Building better homes is good for everyone – not just older people

 

https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-selling/when-is-the-best-time-to-sell-my-house/

It’s no secret that the UK’s housing sector is in crisis. Headlines scream about the shortage of new-build homes. TV pundits talk constantly about the need for more affordable homes.
The crisis fewer people mention is the accessible housing crisis – and the woeful condition of Britain’s housing stock.

Britain has the oldest housing stock in the EU. Millions of homes are cold, damp and in a poor state of repair. These poor-quality homes are disproportionately lived in by older people, with 1.3 million people aged 55 and over living in a home with at least one ‘category 1 hazard’ – defined as something that poses a serious threat to the health or safety of people living in or visiting your home.

As well as homes being in poor condition, many are inaccessible – only 7% have all four accessibility features that make them visitable to most people (level access to the entrance, a flush threshold, sufficiently wide door sets and circulation space, and a toilet at entrance level).

Not meeting these criteria means people who have a disability or who have lost mobility with age are at a huge disadvantage when looking for a home or when visiting friends and family, and are increasingly disabled by their environment.

We cannot allow ourselves to accept this. With concerted action from developers and homebuilders, from planners and architects and from national and local government, we can build better homes that everyone can live in, regardless of their age or ability, and improve the homes we already have.

Who wants to buy an accessible home?
When we talk about homes that are accessible, or that could be adapted in the future, we aren’t talking about building expensive houses that look like hospitals or having emergency pull cords and clinical equipment in every flat.

There’s no reason we can’t build beautiful homes with wider doorways and level access thresholds at the entrances. Bathrooms can easily include integrated grips and handles, or the infrastructure for grab rails when they’re needed, and walk-in baths anyone can use. It isn’t difficult to design stylish kitchens with lever door handles and waist-height ovens.

Accessible homes are about flexibility for the future, so that they can be adapted as our needs change. Rather than causing stagnation in the housing market, these common sense solutions will open up the market to a massive segment of the population that is currently being missed.

What’s more, first-time buyers may not be thinking about the future when they pick up their first set of keys, but you never know how long they will remain in that property, who they might have to visit, or who will buy it years later. It is about the lifetime of the home, not just the first resident.

The lack of suitable homes is causing older people to stay put until a crisis forces them to move. Research commissioned by Greater Manchester Combined Authority, funded by the Centre for Ageing Better, reveals that many over 50s cannot move home in the way that they would like, due to a lack of suitable housing options.

Just 3.4% of over-50s move home each year – half as many moves compared to the rest of the population. Although those with greater wealth can more easily move, and the least well-off receive more support from social care, those on low- and middle- incomes can find themselves trapped in homes which are no longer appropriate for them as they age.

Age-proof homes can unlock huge commercial opportunity
This is a missed opportunity for businesses in the housing sector. A big cohort of people is not buying homes – or selling them – because of failings in the system.

To address the problem, we need more diverse housing options that meet the needs of older people, across all types and tenures.

Specialist retirement housing will play a role, but since more than 90% of over-65s live in ordinary houses and flats, clearly they should be the sector’s priority.

Recent polling by YouGov, commissioned by the Centre for Ageing Better, showed that nearly three quarters of all adults think all new homes should be built to be suitable for all ages and abilities, while 48% of people think society is not doing enough to enable people to live independently at home as they get older.

Crucially for those in the business of buying and selling homes, a third of those polled said they would be encouraged to purchase a home with characteristics like walk-in showers or handrails, with a further 48% saying they would be neither encouraged nor discouraged.

And this isn’t just true of older people. A quarter of 18-24s and 25-34s said they would be encouraged to buy homes with these features. Around half wouldn’t be encouraged or discouraged.

We must put renewed investment and interest into improving our existing mainstream housing stock and support local authorities, planners and developers to deliver new homes that are future proofed and accessible to everyone, regardless of age.

Building age-proof homes is good for everyone
Building new homes to a decent standard now will ensure that people of all ages will benefit from the features of inclusively designed homes. It’s not just about older and disabled people now.

This is about our future selves, our families, and our friends, and ensuring we all have the home environments we need to remain independent, safe and socially connected.

