Press Article
METRO - 15 September, 2011
Beware landlords who may cash in on Olympics
By Jo Eccles
There's been a lot of talk about how the Olympics will affect central London housing. In my opinion, it won't affect sales prices in the slightest, unless you're selling/buying in the immediate Stratford area, and even then it will probably only have a short term effect.
On the other hand, most people have rightly concluded that it will affect the rental market throughout central London because rental prices will rise significantly during the three weeks of the Games. At the top end of the market, corporate flats and houses are commanding up to 700% more in some cases.
However, there is one major effect which most people have overlooked – we may well see a large number of landlords serving the requisite two months’ notice to existing tenants ordering them to vacate the property two months before the Olympics start. This then gives the landlord an empty flat to rent out during the Olympic period.
In the case of one of our clients who's paying £1,000 per week for a corporate rental in the West End, the landlord has already rented out the property for the Olympics for a staggering £7,000 per week to an American company. The landlord was good enough to let us know that he will need the flat back for the Olympics this far in advance, so we have plenty of time to make alternative arrangements, but some landlords might not be so courteous. This could mean a huge influx of tenants being served notice to vacate at the same time, and in turn, all searching for a new property to move into, which will coincide with the Olympics.
Of course, not all landlords will cash in on the short term rise in prices, opting to stick with their long standing good tenants, but in the case of our example above, some may find it hard to say ‘no’. This is going to be a big challenge for tenants across London, and I wonder whether this was addressed by the Olympic committee when they factored in the various impacts of hosting the Olympics here in London.
For those tenants who are concerned that their landlord may cash in on the Olympics, my advice is to plan ahead. If you’re about to sign a new tenancy, or are about to renew your tenancy, then you may want to consider signing a 12 month tenancy agreement with no break clause. This means that the landlord can’t give you notice to move out any earlier than your agreed 12 month period. But remember, this means you can’t move out earlier either, so if your circumstances change then you’re still committed to pay rent for the year, unless your landlord agrees to release you from the tenancy, if a replacement tenant is found. Most reasonable landlords will agree to this.