The UK’s leading student accommodation platform, UniHomes, has called on letting agents and landlords within the student rental sector to act with greater vigilance, as changes to the model tenancy agreement could lead to an increase in the number of students opting to have a pet while at university. Lockdown has caused a spike in pet ownership as many look to fill the boredom of days spent inside, as well as finding a new reason to venture out for some fresh air. Research by the PFMA has found that so far 2.1m people have added a pet to their family while in lockdown, with a further 1.8m planning to join them soon.  However, the downside to this surge in knee-jerk pet ownership has inevitably been an increase in pets being abandoned, with the RSPCA revealing that 4,600 animals were dumped on them last winter alone; including horses, rabbits, cats and dogs to name but a few. UniHomes fears that this is a trend that could soon start to sweep the student rental sector due to recent changes to the model tenancy agreement now allowing well-behaved pets in rental properties. Research by UniHomes found that just 6% of all student accommodation currently listed on the market is pet friendly. However, UniHomes also found that while just 10% of students currently choose to have their pet live with them, 48% would have a pet at uni if ‘pet friendly’ accommodation was more widely available. Under the new laws now in place, a blanket ban on pets within the rental sector is no longer allowed. Instead, landlords must object in writing within 28 days of a pet request from a tenant. Rejections should only be made for a good reason such as the property being unpractical for the pet in question. Tenants will also remain legally responsible for any damages and the cost incurred. With no distinction made between regular and student rental properties, an easing of pet rental restrictions coupled with ongoing lockdown restrictions could cause an uplift in pet ownership amongst students. The unfortunate consequence of which could be an increase in pets being abandoned come the end of term time. Co-Founder of UniHomes, Phil Greaves commented:  “Recent amendments to the model tenancy agreement mean that more landlords could be about to open up their homes to well-behaved pet roommates for students studying at university. However, we would urge both landlords and letting agents to be vigilant when it comes to student pet rental requests and consider the welfare of the animal as much as the potential impact on their property. We’ve seen numerous cases where students have left pets for the landlord or agent to deal with once they’ve finished their studies and we wouldn’t advise it for students who are keen to live the party lifestyle.” Survey of 1,068 UK students carried out by Find Out Now (11th February 2021). Do you have a pet in your student accommodation? Answer Respondents No 90% Yes 10%     Would you have brought a pet to university if pet-friendly student accommodation was more widely available? Answer Respondents No 52% Yes 48%     Location Pet-friendly rentals as a % of all student-specific rental stock Newport 20% London 15% Aberdeen 12% Edinburgh 11% Glasgow 11% Cambridge 6% Plymouth 3% Liverpool 3% Manchester 3% Sunderland 3% Southampton 2% Bradford 2% Birmingham 2% Portsmouth 2% Bournemouth 2% Oxford 2% Bristol 1% Swansea 1% Nottingham 1% Sheffield 1% Leeds 1% Newcastle 0% Leicester 0% Cardiff 0% Belfast 0% All 6% Pet-friendly stock based on the proportion of all student-specific rental stock that allows pets. Data sourced from Zoopla.    

New service offer to address current lending challenges which are further adding to the housing crisis In direct response to the housing crisis in the UK and the increased challenges in developers securing funding to build homes – which has been further hindered by the pandemic – property facilitator and network specialists, Land & New Homes Network, has announced the launch of LNH Funding, adding to its suite of services for its developer and estate agent members. With access to funding continuing to be difficult for developers, the need to meet clear targets for housing throughout the UK and many lenders being increasingly cautious due to the pandemic, Land & New Homes Network has created LNH Funding to unlock potential development sites, and drive forward house building. LNH Funding sees the introduction of a panel of specialist development finance brokers and insurance brokers, that are ready to help fund and insure schemes across the country. This new department is working to address the common issue that small and medium-sized house builders encounter; the struggle to access sufficient funding and insurance to complete developments for much-needed homes throughout the UK. The only property network of its kind in the country, Land & New Homes Network offers its members access to a large network of property sector contacts, as well as land and new home opportunities, best practice guidance, marketing, training, resources, workshops and now funding and insurance. Founder Kevin Ellis, said: “The addition of LNH Funding for our members is an important step in aiding developers to secure the funding streams they need to complete their housing schemes. “Failure to secure funding is one of the biggest issues causing major delays in the building of new homes and this new, trusted financial resource, is a strategic solution to fill that gap. “The need for this has never been stronger.  The pandemic has caused many residential developments fail to secure funding, coupled with the demand for housing rapidly increasing and the surge of people wishing to move to take advantage of the current stamp duty holiday, there simply isn’t enough stock. “Through LNH Funding and our vast network of partners, we are able to connect industry professionals from all over the country to bring new homes and land deals to life.” Tim Downing, director at residential and commercial estate agency Pygott & Crone, and member of the Land & New Homes Network, said: “The network is as ever proving to be an innovative and vital resource for professionals in the industry. The introduction of LNH Funding is an important part of the puzzle which will aid the thousands of developers who are unable to get their schemes off the ground due to funding, as well as providing estate agents like ourselves with significant volumes of selling opportunities. “The demand for housing in the UK remains high and Kevin and his team are market leaders in enabling and facilitating deals, giving its members all they need to deliver much needed housing for the public.” DenCo Advisory is one of the founding LNH Funding partners. Managing director Mark Denney, said: “DenCo is proud to be partnering up with this fantastic network. 10 years on from the banking crisis the lending landscape has changed drastically. DenCo aims to assist developers and SME house builders in navigating this landscape. It’s not simply a case of providing terms, we aim to manage transactions through to completion. We advise at every stage of the deal with the sole aim of generating value for our clients.” With over 450 branch locations across the country, Land & New Homes Network has become a one-stop shop to find, facilitate and support opportunities for house builders to build homes, and estate agents to expand their portfolios of new homes. For more information about Land & New Homes Network and membership opportunities, please visit www.lnhnetwork.co.uk/.

