners,” says Annette Cole, director of developer Crest Nicholson.

Financial pitfalls at Finberry live-work homes include mortgage restrictions and capital gains tax liabilities. 

Owners will be given formal status by the local authority, and will be asked to pay business rates of £1,561 a year on the ground-floor space as well as council tax on the purely residential element.

Prices start at £385,000. Call 01233 223 133.

Ashford is a boom location for startups, with 90 per cent of businesses deemed to be “micro” concerns employing up to nine people, many relocating from London. 

Fast train links are a big draw for business and commuters: 35 minutes to St Pancras and barely an hour to Brussels.

https://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/buying/new-homes/new-livework-houses-in-ashford-with-fast-train-links-to-st-pancras-and-brussels-a125411.html

Warning - landlords will quit as rent stagnation squeezes profits

More landlords will leave the private rented sector in the next year as annual rental price growth has been flat or falling since 2016 according to a property management firm. 

DJ Alexander, one of the UK’s largest family run property management companies, says that over the last year the average private rental price has increased by a mere 0.9 per cent across Britain - meaning that in many regions it was even less.

In England annual rental price growth has been below 2.0 per cent since May 2017 and below 1.0 per cent in the last four months - that’s down two thirds on six years ago. 

In Scotland annual rental price growth was last above 2.0 per cent in June 2015 and has fallen steadily, even going into negative territory four times since then. 

Wales has performed slightly better although has never enjoyed 2.0 per cent annual rental price growth and has now dipped to 0.7 per cent.

Over a five-year period, London has seen annual rent rates fall from 3.3 per cent in October 2013 to a fall of 0.2 per cent in October this year.

Other areas have performed better - the East Midlands has seen annual price rises increase from 0.8 per cent to 2.7 per cent over the same period, while the West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber, the East of England and the South West have all experienced quite substantial increases in their annual rental price percentages.

“These figures highlight the tightening private rented market where margins are being squeezed and the casual landlord will be feeling the pinch. Many areas have almost static or barely rising annual price increases which, coupled with recent legislative changes which make it more expensive to be a landlord means that many will be pushed towards exiting the market” says David Alexander, managing director of DJ Alexander Ltd.

“The tax changes introduced by George Osborne continue to reduce the offsets which make running a property more expensive while Chancellor Hammond has reduced capital gains tax on selling rented property which makes the exit from the market more expensive” he continues.

“With the number of negatives increasing some landlords, many of whom only accidentally entered the market in the first place, may decide that now is the time to leave. Although there probably won’t be many tears shed for private sector landlords leaving the market, they play an essential part in providing vital housing stock across the UK.”

https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2018/11/warning--landlords-will-quit-as-rent-stagnation-squeezes-profits

Crooked letting agent admits taking over £220,000 from clients

A former lettings agent in Plymouth has finally admitted taking hundreds of thousands of pounds from tenants and landlords - the total is thought to be between £220,000 and £260,000. 

Last month we reported that Heather Crabb, who owned Plymouth-based Drake Homes from 2005 until it closed in September 2016, had admitted a charge of false accounting, two charges of fraud by abuse of position and two counts of theft. She also admits a separate fraud charge of stealing from landlords and tenants between March 2015 and December 2017.

Now Plymouth Crown Court has heard that Crabb and co-defendant Jill Wood - a co-owner of the agency - changed their pleas after originally denying a string of theft and fraud offences.

Judge Robert Linford released the pair on bail until a date to be fixed later this month.

This court appearance is merely the latest in a series of events in the saga of Crabb’s arrest and conviction. 

Two years ago she issued a statement saying her office in Plymouth had closed following her suffering a stroke. It read: “Due to continued ill health, we are informing you that the portfolio of Drake Homes is being transferred to a reputable agent who will look after your interests. We are in the process of completing your final accounts accordingly and the new agent, who is well established and very experienced will be in touch in due course. Kind regards. Heather.”

https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2018/11/crooked-letting-agent-admits-taking-over-220-000-from-clients

Fit for a sheikh — and his entourage:25-bedroom London super-mansion could be the capital's first £300 million home

A billionaire Arab sheikh is turning former offices near Hyde Park into a family palace that could be London’s first £300 million home.

Former Qatar prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani is believed to have paid about £150 million for the Grade II listed property and is spending a similar amount converting it into a vast and opulent super-mansion in the heart of Belgravia. 

Drawings submitted with a planning application show the finished six-storey house, set back from the road in an acre of land, will have more than 50,000 sq ft of living space, making it one of the largest private homes in London. The Standard has learned that the sheikh, known as HBJ, bought the Georgian property in 2016 from the Barclay brothers, Sir Frederick and Sir David, owners of the Daily Telegraph. 

The deal involved the transfer of two shares in a British Virgin Islands registered company to the sheikh.

Pictures show a magnificent double staircase leading up from a cavernous entrance hall flanked by marble pillars. The ground floor will have a huge drawing room and dining room as well as a library and guest salon.

The “upstairs, downstairs” layout will include “his and hers” master suites on the first floor, six children’s suites on the upper floors, five guest suites and 12 staff bedrooms —  11 of which will be on the lower ground floor.

A spa in the basement will host two plunge pools, a Turkish bath, a gym, sauna, beauty room and treatment room. Previous plans for a large swimming pool have been scrapped.

The basement will also have a cinema and a luggage room, and a second underground level is being dug out to be a garage accessed by car lift. The children’s floors on the second and third levels have their own games and media room and two living rooms.

A heritage report submitted to Westminster council with the planning application says the scheme would restore the building to “a single family house of the highest quality”. 

