Recent proposals from Housing Voice, and today from Shelter, have called for private rental contracts to be lengthened in order to give people in the sector greater stability. The report on the affordable housing market recommended increasing the length of tenancy contracts in the UK from six months to 24 months.
The Tenant Perspective – Concerns Over Extended Contracts
But an overwhelming 82% of flat and house-sharers are opposed to the move, according to a poll carried out by flat and house share website SpareRoom.co.uk. Although most tenancy contracts include break clauses, effective after a certain period of time, only 10% respondents agreed with the proposals. Whilst longer tenancies would benefit families needing greater stability, this is not viewed positively amongst house sharers, who tend to be young professionals who wish to stay flexible.
Balancing Landlord Concerns – Mortgage Lender Restrictions and More
But it is not only tenants who oppose longer contracts. Landlords are also voicing concerns over current lending regulations and possession laws that, they feel, do not go far enough in allowing them to get rid of bad tenants and keep good tenants. Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom, says: “Extended contracts make people anxious, because they think they’ll be locked in for longer and the landlord will be able to increase rents at any point. “Given that one of the benefits of renting is the flexibility to relocate to another area or a more suitable property if circumstances change, we can understand why people might be wary of longer contracts. “Many landlords would be happy to extend tenancies for good tenants but are precluded from doing so by mortgage lender restrictions. Landlords have voiced their concerns around the provision of longer tenancies, which included the difficulty of evicting bad tenants in the event they damage property or fail to pay their rent.”
Article courtesy of Property Investor Today“”
