Rental nightmare in coastal Cornwall (and coastal Devon, IoW)

[spygirl]

12 minutes ago, One percent said:

Interesting article in York press

https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/19919089.now-virtually-impossible-many-rent-privately-york/?fbclid=IwAR13nHYQvty6k_XaJ3S9oFyIp34EklHNl-7KLMks7Z4pw5_KQQoiYu1ovVI

 

IT has become ‘virtually impossible’ to rent a home privately in York if you are on benefits, the head of the city’s Citizens Advice Bureau says.

Spiralling rents, driven by a combination of demand, house prices and the number of properties used for Airbnb, mean private rentals are beyond the reach of those on benefits, says Fiona McCulloch.

Ill be frank, it was *ALWAYS* impossible to rent privately if you were on bennies.

Most LL would give bennies a pretty wide swerve bar the HMO flophouse type.

 

 

[spygirl]

From FB - 

Hi All,

We own a property let out with Sykes and it has been on the market for 6 months. We’ve recently accepted an offer and are anticipating completion at the end of May. We understood there would be penalties for cancelling bookings, and are carrying on with bookings until completion, however, Sykes are saying we will be charged £11,000 for leaving them. Has anyone had a similar experience please? I’d just like to build a case with as much info as possible.

[One percent]

4 minutes ago, spygirl said:

From FB - 

Hi All,

We own a property let out with Sykes and it has been on the market for 6 months. We’ve recently accepted an offer and are anticipating completion at the end of May. We understood there would be penalties for cancelling bookings, and are carrying on with bookings until completion, however, Sykes are saying we will be charged £11,000 for leaving them. Has anyone had a similar experience please? I’d just like to build a case with as much info as possible.

Have they not read the contract they signed?   I guess not. 

[Bilbo]

At least they are trying.

https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/local-council/southwold-neighbourhood-plan-residents-vote-8690292

Look at the numbers!

[spygirl]

2 hours ago, One percent said:

Have they not read the contract they signed?   I guess not. 

If you want to sell a holiday let then you remove it from the sites before you list.

Or, at pushing it - only let for 1 month ahead.

Cake n eat in this case.

 

[Ash4781b]

So-called waking up. still I guess long term council tax will have to rise else the council won’t be able to complete its statutory duties. Are there labour market problems down in Cornwall ? Good luck with adult social care. 
 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60433654

[With a crooked smile]

On 15/02/2022 at 12:58, spygirl said:

If you want to sell a holiday let then you remove it from the sites before you list.

Or, at pushing it - only let for 1 month ahead.

Cake n eat in this case.

Or stick it on Airbnb, they let you pull the plug at the last minute and don't charge fees if you are cancelling because you are selling. 

[Wight Flight]

4 hours ago, Ash4781b said:

So-called waking up. still I guess long term council tax will have to rise else the council won’t be able to complete its statutory duties. Are there labour market problems down in Cornwall ? Good luck with adult social care. 
 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60433654

There are serious problems.

On Facebook yesterday morning alone there was one teacher and three care home workers desperate for accommodation to allow them to move over to take up their jobs.

It is highly unlikely they will find anywhere, and this is far from unusual.

[Frank Hovis]

10 hours ago, Wight Flight said:

There are serious problems.

On Facebook yesterday morning alone there was one teacher and three care home workers desperate for accommodation to allow them to move over to take up their jobs.

It is highly unlikely they will find anywhere, and this is far from unusual.

 

I see regular pleas on Facebook from people having exhausted the usual channels and there is never any evidence of success which makes me wonder what they did then.

It was raised in the House of Lords yesterday.

https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/cornwall-housing-crisis-house-lords-6700299

 

And making the very good point that if you make renting unaffordable for local people on low wages then who is actually going to be working in a town's shops, pubs, cafés, holiday sites, hotels etc. when every house is a second home, holiday let, or owned and lived in by a retiree?

