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Calling Time on Rogue Landlords and Agents in London

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Calling Time on Rogue Landlords and Agents in London

The Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker has been launched that will allow tenants to check landlords and agents before they sign a tenancy agreement.

The checker, from the Mayor of London, lists those landlords and lettings agents who have been successfully prosecuted or have faced civil enforcement action for housing offences, along with details of the offences and the properties to which they relate.

At the moment, 10 of the 32 London councils have published data (equivalent to 25% of renters), with another 8 councils to submit data in the coming weeks.

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Property Rental Prices in Great Britain: November 2017

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Property Rental Prices in Great Britain: November 2017

Private Rental Prices Still Increasing in England, Scotland and Wales

  • Rental prices paid by tenants in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) increased by 1.4% in the 12 months to November 2017.

  • Rental prices for Great Britain excluding London increased by 1.8% in the 12 months to November 2017.

  • Rental prices for London increased by 0.6% in the 12 months to November 2017. This is the lowest annual increase in London since October 2010.

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150 blueground homes ready for occupation in Dubai

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UAE-based corporate hospitality company blueground said work has been completed on 150 of its fully-furnished rental apartments located in some of the most popular areas of Dubai and the units are now ready for occupation.

A major player in Dubai, blueground leases and upgrades high-quality properties in the most sought-after locations, and subsequently rents them out to business travelers for mid-to-long term duration.

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Celsium Powered by Brunel - City Centre Office Relocation

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Celsium Powered by Brunel - City Centre Office Relocation

You may have read last week that Celsium Global Mobility Solutions has been acquired by Brunel International N.V., a leading global workforce mobilisation company headquartered in the Netherlands. If you haven't heard this exciting news, you can catch up here.

As part of the acquisition, Celsium Global Mobility Solutions has been rebranded as Celsium Powered by Brunel and we have relocated to new offices based in the heart of Birmingham's city centre business district. 

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UK: Rent Smart Wales registration scheme to launch

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As a result of the Housing Act (Wales) 2014, by 23 November all private landlords need to register and managing landlords and agents to become licensed with Rent Smart Wales.

Landlords and agents who are involved in letting and management activities will also have to undertake training to apply for their licence.

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UK: Rent checker tool launched

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Landbay, the property peer-to-peer lending platform, has launched a rent comparison tool that allows tenants and landlords to check how much they are paying and charging against other properties in their region.

The online application, called Rent Check, was created in collaboration with Zoopla Property Group and allows users to compare their rates against others in the same area.

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Dubai: Dubai rents continue to fall in July

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The property market in Dubai remained favourable to tenants and buyers in July, with rents continuing to fall and prices in some locations still showing a down-trend.

The cost of renting flats across various communities registered an overall decline of 2 per cent last month compared to the same period in 2015, according to a real estate portal with thousands of property listings.

The average annual rent for studio apartments in Dubai stood at Dh57,000, down by 6 per cent from a year ago, but stable when compared to the average rent in the first six months of 2016.

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New residential city in Egypt

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Egypt-based Maxim Investment Group is keen to establish a comprehensive city within the state new administrative capital city, said a report.  

The upcoming city will come up over a 1.26 million sq ft to 2.1 million sq ft area, reported Amwal Alghad, citing its chairman Mohamed Karrar.

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Dubai: New land plots available for non-UAE nationals

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Land plots in Dubai World Central have been made available for non-UAE citizens to purchase after a decision was made by Dubai’s ruler HH Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. 

“The decision grants non-UAE nationals the rights to absolute ownership of lands and properties located in land plots number (205), (206) and (207) in the Dubai World Central area (521),” according to the Dubai Media Office.

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Relief for landlords after Supreme Court ruling on Human Rights

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Private landlords can sigh in relief that tenants they want to evict cannot invoke a breach of their 'Human Rights' when they are being evicted.

Following a ruling by the Supreme Court in a case known as McDonald v McDonald, specialist property lawyer Kary Withers of Clarke Willmott LLP has reported the landmark decision.

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United Arab Emirates: Most searched-for property locations in the UAE

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Dubai Marina and Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa City A neighbourhoods were the most desirable locations in the UAE last year based on searches on classifieds website Dubizzle.com. Dubai Marina received 91 million searches overall for rent and sale properties, with more than 68 million searches solely for rental properties, Dubizzle said in its annual property report this week.

