The government has vowed to crack down on dodgy rent-to-rent landlords who flout housing laws. Housing Minister Baroness Scott of Bybrook (pictured) says it is aware of concerns that some rent-to-rent arrangements have sometimes been used to make it more difficult to identify la
Rents on newly-let homes have increased by 25% across the UK since the start of Covid, costing the average tenant an extra �2,962 each year. Hamptons reports that rents rose 11% year-on-year, with April marking the second strongest month for rental growth on record. <p
Construction activity is continuing to grow in the UK. Thats according to the April S&P Global / CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers Index� (PMI), as reported by PCBToday, a Construction, Planning and Building Control portal. Construction companies in the UK the
Leading property sector figure Kate Faulkner (pictured) has called for a reset of the private rented sector, away from ineffective rules and regulations. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63bef2f
The number of landlords planning to sell their rented properties has reached its highest level ever, according to new research. BVA-BDRC, commissioned by the NRLA, found that during the first three months of this year a third of 700 private landlords in England and Wales that it
One of the UKs big property portals has launched an initiative to enable renters to become rent ready as they hunt for homes. OnTheMarket.com, which is a competitor with Rightmove and Zoopla, has now fully integrated Canopys RentPassport service into its platform.</p
Will the long-awaited Renters Reform Bill land—or fall flat? Explore landlord reactions and what the new measures could mean.
The https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/hold-up-for-renters-reform-bill-blamed-on-procedural-issues/" Renters Reform Bill will increase pressure on landlords and may force even more to quit the market, warns the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (https://w
The Bank of England has hiked https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/revealed-why-higher-interest-rates-are-making-it-trickier-for-btl-investors/" interest rates by 0.25 percentage points, pushing the base rate to 4.5% and raising fears that this could exacerbate rental pric
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has dropped plans to abolish leaseholds in England and Wales after Downing Street officials argued there was not enough time to enact such major reforms. Despite describing it as an outdated feudal system� and pledging to get rid of h
Five more https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/latest-big-city-to-go-live-with-controversial-selective-licensing-plan/" selective licensing schemes have opened in https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/new-devolution-deal-gives-manchester-more-rogue-landlord-powers/"
https://www.shelter.org.uk/" Shelter has strenuously denied that it is involved in any https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/rent-to-rent-craze-adding-to-uks-renting-crisis/" rent-to-rent schemes after it was claimed that the charity was either acting as
Government delays Renters Reform Bill due to procedural issues, raising concerns over potential dilution of tenant protections.
If you're a landlord who needs to sell their properties and is struggling, keep reading, because we have the best solution for you. No catch, no fuss, we simply know exactly what to do to help you. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img
https://www.skipton.co.uk/" Skipton has launched a new mortgage specifically for renters who can now buy a house without needing a deposit. Tenants who can evidence affordability and have a strong track record of rental payments can borrow up to 100% of a prop
Thousands of private landlords have started selling their properties ahead of government changes to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) regulations. More than 65,000 rental properties went up for sale in the first three months of the year, 36,460 of which had an EPC rating of
Public information campaigns are needed to raise awareness of the consequences of not turning the heating on as often in rented properties, says the NRLA. When quizzing 2,000 tenants in England and Wales about the impact rising utility bills have had on their household budget, t
A survey of almost 700 landlords, carried out by BVA BDRC for Paragon, reveals that that 67% of landlord respondents had experienced higher than usual tenant demand during the first three months of this year. This, according to Paragon, represents a new all-time high and up from 65% reco
A debt charity is calling on the government to introduce stronger protections for tenants who fall behind on their rent. StepChanges survey found that private renters struggled to afford their homes more than any other housing tenure, with one in six (1.2 million people) rely
More than one in three tenants in the UK spend at least half their salary on rent, according to new data from flat-share site SpareRoom. Its poll of 11,000 private renters reveals that 81% spend more than 30% of their take-home pay on rent, leaving them rent burdened, mean
Rent inflation continued to climb last month up by 0.1% to 4.7%, the Governments latest data for England shows. The Official for National Statistics (ONS) reports the annual increase, which compares the 12 months to the end of April 2023 to the previous months rent data.</
In this bonus episode of The Property Cast, Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the Property Redress Scheme, and leading property expert Kate Faulkner OBE, share their initial reactions to the Renters (Reform) Bill. In perhaps the biggest shake-up of the private rented sector in ove
Large portfolio landlords are feeling upbeat despite the tough economic climate, with many eyeing the commercial sector for their next property purchase. The https://www.handelsbanken.co.uk/en/about-us" target="_blank" Handelsbanken </a
Labour has vowed to abolish the leasehold system as soon as it comes to power following Michael Goves U-turn earlier this month. The Housing Secretary dropped https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/new-gove-sets-sights-on-scrapping-leasehold-ownership/" target="_blank"
Environmental health bodies are to press the government on why it omitted plans for a Decent Homes Standard in the Renters (Reform) Bill. Despite including most of the promised draft legislation, the expected standards were missing and only mentioned in an accompanying press rel
A proposed ban on fixed-term tenancies could penalise students amid an already heightened rental crisis in many cities. According to student rentals platform StuRents�
The increasingly rancourous debate between Airbnb landlords and legislators will come to a head in York this week as the city's MP convenes a public meeting to discuss the growing problem of short lets within its walls. MP Rachel Maskell (main picture) is one of six mostly Labou
