Private Rental Sector - Midlands

A recent study by Herriot Watt University calculated by researchers and that Britain has 4 million too few homes and includes young adults still living at their parents homes. From 2006 to 2016 the number of 20 – 34 year-olds living with parents rose from 28pc to 3.4 million.

Successive Governments have failed to build the numbers of new homes, with only 141,000 new homes built each year from 2010 – 2015. The present Government have a target of 300,000 a year but will Generation Rent want to buy or continue to rent providing the flexibility and speed to move as required? Herriot Watt researchers say 340,000 new homes are needed every year until 2031

New detailed figures from the English Housing Survey show that nearly 50% of 25 to 34 year olds now live in the Private Rental Sector (PRS). Those in their late twenties and early thirties are still tenants which is up from 24% in 2006.

Building on behalf of local authorities for subsidised low-income family housing has collapsed from more than 100,000 a year in the Seventies to almost nothing today.

Belvoir PLC has been calling for regulation for over ten years and have been avid supporters of self-regulation and worked closely with the Propertymark Scheme (Propertymark) for many years. Market compliance within the company is considered excellent with central office training ensuring all Belvoir offices and staff will meet the requirements for new regulations.

Regulatory and tax changes within the last three years have altered the dynamic of this sector, reducing its attractiveness to amateur landlords and increasing the tax bills of these investors. Healthy returns are however still possible for small investors.

Government announce that Client Money Protection (CMP) will come into force before a ban on tenant fees which is anticipated mid 2019 requiring all agents to adopt this policy which is already a feature of industry compliance for Belvoir.

Legislation going through parliament on the banning of tenant fees is likely to lead to increased rents and a consolidation in the letting agent sector with businesses potentially closing and thereby giving opportunity to larger agencies, such as Belvoir with the expertise and digital skills, to provide full and compliant management.

Department for International Trade (DIT) confirmed Telford and Wrekin’s place as a foreign investment heavyweight with over £114 million investment during 2016/17. Comprising of 12 investments from a range of businesses spanning digital, advanced manufacturing and the MOD military logistics hub. Telford has enjoyed a staggering seven-fold increase compared to 2015/16, where Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) totalled over £14.5 million with brand names such as Ricoh, Denso and Cap Gemini all investing in the area.

Additionally, Telford Land Deal bolstered local economy by £236 million in 18 months. Working through its inward investment and business support service Enterprise Telford, the Council ensures businesses and property developer’s suitable sites available for immediate development.

The Land Deal has proved instrumental in helping the region to secure record levels of inward investment, notably from multi-million pound investment from Magna International, a supplier of casting to Jaguar land Rover. Open in Spring 2018 creating another 300 jobs and is one of the biggest new overseas investments in the UK in the last 10 years.

Investment decisions by forward thinking companies to invest in Telford and its people, is a testament to the hugely skilled workforce, its close proximity to the Midland’s thriving automotive industry, its excellent infrastructure and transport network.

The area boasts two Universities and the new Telford college providing a strong base to build the skills of young people for local employment, which in turn requires new housing building and investment.

Telford’s unemployment rate is only 4.7%, lower than the West Midlands at 5.2%.