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Rental variations in China

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Many issues, legalities and paperwork differ in China from province to province. Housing rental prices are no exception, and vary greatly from 1st to 3rd tier cities, and the methods of rental and deposit payments also vary from city to city. Landlords and developers in some regions have different requirements when it comes to rental and deposit payments.

When assignees are relocating to China, they should be aware that the policies are not standardized, and below is an example of various cities with differing payment regulations.

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Average UK rents up 1.2% in January compared to the same month in 2015

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Average rents in the UK rose 1.2% to £906 a month in January compared to the same month in 2015, the slowest increase in three years, the latest rental index shows.

But average rents are some 12% above their pre-recession peak, reaching the highest level on record, according to the data from the Countrywide monthly lettings index.

The data also shows that London has seen the largest growth in rents anywhere in the country since 2007, with rents 34% higher than their pre-recession record. Between 2007 and 2016 the average Londoner has seen their rent rise from £966 to £1,295 a month.

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Right to Rent now live in England

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As of 1st February 2016, landlords (and letting agents if acting on behalf of the landlord) must check that a tenant or lodger can legally rent a residential property in England.

Failure to comply with this legislation means a landlord can be fined up to £3,000 for renting a property to someone who isn’t allowed to rent property in England.

Before the start of a new tenancy, the landlord must make checks for tenants aged 18 and over even if:

  • They’re not named on the tenancy agreement
  • There’s no tenancy agreement
  • The tenancy agreement isn’t in writing

If the tenant is only allowed to stay in the UK for a limited time, the check needs to be carried out in the 28 days before the start of the tenancy.

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Non-US persons holding US real property affected by PATH Act in 2016

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On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 or PATH Act, which will go into effect mid February (60 days after signing).

As a mechanism to ensure that the US Treasury Department collects tax revenues from non-US persons selling US real property, FIRPTA generally required the buyer of the subject US real property to withhold 10 percent of the purchase price and furnish this amount to the IRS as tax withheld. Accordingly, as a general matter, a non-US person who sold US real property historically received not more than 90 percent of the purchase price. The residual amount of the purchase price could be refunded upon the non-US person`s filing of a US tax return.

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Egypt: Integrated residential project in eastern Cairo

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Palm Hills Development Company, a leading real estate company in Egypt, has signed an agreement with the New Urban Communities Authority (Nuca) to develop an integrated residential project in eastern Cairo on a 500-acre area on a revenue sharing system.

The project, being co-developed with Egypt Ministry of Housing, is likely to attract investments worth over E£35 billion ($4.4 billion), reported the Daily News Egypt, citing the housing minister.

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Australia: Purchase of housing for 457 visa holders increased from 1st December

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From 1 December 2015 there will be a fee for all foreign investment applications, including 457 visa holders who wish to purchase a house in Australia.

For a property where the value is up to AUD $1 million, the 457 visa holder will pay the Australian Government an extra AUD $5000 AUD.  This fee will increase according to the value of the property purchased and the relevant fees are tabled below.

 

Why is this happening?

Due to the recent increased scrutiny of overseas citizens purchasing property in Australia without seeking FIRB (Foreign Investment Review Board) approval, it has come to the attention that there has been abuse of the process.

The Australian Government needs money and 457 visa holders are not permitted to vote and so the Australian Government have provided $47.5 million over four years to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to improve compliance and strengthen the enforcement of these rules.

 

What does this mean for foreign national and employers?

A Fact Sheet provided by FIRB giving full details of the penalties can be found here.

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UAE: Abu Dhabi residential rents down on weak demand

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The Abu Dhabi property market showed signs of fragmentation in the third quarter as average residential rental prices saw a slight quarterly decline with demand levels having weakened, said a report.

The average residential market rentals saw a marginal decline of around one per cent quarter on quarter, whilst maintaining around two to three per cent growth over the past quarters, stated global real estate consultancy firm CBRE in its Q3 2015 Abu Dhabi MarketView.

The emirate's residential market, however, enjoyed an annual growth rate of close to eight per cent during the period, it added.  

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UAE: Dubai residential prices on the decline in Q3

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The residential prices across Dubai, UAE, continued to decline in the third quarter with a sharp drop in apartment lease and sales rates compared to the previous quarter, said a report.

Additionally, the quantity of announced residential projects in Dubai reached a saturation point in the third quarter, stated property expert Phidar Advisory in its residential research note.

“However, there is no reason to panic because some announced and even launched projects are not viable, so handover is not expected in the stated timeframe,” remarked Jesse Downs, the managing director of Phidar Advisory.