[sleepwello'nights]

6 minutes ago, Frank Hovis said:

 

It was raised in the House of Lords yesterday.

https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/cornwall-housing-crisis-house-lords-6700299

 

He could make an example and let some rooms in his Manor House and encourage his wealthy friends to do the same.

Is the problem really second homes or locals making money by renting out holiday homes?

I look at the number of jobs being advertised in the region and wonder with so many vacancies why food banks are reporting high demand. They surely can't be just for feeding the homeless.

 

[Frank Hovis]

3 minutes ago, sleepwello'nights said:

He could make an example and let some rooms in his Manor House and encourage his wealthy friends to do the same.

Is the problem really second homes or locals making money by renting out holiday homes?

I look at the number of jobs being advertised in the region and wonder with so many vacancies why food banks are reporting high demand. They surely can't be just for feeding the homeless.

 

It used to be locals owning holiday lets but since the prices have shot up over the last five years the people buying houses to turn into holiday lets have very much not been local because the prices are beyond them. 

The individual stories that have come out over the last two years of people losing their long term rental have been because the owner us selling as the prices are so high; local people aren't the ones buying.

 

Per a story I read recently most food bank users in Cornwall are in work but the rents are so high they are skint.

Tbh I take any food bank story with a huge sack of salt because there is unlimited demand for freebies and this is why they are now providing thousands of meals each week in several towns (plus free money for electricity bills and similar).

If there is such genuine need then where were they in the early 80s?

I would sum food banks as:

Charity which gives free stuff away finds demand for free stuff keeps increasing shock.

 

And that claim about requiring a referral from social services or whatever is a nonsense.

[spygirl]

1 hour ago, Frank Hovis said:

 

I see regular pleas on Facebook from people having exhausted the usual channels and there is never any evidence of success which makes me wonder what they did then.

It was raised in the House of Lords yesterday.

https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/cornwall-housing-crisis-house-lords-6700299

 

And making the very good point that if you make renting unaffordable for local people on low wages then who is actually going to be working in a town's shops, pubs, cafés, holiday sites, hotels etc. when every house is a second home, holiday let, or owned and lived in by a retiree?

Deal with FHL first, to get a clear view of the state of coastal housing.

Easy fix - remove SBRR from FHL.

Then you can start on 2nd homes - 2x c tax.

Do those and the coastal housing crisis will be pretty much fixed.

 

 

[Frank Hovis]

Just now, spygirl said:

Deal with FHL first, to get a clear view of the state of coastal housing.

Easy fix - remove SBRR from FHL.

Then you can start on 2nd homes - 2x c tax.

Do those and the coastal housing crisis will be pretty much fixed.

 

 

 

The Council put in a request last year to be able to up CT on second homes as Wales has done.

The government, second home owners all, turned it down.

[Wight Flight]

2 hours ago, Frank Hovis said:

 

The Council put in a request last year to be able to up CT on second homes as Wales has done.

The government, second home owners all, turned it down.

I would do it slightly differently.

FHL / AirBnB make money from both letting income and capital appreciation. But the Capital gains is only realised / taxed on sale.

I would do an automatic revaluation of FHL property values every year based on local HPI and charge capital gains on account. (No CGT exemption allowed on property anymore)

With the average FHL down here having gone up at least £100k last year, it would make the owner think hard when they have to pay £28k CGT. We might even get owners hoping their property doesn't go up in value each year!

With BTL, I would suggest that every time they re-mortgage they get charged CGT on the uplift since their last mortgage. Which may well be every three years. This has two advantages - it takes some cash off the LL when re-mortgaging which would simply be used as a deposit on the next BTL and b) It prevents fast growing LLs ending up with more CGT due than there is equity in their portfolio.

The beauty of this scheme is it brings forward tax income that might have been realised in the next parliament into the pocket of the current chancellor - which I think they would find very appealing. 

Second homes we can treat as they have done in Portugal. Work out the probable rental value, assume the owner is renting it out for 20 weeks a year and charge them income tax on that. Most will be doing that anyway (even if it is just friends and family).

