The colder weather is here again, its that time of year coming; you feel that cold chill in the air, the snow and ice will soon arrive, and you know its time to get out that winter coat, scarf and gloves.You also know that cold wet weather on the way will test your rental properties and tenant
Portfolio Landlords: Buy to let lender Paragons recent research shows that professionaland larger-scale landlords are still investing and are increasing the size oftheir portfolios through more targeted investments. With an average portfolio
New rules that came into force in March allow https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/landlords-sue-cold-damp-homes-law-tenants-renting-housing-a8776671.html" tenants to sue landlords for issues like cold and damp. A broken heating system or poor ventilation that
Commercial Property : A recent High Court decision in Co-Operative Group Food Ltdv. A&A Shah Properties Ltd (2019) relates to an authorised guaranteeagreement (AGA) dispute, in this case an agreement involving a guarantor of theoutgoing tenant. <p id
The Government has announced its intention to scrap Section 21 notices for eviction in an effort to offer tenants more long-term security.
Commercial: A new set of mandatory rules introduced from 1stApril 2019 and though the document itself is titled a first edition, itsupersedes 3 previous editions published as codes of practice. The RICS (Royal Institution of Ch
Security: Renovating a buy-to-let property can be a great way for landlords to increase the rental income
Abandonment: When times get hard the instances of tenants leaving without notice are known to increase. Doing a runner�, skipping� moonlight flitting� walking away� or gone away� and in the words of the immortal song;
Tenancy Deposits: According to TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme) less than 1% (0.85%) of tenancies they handle have resulted in a deposit dispute in the year to March 2018, nevertheless its important to get it right when dealing with tenants' deposits.Cleaning was the most com
Viewpoint by Tom Entwistle As winter approaches outside temperatures drop and the perennial landlords problem of winter condensation and black mould rear their ugly heads again.The question is, how do you know if this is caused by the building or the tenant, or is it a co
Landlords' Tax: Internet sites, such as AirBnB, have increased the number of landlords letting to lodgers and to guests on short stays. There are specific tax benefits to this type of letting business which are expanded upon below.Furnished holiday letting</st
Section 21: Most tenancies will never require the service of a Section 21, Housing Act 1988, (eviction) notice. However, on those occasions when it does become necessary, and you just never know, landlords (and agents) will thank their lucky starts they complied with the rul
Asbestos:Asbestos regulations were last updated in 2012 , bringing the UK in line with EU regulations, which means the current regulations have been in place long enough for most
The Application Form You should always use a comprehensive Tenancy Application Form when taking on a new tenant. You need a completed application for each adult tenant in the property.The Tenancy application form is a very important starting point for any residential or comm
End of an AST: Questions: What happens when an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) comes to an end? Will the tenant have to leave or does she need to sign a new agreement? What if a tenant wants to leave early? How long can a periodic tenancy last?When the fixed term (minimum of
Landlords often buy flats which are either Leasehold or Shared Freehold. What are these tenures and what should landlords look out for in these different forms of ownership?Leasehold is one of three forms of tenure (property/land ownership) almost exclusively peculiar to the United Kingdom, thoug
Landlord's Access to Property: Many landlords will have experienced a tenant denying them access to a property - whether for an inspection, viewings or legal duties. Its easy to understand the view of Its my property, I can enter when I want, but unfortunately th
New Rules for Section 21 :Landlords and Agents need to be aware of the changes affecting Section 21 rules and Notices and other changes for the letting of residential properties in England (and in many cases Wales) introduced during 2015 . This article explains the new rules
The capital’s rental market continues to show signs of slowing down, with prices rising by just 1% year-on-year in May while the number of viewing request per property has dropped too.
Fergus Wilson has questioned whether new Reform UK leader Nigel Farage would restore Landlord Tax to the previous headline rate and put Capital Gains Tax down to a flat 10% for all landlords - the level of tax paid if held in a company.
Generation Rent has called for private rented homes to be brought into public or tenant ownership in its list of demands for the next government.
The rise of ‘built-to-rent’ homes as a major competitor for tenants with private landlords took a leap forward this week after two US firms revealed they had bought 1,750 homes off a UK builder that will now be rented out rather than sold.
When the terms of a commercial renewal lease cannot be varied in the agreed between the parties, according to the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
Nearly a quarter of mortgages on mid-rise flats required an ESW1 form this year, despite government promises that leaseholders in these blocks affected by the cladding scandal would no longer need one when selling or remortgaging.
Labour is likely to reintroduce the Renters (Reform) Bill in a similar form if it wins the election and has already confirmed its view that the court process needs speeding up.
Any new government must continue to encourage private landlords if it is to effectively tackle the housing crisis, according to property lawyer David Smith.
Calls are growing for a thorough overhaul of the EPC regime amid claims that the information in many could be inaccurate and misleading.
