Private Rented Sector Buy to Let Consultants
Benefits Cap Puts a Lid on Housing Benefit Rise Though the Chancellor raised the level of housing benefit in the last budget, there are thousands of landlords who will miss out. Private landlords house 1.6 million tenants who get part or all of their rents covered by housing benefits. The payments are set according to local housing allowance (LHA) rates, […]
Read moreIt seems the media are finally having a proper and mature debate about immigration – even the BBC is now doing it, without fearing that by even questioning the extent of immigration the dear BEEB could themselves be labelled as racist. It has taken many years for all in the media to have a sensible debate about this big issue, […]
Read moreDavid Lawrenson of www.LettingFocus.com says that among the mandarins at the DWP, the penny may be finally dropping about Universal Credit Housing Benefit payments. Here, he proposes a more sensible alternative. It’s Groundhog Day all over again. You may remember the famous film starring Bill Murray about a TV weatherman who was forced to relive a single day until he […]
Read moreDavid Lawrenson of www.LettingFocus.com observes the latest mortgage lender U turn on allowing landlords to let to housing benefit tenants, but says that rather than a “blanket” approach of either allowing or not allowing landlords to do this, a better way would be if lenders “selectively” allowed it – with the decision linked to other variables such as landlord experience […]
Read moreDavid Lawrenson of Private Rented Sector Consultants LettingFocus.com looks at why some mortgage lenders don’t want to allow landlords to let to tenants who are dependent on housing benefit to pay their rent. Last week, at this blog, I looked at Nationwide’s new policy (for the Mortgage Works) to not allow landlords taking out mortgages or remortgages with them to […]
Read moreMortgage lenders are increasingly not allowing private landlords to let to tenants on benefits. This can only lead to even more landlords removing their properties from this end of the market – a part of the market where tenants have very few housing options. With nowhere else to go, more families will need to be put up in expensive B&B […]
Read moreDavid Lawrenson of www.LettingFocus.com explains the “work arounds” and the sleights of hand involved in the latest changes in Local Housing Allowance funding. The government has just voted to cap rises in several benefits, including local housing allowance (LHA) base rates, at the lower of 1% or the 30th percentile of local rents – which means that in practice, in […]
Read moreIf you have read my recent posts and seen me quoted on the net, you will know that I recently published a blog highlighting that some lenders, (including a state owned bank), still have in place restrictions, within their buy to let mortgage terms and conditions, which prohibit private landlords letting to tenants who are on housing benefit (or “DWP” […]
Read moreLocal authority schemes to attract private landlords to let to people with few housing options often fail. Here at LettingFocus, we explain why. I was invited to speak at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Homelessness conference in Nottingham last week. This is a big national event to which around 140 local authority and housing association staff from all around […]
Read moreSome mortgage lenders still don’t let landlords who have mortgage loans with them to let their properties to tenants who are on benefits. Many private landlords are reluctant to let to tenants who are dependent on housing benefits, preferring tenants who do not have to rely on the state for any assistance. There are a number of reasons why: 1. […]
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