Landlord body, the British Property Federation (BPF), has expressed satisfaction with the results of a major review of water charging. Last year, it was proposed that landlords could face being automatically liable for the unpaid water bills of their tenants. However, following intervention by the BPF and other landlord organisations, the NLA and RLA, this threat has now been avoided.

The review concluded that there should now be an obligation on landlords to notify water companies of changes in tenancy, and only then if failing to do so, would any liability flow. The water companies in turn should be obliged to make the notification process as easy as possible. Andrew Sainsbury of Go Letting Agents in Leeds, commented “all our landlords are in safe water.  All utility companies are always informed when a new tenancy starts, thus avoiding any liability for water bills for our clients”.

Residents of Leeds City Island will soon have more than just a city centre pad to their name! GO Property Services has been teaming up with local businesses to bring new offers and discounts to the Islands! Flyers recently went out to all apartments with discount vouchers for City Car Club, offering a massive 50% off their joining fee! Fantastic news for those who, until now, have had to solely rely upon public transport.

Tearaway Prints have also offered residents 15% off any canvas prints they do for them and the new look Wellington Pub on Wellington Street has got 'Island Only' discount cards in production as we speak!! This, along with talks to local gyms and various other businesses...  it looks like a good time to become a City Islander!

Read the full article on the Times Online Property Section

A modest upturn in the property market should bring more investment to Leeds in 2010, says a major consultant.

CB Richard Ellis says that despite low investor confidence at the start of 2009, the highest quarterly deals figure for the last three years was achieved in the last quarter, including the city’s largest transaction for five years, culminating in over £157m of investment.

Jonathan Shires, director of office agency for CBRE Leeds, said “Sentiment is improving across the region as a whole as Yorkshire demonstrates its resilience against the global economic downturn. There was also an emergence of smaller deals as new, start-up companies emerged and existing organisations downsized.

“Whilst the public sector remains a key source of demand in Leeds, it was in fact the business services sector which took the most significant market share, accounting for 29 per cent of all space let in the 78 deals of 2009.”

Read the full article on the Yorkshire Evening Post’s website

According to FindaProperty.com’s latest Rental Index, the rental market is dividing in two - the monthly changes in asking rents of flats and houses are starting to differ increasingly.

Nigel Lewis of Findaproperty.com, commented: ‘The consistent demand for flats is largely from those at the lower end of the sales market, who are unable to take that first step onto the property ladder, so continue to rent. While affordability for first-time buyers has improved slightly, the deposit required remains a significant sum and an obstacle for many hoping to move from the rental market.’

He went on to say that, in contrast, ‘many people renting houses have saved a deposit, riding out the recession, and are now buying, as houses have become more affordable and lenders have eased restrictions slightly’.

Andrew Sainsbury, Director at Go Property Services, commented that FindaProporperty.com’s Rental Index reflected the current lettings market in Leeds, with a higher demand currently being seen for flats, which we expect to see continue in the short term.

Click here to view full details of FindaProperty.com's Rental index

Long term private renting is set to make a comeback among young adults as homeowners are looking to sell up and rent instead.  This information is from a survey by unbiased.co.uk.  The article looks at various scenarios and there are some quite heated comments at the bottom – well worth the read just to see what people think of tenants, landlords, and letting agents!

Just to let you know, GO Lettings is a member of ARLA as well as other governing bodies including The Property Ombudsman and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

Read the full article and comments on The Guardian website

While the rest of the country’s employers seem to be laying people off, Lettings direct.co.uk continues to expand and we are now recruiting for a new lettings administrator for our office in Leeds.

More information about the position and how to apply can be found here.

We have a winner...

A recent competition for residents of City Island, Leeds run by Lettings Direct has had an overwhelming response. Over 30 entries were received and the talent on display was unexpectedly professional!

The winner, chosen this week, is Andy Smith with his striking panorama image of City Island. The image is shown below, along with the 2nd and 3rd place entries.

Andy will also receive a meal for two at Mio Modo on Britannia Street to the value of £100. Mio Modo restaurant, bar and gallery offers the best in contemporary Italian cuisine with traditional Italian favourites and mouth-watering charcoal grilled meats.

Our 1st Competition is now open for entries!

Win a meal for two, to the value of £100, at Mio Modo restaurant.

Please see the PDF below for full details.

City Island Leeds Photo Competition