Jersey has launched a consultation into sweeping reforms including rent controls and open-ended tenancies, prompting fears that they could force more private landlords to quit the sector. The islands government aims to increase protections for both tenants and landlords
A new law to crack down on predatory landlords who exploit vulnerable people for sex in return for free or discounted rent is being considered, Home Secretary Suella Braverman (main picture) has announced. Her department is seeking the views of victims, the police and charities
There are heavy fines for those landlords who fail to have their rental properties tested by a qualified electrician before letting, and for existing tenancies, or if they fail to comply with any of the important recommendations made in a test report. The landlord will ordinarily have 28 da
Tribunal judge warns landlords to include licensing update clauses in agency contracts to avoid fines for non-compliance with licensing requirements.
The number of VAT and/or PAYE enterprises operating in the UKs residential and commercial rental sectors climbed 2% in the past year, despite the governments best efforts to deter investment. Analysis of government data by debt advisory firm https://siriusfinance.
Luton Council is making yet another attempt to bring in two new licensing schemes after a string of false starts amid landlord opposition. Its overview and scrutiny board has agreed to recommend a town-wide additional scheme as well as a selective scheme in South ward, which now
Durham citys parish council has taken the unusual step of asking student landlords to make a voluntary donation towards the cost of cleaning up street waste and discarded furniture. It will ask for a contribution of �52 towards its precept from student landlords to match the
Two-thirds of private landlords might sell up if they are forced to make EPC upgrades, new research finds. The Mortgage Advice Bureau says 59% would consider selling their property due to not being able to afford the changes needed to meet the minimum level. With an
NRLA boss Ben Beadle has urged the government to learn from the awful implementation� of Renting Homes Wales which he labelled a car crash of epic proportions�. Speaking on The Guild of Property Professionalshttps://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/guildprop
The Mayor of London has accused private landlords across the UK of taking rent worth �9 billion for homes that are non decent, �1.6 billion of which is paid for via housing benefit. The figure is highlighted as, this morning, Sadiq Khan reveals his PRS research generated
Legal expert warns that exempting asylum seeker HMOs from licensing could lower accommodation standards and encourage subpar housing provisions.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove meets with private rented sector leaders to discuss upcoming reforms, including the Renters Reform Bill.
Landlords and letting agents have told a new poll that the Government must reverse its Section 24 mortgage interest relief tax changes as a priority to get the private rental sector back on track. Rent tech platform Goodlord conducted the research among some 1,500 agents,
Talk of AI is all the rage right now, but have you thought about how you could use this revolutionary new development? ChatGPT is what is known as a natural language processing tool� driven by artificial intelligence (AI) technology that allows human-like conversations. Thi
Landlords criticise Minister Mims Davies for lacking data on LHA freeze impact; NRLA urges urgent action to address housing affordability gap.
Former housing minister Lord Greenhalgh has expressed doubts that leasehold reforms will be included in the Kings Speech this autumn. In an interview with Leasehold Knowledge, he said that despite being very complex legislation, the background work had been don
Edinburgh council boss Cammy Day (main pic, right) has admitted that introducing licensing and new planning application rules will result in fewer holiday properties. Speaking to Australian news channel SBS, Day explai
A landlord in Buckinghamshire is the latest to receive a large fine for operating an unlicenced HMO. Ahmad Kamal Younus, who owns a rental property on Ellsworth Road in High Wycombe, was recently found guilty of five offices Wycombe Magistrate Court by District Judge Sharma, inc
Brighton and Hoves Green Party is pushing for rent controls in the city where its now the most expensive place to rent outside the capital. The https://www.brightonhovegreens.org/" target="_blank" Green-controlled council, with Lab
A report on Irelands 50+ rent control pressure zones has revealed that the policy has led to higher rents and landlords quitting the market. Commissioned by the https://www.ipav.ie/" Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers
Claims by a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) minister that possession case delays are being addressed have been questioned by leading evictions specialist Landlord Action. In response to a question from Conservative MP Theresa Villiers, MoJ Parliamentary Under Secretary of State James
An investigation by LandlordZONE into data privacy within the private rental sector has revealed how many letting agents and landlords are sharing information about tenants' referencing information in contravention of GDPR regulations. In particular, many
Instead of abolishing Section 21 the government should encourage landlords to keep their tenants when they sell rather than via 'vacant possession', a leading landlording expert has claimed during a podcast with TV star Phil Spencer. Property Tribes Vanessa Warwick (main pic)
Commercial real estate has the advantage of providing landlords with a high income return, generally a higher yield than residential property, thats providing your tenants remain, rents can be increased regularly to keep pace with inflation, and where finances are involved, interest rate
SearchFlow one of the biggest conveyancing search providers in England and Wales has over 2,500 legal clients and conducts more than 1 million searches every year. On the 17th of May SearchFlows web seminar will brings together leading lawyers and practitione
England’s new private rental portal to track landlords, properties, compliance & disputes—enhancing transparency and enforcement.
