According to the latest figures from the NLA, over a third of landlords in the UK have had property abandoned by tenants. Abandonment occurs when a tenant moves out of a property before the tenancy has ended, without informing their landlord. The issue can be costly as it often occurs when outstanding rent is owed. However, the tenant still has a legal right to return and take up residence at any time and it is a criminal offence for landlords to do anything to prevent the continuation of the tenancy. The only option for a landlord is to go through the legal process for regaining possession of an abandoned property which can take months. A big problem for Northern landlords While on average a third of landlords have had property abandoned before, more landlords in the North East of England have experienced the problem than anywhere else across the UK, with almost six in ten (58 per cent) having had a property abandoned. Just over half (51 per cent) of landlords in the North have also experienced the issue. At the other end of the scale, three in ten (31 per cent) landlords in the South West of England said they have had a property abandoned before – the lowest proportion across the UK – with a third (33 per cent) of London landlords having had to deal with the problem. Tacking the problem The news comes as the Housing and Planning Act – which contains measures to tackle the problem – recently received Royal Ascent. Richard Lambert, CEO of the NLA, said: “The process of recovering an abandoned property is too long, frustrating, and costly for landlords at the moment. Many people will be shocked by just how common this problem is, and landlords will be relieved to know that the Housing and Planning Act will create a new process to deal with the issue, giving them far greater security and peace of mind when recovering  properties they believe to have been abandoned”. The Housing and Planning Act also contains proposals to allow local councils to keep hold of the proceeds they make when carrying out landlord prosecutions as well as introducing stiffer civil penalties and banning orders for landlords found breaking the law. Mr Lambert continued: “We’ve long argued that councils should be able to hold on to the money they make when carrying out landlord prosecutions as this better enables them to implement long-term enforcement strategies to tackle the rogues. The Government missed the chance to apply these changes in today’s Queen Speech, but we hope they waste no further time in giving councils these important powers”. Source link

Switzerland’s property markets are currently providing strong growth for investors with the latest data showing total returns of 6.6% in 2015. This was up from 5.2% in 2014, which the index report from investment support tools firm MSCI says reflects continued strong growth in the Swiss properties sector. It also says that the strength of Swiss property market signals that the sector benefited from the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) move last year to scrap the franc’s peg to the euro and lower interest rates. The figures showed that government bond yields and property yields both declined in 2015 from 2014, to -0.04 from 0.38%, and to 4.4% from 4.8%, respectively. The spread between the government yield bonds and property yields increased to 4.45% in 2015 from 4.4% the year before.   The strong total return was fuelled by robust capital value growth, which rose to 2.4% from 1% in 2014. This capital value growth marks the second highest growth in the three, five and 10 year average. Residential properties remained the strongest sector in 2015, representing 47% of the measured universe in the index. Total return in this segment rose to 8.4% from 6.1% from the year before. The capital value growth in residential properties reached 4.1, marking the best performance since the index began. Moreover, office property returns recovered in 2015, achieving total return of 5.0%, compared to 4.2% in 2014. However, office property total returns remained below the five year average of 5.1%, and the 10 year average of 5.8%. Across the different sectors, rental growth weakened slightly. Net income return dropped to 4.1%, from 4.3% in 2014.   ‘The Swiss property market enjoyed another robust year as the market continues to attract capital. The strong capital growth is a result of increased yield compression following investor demand. This is especially true for the major cities of Switzerland, such as Zurich, Bern, Basel or Geneva,’ said Justus Vollrath, MSCI executive director. ‘What’s particularly interesting is that the move by Swiss central bank to unpeg the Swiss franc and lower interest rates led to slight widening of spreads between government bond yields and property yields. This created an additional incentive for investors,’ he explained.  ‘We also see that the residential market showed particular resilience and enjoyed exceptionally strong capital value growth,’ he added. BOOKMARK THIS PAGE (What is this?)      Source link