VAT on Commercial Property is a complex topic and anyone wishing to understand these complexities in relation to their own situation should seek specialist advice. This article should give a broad brush general overview but you really should seek advice because errors can be irredeemable an
A rogue portfolio landlord has been banned from letting properties for five years after she admitted multiple offences relating to fire safety issues. Naomi Knapp, a landlord with 34 properties in Bristol, was convicted of eight banning order offences and will now be added to th
Urgent regulation of the spray foam industry is needed to prevent making thousands of homes un-mortgagable, warn leading property groups. Sprayed polyurethane expanding foams are often used in lofts, either to stabilise a failing roof covering or to provide extra insulation. But
Portsmouths HMOs are in the firing line again as growing numbers are being referred to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to have their council tax bands reassessed. Rather than paying tax on the whole property, each room can be classified as a band A at a cost of �1,200, wit
A severely disabled tenant and his family have barricaded themselves into their home in a bid to prevent a controversial eviction. Quadriplegic Harvey Cowe, 62, and his wife Sheree, 55, have lived at the house in Brittany Road, Hove, for 25 years after Brighton & Hove C
A leading letting agent has criticised the reasoning behind the UKs ever-growing list of selective licensing schemes. Selective licensing covers all rented property in a given area or council borough and landlords are required to pay a five-yearly fee of between �500 and �9
Landlords in Bristol will soon be required to gain planning permission to convert properties into HMOs in three key areas, it has been revealed. South Gloucestershire Council is to bring in Article 4 directions in the Bristol neighbourhoods of Stoke Park and Cheswick and parts o
Londons mayor Sadiq Khan has urged private landlords who are planning to exit the private rented market to sell their properties to local councils instead of other landlords. Khan made the comments within a self-congratulatory statement on his website l
A landlord in London must now pay �40,000 after losing his appeal against his fine for breaching Mandatory HMO licensing conditions at a bedsit property above a pub. Earlier this year Islington council brought a prosecution against Mohammed Shahid for fai
For years now, what would appear to have been successive waves of anti-landlord legislation have been bearing down on buy to let, but will this change under a new prime minister? From George Osborne to Rishi Sunack, the Treasury, it would seem, has been milking the buy to let la
The next chapter in the troubling story of property guru Glenn Armstrong has begun after court records have revealed that the infamous �3m seven-bedroom trophy mansion he often used within his marketing effort has been repossessed by bailiffs. The 62-year-olds now form
Ben Beadle critiques Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss for neglecting landlord concerns, urging focus on supply crisis and policy clarity.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called on the next Tory PM to force landlords to pay tenants moving costs when asking them to move out of a property where the renter is not at fault. His comments were made during a debate within the London Assembly on housing issues in the capita
A landlord has been unwittingly drawn into a heated debate over the looming changes to the Welsh private rented sector. The country's Government recently delayed its planned reforms that will alter how tenancies, properties and evictions are managed, similar in many ways to the
Wannabe Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced that, if elected next month, she will introduce measures to enable tenants within the private rented sector to record their rent with the UK's credit reference agencies. This will both help tenants get on the property ladder via imp
A landlord in East London is to pay two of her former tenants just over �12,000 after a rent repayment order (RRO) tribunal judge said she had at times bullied the pair and verged on threatening behaviour. Judge Shepherd awarded
A challenger utilities provider has claimed that HMO landlords can solve their tenants mounting bill payment challenges by using tech. Glide, which has a fast-spreading network of its own broadband cables around the UK but also offers bundled utility deals to homeowners and t
Leeds has the highest number of student properties in the UK, according to new research. Website money.co.uk analysed the biggest university towns and cities, giving Leeds, which has five universities and one of the biggest student populations, the top spot with 16,225, followed
Leaseholders can now check their eligibility for a share of the �4.5 billion Building Safety Fund, which has reopened to take new applications.� � Those living in buildings over 18m with cladding issues can apply for a share of the fund. However, the DLUHC tel
Barnet Council is reintroducing borough-wide HMO licensing in a bid to improve property standards despite less than impressive figures in its previous additional licensing scheme. According to one of the respondents in the consultation report, only 32% of licensable properties h
A recent RICS survey finds that interest rate hikes and cost of living pressures are beginning to weigh on sentiment. Credit conditions have deteriorated to such an extent that 43% of respondents to the RICS survey felt we're in early downturn.� Investor sentiment is steady, but the ma
HMRC has confirmed that landlords must file a capital gains tax (CGT) property return - even if the disposal has already been reported on a self-assessment (SA) return. The government introduced the requirement to report disposals of UK residential property and pay the subsequen
A leading poverty organisation has called for a radical overhaul of the private rented sector including a government-backed right to buy scheme for private renters. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), which was founded by a Quaker philanthropist and sweets manufacturer i
Kettel Homes has launched the UKs first open market rent-to-own programme for first-time buyers who cant access traditional home financing. Under the scheme, Kettel buys existing freehold single-family homes between �125,000 and �400,000 outside London, charging first-ti
Landlords seeking to evict tenants face more delays when Section 21 notices are abolished, warns the boss of an insurance and referencing firm. Clogged courts and a shortage of judges and county-court bailiffs mean that cases are taking months to be heard, it is claimed. <p i