HMO numbers in England have dropped by 3% during the past 12 months many landlords offloaded their buy-to-let stock instead of negotiating more legislative hurdles. Market analysis by Octane Capital reveals that while there were 511,278 HMOs in 2019/2020, this fell to 497,884 in
The MP replacing Eddie Hughes at the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is Lee Rowley. This 42-year-old MP and Leave voter, who was elected to parliament by the constituents of North East Derbyshire in 2017 following his two unsuccessful bids in other co
Landlords should expect more form filling after agents were advised to complete due diligence on all their clients to combat money laundering. Recently approved government guidance designed to help property agents comply with money laundering regulations - covering customer due
According to many companies, heat pumps are our salvation. To homeowners and landlords, they are expensive to buy. Thats okay, right? Not quite. Home boiler installation experts at Boiler Central have recently seen homeowners return to their natural gas boilers due to heat pu
Scotlands shock new rent https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/breaking-nichola-sturgeon-to-reveal-national-rent-freeze-in-scotland/" freeze policy announcement has left worried landlords in the dark, according to the countrys largest letting ag
Housing minister Eddie Williams has thrown in the towel and says he is looking forward to having more time to work for his constituents in Walsall North and championing their causes in parliament. The Midlands MP, who has been at the housing department since June 2018
Under plans to get tough on landlords, stricter standards will be brought in to eliminate unsafe and cold rental housing says the Government Landlords could be facing six-month prison sentences if they let older homes that are unsafe and cold for their tenants. Under
Mortgage brokers around the UK have reported a big rise in tenants being given first refusal to buy their rental property as more amateur landlords head for the exit. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://uploads-ssl.webflo
HMO landlords and their tenants will both miss out on the �150 Council Tax Energy Rebate payment, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has announced. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://upload
The UKs Prime Minister Lizz Truss has named Simon Clarke as her Levelling Up, Housing and Communities secretary of state following her confirmation as Prime Minster. Truss, who won 57.4% of the Conservative Party membership vote to get the job, had previously been rumoured to
John Blackwood , (pictured) Chief Executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords (https://scottishlandlords.com/" target="_blank" SAL ), has warned of dire repercussions for the private rented sector is his country's Governm
Sturgeon announces national rent freeze & eviction ban in Scotland emergency legislation—set to run until end‑March (tenant protection). Sour
The https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-levelling-up-housing-and-communities" Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) has dismissed concerns from HMO student landlords that its plans to bring in periodic tenancies will damage
One of the main tasks you have as a landlord is finding quality tradespeople to repair and maintain your rental properties. Whether its a big landscaping project, or a small leak its important to hire people who know what theyre doing. Unfortunately for many landl
More than 5,000 leaseholders including landlords could get refunds on their ground rent after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) secured assurances from nine firms that bought freeholds from housing developer Taylor Wimpey. Those leaseholders who paid a doubled
More councils are set to introduce Article 4 directions in a bid to clamp down on HMO development, with six currently waiting for approval. There are already about 45 local authorities in England partly or entirely affected by Article 4 which means planning permission is nee
A new landlord survey has revealed the effects of the Government's proposals to ban Section 21 evictions already feeding into the private rented sector. Evictions specialist Landlord Action canvassed some 1,500 landlords and found that 26% of those who had evicted a tenant over
Its known as silly season when the media focuses on light-hearted stories, but news that Jacob Rees-Mogg (pictured) is being mooted as the new Levelling Up Secretary has been seen by some as no laughing matter. As the leadership contest draws to a close, preparations fo
Making tax digital (MTD) for income tax is part of the governments long-term strategy to digitalise tax and will have implications for how landlords pay tax on their income. For those used to self-assessment, it will represent a change, but providing digital records will give businesses
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