 

 

 

Edited February 23, 2022 by Wight Flight

[Andersen]

An alternative if the housing crisis gets too bad? Go long on any urban land with lots of parking space !

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3092568/Penniless-teacher-living-Alfa-Romeo-parked-Asda-car-park-won-t-dogs-council-home.html

Hilary has just returned to the UK after 8 years teaching / touring around Europe. She has been offered emergency housing but has turned it down as she would have to give up the 2 dogs she took on as rescues while she was in Europe. Her mother lives in Canada, the rest of the family got a one way ticket to NZ.

The sense of entitlement is strong in this one 

[Wight Flight]

1 hour ago, Andersen said:

An alternative if the housing crisis gets too bad? Go long on any urban land with lots of parking space !

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3092568/Penniless-teacher-living-Alfa-Romeo-parked-Asda-car-park-won-t-dogs-council-home.html

Hilary has just returned to the UK after 8 years teaching / touring around Europe. She has been offered emergency housing but has turned it down as she would have to give up the 2 dogs she took on as rescues while she was in Europe. Her mother lives in Canada, the rest of the family got a one way ticket to NZ.

The sense of entitlement is strong in this one 

There is a point there though. If you have a pet you have almost zero chance of getting a private rental. Equal to being on benefits.

It is something that the dog rescue charities have worried about for the last few years.

[Andersen]

37 minutes ago, Wight Flight said:

There is a point there though. If you have a pet you have almost zero chance of getting a private rental. Equal to being on benefits.

It is something that the dog rescue charities have worried about for the last few years.

I love animals but my lifestyle means it's unrealistic for me to own one as I know it would restrict the way I live, as a responsible adult (no laughing please !) I refuse to make an animal suffer just so I can have one as a pet.

It's a lifestyle choice, I've made my choice, she has made hers.

Fair point about pets in social or private accomodation, I know some folk who would suffer badly if their circumstances changed and they had to give up their animal(s).

[spygirl]

4 hours ago, Andersen said:

An alternative if the housing crisis gets too bad? Go long on any urban land with lots of parking space !

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3092568/Penniless-teacher-living-Alfa-Romeo-parked-Asda-car-park-won-t-dogs-council-home.html

Hilary has just returned to the UK after 8 years teaching / touring around Europe. She has been offered emergency housing but has turned it down as she would have to give up the 2 dogs she took on as rescues while she was in Europe. Her mother lives in Canada, the rest of the family got a one way ticket to NZ.

The sense of entitlement is strong in this one 

Theres a huge amount of missing info in that story.

Hillary Barrows, 57, returned to Kent in January after eight years living and working as an English teacher across Europe.

Teaching ..

Or TEFL?

Ones OK paid. The others pennies.

Id guess TEFL.

She went into privately-rented accommodation thinking she would soon find work but failed to find a job and ran out of money after three weeks.

Thats not a rental. Hotel maybe.

Hillary said: 'When I came back I had my own money and privately rented in Herne Bay, but ran out of money.

Thats a lie.

'I was offered emergency housing but the dogs were not allowed to come with me and I won't go anywhere without my dogs.'

Beggars cant be choosers.

She added: 'I have been just been accepted to job seekers allowance and housing benefit, but I have been told I am not a priority for housing because I was out of the country so long.

Im not sure about JSA. Shell be entitled to HB - a room in a HMOP. No dogs.

'It's a joke, I must be a priority.

Your not. Stop kidding yourself.

'I can't afford to pay the deposit for a new flat and I don't have a guarantor, I also can't be credit checked because I have not been back in the country for long enough.

Credit record reach back longer than 8 years.

'I have never been on benefits in my life before, I have a degree I have diplomas.

Balls.

Tis story is 2015. Theres searches removed by EU law.