And while building new and better homes is important, we can’t forget that 80% of the homes we will be living in by 2050 are already built. We must improve the condition and accessibility of existing housing, ensuring homes are safe, hazard-free and well maintained.

Councils, housing associations and others must give people timely advice and access to funding to adapt and repair their homes.

We are living longer than ever before – a fantastic opportunity – but the homes we live in don’t always help us to live well into later life. A radical rethink would be good for everyone.

 https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/features/2019/3/building-better-homes-is-good-for-everyone--not-just-older-people

Section 21 abolished:what does it mean for tenants and will it help them?

 https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/property/639575/right-to-rent-new-rules-for-landlords-property

My tenant is about to get an eviction notice. She’s a lovely woman and over the past few months she has turned the flat into a proper home for herself and her two little children.

She has never been a single day late with her rent and has always let me know promptly of any problems in the flat.

In short, she is a model tenant and I do not want her to leave, but that’s not my call, I’m afraid. I have got to send her a Section 21, giving her two months’ notice to leave.

The reason I don’t have any choice is that when the tenant applied for the flat last year she failed the credit check due to her low income, so her employer offered to guarantee her rent — but only for 12 months.

Unless I serve a Section 21 possession notice, the contract will automatically roll over into a periodic tenancy when the fixed term ends and the guarantee will continue, against her guarantor’s wish.
However, I don’t want to lose the tenant, so if she wants to stay I will happily give her a new tenancy, without the guarantee if necessary.

I feel she has proved that she’s a cracking tenant and yes, there is still a possibility that she will struggle to cover the rent given her low wage, but now that I’ve got to know her, it’s a risk I am prepared to take.

The reason I mention this is that in the future, if the newly launched “End Unfair Evictions Coalition” gets its way, landlords like me are unlikely to want to take a punt with tenants like her.

When it delivered its petition to the Secretary of State for housing last month demanding the abolition of Section 21, the coalition argued all tenants should have an automatic right to remain in a property indefinitely, unless they break the terms of the contract.

While I agree many tenants would benefit from the security, I think if the Government removes a landlord’s right to evict tenants after the fixed term of their contract has ended by giving two months’ notice, the most vulnerable renters will find it much harder, if not impossible, to find homes.

I wouldn’t have been able to accept my tenant because her guarantor wasn’t prepared to guarantee her rent indefinitely.

I have a student tenant who I’d also have had to turn away, as her guarantor wouldn’t agree to cover the rent for more than six months.

The Government is already considering introducing minimum three-year tenancies, which I think will prompt some landlords to exit the market because of the extra risk.

Introduce indefinite tenancies and we could see a mass exodus, which in turn would lead to a dire shortage of rental homes in the capital.

It could also make mortgage lenders twitchy and some might exit the buy-to-let market or, as my financial adviser Martin Stewart of London Money suggested, they are more likely to tighten their lending criteria, making it harder for landlords to borrow.

Fewer rental homes will mean that landlords who remain will be able to cherry-pick the best tenants.
After all, it’s a business, so we are not likely to let a property to someone who  seems nice but might struggle to pay the rent if it is a toss-up between them and a rock-solid applicant.

I have some sympathy with the argument against Section 21, but this petition could throw tenants out of the frying pan and into the fire.

https://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/renting/section-21-abolished-what-does-it-mean-for-tenants-and-will-it-help-them-a129591.html

What buyers want:the top features that will make your home appeal to London househunters

 http://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/studentlifecu/5-steps-to-house-hunting-success/

London homeowners hoping to sell their property in the current Brexit-deadened market will be at a distinct advantage if their house or flat has some form of outside space, new research has found.

According to Rightmove, who analysed the most popular entries in their keyword search function, a garden is the most sought-after property feature for green space-starved Londoners.

Perhaps spurred on by the gloriously hot weather last summer or the trend for homegrown vegetables, city dwellers are looking for a patch of sun to call their own.

A straw poll of estate agents conducted by Homes & Property found that a garden can also add a premium of up to £90,000 to the price of property, with 72 per cent of Foxtons clients saying they would pay more for a home with a garden.