Its a sensitive time to be talking about increasing the rent, but the time will come when this question needs to be addressed </h4>Most landlords have done their utmost to help their tenants through the pandemic crisis, when they can afford it, but as the
Research into the value of the tax relief claimed using the Rent a Room scheme shows huge take-up. </h4>Since 2009, the total value of relief declared as a result of the governments Rent-a-Room Scheme has increased by 187%, according to the latest availabl
It's the upcoming online event that's got everyone talking, and with just days to
New shadow housing minister Lucy Powell has taken aim at the governments failure to protect renters, leaseholders, first-time buyers and local communities, in her maiden speech in the role. During a debate on affordable and safe housing, she told the Commons that its housing
Given that the deposit protection rules were introduced in 2004, most landlords are aware of them by now, but people still fall foul of the rules, says Tom Entwistle. The legislation introduced by the Housing Act 2004 gives tenants and their
A landlord whos been waiting for a court to hear his application to evict a drug-dealing tenant for more than a year fears his case could be further delayed due to a lack of police co-operation, he has told LandlordZONE . CCTV captured the woman letting
By David Coughlin, CEO, Landlord Sales Agency
Rick Gannon became an accidental landlord when his first property was in negative equity and decided to rent it out. Fast-forward a few years and he and wife Lorraine had made a substantial amount on the sale so decided to use the proceeds to buy other properties to rent wit
Salford has given the go-ahead to a new licensing scheme for smaller HMOs in response to a rise in safety problems and resident complaints. The scheme covering the entire city - takes effect on 19th July and costs landlords �1,085 to licence shared homes where three or four
A banned boiler engineer has narrowly avoided jail after producing a fake Gas Safe certificate for a landlord. Jeffrey Lewis, 74, of Ashbourne Road, Cheadle, was asked by a landlord to repair a tenants boiler but failed to tell him he had been banned from carrying out gas wor
Jersey has launched a consultation over plans to outlaw landlords who refuse to rent to tenants with children. Social security minister deputy Judy Martin hopes to amend the Discrimination Law 2013 to protect families looking for homes on the island, which currently doesnt pr
Liverpool City Council has clamped down on HMO conversions as it launches a new assault on the private rented sector. Under a new Article 4 direction, any size home in the city centre will need planning permission to be converted into an HMO from 17th</s
The government appears to have admitted it has concerns about landlords discriminating against the potential influx of Hong Kong residents. Home Office Minister Baroness Williams of Trafford advised landlords to be careful when doing Right to Rent checks on inbound Hong Kong res
Early termination fees and invoice questions answered—your top forum concerns, sorted.
Getting a good EPC rating is important for rentals to meet the MEES regulations, and in future even higher ratings will be demanded, but this can be a challenge for some landlords� Since October 2008, rental properties in England and Wales have been required to
A tenant has been scammed by a Gumtree advertiser who stole more than �2,000, leaving her facing homelessness. Mum-of-four, Shirley Jones, from Coventry, fell for the flat rental scam after answering the advert for a three-bedroom home in Nuneaton that was available to rent on
The government is expecting to spend and eye-watering �30 billion on housing benefit for tenants this year, DWP minister Will Quince has told parliament. This figure is �8-10 billion more than the Office for Budget Responsibility https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/tax-
Half of all tenants who want to rent a home with their pet would be prepared to take out specialist insurance to cover their landlord against damage, a leading campaigner has revealed. Jennifer Berezai of AdvoCATS has researched an in-depth report into whether there is an appeti
Legislation has been passed in Wales that extends the amount of notice landlords must give to their tenants, from the two month s21 period, to six months. The Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill means (because notice cannot be served within the initial term) that the minimum
One of Britains biggest private landlords is encouraging others to follow his lead by shifting property from their own name into a company structure. In what is thought to be the countrys largest ever mortgage transaction, Alastair Kerr (pictured) has transferred ownership
Landlords of commercial premises may consider it necessary to bring the lease to an end or to refuse to renew a lease. This course of action might be for a number of reasons: A tenant for example might not have a statutory right to a lease renewal under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, the
The big changes are in the submission frequency and digital submission process. Firstly, you will need to complete not one but five tax submissions per year � one every quar
Landlords have been warned not to expect a grace period or extension to the deadline for properties to confirm to the new electrical safety standards. Originally, an https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electrical-safety-standards-in-the-private-rented-sector-guid
The average UK house price could surge by 17% in the next decade, based on historical data from the past 40 years, and is set to reach �400,000 by 2050. Property buying firm Good Move has studied house prices in the UK since 1980 to predict what the market might look like in th
What is a clean and tidy house to some is and unacceptably dirty mess to others; people have different standards and this will never change. Alternatively, some tenants are just too lazy to leave the place clean and tidy: dirty carpets and furniture, filthy bathrooms and toilets, and kitchen work
