As summer draws to a close, many landlords will be looking forward to somewhat more settled relationships with tenants as autumn and winter loom on the horizon. What’s likely to lie in store? Let’s take a look at some of the recent property news headlines to find out.
Social landlord admits 25% of properties fail Decent Homes Standard
The officially sanctioned Decent Homes Standards suffered a setback recently when the London Borough of Lewisham admitted that 24% of its social housing fails to achieve the set standard.
Landlord Today on the 27th of August revealed that the borough has reported itself to the sector’s regulator, the Regulator of Social Housing, admitting a potential breach of the required consumer standards. The Regulator recognises that a failure rate of just 10% would be an acceptable norm.
Lewisham has fallen foul of the Housing Ombudsman in other areas too. It has been accused of “severe Maladministration” – plus instances involving some 5,000 fire safety issues that have not been addressed, along with discrepancies in its reporting of mould and damp in its social housing.
House price growth edged up in July
The latest House Price Index from Nationwide reveals signs of increased vitality in the housing market. The key features of its report for July reveal that:
- house prices rose by 0.3% compared with the previous month;
- that relatively modest increase, however, underlies a current annual rate of growth of 2.1% – significantly higher than the 1.5% recorded in June;
- even so, average house prices remain some 2.8% below the record highs experienced by the market during the summer months of 2022;
- mortgage interest rates remain higher than before the pandemic, but approved applications are still reaching some 60,000 every month – a creditable performance even though they remain about 10% less than before the pandemic;
- higher interest rates mean that affordability is likely to remain an issue – at least until wage growth begins to overtake the increase in relatively stable house prices.
- nevertheless, the latest figures mark the fastest rate of growth in UK house prices since the end of 2022.
Rents start falling in major cities
While the Nationwide reported on house prices, the online listings website Zoopla analysed prices in the rental market in a piece on the 21st of August. The key takeaways are as follows:
- the boom that has been seen in rising rent levels recently finally seems to be nearing an end;
- whereas the last 3 years saw rents outpacing the growth in earnings, rents are currently rising at their slowest rate since 2021;
- on the demand side of the rental market’s equation, there has been a reduction of 39% compared with last year;
- at the same time, the supply of rental accommodation has also begun to climb, with an estimated 17% increase in the number of homes available – even though demand still significantly outstrips supply;
- as a result, average rents across the UK are estimated to rise by only 3% or 4% during this year – significantly lower than the 11% rise recorded in 2022 or 8% in 2023.
Ofgem announces 10% increase to energy price cap
The energy regulator Ofgem has increased the energy price cap to £1,717 for the interval between the 1st of October and the end of December this year, confirmed the online listings website Rightmove on the 23rd of August.
The move represents an increase of £149 in the estimated annual cost of energy for the typical household. That average household is defined as a two or three-bedroom house that is home to 2 or 3 people – the actual energy bill you pay will, of course, depend on your particular consumption, whether you pay by standing order, and where you live.
