Landlords Archives - Amora Escapes

Joy for landlords in South Africa

Rick Casey — Sun, 23 Jun 2024 09:13:11 +0000

Inflation, stagnant salary growth, and high interest rates have made homeownership unaffordable for many South Africans, resulting in rent escalations as demand grows—which is good news for landlords.

On 30 May, The South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB’s) Monetary Policy Committee voted to hold rates, keeping the repo rate at 8.25% and the prime lending rate at 11.75%.

The decision was unanimous. Since the start of the rate hike cycle in November 2021, rates have been hiked by 475bps to the highest levels in 15 years.

Several property experts have called the unanimous decision to hold interest rates as disappointing but expected.

However, what wasn’t expected was Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago’s strong indication that the repo rate probably wouldn’t come down at all this year, pointing instead to the second quarter of 2025.

“The stance of the Reserve Bank has been too hawkish. While inflation has moderated, the reality is that keeping the interest rate so high for so long has done little to bring down inflation, largely as it is not demand-driven but rather ‘imported’ into the economy,” said chairman of the Seeff Property Group, Samuel Seeff.

Even Standard Bank recently signalled concern that the level of home loan distress is rising.

This means homeowners will remain under strain for at least the next six months, making it unaffordable for many prospective buyers.

Evidence of this was noted in the latest TPN Tenant Survey Report 2024, which showed that 58% of respondents stated that financial obstacles are the main reason they choose to rent, with 48.1% explaining that they cannot afford to buy a property.

This proves consumers are struggling to deal with high interest rates, inflation, and limited job prospects.

For 9.9% of respondents, a poor credit record is a barrier to purchasing a property.

Additionally, due to the high expenses associated with homeownership, 11.4% of renters believe it is cheaper to rent, while 2.2% do not want to take on the debt of owning a property.

Good news for landlords

While being tough for tenants and wannabe homebuyers, the current market is a good news story for landlords.

The unaffordability of houses has meant that the demand for rentals has increased substantially since 2021, similar to when the SARB’s MPC started the rate hike cycle.

According to the latest Rode’s Report on the South African property market, flat vacancy rates nationally in South Africa have continually dropped from over 10% in 2020 to 7.9% as of Q1 2024.

This, in turn, has resulted in escalating rentals for landlords, with PayProp’s Rental Index Annual Market Report—2024 Edition noting that the average rent in South Africa sits at R8,598—an increase of R368 year on year and R147 above the previous quarter (Q3).

This trend doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, as TPN’s survey shows the majority of tenants aren’t looking to own property in the near future.

The survey showed that only 29.2% of tenants are considering taking the property plunge within five years.

However, the report warned that landlords must be mindful of the prevailing economic conditions.

TPN suggests that the current constrained economy requires property investors and practitioners to carefully navigate stressed consumers by implementing reasonable escalations, ensuring good payment behaviour, and keeping their premises occupied.

Source: Business Tech

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Government enforces hefty fines for landlords breaking right-to-rent rules

Javier Valdez — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 11:33:42 +0000

Landlords and letting agents who break right-to-rent rules could be hit with huge financial penalties.

In August last year, the UK government announced that agents and landlords who allow rental properties to be let to migrants who do not have the right to be in the UK will face much larger financial penalties.

The legislation has now come into force this week where landlords could face a £20,000 fine.

Landlords could face prison

The penalties will increase from £80 per lodger and £1,000 per occupier for a first breach to up to £5,000 per lodger and £10,000 per occupier.

Repeat breaches will be up to £10,000 per lodger and £20,000 per occupier, up from £500 and £3,000 respectively.

Current rules mean that as well as facing a heavy fine, landlords could face potential imprisonment for failure to check the occupier’s right to rent status.

Landlords and agents have legal responsibility

All landlords and their agents in England have a legal responsibility under the Immigration Act 2014 legislation to prevent those without lawful immigration status from accessing the private rented sector.

The Home Office says landlords must complete one of these checks before commencing a tenancy:

A manual right to rent check (all citizens)
A right to rent check using Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) via the services of an Identity Service Provider (IDSP) (British and Irish citizens only)
A Home Office online right to rent check (non-British and non-Irish Citizens)

Source: Property118

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Renting: Number of UK Homes Available Down by a Third

Sherman Henry Reeves — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 08:00:30 +0000

The number of homes available to rent in the UK has fallen by a third over the past 18 months.

The sharp drop in the number of listings has helped drive up rents for new tenants by 11%.

