Important sectors of UK housing market

‘Copyright LandLordZone.co.uk’

The Private Rented Sector (PRS) and buy-to-let has become an important, if not the most important, sector of the UK housing market; certainly as far as tenants, sellers, letting and estate agents are concerned.

The young wait in rented accommodation until they can afford to buy, which suits their mobile lifestyles, the old downsize and some move into a rental retirement, owners rent out their homes when they move away, or when they can’t sell—there’s even talk of a shift to lifelong renting.

All this is a far cry from 20 years ago when hardly anyone rented. By contrast, at the turn of the century around 90% of households rented and in 1939 this figure was around 55 per cent.

The figure dropped to a mere 7 per cent in the 80s—the result of years of well meaning but misguided social legislation which had the effect of destroying the rental market.

In 1988 the Conservatives gave the market a shot-in-the-arm, introducing the Assured Shorthold Tenancy, which was followed by the ARLA initiative—the buy-to-let mortgage package.

Since then the PRS has grown steadily with the present share at 14%, still a way to go to reach the levels of countries in Europe and the US.

Despite recent events, and growing red-tape and regulation for landlords, it remains a truism that investing in property will continue to be an excellent place to put your money and to build-up your wealth over the long-term.

There are now signs that the world economy is beginning to stabilize, and that a total economic collapse can now be averted, though it’s still early days and things could still get worse before they get better.

Very low interest rates and a concerted effort by the Bank of England using “quantitative easing” – effectively the printing of money—and by many other governments, appears to be having the desired effect, but the jury is still out on the end result.

If you are an agent, landlord or tenant, we stock all the documents you need. Go to list of property lease documents.

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed