[Bez]

Gday all, i am moving over to london shortly and have been on this site checking out places to rent. I just wanna know something (which may seem a bit obvious), the prices for 2 bedroom flats range from about 200-500 quid a week, whereas 2-3 months ago they were about half as much. Have they increased by shitloads cos of sumer or is that the price for the whole place, which is uninhabitated??

Cheers, and go the aussies on friday morning!!!

[d(d)]

nah mate rent hasn't changed that much at all...

[Pennant The Tenant]

Rents have gone up and will continue to do so. With the new housing regualtions the days of 10 people in a 2 bedroom flat are OVER

[Bluey]

What housing regulations are those? I am aware of a new reg about HMOs (Houses of Multiple Occupancy) which means Landlords need to get them licensed with the local council.

But I thought it was restricted to properties of 3 or more storeys with 5 or more occupiers?

[Pennant The Tenant]

[nobody]

i would suggest that gun crime, drugs, murder, car crashes, suicide, heart disease, terrorism, old age etc are the main killers in london not rent

[Bluey]

Do you have any links or further info on these regulations?

Why will they cause a shock for tenants as it's the landlords that will face the paperwork and costs?

I've only identified that it is mandatory for Landlords to get a licence for HMOs of 3 storeys plus with 5+ people from their local council. The licence is likely to be quite modest in cost, about £100 or so, and as the licence lasts for 5 years, it works out at £25 per year....

http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1151996

http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pub/21/LandlordsDoyouneedapropertylicensePDF279Kb_id1164021.pdf

Is it because you think lots of landlords will fail to get a licence as their accommodation is too poor so lots of large houses in London will not longer be available for rent? The penalties for LLs that evade it are very high.

Or is it because the local councils can implement additional licensing at their discretion for other smaller properties? Again, this might have the effect of reducing rental stock as Landlords might choose to sell up rather than undertake expensive repairs to bring it up to standard.

[Pennant The Tenant]

[Bluey]

I still don't see how this directly affects rent levels in the near term - the regulations don't seem to cover or curtail the practice of tenants stuffing themselves like sardines into smaller properties to cut costs.

I got the impression that it is the properties that get inspected for amenities (health and safety hazards) rather than the tenancy agreements, plus tenants tend to conceal from LLs their practice of illegally subletting to cut costs. If they can hide it from the LL, they can hide it from the local authority, too.

http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1164487

The number of properties in London that have 5+ tenants AND 3+ storeys that will be subject to extra scrutiny by local councils must be tiny. If the local authorities are as effective at managing this scheme, as they are at collecting council tax, Landlords will have nothing to fear and the amount of housing stock won't really decrease.

I know that through the population increase in London and the low rate of house building, that rents will inevitably rise like any situation where there is a resource shortage. So it's a given that rent levels will continue to rise above inflation.

But I still haven't identified any regulations that are likely to have an immediate impact on rent levels and tenant overcrowding. If anything, tenants should gain extra benefits as there is now schemes in place to monitor the quality of the accommodation they offer that will punish rogue and greedy landlords.

[Pennant The Tenant]

[Bluey]

The most basic of tenancy agreements will always make illegal subletting of the property a violation of the agreement which means the LL can choose not to renew it or use it as a reason to go through formal eviction procedures. There's no need to legislate against this as it can be covered on a property by property basis - noone forces tenants to live in crowded flats as they only have to say to the LL 'i'm gonna take my hard earned wages to a LL that doesn't pack 10 people in to a small place'.

I'm sure some LL do turn a blind eye to unauthorised subletting if the condition of their property is poor and they don't mind it taking a beating. After all, it's not them that has to queue for the bathroom and hear their multiple room mates snore through the night.

The LAs are probably interested in restricting overcrowding, instigated by tenants and LLs. And from my friends who let out properties, they too report their frustration at timewasting tenants who seem to perpetually browse for the perfect property, express a really keen interest in moving in, but then decide against it at the last minute as they never cease viewings. I guess it's the equivalent of people wanting to buy a property who often try to make the estate agent show them properties out of their budget or never really find the exact place they want and haven't got the nous to compromise.

But returning to the original thread, I haven't detected any recent great rises in rent levels in London. I am sceptical as to whether the changes in legislation will reduce overcrowding and I am unsure that they will directly cause rent levels to rise as a consequence.

[Pennant The Tenant]

[Bluey]

Well, at the risk of repeating myself, it's the Letting or Estate Agents own fault for showing properties to customers that they can't afford!

I thought estate agents insist on seeing the mortgage loan amount from a lender before letting them register to ensure that their buyer has even bothered to check how much they can borrow and don't waste their time showing them around properties that they can't get a mortgage?!

And I thought letting agents ask their prospective tenants to complete tenancy forms that ask for details of income so why would they then let them see properties where they would struggle to pay the rent?!

[Pennant The Tenant]