Kensington Lettings: Kensington Apartment to Let W8

Kensington Property to Let £625 Per Week

3 Bedrooms
1 Reception Room
2 Bathrooms

A third floor three bedroom two bathroom apartment within this beautiful period conversion, comprising reception room with semi-open plan kitchen, master bedroom with ensuite bathroom, two further bedrooms, separate shower room, guest wc, lift, roof terrace, available 14th May, part furnished!

Lexham Gardens, Kensington, London, W8

Willesden Green Apartment For Rent

London Apartment to Let £205 Per Week

1 Bedroom
1 Reception Room
1 Bathroom

Within this private development we offer a recently refurbished one double bedroom second floor apartment near transport and amenities. Benefits include a bright reception room, good sized double bedroom, open plan fitted kitchen with high grade appliances, bathroom with shower attachment and wc, communal gardens, lift, available from 8th June, part furnished.

Walm Lane, Willesden Green, London, NW2

Private Landlords Provide Housing for 14% of Britons

More than 14% of Britons now rely on private sector landlords to meet their housing needs and fewer than one quarter of all tenants expect to purchase a home within the next two years. The number of tenants has grown consistently for the past nine years and home ownership started falling well before the financial crisis hit in autumn 2008.

One of the key reasons for the decline in home ownership was the residential property boom, particularly when prices peaked in 2007, locking many out of the most prosperous markets. Since then, values have fallen in much of the UK and continue to stagnate in many regions, except for South East England and Central London. While in 2006, 34% percent of tenants planned to purchase a home within two years, this figure now stands at just 24%.

In an analysis published in The Times, one of the reasons why so many Britons look to the rental market is due to the relatively low number of newly constructed houses. A number of developers in the north west, for example, put their projects on hold shortly after the crisis hit in late 2008 and construction of residential properties is yet to pick up.

In fact, the rate of house constructions has never been this low since 1946 and only 118,000 new residential properties were completed in 2009. These recently released figures suggest that Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government is having difficulties charting a viable course for the housing sector, especially considering the fact that it had previously determined that 240,000 new homes would have to be constructed each year between now and 2020, in order to meet the country’s needs.

Westminster Council Call For Housing Benefit Overhaul

Six councils have called on the government to overhaul the housing benefit system, to give them the power to limit the cash paid out to claimants.The local authorities, led by Westminster City Council, have written to work and pensions minister Yvette Cooper, to call for a complete overhaul of the system.

Commonsense dictates that the current system is not fit for purpose and needs to be changed. This isn't simply a Westminster issue as it impacts on councils across London and the UK.

The letter says a system which pays families at least £500 per week wholly unfair and plainly wrong.

It adds: With our local knowledge, we believe that local authorities are best placed to influence where residents should be placed… and what benefit levels are appropriate.

Westminster’s cabinet member for housing, Philippa Roe, said: ‘Commonsense dictates that the current system is not fit for purpose and needs to be changed. This isn't simply a Westminster issue as it impacts on councils across London and the UK.

We will be looking to the government to take on board our recommendations to make the system fairer which is all the more urgent in today's very difficult economic climate.

The letter forms the councils’ response to a government consultation on the future of housing benefit.

Lets For Pets in Residential Letting

The National Approved Letting Scheme is supporting a campaign launched by the Dogs Trust to encourage a more pet friendly approach to letting residential property. Letting Agents are being asked to back the “Lets with Pets” scheme to encourage their landlord clients to take a more generous view to letting their property to tenants with pets. Exclusion of pets is most often a standard, but the NALS points out that a significant percentage of the residential letting population are being discounted as potential tenants and customers; pet owners make up 43% of the population!

But would Letting Agents want to be responsible for encouraging Private Landlords to allow pets in their properties? Sometimes this area is best covered by an implicit exclusion of all pets, with special arrangements, assurances and agreements made, between landlord and tenant, on application. A survey conducted by the Dogs Trust indicated that many Landlords are prepared to accept pets. First thoughts are of dogs and cats, but surveys show that reptiles and amphibians outnumber dogs by two million. It is certainly preferable that any pets are agreed, rather than kept and hidden. “Lets with Pets” offers advice to Agents and Landlords on letting out property to tenants with pets.

British Homeowners Turn to Rental Sector

Homeowners in the United Kingdom are increasingly considering the option of selling their own residential property and moving into a rented flat or house instead, according to a report released by public opinion research firm Unbiased.co.uk. According to the firm’s research, nearly 1.75 million homeowners in the UK would contemplate selling their house and renting instead, especially after the trauma of the real estate crash of 2008/2009. In fact, nearly one third (32%) of all those who indicated that rental accommodation was an option in the near future also responded that this same route would have been unthinkable only a couple of years ago.

The main factor motivating homeowners to consider renting in the future is the freedom and peace of mind that comes with not having to worry about potentially dramatic falls in property values. A growing number of Britons also want more mobility and the ability to move to areas with the most job opportunities, rather than being tied down by real estate. With unemployment figures expected to remain high throughout the year, this trend may become even stronger.

Britons seems to be approaching Europeans when it comes to perceptions of renting, rather than owning property over an extended period of time. Most countries in Western Europe have vibrant buy-to-let sectors and it is not uncommon for young professionals, established families and even pensioners to rent flats or homes. Karen Barrett, Unbiased’s chief executive officer, argues that the perceived prestige that came with owning property has lost much of its allure in the UK.

RLA

North West London Lettings Agents NW2 / NW10

London NW2 / NW10 Estate and Letting Agents:

This part of north-west London is located to between Kilburn and Hampstead and includes Child's Hill, Cricklewood, Hocroft Estate, Kensal Rise, Willesden Green and Mapesbury Estate

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