Landlords to Challenge Government.

The National Federation of Residential Landlords (NFRL) intends to legally challenge any government move to make landlords responsible for the behaviour of their tenants and their tenants' friends.

NFRL president Mike Stimpson says: "We do not believe that any person should be responsible for the behaviour of another. Under the new proposals by the government this will be deemed a criminal offence.

"A landlord found guilty of the anti-social behaviour of his or her tenant will lose their ability to rent out property as well as getting a criminal record - and the tenant who has behaved badly could well get away scott-free."

The NFRL has so far put £50,000 towards a judicial review of the legislation in Northern Ireland.

These rules have been brought into action in the Northern Ireland first - and the NFRL believes that they will form a part of the Government's Law of Tenure Bill to be introduced next year in the UK.

The NFRL sees the Northern Ireland challenge as vital in order to create a legal precedent, and possibly get any proposals removed from the English Bill.

"This is Government passing on the responsibility for the irresponsible behaviour of one person to a landlord," says Mr. Stimpson.

"It's crazy that a landlord should be responsible if a tenant comes home from the pub with a friend and that friend decides to misbehave in a neighbour's garden. We don't have the power to do anything and yet we could face criminal charges if we fail to act.

"Landlords do not condone anti-social behaviour and are prepared to act within the terms of the tenancy agreement."

The rental market in the South East of England has been exceptionally busy in 2004, fuelled partly by several interest rate rises, while many still cannot afford to buy. This is according to 'Leaders', an independently owned specialist residential letting and management agency.

The peak letting period was over the summer of 2004, with June proving to be their busiest month in two years.

With demand outweighing supply, the government has given the go-ahead for 120,000 new homes to be built every year. This will mean that there will be more properties available for property investors, which in turn will lead to an expansion of the private rented sector (PRS). As a result, Leaders now believe that the PRS could increase from its current tally of 2.2 million private rented homes to at least 3.5 million, within the next 5 years.

Joint Managing Director of Leaders', Paul Weller said: "The way we see it, the future of letting across the South East looks rosy for the foreseeable future."

Despite disappointment amongst property investors at the government's delay in introducing tax-efficient real estate investment trusts (REIT), the private residential sector is set to grow with the potential introduction of half a million new units over the next five years.

Research by DTZ was published this week and shows that institutional and retail investors have in the region of £40 billion to invest in residential property. This would see stock within the private rental sector rise by 2% - from 2.2 to 2.7 million, according to the report.

Jacqui Daly, DTZ's research analysts said: "Although the decision to delay the creation of a UK REIT is likely to have disappointed a number of investor groups, the weight of capital that DTZ estimates to be available for investing in residential assets, is of such magnitude that many key investors are likely to keep their powder dry in anticipation of the right residential product."

October's Annual House Price Market Inflation Slows.

Figures released by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (OPDM) reveal that house prices rose 12.6% in the year to October, however this is a drop from September's figure of 13.8%.

Despite a rapid slowdown in the property boom this autumn, annual gains in London increased from 6.6% to 7%. Prices also picked up in the West Midlands.

The greatest slowdown was recorded in Scotland, where inflation is now 17.8%, down from 21.9%.

Activity amongst first-time buyers fell as annual house price inflation for this sector dropped to 12.5% in October from 15.6% in September.

Property Prices in Scotland Set to Stabilise.

Property group Cala forecast that the UK housing market will stabilise between now and 2007.

Strong demand for residential property in recent years has seen Scottish property prices double in some parts. As a result, Cala's pre-tax profits in the year to June 30 2004, is up 35%.

With some fearing that the property market may crash, Cala chairman Geoff Ball believes that the market is simply levelling itself out and should therefore not crash, even if interest rates rise above their current level of 4.75%.

Mr Ball Said: "We have seen a softening in all areas. We will have a couple of years where we go sideways. Life will be harder for us. I don't think Scotland will suffer as much as the south-east of England."