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Following the UK leaving the European Union the government has changed the way which landlords and agents will conduct Right to Rent checks.

Currently to prove right to rent landlords and agents check the potential tenants nationality. However from the 1st July 2021 landlords and agents will be checking potential tenants UK Immigration status.

This applies to anyone who is an EEA, EU or Swiss national.

The Home Office have recently announced an online checking system. The potential tenant will be able to share their immigration status with their landlord or agent using a share code.

 

The government has also extended the period where landlords and agents can carry out Right to Rent checks virtually until 31st August 2021

From 1st September 2021 all right to rent checks will be back to being in person, the exception to this will be potential tenants with a Home Office Immigration status.

The May 2021 version of the Halifax House Price Index report shows a continuation of strong inflation of house prices across the UK.

The annual index shows a 9.5% increase this month on last year, the strongest in nearly 9 years.

The average UK property price now stands at a whopping £261,743, a new record high.

The government are introducing a new housing scheme called the First Homes Scheme in an attempt to help local first-time buyers, many of which are anticipated to be key workers, to get onto the property ladder by offering homes at a discount of at least 30% compared to the market price.

The scheme is expected to launch gradually throughout the country with properties under the scheme already going up in the East Midlands.

The aim of the scheme is to help support local people who struggle to afford market prices in their area but want to stay in their community.

The same 30% discount will be passed on with the sale of the property to future first-time buyers, meaning these homes will always be below market value.

 

Banks and building societies which are providing 95% mortgages for First Homes:

  • Chorley Building Society
  • Darlington Building Society
  • Halifax
  • Leeds Building Society
  • Mansfield Building Society
  • Nationwide Building Society
  • Newcastle Building Society

Currently if a landlord wishes to serve a Section 21 and evict a tenant, they have to give the tenant 6 months notice, pre-pandemic this was 2 months notice.

The government have now announced that the current 6 month notice period will be reduced to 4 months from 1st June 2021. It is also expected that the notice period will return to pre-pandemic levels of 2 months by 1st October 2021.

 

What does this mean for me?

As a landlord, if you wish to regain possession of your property, you only need to give the tenants 4 months notice (from June 1st) as opposed to the 6 months you have to give at the moment.

As a tenant, if your landlord wishes to regain possession of their property and evict you, they need to give at least 4 months notice (from June 1st).

Propertymark’s March Private Rented Sector Report shows no sign of demand slowing down in the rental market with the number of new prospective tenants rising for the third month in a row!

We are seeing increasingly more potential tenants looking for properties every day, and the supply of rental stock is not handling the amount of people looking. In April 2021 CB Estates had 161 potential tenants register for information about a properties for letting.

Right now is a great time to let out your property. If you are thinking about it and need advice or have any questions give us a call today on 01752 917458.