News items by Tag: News Category

Private rents hit all-time high

The average buy-to-let investor in England and Wales earned a total return of £12,129 in the year to September, and that figure could double over the next 12 months.

According to the latest buy-to-let index from LSL Property Services, the average BTL investor enjoyed a total annual return of 7.4% in September, up sharply from 6.1% in August. 

David Cameron’s benefits crackdown ‘will hit single parents hardest’

David Cameron may be forced to rethink his plan to deny under-25s an automatic right to state benefits because many of the people losing out would be single parents.

Nick Clegg is worried that parents could be affected by proposals to restrict housing benefit for the more than one million “Neets” – young people not in education, employment or training – under a strategy announced by the Prime Minister at last week’s Conservative Party Conference. 

Rents hit 11-year high to £779 per month

Rents have hit an 11-year high with 17 per cent more tenancies being granted this year than last, a report has shown.

Sequence, a chain of estate agents with 290 branches nationwide has published their most recent report, which shows rents rose 4 per cent in August and 11 per cent annually to £779 a month.  

Party leaders urged to reject benefit claimant 'stereotypes'

A new campaign has kicked off with a letter to the UK's political party leaders urging them to reject misleading stereotypes of benefit claimants and instead focus on the needs of ordinary families on welfare.

Launched today by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), the 'People Like Us' campaign claims that the current debate about social security is failing ordinary families. 

Credit Reference Company Warns Tenancy Fraud Rises by 70%

A credit reference company has warned that much more needs to be done to combat tenancy fraud as new figures reveal that the number of detected cases of the crime increased by 70% in 2012.

Using data obtained from councils under the Freedom of Information Act, Callcredit Information Group's (CIG) research builds on a report it published last year that showed 90% of all tenancy frauds went undetected in 2011.