Lifestyle has become a key consideration for people considering moving to our beautiful island city.

We want to share what is great about the place we love so dearly and we are inviting people making a difference in our city to tell us why they think Portsmouth and Southsea is so special.

Today we speak to the team who have just launched The Beach Club.

“Just look at that view. There’s something exciting happening on the water all the time whether it’s the Aircraft Carrier coming in or the latest cruise ship – there’s always something to see,” said Toby Woodfine.

Speaking from the terrace of their latest venture, The Beach Club, it is clear why Toby Woodfine Ian Clarke and Adam Glyde chose to transform the sadly neglected Mozzarella Joes and turn it into a new beachside destination.

The building itself on Clarence Esplanade has a funky maritime look and feel thanks to Neil Williams, the creative force behind The Bureau of Change. Work by local artists including Kevin Dean, Sadie Tierney and Pete Codling bring the walls to life.

And with a late licence until 2am, the aim is to create a relaxed beach vibe.

“We’ve created the sort of place that we would like to go with good wines, cocktails, beer, food and music.” said Toby.

They have a good track record so far with the popular Southsea Beach Cafe near Canoe Lake, Fisherman’s Kitchen and Broadway Coffee Roasters under their belt. 

“No other city has this space so close to the seafront,” said Adam.

“We love our location,” said Ian. “Whether it’s on the water or on Southsea Common there’s so much happening. Victorious Festival, the Great South Run will all be happening on our doorstep.”

Summing up what they think makes Southsea such a great place to live, Toby said: “Southsea is a really cool place – it’s like Brighton was 30 years ago. We’ve got so many artistic and creative people living here.”

“And we do seem to have our own micro-climate – it can be raining just down the motorway but the sun always seems to be shining here,” added Ian.

One of the many joys of living in Portsmouth is our proximity to the Isle of Wight and our rental team is lucky enough to look after a substantial number of properties there.

With a car hire scheme they can book in advance, the team hop on the hovercraft (the only public service like it in the world) and 10 minutes later they are in Ryde – the gateway to the Island.

Technology means they can manage much of the day to day activity without leaving their desk.

Properties can be marketed at the click of a button and thanks to our virtual tours, it is easier for prospective tenants to view virtually before visiting in person.

Existing tenants can pay rent online, report issues and speak to the team knowing there will always be a quick response.

Property Manager Joe Rocks explained: “With the easy links to the Island we can get over there quickly and at relatively short notice.”

We recently did an interview with Benny Read for the Chinneck Shaw newsletter about joining the team as an assistant property manager on the lettings team and visiting the Island to inspect properties has been a highlight so far.

“I’ve been involved in everything from inspections to inventories and I even got to visit the Isle of Wight recently to check out the property we manage over there,” he said.

Summing up Chinneck’s property management work on the Isle of Wight, Joe added: “It is no different to managing the properties we have in Portsmouth and Southsea, the distance is not a problem, we have a good team of contractors over there and we have been managing Island properties for over 20 years.”

From today (June 30) European Union, European Economic Area and Swiss citizens will need to use the government’s new ‘View and Prove’ online service to demonstrate their right to rent.

Landlords need to be aware of the changes and anyone who is from an EU country, the EEA or Switzerland and has successfully applied to the EU settlement scheme or for a UK visa will need to prove their right to rent.

Property Manager Joe Rocks, explained: “Tenants affected by the legislation need to login to the View and Prove service and follow the online advice to generate a share code.

“They need to share this along with their date of birth with their letting agent. We can then take this information and input into the government portal to confirm the tenant has the right to rent.”

The government’s guidance notes state that in future everyone will be able to register for a UK Visas and Immigration account (UKVI)  which will allow them to access the View and Prove service.

https://www.gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status 

Staying up to date with the latest news from Chinneck Shaw and the local rental market is so much easier if you subscribe to our newsletter.

The Letter has undergone a refresh as part of our rebranding and we hope you will agree, it looks pretty smart and is a really great read.

The quarterly publication gets sent out to our landlords and property portfolio holders and Property Manager Joe Rocks explained there is a real mix of stories.

“We include the latest insights on everything from rental yields to rental property demands and show how Portsmouth and Southsea is compared to the rest of the country.

“And we share the latest news from the Chinneck Shaw team,” he said.

Assistant Property Manager Benny Read features in the current edition talking about how he is enjoying the best of both worlds – developing his property management skills, while progressing his career in football.

Benny explained:”I play for Havant in the National League South but during the pandemic we haven’t been playing so it has worked out very well that I have my role as an assistant property manager on the letting team.”

You can see the latest edition here on our website. If you would like to subscribe please contact shelley@chinneckshaw.co.uk and state whether you would prefer a digital copy or we can pop one in the post to you if you give her your address.

News that compulsory mediation before eviction is being introduced by the government for the commercial sector only has raised some eyebrows.

Many thought the measure would be introduced for the residential rental market too – especially as up to one million tenants are likely to be evicted after not paying their rent through the pandemic.

At Chinneck Shaw we are firm believers in the power of talking through any challenges to find a mutually agreeable solution – and our informal mediation has led to many positive outcomes over the years.

Maintaining good communication with tenants means they are quicker to let us know if there could be a problem on the horizon and during the recent lockdowns, this proved to be invaluable.

Property Manager Joe Rocks explained: “Mediation is already used by many judges in an attempt to reduce the amount of cases of evictions in the residential market. 

“We naturally do this throughout the management of the tenancy to try and reduce tenants arrears .If tenants start to fall behind on their payments, we will talk to them to agree a payment plan to pay a set amount every month to reduce the arrears until they are in a position to get back to normal.”