A Midlands-based social landlord has appointed two new members to its senior leadership team.  Platform Housing Group has welcomed Gary Bell as Transformation Director and Nathan Barson as Procurement Director.  These latest appointments will further strengthen the Group’s management structure by adding to its existing diverse and robust experience.  Gary has spent his entire career working in the public sector, starting off in local government; he then progressed to working for three large IT companies in their consulting divisions as well as working for a national regulator.  He has joined Platform Housing Group from A2Dominion Housing Group in London.  This new role for the Group will focus on the transformation of services to achieve enhanced outcomes for customers and stakeholders.  Gary said : “I’m delighted to join Platform Housing Group; the combination of my transformation skills with my housing experience, will, I hope, bring about positive and continuous change.”  Elizabeth Froude, Chief Executive at Platform Housing Group said : “Gary’s transformation skills will help us bring greater alignment as we continue on our business change journey.  This will maximise the impact and efficiency of our change programme, enabling us to deliver on our strategy of improving services for our customers, ensuring alignment of all areas of the business and delivering on our objective of building a truly modern housing association.”  Nathan – who lives in Leicestershire – joined the Group from the Cabinet office where he supported the national programme on PPE to help the fight against Covid-19; previous to this, Nathan worked for some years for one of the UK’s leading construction and infrastructure companies, Kier Group.  Nathan said : “I’m looking forward to continuing to raise the profile of procurement within the Group, with the aim to build a world class procurement function.  Procurement, when done well, can be a real catalyst for change.  We will move beyond simple cost reduction to adding real strategic value to the organisation.  I’m delighted to be appointed to the newly created role of Procurement Director; the opportunity to apply my knowledge and experience into an organisation with such a fundamental social needs at its core is truly appealing.”  Rosemary Farrar, Chief Finance Officer at Platform Housing Group, said: “Continuous development of our business critical areas is crucial to ensure we meet the needs of our customers, partners and stakeholders.  Nathan’s appointment will help us to move successfully into the future and we would like to welcome him to the Group.”  Platform Housing Group – which owns 46,000 homes in total – completed 1448 homes in 2019/20 (1,598 in 2018/19) at an investment of £258m (£228m in 2018/19).  The Group also built more social rented homes – at a figure of 981 – during the past 2 years in England than any other provider, 523 in 2019/20, almost 33% of the total homes built.  Platform Housing Group’s operating area is from Herefordshire in the West to the Lincolnshire coast in the East, and from the Derbyshire Dales in the North to the Cotswolds in the South. 

According to a new research conducted by the University of Cologne, short-term rentals, such as Airbnb, are causing housing shortages and rent increases. The study, conducted by Felix Mindl and Dr Oliver Arentz, investigated the impact of short-term rentals on the Cologne housing market, with findings that come as a stark warning to other urban areas. The research found that pressure on the housing market has been steadily increasing over the past 10 years, with the number of short-term rental accommodations in Cologne increasing from 500 to nearly 6,200 in the last five years alone. Of these accommodations, 41 percent are rated as professional of which 65 percent are owned by hosts with multiple accommodations. The average income from short-term rentals exceeds that of long-term rentals after only 90 booked days. “While a large proportion of hosts can be considered home sharers, we find an increasing proportion of providers who have developed a professional business model from short-term rentals. Professional short-term rentals are available to tourists throughout the year and thus compete directly with long-term tenants, for whom the rooms are then no longer available,” commented Felix Mindl. The research also found that 14.2 percent of overall rent increases within the study period can be attributed to short-term rentals – this results in a rent increase of around 320 Euros per year for new tenants. The authors suggest that a registration process for the hosts could make an important contribution to improving transparency of the market structure.

A leading housing providers affordable homes development on the site of a former Coventry school has been given a mayoral seal of approval. Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, paid a visit to the site of the former Dartmouth School in Wyken which is being re-developed for housing association Stonewater, by local contractor the Deeley Group. It had been a redundant brownfield site for more than five years before Stonewater bought it from Coventry City Council, with plans to build 39 new homes, including 23 affordable rented and 16 shared ownership properties. On completion it will feature a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses and provide vital housing to the local community. The Mayor praised the plans to regenerate the site, highlighting how the project aligns perfectly with his region-wide championing of a brownfield first approach to housing. He said: “The two key components for building new homes in our region are for developments to be ‘brownfield first’ and then also affordable to the people who live in those areas. “The development in Coventry ticks both of those boxes and is an example of the great progress we are making regionally to meet the housing challenge. I congratulate Stonewater and the Deeley Group for bringing this project to fruition and look forward to seeing it at its completion and serving the local community.” Matt Crucefix, Director of Development (South and West) at Stonewater, said: “There is a genuine need for more housing of this type in Coventry and it has been a pleasure working with the Deeley Group to bring this scheme to life. “With every new development, we look for ways to invest in the local economy – by working with local contractors and suppliers – to ensure we add as much value to the community as possible. “We’re delighted to hear Andy is pleased with the progress of this site so far and look forward to welcoming him to the completed scheme along with our new residents, later this year.” Peter Deeley, Managing Director of the Deeley Group, added: “We are giving this redundant brownfield site a new life and helping to provide crucial new housing for people in the locality too. “It was a pleasure to welcome Andy to Tiverton Road to discuss our plans for the site and how that will support his housing programme across the West Midlands. “We are working closely with Stonewater to deliver the development and hope Andy will return to visit when the project is completed.”