Insurance News Archive

Oxford's buy to let insurance policyholders offered guidance

Posted by Michael Brown

A new guide, compiled by authorities in Oxford, is being offered to the city's landlords to help improve the standard of rented homes in the area.

Oxford Landlords: A Good Practice Guide has been produced by Oxford City Council and is available to all landlords and letting agents, according to the Oxford Mail.

In addition to the new guide, the council is also planning to roll out its Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing scheme to crack down on poor housing and anti-social tenants.

Councillor Joe McManners, executive member for housing, said: "We have a huge need for housing and, in particular, private rented housing, which we estimate makes up around 26 per cent of our total housing stock."

This comes after it was announced last week that the number of tenant arrears in the private rental sector has doubled in the past two years, with more than a third of landlords chasing debtors for owed amounts.

A survey by research firm BDRC Continental recently found that 34 per cent of buy to let insurance policyholders have had difficulty getting tenants to pay their rent, the Guardian has reported.

07 Jun 2010