Flat-dwellers in London are also seeking their own patch of private outdoor space, with searches for balcony the fifth most popular.

With house prices in the capital by far the highest in the country, Londoners also need to be particularly money savvy.

The second most popular search on Rightmove for London buyers is ‘Freehold’, reflecting the large number of houses that have been divided into flats in the capital and a desire to avoid the high service charges that leasehold property can entail.

The third most popular search term on the property website also springs from London’s high house prices – 'Help to Buy'.

While the government scheme is not reserved for first-time buyers alone, it is particularly popular with them because it enables buyers without a huge amount of equity to get on the property ladder so long as they buy a new build home costing under £600,000.

A recent report from Halifax found that first-time buyers were the most active group in the UK property market for the first time in 23 years, with numbers up 38 per cent in a decade.

With the cost of a parking space topping £500,000 in four London boroughs, unsurprisingly, off-street parking is in high demand in the capital, with searches for the keyword ‘Garage’ the fourth most popular on the list.

Popular luxury features included penthouses and swimming pools, while London’s streets of terraced houses have a perennial appeal for buyers, according to the keyword ranking.

'Period' properties were the 10^th most searched for feature in London.

The most popular search for buyers throughout the UK was ‘Garage’, partly for the continued benefits of off-street parking but also for the flexible appeal of garages that often don't need planning permission to convert.

“Conventional wisdom points to the fact that garages are still valued by buyers and that’s because they have so much potential. They’re great for storage and can also be converted into living space,” said Rightmove’s Miles Shipside.


The second and third most popular national searches were ‘Annexe’ and ‘Acre’, reflecting the greater amount of space to be found outside the capital.

https://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/what-buyers-want-the-top-features-that-will-make-your-home-appeal-to-london-househunters-a129416.html

Homes Fitness for Human Habitation Act:new tenants’ rights in the UK mean landlords can be taken to court if they don't complete necessary home repairs

Victoria Whitlock warns fellow landlords not to ignore tenants’ moans about damp or blocked drains. A new law in force from March 20, 2019 will trap the rogues …or she might just use her stern ‘mum voice’

Landlords, if you haven’t inspected your rental properties for a while because you’ve entrusted them to a managing agent, I would give them a once-over if I were you, otherwise you could end up in court.

From March 20, tenants will be given the power to sue landlords who fail to adequately maintain their properties as part of a new law called the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act.

This means that, rather than relying on overstretched, under-resourced councils to force landlords to carry out repairs sometime never, tenants will be able to take them to court.

PropertyWire

What is the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act?

The Act, which is actually an update to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, will cover all tenancies of less than seven years in length, which must surely be the majority.

Courts will have authority to order landlords to carry out the repairs and they will also be able to award damages to tenants.

The new law is designed to prevent tenants having to put up with unsafe or unsanitary conditions, such as damp, poor ventilation, lack of natural light and blocked drains.

Of course, good landlords don’t have anything to worry about.

If you respond to tenants’ requests for repairs faster than a rat out of a trap and your properties are generally in good repair, then you’re fine.

However, if you have ignored your tenants’ complaints about such issues as damp, hoping they will just put up with it, then you had better get yourself into gear and sort it out now, otherwise you could end up in court. If you do, you won’t get much sympathy.

I am more worried about landlords who have left managing agents to look after their properties. If that’s you, do you know how well your agent is taking care of things?

Can you be sure that they have carried out necessary repairs and they haven’t just ignored tenants’ complaints because they really cannot be bothered doing any work for their commission? If you are not sure, I would go and take a look.

You can be sure that I will be quoting the Act when I next contact my daughter’s slack letting agent who has stubbornly refused to carry out any repairs to her student house, despite being repeatedly asked to do so since she and her friends moved in last September.

Can you be sure that they have carried out necessary repairs and they haven’t just ignored tenants’ complaints because they really cannot be bothered doing any work for their commission? If you are not sure, I would go and take a look.

You can be sure that I will be quoting the Act when I next contact my daughter’s slack letting agent who has stubbornly refused to carry out any repairs to her student house, despite being repeatedly asked to do so since she and her friends moved in last September.

