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With the current lockdown and most of the world in quarantine, our daily lives and routines have changed dramatically in many ways. For the vast majority of people, to an unrecognisable extent. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we all interact and the way companies work, if it‘s even possible for them to do any business at all, for many industries and sectors this is not the case.

Extreme circumstances often breed extreme solutions and the property market seems to be no different. In a world of ever-increasing connectivity and ever more integration, we have now been forced to separate ourselves. The property market has quickly evolved and adapted to this new landscape and has embraced the concept of online viewings.

Making videos of our properties has allowed us to keep working hard for our landlords and give them access to tenants who, for obvious reasons, cannot physically attend the property to view. For those tenants who are still desperate to move and secure their next home during this period, of which we are finding there are numerous cases, our video viewings give a 365 degree walk through of any property allowing our tenants to select a property with 100% confidence they have all the information they require.

Of course, this would never replace the conventional face to face viewings that gives everyone a feeling of security and personal relationship which is so important in any tenancy transaction. Hence why, here at Landstones, we can’t wait to show you our properties in person again!

We can safely say we’re now experiencing stranger times; this is very much unchartered territory for the property market and the economy as a whole. With the government forced into taking the extraordinary measures to put the sales market on pause, this has left many potential buyers in limbo or scrabbling to secure alternative accommodation for either short or longer term alternatives. The good news is that it seems this unforeseen demand has helped keep some life flowing through the lettings market, putting the brakes on the slowdown in the sector and lessening the harshness many had anxiously anticipated.

At Landstones, we’ve spent the last two weeks in conversation and consultation with our landlords assessing how we can reduce the impact of Covid-19 on their properties and portfolios. Many people have questions and concerns which we’re trying to answer and give support wherever we can. Whilst no one can know the true extent of the impact until after this virus has passed, we’re confident that with diligent hard work we’ll be able to minimise its effect.

With the help of the modern technology we all seem to take for granted these days, it can almost be ‘business as usual’ under the government’s lockdown measures. With agents unable to conduct viewings as easily as before, and many tenants and landlords self-isolating inside their properties, we’ve had to be creative and look for alternative measures to help. Some very useful technology we’ve found has been the Zoom app for conference calls. It allows entire families to chat altogether at one time, enabling decision making a quick and easy process. On Facetime we can send virtual property videos for use in viewings or valuations and WhatsApp allows the simple transfer of large file photos and floor plans. Document signature applications like DocuSign are available to send and receive virtual signature contracts. All these incredible forms of technology mean that whilst we may find ourselves in a new way of working, for those willing to adapt and make the most of an onerous situation there is business to be done.

We should take some comfort in the thought that property demand has not gone away long term from both tenants and landlords. Although the market finds itself in a temporary pause, once lockdown measures have been lifted, we may well see all unsatisfied demand explode back into life. We may even see one of the busiest lettings months on record. We’re predicting three months’ equivalent of lettings deals tied up in a single hot summer’s month.

Here at Landstones we are aiming to bring you a monthly insight into the current trends in prime central London lettings market. The lettings market is facing a turbulent time with several pieces of new government legislation having been enacted in 2019 and more coming into force in 2020.

One of the biggest changes from 2019 was the tenant fee ban which applies to new or renewed tenancy agreements signed on or after 1 June 2019. The aim of the Act is to reduce the costs that tenants can face at the outset, and throughout, a tenancy. This does away with referencing fees and tenancy agreement administration fees for most AST agreements designed to make renting cheaper for tenants.

One ongoing piece of legislation which may seem like old news, but it’s an ongoing saga that continues to affect landlords across the country is Mortgage interest tax relief. As of the end of 2019 landlords will only be able to claim 25% of finance costs, with the remaining 75% restricted to the basic rate of taxation.

The combination of the mass of new and existing legislation has had a restricting effect on the supply of rental stock in the market, which through January and February of 2020 have seen prices rise across the board from studios to 1-bedroom flats and all the way through to large family homes.

Here at Landstones we pride ourselves on doing what is best for our clients and looking after our tenants. We offer the best stock and the very highest level of service.