Lettings agencies typically have 10 rentals compared to over 16 before September 2021, figures shared with the BBC by property website Zoopla show.

This has left people like Ruth searching for months without luck. “It seems completely hopeless”, she said.

The total number of rental properties in the UK hasn’t actually fallen. In fact, it has barely moved since 2016.

But people like Ruth are finding it difficult because they’re competing with far more other people in their search for a home, so there are fewer properties on the market at any one time.

Demand for rented accommodation has risen to more than 50% above normal levels, Zoopla’s figures show.

Zoopla draws its information from listings on its website, which cover 85% of UK properties listed for rent.

People who want to move but can’t find anywhere new are having to stay put. That means their old place doesn’t become available. And with people unable to move, fewer properties become vacant and appear in the estate agent’s window.

Even if people do find somewhere suitable, they’re likely to have to pay much more than they did before.

Ruth fell ill with fibromyalgia in 2015 and had to give up work. After splitting up with her long-term partner, she’s been stuck in the house they shared in Kent whilst looking for somewhere smaller and more affordable to rent.

“I keep the browser open on Rightmove, Openrent, Zoopla, Facebook Marketplace and there has been nothing,” she said. “I’m trying to keep positive but it’s difficult.”

Ruth is on benefits and has no guarantor. She believes this is stopping her being offered viewings.

“It made me feel like a lower-class citizen,” she said.

As part of the BBC’s Rental Health week, listeners, viewers and readers from across the UK have been in touch about their experience of the rental market at the moment. You can listen to BBC Radio 4’s Rental Health series on BBC Sounds.

“We’ve seen a big increase in demand for rented housing from record high immigration, the economy reopening [after the pandemic],” said Richard Donnell, executive director for research at Zoopla.

“But at the same time, we just haven’t seen much new investment by landlords in rented housing. And that’s creating a real crunch in availability.”

Higher mortgage rates, tax changes and new regulations for rented properties have made it less profitable for landlords to buy houses and offer them for rent.

Lou Valdini from York has been a landlord for 20 years. He used to rent out three homes, but now has just one. The mortgage on his property has gone up from £294 a month to £621 and says he’s “not making any money” and is “actually losing an awful lot.”

As well as the mortgage, Mr Valdini has to pay several thousand pounds a year for ground rent, insurance, service charges and agent’s fees. He’s just put his tenant’s rent up to £645 a month.

“She hasn’t missed a day’s rent since lockdown, so I’m not going to put the rent up an extortionate amount for her,” he said. “But it does mean I’m subsidising her.”

‘I’m not able to live with my partner’

Large numbers of landlords are leaving the market – 11% of homes for sale on Zoopla were previously rented.

For others, short-term lets, such as holiday lets or Airbnb, offer better returns than long-term tenants. Zoopla has seen a three-fold increase in short-term lets since 2019.

But with private renters spending on average almost a third of their income on rent, Mr Donnell and other experts believe rents can’t go on increasing, as people simply won’t be able to pay any more.

The government is due to introduce a new Renters’ Reform Bill in England before the summer, which it says will redress the balance in the market and provide more security for tenants. Housing rules are different in each of the devolved nations, Scotland currently has tighter controls on landlords than the rest of the UK.

Emily, her partner, and their baby son MJ had been renting a two bedroom flat in Aylesbury. The landlord wanted to put up the rent at the end of their current tenancy but the family couldn’t afford it. They began searching for somewhere else to live, but it’s been frustrating.

“There’s been times when I’ve said, ‘Yes, I’ll take this one’,” said Emily, “I love it, it’s perfect, and then they’ll say, ‘It’s gone’.” It has been, she says, “the most stressful time of my life – other than having a baby,”

After months of searching, the family had to move out of their home earlier this month. But they hadn’t found somewhere new, so they had to move back in with their families – which means Emily and her partner staying under different roofs.

“On our actual relationship it’s been really difficult,” she says.

The family now have one goal: “To find a two-bed house, because then it’ll have enough space for us three.”

What are your renting rights?

How much can my landlord increase the rent? It depends on your agreement but rises must be fair, realistic and in line with local properties and there’s usually a months notice.
Can my landlord evict me? Landlords need to follow strict rules such as giving written notice. Once the notice period ends, the landlord can start eviction proceedings through court.
Can a landlord refuse people on benefits? No. DSS policies are unlawful discrimination. says charity Shelter. Some councils have lists of private landlords who rent to tenants claiming benefits.

Source : BBC

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