Latest News: Landlords offered £6,000 to house tenants on benefits

The latest updates in UK property

We love to keep you all updated with the latest goings on in property, so keep scrolling for the top news stories this week in the world of UK property

Landlords offered £6,000 windfall to house tenants on benefits

London boroughs are offering 'golden hellos' in effort to address waiting lists, with  local authorities have proving £6,000 to landlords who rent out their properties to benefit-receiving renters.

Councils are being forced to adopt such dramatic measures in order to address lengthy housing waiting lists as a result of rising rents that are surpassing housing benefits. In order to offer "golden hellos" to landlords ready to lighten the load, London municipalities are competing with one another in price.

21 out of the 32 councils in the capital are members of Capital Letters, an organisation that provides rewards up to £6,000. Outside of London, comparable programmes are in place.

Capital Letters claims that in order to remain "remotely competitive" with the private market, they had to raise their maximum reward by £1,000.

Landlords who participate in the programme are required to rent out their homes at the local housing allowance rates, which are used to determine the maximum amount of housing benefits or universal credit that tenants of private landlords are eligible to receive.

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Selling your home this year? We've got some positive news.

You're in high demand if you're trying to sell a house that's a good value. Right now, buyers are searching for properties that provide more value for their money.

Demand for homes has risen 16% from spring 2019 and is at its highest point since October 2022. The most affordable areas, including Scotland, Wales, the North East of England, and even London, have above-average buyer demand.

For the majority of 2023, mortgage rates are expected to hover around 4%; however, they may decline towards the end of the year. While prices are falling, but the majority of homeowners looking to sell will still be earning more than they did one to two years ago.

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The majority of Conservative voters believe the UK should build more social housing, according to a poll

Almost three-quarters of Conservative voters believe the UK needs more social housing, according to a new YouGov survey.

The poll, commissioned by The i newspaper and conducted online between 3 and 4 April, found that 74% agreed more social housing should be built.

• Of the 2,112 British adults surveyed, 15% disagreed, while 11% said they did not know.
• Around 71% of those surveyed who voted Conservative in the 2019 general election agreed that more social housing was needed, compared to 82% of Labour voters.
• A total of 82% agreed that it was “difficult” for young Britons to access adequate housing, and 80% of Conservative voters agreed with this notion, compared to 88 per cent of Labour voters.

The poll comes after it was announced that the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee will begin an inquiry into the financial pressures facing social landlords and the resources needed to build thousands of new homes for social rent.

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