Private renters are facing an increase in housing costs, with rental price growth at its highest rate in the UK since records began in 2016. About a quarter (26%) of all renters (both private and social) surveyed between 7th and 18th December reported that their rent payments ha
As landlords, we all know there is a wealth of legislation that we need to wrap our heads around to maintain compliance throughout the lifespan of a tenancy. Gas safety, energy efficiency, electrical safety, legionella risk assessments, insurances, prohibited payments, How to Rent, Right to
New laws will make it easier for broadband companies to gain access to thousands of https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/latest-mps-gives-tenants-new-rights-to-have-high-speed-broadband-kit-installed-in-blocks/" blocks of flats across England and Wales. The Tel
Landlords are being encouraged to donate the addresses of their vacant properties as part of a unique bid to stem homelessness. Dreamt up by architect Chris Hildrey, https://www.proxyaddress.co.uk/" ProxyAddress allows people to securely borrow a stable, donat
Average house prices fell by -1.5% in December, while the annual growth rate dropped from +4.6% to +2.0%, according to the Halifax House Price Index. A typical property now costs �281,272 - down from �285,425 in November following six months of rapid growth during the firs
Propertymark has voiced fears that the governments ECO plus scheme risks excluding many landlords with low-rated properties. In its response to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategys consultation into the scheme to help fund home insulation, the indus
Cherwell District Council has pressed the government to urgently introduce the long-awaited Renters Reform Bill to help it rebalance the relationship between landlords and tenants. The north Oxfordshire authority has written to Housing Secretary Michael Gove asking him to bring
All non-domestic properties usually have their business property Rateable Value (RV) revalued every five years by the Valuation Office Agency. The next revaluation is due to take place on 1 April 2023. What is Rateable Value? The value is determined by the Valuation
The average cost of rent fell slightly during December, dropping 1.47% to �1,071, according to the latest Rental Index from https://www.goodlord.co/" Goodlord .<br><br>The South West saw the largest reduction of 2.68% to �1,066 while the only region to see an increase wa
Landlords should think carefully before attempting to remove good tenants who resist rent increases, advises https://www.landlordaction.co.uk/ Landlord Action founder Paul Shamplina - or risk replacing them with tenants who stop paying rent. If you have a
A letting agency boss has been hit with an 11-year ban after repeatedly abusing the https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/landlords-who-took-out-bounce-back-loans-given-six-month-breathing-space/" Bounce Back Loan scheme. Laszlo Szabo, the sole director of Letti
Almost two-thirds of landlords (62%) will be forced to raise rents by at least 10% in the next 12 months if market conditions dont improve. Research by Aldermore Bank found that despite this, landlords feel conflicted about passing on costs in an alread
Legal & General Capital helped fund more than 17,000 new homes across affordable housing, suburban build-to-rent (BTR), modular housing, traditional build-to-sell, and key worker homes last year. The insurance group invested �5 billion towards levelling up the UKs towns
If you havent heard of it before, the Renters' Reform Bill is set to be voted on before May 2023, bringing with it a plethora of proposed changes for landlords and tenants alike. Shelter , who along with other organisations are cam
Long-term HMO landlords in Portsmouth risk losing their C3/C4 status with no chance of getting it back due to confusion over planning rules, it is claimed. Many took advantage of the option to switch between family use (C3) and HMO (C4) without needing planning permission in 201
The rental sector is likely to see some of the biggest changes since the 1980s, so do your homework and keep yourself up-to-date. All the signs are that operating as a residential landlord in 2023 will be just as challenging as it was last year, if not more so here are my to
Leading property sector figure Kate Faulkner has been given an OBE in the New Years Honours List. Faulkners honour is for her involvement with landlords, estate agents and consumers including her work leading the property industry Home Buying and Selling Grou
The worst fears of a commercial landlord are realised when the flow on quarterly or monthly rent payments starts to dry up! Read on to find out what to do if you're faced with this. According to the latest available Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures, the number of comp
Converting commercial buildings to residential use would seem an ideal solution to a housing shortage, especially with and a glut of underused commercial buildings, but how easy is it? The planning regulation changes have made it easier to convert commercial buildings to residen
The new How to Rent guide due to come out today (17th March) has been delayed for a week, according to industry sources. The new guide forms part of the prescribed information that landlords in England must issue at the start of any new tenancy or renewa
John Lewiss build-to-rent strategy appears to be stalling amid local opposition to its plans for large developments in West Ealing and Bromley. The retailer has just announced pre-tax losses of �234 million as sales dipped 2% last year, making it even more vital to find new
Landlords, estate agents and surveyors have all given yesterdays Budget an unqualified thumbs down after the Chancellor chose to focus on economic growth but ignore several problem threatening to engulf the housing market. All have said the budget was disappointing and a m
Despite new research showing that one in four people plan to invest in property to generate retirement income, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's scrapping of the 'lifetime pension fund limit' could dampen demand for BTL property, says Cornerstone Tax. The impact of inflation on savings a
Shelter has slammed the Chancellor for failing to raise Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates in his spring Budget. The homeless charity says Jeremy Hunt could have put an end to spiralling homelessness, but instead, he has stuck his head in the sand. Yet again we
Sunday Times economics editor David Smith has expressed sympathy for private landlords who he believes feel bruised by increasing regulation in the sector. He says higher mortgage rates might be the straw that breaks the camels back for many, with some alrea
First time buyers remain better off owning than renting an equivalent home, Lloyds Bank says, but the gap is narrowing. Its latest Owning vs Renting Review reveals that owning a first home now costs �971 a month, four percent less than renting at �1,013.
