A landlord in Norfolk has payed fines totalling �40,000 after he was found to have housed tenants in a way that put tenants at risk. Issues were reported at the Watton property (pictured) to Breckland Council last year, which prompted an inspection by officers who found a block
The Bank of England has this lunchtime raised its base rate by 0.5% as the venerable institution fights to bring down inflation, which yesterday was revealed to be sticking stubbornly at 8.7%, way above the bank's target of 2%. Commentators and mortgage holders alike had hoped t
Welsh Minister for Climate Change Julie James has backed the NRLAs call for a review of property taxation in the PRS. Speaking at thehttps://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/breaking-landlords-tell-housing-minister-face-to-face-that-sector-needs-support/" <strong i
The Treasury has confirmed that it will not introduce tax relief on mortgage interest payments for either homeowners or landlords despite the ongoing mortgage cost crisis. As we https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/mortgages-landlord-tells-bbc-how-payments-have-tripled-o
JLL's latest report highlights the rapid growth of institutional Build-to-Rent (BTR) in the UK, with over 82,000 homes completed and rising demand.
Suzy Hershman (main picture), Resolution Department Lead at HFIS, examines a shocking case her team dealt with recently and highlights what landlords can learn from it . The case</h4>A landlord with a four-bedroom property i
Multi-millionaire landlord Judith Wilson (main picture, inset) has been hit with a �166,000 court bill after losing a legal battle against Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. Wilson, wife of the controversial Fergus, who was once dubbed Britains
Treat tenants like customers and stop thinking about profit if you want to make a success of property investing - thats the advice of lettings and landlord professional Tom Soane, who boasts that its made him the 'best landlord in the UK'. Your property is a product, te
Councils have been given three months longer to launch selective licencing schemes, new Government guidance has revealed. An update to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities advice to local authorities considering or planning a selective licencing scheme has
More than 1 in 10 (11%) homes for sale on Zoopla are former rental properties after private landlords faced with tax changes and higher borrowing costs have rationalised their portfolios or quit the market. Before the pandemic, half of these homes for sale returned to th
Paul Bradley, a landlord with a single rental property in North London, has told the BBC how the ongoing mortgage crisis has seen his monthly interest-only loan payments triple over the past 12 months. His case illustrates vividly the significant challenges that the approximatel
Rising cost of living causes tenant referencing pass rates to drop from 35% to 25%, increasing rental risk for landlords, reports Housing Hand.
A Labour MP has called on the government to extend notice periods from two to four months to prevent landlords from unjustly evicting tenants. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63bef2f3c329eff8e3
Only one-third of Oxfords private rental properties have been registered for its city-wide selective licensing scheme and could soon face steeper fees or a hefty fine. The scheme, which launched last September, has received more than 10,500 licence applications from the 3
An https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/braverman-under-pressure-to-reverse-outrageous-new-hmo-rules-for-asylum-seekers/" HMO landlord says desperate new tenants are moving in hours after the previous tenants leave due to a dearth of available properties. In he
A letting agent who ripped off dozens of landlord clients has been banned from being a company director for eight years. https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/letting-agent-who-stole-80000-from-dozens-of-landlords-admits-fraud/" Frank Smart , 46, the owner of Sma
In a market where interest rates are sky high, tax bills are extortionate and mortgage payments are higher than rents, coupled with a backlog of refurb costs and difficult tenant situations, landlords are rushing to cash in and sell their property portfolios. If you were a landl
With one in five households now renting, the private rented sector is an essential part of the housing market. As the government has reduced its housebuilding strategy for all local authorities from mandatory to advisory, with some councils scrapping targets all together, the ho
Propertymark has called for a set of standards for developers and clear guidance for local councils as a way to effectively convert empty commercial properties into affordable homes - an increasingly popular path for some bigger PRS landlords. Responding to an inquiry from all-p
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.
So, we ended 2021 after twenty-one months since the first Covid lockdown with the new variant, Omicron, spreading fast, and with Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland putting in stricter measures and speculation that England may follow with an announcement early in the New Year.
An example of the difficulty of prediction is the conclusion to a detailed study recently published on the private rented sector by the London School of Economics (a study commissioned by the NRLA) Individually and cumulatively, the recent tax changes
A lettings agency boss and landlord has been slapped with a �40,700 Rent Repayment Officer despite claiming that his failure to licence an HMO was an honest mistake. A First Tier Property Tribunal handed five former tenants the maximum award for the period from September 2019 t
Scotland’s Housing Bill proposes rent controls, winter eviction bans, pet rights & tougher eviction penalties in private sector overhaul.