It adds: “There are few individuals who could/would be able to restore it while ensuring what is truly remarkable about it is both preserved and enhanced.”

Sheikh Hamad, 57, was premier of Qatar from 2007 to 2013, when he spearheaded an investment drive that led to its capital being dubbed “Londoha.” Trophy assets snapped up or funded at the time included Harrods, the Shard, Chelsea Barracks and Canary Wharf. 

The sheikh also backed the Candy brothers in the One Hyde Park scheme and bought a triplex apartment there.

His wealth is estimated at $1.2 billion and his other assets include a 436ft superyacht, Al Mirqab.

The Belgravia property has not been occupied as a home since 1941. It was built in 1810 to designs by Sir Robert Smirke, and the interiors were used in an Alfred Hitchcock thriller in the Fifties.

The Barclays bought it in 2010 and it has been empty since. The brothers owned it through “offshore entities” in Jersey and the British Virgin Islands as a London base for Sir David’s son Aidan.

Conversion is well under way, with a digger on the land. It is believed work on the grounds and basement will be completed by February.

Internal renovations are being carried out by a separate team and could take a further 12 months, sources said.

Property experts said a finished value of more than £300 million was “entirely plausible” as the house would be priced at at least £6,000 per square foot if it ever went on the market.

It will be one of only a handful of private central London homes bigger than 50,000 sq ft. Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal owns one in Kensington Palace Gardens, known as the Taj Mittal, around the same size.

The heritage report, by DIA Historic Buildings Consultancy, said the sheikh’s house would be returned to its status as a “small urban palace” enjoyed by aristocrats when “the British Empire was at its zenith and as rich as it ever was”.

News of the sale emerged as the Barclays, who are based in the Channel Islands, were reportedly searching for buyers for a number of their companies, including the Telegraph titles and the Ritz casino.

It follows disappointing financial results from some of their businesses. The brothers have repeatedly denied the Telegraph is for sale.

The sale to the sheikh was certified by a Panamanian law firm, Arias Fabrega & Fabrega Trust Co, BVI Limited. On its website it says it has “a strong offshore practice, for which it has developed ... affiliated offices in London, Luxembourg, Geneva, Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands, Uruguay and Belize”.

Land Registry records for the building show a £34 million transaction. However, it is understood that figure relates only to the lease — the freehold is owned by the Duke of Westminster — with the true cost of the sheikh’s purchase contained within the company transfer.

https://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/luxury/property/25bedroom-london-supermansion-could-be-the-capitals-first-300-million-home-a125581.html

Rents have fallen in real terms over the last 10 years says Countrywide

So-called ‘real rents’ - those adjusted for inflation - have fallen by 2.2 per cent since October 2008.  

This means that the average cost of living has far outstripped average rents.

The claim comes from Countrywide’s high end brand Hamptons International, which monitors the rental market. 

In the last 10 years the consumer price index, which measures the average cost of goods and services, has outpaced rents.  

Over the last decade rents have actually risen 22 per cent but inflation has risen 24 per cent over the same period.

The East and London are the only regions across Great Britain where rental growth has outpaced inflation.  

In the East, real rents have risen 7.5 per cent over the last 10 years.  Meanwhile in London, real rents are up a mere 0.5 per cent since October 2008.

However, inflation has outpaced rental growth in all other regions across Great Britain, resulting in negative real rental growth.

The Midlands has seen the biggest fall in real rents, down 7.8 per cent since October 2008;  real rents in the North have fallen 6.9 per cent as inflation has outpaced rental growth. 

Aneisha Beveridge, Hamptons International’s head of research, says: “Real rents in Great Britain have been falling for the last 21 consecutive months. This comes as a result of sluggish rental growth and a post-EU referendum backdrop of rising inflation.  

“However, this could be set to change as inflation begins to fade and rental growth starts to pick up pace. Currently the East and London are the only regions where real rents have risen over the last decade.”

https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2018/11/rents-have-fallen-in-real-terms-over-the-last-10-years-says-countrywide

Trade body threatens council with Judicial Review over licensing plan

The Residential Landlords Association is threatening a council with a judicial review because of unresolved concerns over the authority’s selective licensing plans.

Great Yarmouth council is proposing to bring rented homes in parts of one electoral area, Nelson, into the scope of selective licensing.

However, the RLA believes one of the conditions set to be imposed as part of the scheme is unlawful and has written to the council asking for urgent clarification.

The RLA believes the local authority’s plans to make it compulsory for landlords affected to join a ‘landlord support service’ run by a third-party delivery partner are unlawful.

The association says that while some councils do legitimately use delivery partners to administer and enforce schemes – notably in Doncaster and West Lindsey – these do not require landlords to become members of the partner organisation as a pre-condition of licensing.

The RLA believes the council has no power to impose such a condition – and pointed this out in its official response to the licensing consultation earlier this year. In fact, the association believes existing rules do not even allow councils to ask whether landlords are members of such organisations.

RLA policy director David Smith says: “We are asking for immediate clarification on the council’s position. If our understanding is correct we want the council to reconsider this aspect of the scheme and come up with a lawful alternative. If it will not we will move ahead and issue a claim for a judicial review on this basis.”

Under the current plans the new licensing scheme is due to be introduced with fees set at more than £500 per property for the five-year licensing period, plus a monthly fee of £9.50 to be paid to the landlord support scheme.

The scheme is 20 per cent more expensive via the delivery partner, as VAT is payable.

https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2018/11/trade-body-threatens-council-with-judicial-review-over-licensing-plan