 

 

 

 

[Frank Hovis]

3 hours ago, Wight Flight said:

There is a point there though. If you have a pet you have almost zero chance of getting a private rental. Equal to being on benefits.

It is something that the dog rescue charities have worried about for the last few years.

Yup.

We had a temp who generally earned £60k - £80k but still had debts and rented because IMHO he husband was notionally an accountant but actually did very little work.  Plus two kids with some talent so a lot of fees to help that.  Going to be about fifty now I think.

During the time I knew here she had to move twice and each time it was a nightmare for one reason: the dog.  With her income she could of course have found somewhere but wanted to live in a specific town for her kids' classes and really struggled to find somewhere.  She's been in her current place for about five years and is happy there.

However the nice place comes with a high rent so they are no nearer buying and presumably still in debt.

This when she is on a very high salary indeed for Cornwall; she was a very hard worker.

Of course she should be able to have a dog without that hassle but when the rental market is so tight landlords can be as choosy as they want without any negative consequence for themselves.

[Wight Flight]

1 hour ago, spygirl said:

, I also can't be credit checked because I have not been back in the country for long enough.

Common misconception. Landlords can't do credit checks because they aren't offering credit.

[Frank Hovis]

19 minutes ago, Wight Flight said:

Common misconception. Landlords can't do credit checks because they aren't offering credit.

 

It reminds me of when we had some money go missing at work.

We all knew damn well who it was but couldn't prove it, though she did leave shortly after, and because my department was being caught in the suspicion I asked everyone in my team if they were happy with a criminal records check or whatever it's called.

They were all absolutely fine about it so I asked HR to arrange it which they were happy to do.  Though when they came back it turned out that the rules had changed and a workplace couldn't arrange these checks for staff unless they were in "a position of trust" which in Finance was defined as having a senior accountancy qualification - CIMA / ACCA / ACA - rather than AAT.

Which was pretty pointless as the three qualifieds, including myself, never so much as saw any cash let alone having the opportunity to nab it; but we went ahead anyway having already said that we were all up for it.  All were entirely clean as we knew anyway.

[sarahbell]

On 15/02/2022 at 11:43, Bilbo said:

At least they are trying.

https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/local-council/southwold-neighbourhood-plan-residents-vote-8690292

Look at the numbers!

A survey conducted in 2016 found 57% of the 1,388 houses were occupied as second homes or used for holiday letting.

 

Additional research showed that of the 498 properties sold between 2006 and 2016, only 24% were occupied by permanent residents and the remaining 76% had become, or continued to be, holiday lets or second homes.

 

It's just crap isn't it.

[spygirl]

2 hours ago, sarahbell said:

A survey conducted in 2016 found 57% of the 1,388 houses were occupied as second homes or used for holiday letting.

 

Additional research showed that of the 498 properties sold between 2006 and 2016, only 24% were occupied by permanent residents and the remaining 76% had become, or continued to be, holiday lets or second homes.

 

It's just crap isn't it.

One of the reasons that only a very few banks offer FHL mortgages is that, after the 80s, booms, where 2nd homes etc were a popular investment, the risingof IRs saw the majority of people who'd bought 2nd hoes and FHL try and sell them, all at the same time, to the people whod theyd outbid, who were also having problems 

Prices plummeted. 'Investors' and bank lost loads.

This will happen.

Its only because of th stupid extended property cycle that hasnt seen the dumb money exit.

 

[Bilbo]

Southwold even in the Mail today.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10579877/Upmarket-seaside-town-Southwold-cracks-holiday-second-homes.html

I agree with one of the comments. It's a bit late now as there's no more room to build. Southwold is almost an island!

[One percent]

54 minutes ago, Bilbo said:

Southwold even in the Mail today.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10579877/Upmarket-seaside-town-Southwold-cracks-holiday-second-homes.html

I agree with one of the comments. It's a bit late now as there's no more room to build. Southwold is almost an island!

There is loads of new builds going up near me. Something like 75 percent is being sold as second/holiday homes.