Bristol has approved plans to extend landlord licensing in Brislington West, Bedminster and Horfield wards in a bid to raise PRS standards. The scheme includes additional licensing - HMOs with three or more unrelated people sharing facilities and selective licensing - privat
Durham County Council's selective licensing scheme covers 29,000 homes, requiring landlords to apply by 31 July for a £350–£500 licence fee.
This is a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman case involving an unnamed landlord (LandlordX or MrX) and Brentwood Borough Council. The case revolves around a common situation where the landlord required possession of the property after serving a valid section 21 notice un
I've been in the property investment business for almost 30 years and during this period opportunities have come and gone but I've yet to discover an asset class that perf
Ever since I started to market one of my commercial buildings around 10 years ago now, I began to doubt the efficacy of the EPC rating system. The guy that came along to do the inspection told me himself he had just completed a 6 week course, or whatever it was, to train to be a
Social and private landlords are to face tougher new rules which make it mandatory to fit smoke alarms in all rented accommodation regardless of tenure, and widen the conditions under which they must be fitted. Revisions to the smoke and carbon monoxide detector regulations also
If you had �50k to invest right now, where would you put it, buy-to-let property or stocks and shares? Certainly leaving it in a traditional savings account, with interest rates as they are at rock bottom, thats out of the question. And with the threat of rising inflation ea
Research carried out by LandlordZONEs insurance partner, Hamilton Fraser Total Landlord Insurance, revealed that the vast majority of landlords, https://hamiltonfraser.co.uk/knowledge/good-landlord-quiz-results/?utm_source=landlordzone&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=lz_november
The move to provide home heating and hot water by this method is part of a Government strategy aimed at making deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonizing the UK's power sector by 2035. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the scheme was designed to bring low-carbon hea
Tenants facing eviction in England are to be protected from losing their homes during the Christmas and New Year period, HM Courts and Tribunal has confirmed. Between 13th December and 10th January no evictions should be s
Some holiday lets owners are gaming the system to claim business rate relief, comments made by the Housing Minister Lord Greenhalgh suggest, who has promised action to clamp down on the practice. In a Lords debate on second homes, peers voiced concerns that second homeo
A company that houses asylum seekers has been fined more than �60,000 for HMO offences in Newport. Clearsprings Ready Homes, which has the contract for operating accommodation for asylum seekers in Wales, was found guilty of letting an HMO in Redland Street (pictured), in the B
The Minimum Energy Performance of Buildings Bill, which aimed to advance the governments energy efficiency commitments, is in doubt following the tragic death of David Amess MP. He was the presentation bills main sponsor in the Commons, launching it at the same time as Lor
However, Carol Lewis writing for the Sunday Times newspaper thinks that holiday let owners should be paying council tax. Given that levelling up is the government's buzzword du jour, it is time to level the playing field and bring holiday-home owners in line wi
Landlords and letting agents hit by the collapse of Ash Residential Property Management Limited (ARPM) have been left struggling to claw back deposits and fees after it ceased trading last month with debts of almost �1.5m. At least 8,000 properties and their landlords are affec
HMRC warns that owners must accurately declare these earnings on their self assessment tax returns or face criminal charges if in default. A boom in bookings The Covid pandemic has stored up excess demand for stay at home Britains under the foreign holiday restrictio
Scottish landlords have until 2028 to meet energy efficiency standards but can access interest-free loans of up to �15,000 to help them spread the cost. The Scottish government has published its Heat In Building Strategy setting out that, by 2030, greenhouse gas emissions from
The so called Pandora Papers is a financial services leak of nearly 12 million documents that reveal an international treasure trove of hidden wealth, tax avoidance and money laundering, by some of the world's richest individuals. The secret files were unearthed by a Washington
High Street lender the Nationwide has launched a platform that will be first of its kind created for landlords by a major financial institution. Called The Landlord Works, it has been developed by a team headed up by Paul Wooton (main picture) who, after leaving its mortgage bro
Lambeth to launch UK's most expensive HMO scheme, charging landlords £289 per bedroom under new five-year additional licensing rules.
The Section 21 possession procedure (currently under threat of being removed) is a no fault eviction process where the landlord can serve notice on a tenant to regain possession once the initial minimum 6 months or contracted fixed term has ended. A section 21 notice is for 2
