Here is Property Options’ latest update on the Bristol Buy To Let (BTL) market – for May 2019.
This update is by economist Chris Worthington, who is a regular PIM speaker.
Demand for House Shares
Recent research carried out by broadband and utilities provider Glide identified Bristol as the best location for house shares in the UK.
The metrics included the number of house shares on offer, the cost of renting, university rankings, broadband speeds, the number of jobs advertised and local amenities. Nottingham and Birmingham were second and third in the league table followed by Manchester, Liverpool, Derby, Southampton, Brighton, Leicester and Portsmouth.
Rents are relatively high in Bristol, but Bristol scored highly for number of house shares available, jobs advertised and university rankings.
James Villarreal, director of Glide commented “with so many students and young professionals choosing to house share, we wanted to find the best cities across the UK to suit their needs.”
Student Accommodation
This is good news for landlords and buy to let investors in the student and HMO sector, but in future years demand for student accommodation will increasingly be taken up by new halls of residence.
The draft policy for student accommodation published by the Bristol City Council makes provision for up to 7,500 new student bed spaces to be built in defined locations over the next twenty years. These will spread out across the city, with 2000 on the three existing university residential sites, 800 on the main campus, 200 in Clifton and 1000 in Stoke Bishop.
The remaining allocation will be distributed between Broadmead, Bedminster, St Philips Marsh and Western Harbour. The University of the West of England is planning to build student accommodation in South Gloucestershire.
Sarah O’Driscoll, service manager for strategic city planning at the city council commented “there is quite a concern locally that student accommodation can have a negative impact on the quality of the environment, certainly on the perception on the quality of the environment, for local people.”
Tenant Fees Act 2019
To finish this month’s Buy to Let Update here is a reminder that the Tenant Fees Act 2019 into force on 1st June 2019. The aim of the act is to reduce the costs that tenants face at the outset and throughout the tenancy.
For further information see the spring edition of Landlord News, published by the Private Housing Team of Bristol City Council.
Guidance on the Tenant Fees Act for tenants, landlords and letting agents is also available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/tenant-fees-act-2019-guidance
Our Next Property Meeting
We will all be discussing the latest position on the property market in Bristol and across the UK at our next PIM on Thursday 30 May 2019 at Future Inn, Bristol, BS1 3EN.
We hope you will join us then.
For more info and to reserve your place Click Below
Property Options Bristol
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