Fewer than one in five private rental properties in England were within the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates last year, according to new joint research by the Chartered Institute of Housing and Shelter . The groups say the average
The government has missed a trick by not introducing a tenancy register instead of an anti-landlord landlord register, one property consultant has claimed. Blackbird Real Estate founder https://www.richard-berridge.co.uk/" target="_blank" Richa
The number of BTL investors buying properties has plummeted in the last six months while long-term landlords are selling up, according to one large conveyancing firm. Basildon-based https://pcslegal.co.uk/" PCS Legal
The Non-Domestic Rating Bill going through Parliament (House of Lords) will require business ratepayers to report any changes and also report annually to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). These changes to the operation of business rates will apply to all organisations responsib
Yesterday I spoke to a room of 200 anxious landlords. The uncertainly surrounding the Renters (Reform) Bill really has whipped the housing market into a frenzy with landlords serving notices, selling up and exiting the sector in their droves. The mere thought of Sect
��Lender NatWest has been called out by commentators after it announced significant increases to its landlord mortgages. The bank, which is till 38% Government owned, announced late yesterday that it was increasing the interest rates it charges on a range of home loans, includ
Report finds London has 38,600 Build‑to‑Rent homes plus 34,100 more in pipeline, transforming the capital’s rental market.
Tenant groups in Scotland have called for councils to clamp down on landlords who rent out properties under the guise of holiday lets. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63bef2f3c329eff8e3a4af45/6
According to the Financial Times (FT), property investors have pumped around �2bn into converting under-used and unwanted London office space as the trend to Working from Home (WfH) continues, and as it looks like becoming an embedded employment practice in many inner city o
A management company has been ordered to pay out more than £49,000 for fire safety failures at an HMO. Monsoon Properties Ltd admitted breaches relating to a range of issues at the flat in Londons Tavistock Place, including inadequate fire detection system, obstructions to t
First-time renters accounted for just 4.6% of new tenancies during the first five months of the year, as more would-be tenants rely on the hotel of Mum and Dad. With average monthly rents topping �1,000, young adults can save �12,290 by living rent-free with their parents each
A large County Court in London has written to its legal clients to warn them that some of their scheduled evictions face being cancelled or rescheduled. The announcement has been made by the Civil and Family Court in Barnet (main picture), one of the major hubs handling eviction
A landlord in Dartford has batted off a huge rent repayment order (RRO) claim made by her tenants after a judge dismissed the case during a virtual Property Tribunal hearing. Manjit Sanghera, who co-manages the family detached property on the outskirts of the Kentish town with h
Campaigning group the London Renters Union is targeting landlords in London by urging councils to come down much harder on failing properties. It has launched an action plan in Brent, detailing how the local authority should hold landlords accountable for more than 10,000 privat
Buy-to-let landlords will influence https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/sponsored/what-do-the-falling-house-prices-mean-for-landlords/" house prices if a large number choose to sell up, according to rating agency Moodys. The firm is predicting that prices will f
The average annual https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/battle-over-holiday-lets-hots-up-as-campaigning-mp-holds-meeting/" holiday let income exceeded buy-to-let income for the first time in 2020-21, reaching �15,600 compared with �13,400, according to HMRC.
Short-term let landlords in https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/edinburgh-chief-admits-burdensome-licencing-plan-will-hugely-reduce-holiday-lets/" Edinburgh have won their legal case against the councils licensing scheme. In the biggest crowdfunded case in
Almost two-thirds of surveyors have witnessed rising numbers of buy-to-let landlords looking to sell their properties. The https://www.rics.org/" Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reports that a similar number have seen a drop in the level of inter
Suffolk Building Society has launched a new mortgage aimed at expat landlords with properties that boast a high EPC rating. Its five-year fixed expat buy-to-let product for properties with an Energy Performance Certificate rating of A to C is available on
Tenants union Acorn has pledged to continue targeting letting agents in the city until they stop encouraging 'bidding wars' to help landlords achieve higher rents. Members launched a noisy protest outside a number of branches; some agents which had started talks with Acorn ab
Leading Tory MP Anthony Browne (main pic) has urged the government to ditch stamp duty for home buyers but increase the tax rate for investors. The chair of the 1922 Backbench Treasury Committee says people buying homes to live in are over-taxed while those buying properties for
A landlord has spoken out to defend a substantial rent increase after its tenant complained about his eviction to the local newspaper. Richard Symonds told https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/" target="_blank" Sussex World tha
Damp and mould has always been a very difficult issue to deal with for landlords, but the recent case of Awaab Ishak and the rapid and direct involvement of Government has really brought matters to a head. The death of a Rochdale social housing tenants son, Awaab Ishak, has l
The boss of housing charity Shelter has repeated the organisations previous assertion that tenants seeking properties in the private rented sector (PRS) too often face racism from both landlords and letting agents. Polly Neates comments have been published by the BBC withi
The government has vowed to expedite a proposed law forcing landlords to respond quickly to complaints about damp and mould. Housing minister Felicity Buchan (pictured) told MPs that proposals were being worked through, after it announced plans last week t
Birmingham council has concluded its consultation into an additional licensing scheme across the city that would include 9,500 properties in all 69 wards. Following a full cabinet meeting report on the scheme's consultation which included several landlords sessions organised by