There’s never been a better time to sell your property …

You’ve probably heard that before but the latest figures show there’s no question about the positive nature of the current housing market.

Dataloft, the property market intelligence company, has reported a 26% increase in buyer demand since the beginning of the year and as soon as properties are going on the books, they are being snapped up.

Nationally statistics show 21.7 % of properties are selling within one week from coming to the market.

And we’ve seen 83.3% of the properties we marketed this month, resulting in sales agreed in just six days.

Manager Lizzie Burt, said: “Typically this time of year is always the selling season but the effects of the Stamp Duty holiday and the desire to create work spaces in the home, have led to even greater demand.

“If you are thinking about selling, now really is the time – and we would love to hear from you.”

From today (June 1) the minimum notice period for tenants facing possession notices has reduced from six months to four.

Further changes to so called section 8 notice periods (on the grounds of rent arrears) come into force on August 1 2021.

Property Manager Joe Rocks, said the change comes as the ban on evictions ends and experts are forecasting as many as one million people may now face eviction due to rent arrears.

“Since the pandemic started, no evictions have taken place so there is bound to be a back-log of legal actions.

“We are in the fortunate position that the majority of our tenants were able to continue to pay their rent or come to a satisfactory arrangement.

“As a result of the change, the government has updated the notices online. Any notices issued from today need to use the new notices and landlords need to be very careful as using the incorrect form will result in an eviction case being thrown out of court,” he said.

There are concerns nationally over the impact on tenants facing eviction and growing calls for the government to offer assistance.

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA, said: “As the private rented sector moves out of lockdown measures, the chancellor has failed to provide tenants with the support they need. This is especially the case for the majority of those in rent arrears who do not qualify for benefit support.

“Without urgent assistance, many tenants face the prospect of losing their home needlessly as landlords struggle to shoulder the cost of arrears. Affected tenants also potentially face the negative impact of damage to their credit scores.

“The government needs to develop a financial package which ensures that benefits cover the rents of those in receipt of them. For those who do not qualify for benefit support, an interest free, government guaranteed tenant hardship loan should be established, similar to those in Wales and Scotland.”

A recent survey of landlords has shown average rental yields have increased to 6% – the highest recorded in three years according to Paragon Bank who commissioned the study.

A Portsmouth landlord whose property is let through Chinneck Shaw is a great example of what is happening with the local market.

He has a two bedroom property in Fratton that he bought for £175,500 (pictured) and it is being let at a monthly rent of £925 per month – providing a rental yield of 6.32%.

Just under 900 landlords took part in the survey and the responses highlighted two key observations.

Location for the rental property is crucial. The highest average rental yields are currently achieved by those managing lettings businesses in the South West (6.7%) and North East (6.6%).

And there was a correlation between yields achieved and the size of a landlord’s property portfolio.

Rental yield is the term used to describe the return on a property investment from a rental perspective. To calculate rental yields ,you need to divide annual rent by the value of the property and then multiply the result by 100 to get a percentage return on investment.

According to the study, landlords who operate portfolios containing 20 or more properties responded saying they are able to generate average yields of 7.1%. 

Property Manager Joe Rocks commented: “It is encouraging to see average yields of 6% and we are still seeing high levels of tenant demand for homes to rent.

“All this has been achieved as we journey through a pandemic and major uncertainty. This goes to show how buoyant the market is and underlines the confidence investors have in property.”

With house prices reportedly rising at the fastest rate for five years according to a recent report in the Guardian, the average selling price has hit a record high of just over £258,000.

The cost of borrowing remains historically low according to new data released by the Bank of England, with an average mortgage rate of 2.09%. The rate has remained unchanged since the start of 2021, with gross mortgage lending in March hitting its highest ever monthly total at £35.6 billion.

Manager Lizzie Burt said the local picture remained buoyant and anyone considering a move would be well placed.

“Although stamp duty relief is going to be phased out over two stages in June and September, we think the demand for property will remain strong for the coming months,” she said.

Savings accrued as a result of the lockdowns and the new mortgage guarantee scheme have made first steps on the property ladder more feasible for some.

Existing homeowners looking to move to a hybrid model for future working are also keen to trade-up to a property with space for a home office.

Mortgage approvals remain over 20% higher than the long term (5 year average) as interest in moving home continues.

The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously on May 5 to maintain rates at 0.1%. The next meeting is June 16.

This week the Debt Respite Scheme, approved by Parliament in October 2020, has come into force.

The aim is to help people who are in debt, which includes rent arrears, to help better manage finances, seek professional debt service advice and reach sustainable solutions.

The Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 pauses enforcement action from creditors, such as letting agents and landlords, and freeze charges, fees and certain interest on qualifying debts for up to 60 days. 

There is also an alternative way into the scheme for people receiving mental health crisis treatment. A mental health crisis moratorium lasts as long as a person’s mental health crisis treatment, plus 30 days.

Property Manager, Joe Rocks, said: “This new piece of legislation is important and a good step for tenants or anybody suffering genuine hardship and struggling to keep up with their rent and bills. It is an opportunity to ring fence the debt and come up with a sensible plan to pay it back. 

“Landlords need to be careful of contacting any tenants who have set up a Breathing Space otherwise they will face penalties. It is important to have good procedures in place to not fall foul of the new law.

“They also need to be mindful of a small number of the tenants who may try to take advantage of this situation to avoid paying the rent. This new piece of legislation is another example of why it is important to employ the services of a good managing agent to ensure compliance and to keep abreast of ever changing legislation that affects the private rental sector.”

A Breathing Space moratorium can only be accessed once every 12 months, but there is no limit to the number of times that an individual can enter a mental health crisis moratorium.