The government failed to offer long-term support for energy efficiency improvements or increase the Local Housing Allowance in a Budget which instead focused on getting the country back to work. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt extended support for energy bills at current levels of �2,50
The long-awaited Government White Paper, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1083378/A_fairer_private_rented_sector_web_accessible.pdf" target="_blank" A Fairer Private Rented Sector ,
According to recent research buy property agents Hamptons International, for the last 11 months its been cheaper to buy a home with a 10% deposit than rent. This is because to rental growth was tearing away before and mortgage rates were near their record lows. In May this ye
Abolishing fixed-term tenancies risks ruining the student rental market, warns leading provider of major housing contraction.
Thousands of landlords have vowed to switch to short-term lets when Section 21 notices are abolished, a new survey has found. Assist Inventories study of 10,000 landlords and letting agents revealed that 45% plan to move away from long-term tenancies while 41% said they might
The new Building Regulations and accompanying technical upgrade to the SAP assessment methodology ask for a completely different way of measuring the energy performance of many buildings, giving a market boost to those properties with higher EPC ratings. Effective from last week
A landlord too terrified to reveal her name has warned others to conduct more regular property checks after she unwittingly rented her house to a drug-dealing gang for years. The North London-based landlord has had the same tenants since 2005 but only discovered their illegal ac
New research reveals how adult tenants cause as much damage as pets in rental properties and that for smaller landlords, animal damage costs less to repair. The survey of 537 landlords and lettings agents found 85% have experienced both kinds of damage while only 29% of landlord
A landlord has given evidence in the Sebastian Kalinowski murder trial, who died at his home in Huddersfield. Prosecutors allege his mother Agnieszka Kalinowska, 35, and her partner Andrzej Latoszewski, 36, subjected him to a campaign of abuse before his death in August 2021.</p
Houses with off-road parking space will not only command a higher sale price, the rental value will also be boosted as more people buy electric cars. Surge in EV sales The electric vehicle (EV) market is booming, which will inevitably have its impact on property pric
Landlord leaders criticise Renters Reform White Paper, highlighting flaws and concerns over proposed legislation and its impact on the sector.
HMRC has named and shamed 26 property tax dodgers who collectively tried to avoid paying more than �6.7 million. The deliberate tax defrauders earned income from either rental property, property developing or property tax advising, and have all been investigated and fined for e
Government's full renting‑reform White Paper unveiled—bold, controversial changes to landlord rules await Spring's legislation.
Key details of the Governments radical renting reform White Paper have been released this morning by Michael Gove, full details of which are due to be published when his housing minister Eddie Hughes addresses parliament later this morning. In a statement embargoed for midnig
Under the Renters' Rights Bill, tenants can request to keep pets, with landlords required to respond within 28 days and may require pet insurance.
The Government wants to make it a 'duty' for landlords to respond to requests from disabled tenants to make communal spaces outside their homes more accessible. A consultation on the proposals has been launched by equalities minister Kemi Badenoch (main pi
It may have gone unnoticed by many landlords that Boris Johnson made one of the most extraordinary attacks on the sector in living memory last week. And it is fair to say, one of the most unfair. Most landlords have become accustomed to the government's frosty rhetoric over the
The government has finally updated the guidance it provides to property assessors on how to calculate EPCs for new homes and, in six months time, for existing homes too. This is the first time the methodologies of calculation have been updated for almost ten years for t
A professional landlord has scored a partial win against his council fines for charges relating to gas safety inspections. Mahendra Maharaj , who owns 78 properties in Liverpool, had been fined �9,000 by the city council a decision confirmed by a First
Boris Johnsons pledge to reform the housing market will see the government launching a dusted-off version of David Camerons right to buy scheme for social housing in order to turn the tables on private landlords, his housing secretary Michael Gove has suggested. During a s
The self-employed who took advantage of the multi-billion pound self-employed income support scheme (SEIS), claiming grants they were not entitled to, when they were either not trading at all, or their profits did not fall within the specified limits, are now being asked to pay the money ba
Experts discuss the implications of abolishing Section 21 evictions, including potential delays, increased court burdens, and impacts on tenant mobili
While in England the housing minister Eddie Hughes has just https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/breaking-minister-confirms-government-will-not-consider-rent-controls-in-england/" target="_blank" ruled out rent controls , in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Irish R
Weve all heard the expression, ignorance of the law is no excuse� and this applies without question in all areas of the law. But in some rare instances it seems the courts and tribunals are open to accepting a defence of what is termed reasonable excuse even when the regulatio
Nottingham benefits landlord Mick Roberts (main picture) has made another bid to sell 40 of his properties by offering to cut the sale price by a tenth if a landlord buyer keeps his existing tenants on. The regular LandlordZONE contributor has previously suggested https
Landlords have been warned to check a propertys potential status if their tenant wants to offer Ukrainian refugees a spare room. Updated guidance on the rules around the Homes for Ukraine scheme outlines that where a private tenant is paying rent for their accommodation, the