A rogue landlord who let out an unlicensed HMO with no working kitchen, unusable toilets, blocked drains and rats, has been fined a whopping �175,000. Adam Ali had turned the former Anchor Hotel in Cobham Road, Westcliff-on-Sea (pictured), into an HMO whe
A property investment guru couple who disappeared leaving disappointed participants in their investment schemes puzzled as to their whereabouts have popped up as spiritual leaders in Australia. Marta and Lloyd Smith - now known as Riya Loveguard and Aeron Lazar - ran Home
The Government is to phase out gas by 2035 as part of its green ten-point plan announced this week, meaning millions of boilers across the private rented sector are on borrowed time. CEO of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE), Kevin Wellman, under
Thousands of leaseholders are stuck in their flats because they cannot sell due to unsafe cladding installed on their high rise blocks. Sales are stalled because potential buyers cant obtain a mortgage until the defective cladding is replaced and the building declared safe by a specialis
Landlords owe a duty of care to their tenants to make sure, as far as is reasonably possible, to be sure a property is safe, both at the commencement and during the course of a tenancy. This Court of Appeal case in 26 February 2019 relates to a council tenancy, though its implic
Landlords are being warned to beware of scammers renting out parking spaces outside their properties following a expose on national radio. Landlord Simon Gallagher had to install bollards after someone began advertising his tenants driveway to commuters for �8 a day. <p i
Welsh landlords renewing their licence with Rent Smart Wales after 23rd November now need to organise regular mandatory property inspections. The new condition - introduced by Rent Smart Wales for any new landlords signing up from 1st July and any rene
A woman hoping to convert her 32-bedroom hotel into an HMO after being hit hard by Covid could spark a trend for more owners moving into the private rented sector. Andreani Ahooie, whos run the https://www.longviewhotel.com/" target="_blank" Longv
Hundreds of landlords face trying to find new tenants for their student HMOs after the University of Warwick ditched its property management scheme. Under its Head Lease Scheme, landlords signed-over their houses to the university for years at a time for guaranteed rent, which
Tenants may complain, or as in the following case, the councils inspectors may deem it to be the case, that the system supplied is inadequate for safe living. The Aldford Two LLP v Bristol City Council appeal (2010 Residential Property Tribunal - RTP) against an improveme
Increasing numbers of landlords are being forced to issue a second Section 8 notice to tenants who have stopped paying their rent as the sector grapples with the crazy evictions rules in place now, it has been claimed. The UKs leading lettings industry trade body ARLA P
John Howard has had a lot of fingers in different property pies over the past 45 years, working his way up from being the son an estate agent to a major figure within the property industry. As well as being a significant portfolio landlord he is also a developer and consultant,
The lettings market is evolving very fast and with extensive experience in the sector, https://www.martinco.com/" Martin & Co MD Eric Walker - who is also a https://www.theprs.co.uk/" Property Redre
Many landlords may remember noughties loudmouth Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles for his outspoken rants and the million-pound deal he landed with the BBC. But few will have suspected that Moyles, who these days is much thinner and greyer than his bad-boy days, can now be counted in thei
A little known date in HMRCs tax calendar is not as easily remembered as the 5th of November, a date we never forget, but its the 5th of October; an important date in the tax calendar because its exactly half way through the tax year and it has imp
A landlord is fighting to get his money back after two if his HMOs were left in an appalling state after a three-year contract with London-based RHP Properties went disastrously wrong. Gulam Sumar handed over the two six-bedroom houses in Harrow to the Walthamstow company in ear
Radical new proposals for energy efficiency in the private rented sector could see landlords fined up to £30,000 for not improving their properties and tenants given the ability to claim compensation. The Governments consultation on its energy efficiency regulations sets out
A sick woman fighting to get �13,000 back from Touchstone Education says she feels raped� by her dealings with the property investment training firm. The woman who wants to remain anonymous has appeared in a video on the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BK
Its important to ensure that the tenancy deposit rules (including service notices) are applied to the letter�, as otherwise a new fine can be added each time a tenancy is renewed when the statutory rules are not followed correctly on the first one. When a tenancy deposit
For a start, there are more people in rented accommodation who do jobs that cant be done at home, but for those that can there are often restrictions. For those lucky enough to be in a position to do their jobs from home there are some real advantages. Cutting out long commut
For the past six months journalist Nigel Lewis has been penning the news articles for LandlordZONE and doing his best to fill the seat of Tom Entwistle. Here Landlord Action's
Grounds for Possession - Assured Shorthold TenanciesThe Housing Act 1988 as amended by the Housing Act 1996 lays down certain circumstances (grounds) under which a landlord may successfully apply to court for possession.The grounds for possessio
A woman who paid �13,000 for courses with property investment training firm Touchstone Education is fighting to get her money back after falling ill. The woman who wants to remain anonymous - first paid Touchstone Education �1,000 for an online course and then another
People often rent out their home when working abroad or going on extended travel, and they would naturally expect to return to live in their own on return. However, tenants are entitled to security of tenure for their contracted term safe in the knowledge that they can stay in the prope
With high street administrations and missed rent payments becoming commonplace, commercial property quarterly rent payment days are currently being highlighted in the media, with the last one, June 24th just having passed. Understandably, these deadlines are cau
The Coronavirus has affected all parts of the economy, including rentals, but tourism in particular has been hard hit. It meant that holiday lets came to a complete standstill during lock-down, whereas the traditional long-term lets have been far less affected. Short lets, altho
