As the year draws to a close, it’s always interesting to dust off the crystal ball and try and look into the future to see what may happen in the private rented sector. With all the changes that have occurred over the past twelve months, and with more expected in the new year, it’s quite […] View article >
How long does it take to gain possession of a rental property? Private landlords have to wait an average of over five months to regain possession of a property when applying to the courts according to new figures from the Ministry of Justice. The Residential Landlords Association says that the long delay in dealing with cases […] View article >
There is so much in the media at the moment about the difficulties experienced by young people who want to get onto the property ladder. A recent survey by interiors firm Hillarys showed that 94% of people questioned stated that the reason they did not own their own home was down to the cost of […] View article >
Following on from our blog about mandatory client money protection being introduced for agents, Northwood is pleased, once again, to lend its support to “SAFEagent Awareness Week” 2018, which is taking place all this week across social media. SAFEagent is the campaign that encourages consumers – tenants and landlords – to only let through an […] View article >
Last week the Government instigated regulations that, if passed by parliament, will require all agents managing lettings in England to belong to an approved client money protection scheme by 1 April 2019. Northwood welcomed this news as we have been a long-timer campaigner for mandatory client money protection, being a founding member of the SAFEagent […] View article >
Unless you have been living on the moon lately, you cannot fail to have noticed all the anti-landlord sentiment that is around in the media! Landlords, along with estate agents and bankers, seem to have become Public Enemy No. 1. This is no doubt down to the minority of landlords – the rogues – who […] View article >
Here at Northwood, with over 20 years experience, and over 85 offices across the U.K., we tend to notice different trends occurring in our business and across the wider private rented sector. One trend we have noticed of late is that our Guaranteed Rent service is becoming more popular. There are a number of reasons […] View article >
When it comes to costs and managing finances, 2018 is shaping up to be a year of uncertainty and volatility for both landlords and tenants. With regards to tenant affordability of rent, new research from insurer, Royal London has revealed that 5.8 million working private renters do not have a plan B in place to […] View article >
Forewarned will be forearmed for landlords in 2018. There will be undoubtedly increasing regulation coming into force, as well as other factors that landlords should be aware of. Energy efficiency From April 1st, the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards will come into effect for properties in the private rented sector. This will make it illegal to […] View article >
This week, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid announced far reaching plans which will affect not just lettings agents, but also landlords. As ardent campaigners for regulation, Northwood is delighted at this news. Northwood Managing Director, Eric Walker, has been part of The Lettings Industry Council & The Fair Fees forum both of which have been lobbying for this […] View article >