These include a permanently blocked shower, mould in two of the bedrooms and windows that won’t close.

Less serious but also annoying are the broken curtain rail, bust desk chair, loose shower rail and a cupboard full of junk left behind by previous tenants.

I was so fed up of hearing my daughter complain about the property that I decided to call the letting agent myself, which, as my daughter’s guarantor, I felt entitled to do. However, the conversation didn’t go well. At first the guy told me he didn’t have time to talk. 

“Look, these girls have paid you a £1,400 fee, the least you can do is take a five-minute phone call,” I said, in my sternest “mum voice”.

Then he told me he only responded to repair requests made online. I pointed out the girls had logged their complaints several times and nothing had been done, at which point I swear I could hear him grinding his teeth.

Eventually, he agreed to carry out the repairs, but that was a month ago and nothing has been sorted. Maybe the landlord is aware of the issues but I suspect the agent hasn’t informed him.

Either way, someday someone could sue him because of his downright laziness.

https://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/renting/homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-new-tenants-rights-in-the-uk-mean-landlords-can-be-taken-to-a128836.html 

 

The pockets of Britain bucking the Brexit backlash: Areas that have seen property prices soar since the EU referendum

The pockets of Britain bucking the Brexit backlash: Areas that have seen property prices soar since the EU referendum 

Concerns about Brexit have taken their toll on Britain's property market.

After 'almost grinding to a complete halt' at the beginning of the year, the annual growth in house prices remained subdued in February, according Nationwide Building Society.

It said the average value of a home in Britain was £211,304 last month, down from £211,966 a month earlier.

Most commentators attribute the sluggish housing market to the uncertainty around Brexit, arguing that many of those looking to buy and sell properties are delaying their decisions until the country leaves the EU.

But amid this doom and gloom for the property market, there are pockets around the country that have seen a surprising rise in values.

Indeed, several cities have performed especially strongly since the Brexit vote in June 2016.

In particular, Leicester and Manchester have seen price growth of 17.2 per cent and 16.6 per cent respectively since the 2016 vote.

A further 10 locations around the country have also seen double digit house price growth during the period.

The list produced by property website Zoopla is dominated by spots in Scotland and the north of England, including Nottingham, Edinburgh and Leeds.

The only place in southern England in the top 10 locations is Bournemouth, while Cardiff is the only location in Wales.

London has been hit harder than most areas of the country as this is where prices tend to be higher than elsewhere in Britain.

It means the growth in house prices has been relatively low in the capital, increasing by only two per cent since the Brexit vote. 

      CreditUpgrades.co.uk

However, the outlook is changing according to one expert. Richard Donnell, research and insight director at Zoopla, said: 'House prices in London are starting to firm. 

'Buyers who have stood on the side-lines since 2015 are starting to see greater value for money, seeking out buying opportunities amidst the uncertainty of Brexit. This is supported by greater realism on pricing by sellers. 

'We do not believe London prices will rebound but it is a positive for sales volumes, which are still 25 per cent lower than in 2016.'

He added: 'House price growth has remained strong in regional cities over the last three years rising as much as 17 per cent since the Brexit vote but signs of weaker growth are building as affordability pressures grow.

'While the Brexit debate reaches fever pitch, data on housing sales and demand for mortgages shows buyers are largely unmoved. 

'Transaction volumes over 2018 remained in line with the five-year average. The latest data shows that housing transactions have increased slightly in the first two months of 2019.

'With unemployment at a record low and mortgage rates still averaging two per cent, buyers appear to be largely shrugging off Brexit uncertainty until there is a material change in the overall outlook.'

Zoopla said house prices across the country had climbed 8.8 per cent since the Brexit vote, or the equivalent of £17,624, from £200,444 to £218,068.

It follows Nationwide saying last month how prices had dropped 0.1 per cent between January to February as Brexit approached.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: 'After almost grinding to a complete halt in January, annual house price growth remained subdued in February.' 

'Indicators of housing market activity, such as the number of property transactions and the number of mortgages approved for house purchase, have remained broadly stable in recent months, but survey data suggests that sentiment has softened.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-6848319/Where-property-prices-risen-Brexit-vote.html