Bedroom Tax: Good Idea, Poorly Executed
February 19, 2013
Over 660,000 tenants will be affected by the government’s bedroom tax – or under occupancy penalty to give it its official title – from 1 April 2013. The aim of the policy is to reduce the £20 billion annual housing benefit bill by £1 billion over two years and create a fairer system within the social rented sector.
So how will the tax or penalty work? Firstly it will only affect tenants in council or housing association accommodation who are claiming housing benefit. Each adult is […]
The private rented sector now stands at 18% of housing stock and is projected by some to grow to 25% by 2025. Lenders are key to this growth. Many landlords have proved we are a pretty safe bet when it comes to lending with repossessions in the buy to let sector standing at just 0.13%. I make presentations on financing your portfolio from the landlord’s perspective and I often hear frustrations from colleagues. I’ve summarised here some of the ways that lenders could be more […]
New Year is traditionally the time for reflecting on house price changes and making predictions for the coming year. 2012 has been a healthy year for Greater London with houses prices up 7%, according to the Land Registry, compared to 1.1% across the UK overall. Hometrack says that prices have risen in 70% of London postcodes and now stand on average 10% higher than in 2007. This level of house price inflation in London is modest and sustainable and is certainly helpful for those of us […]
I went to an auction last week and it was very busy. Interesting. We’ve just gone into the double dip of the recession, Spain is about to be bailed out by the IMF and EU and I think we’re about to see the break up of the eurozone, beginning of course with Greece after their next election. So why are there so many hungry buyers around? They were not just developers – there were some owner occupiers about too.