A shortage of flat and house shares for young renters looking to keep down housing costs is being fuelled by planning delays in one north London Borough, according to leading estate agents Winkworth.
On the latest episode of Winkworth’s The Property Exchange podcast, Shilpa Bathija said: “We understand the logic of making everything transparent and with the right protocol. However, the council isn’t able to handle the planning applications. It’s all become a bottleneck for any landlord who wants to rent out a house or flat to sharers. People are having to compromise on the size and quality of the property they need to live in to fit their budgets because you can’t have more than two households in one property. That great experience of sharing a house and living in London does not exist in Brent anymore unless the stringent legislation is adhered to.”
Tom Street, Lettings Director of Winkworth, says the three London boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Islington and Hackney in the area he covers operate licensing schemes for houses in multi-occupation, which can also affect sharers. He told the podcast: “Some landlords with two or three bedroom properties don’t want to have to pay the licensing fee with the additional costs they already have as a landlord so they just decide to focus on letting to families with children, where the licensing scheme doesn’t apply.”
