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Selective Licensing and Anti-Social Behaviour – are landlords to blame?

Selective Licensing and Anti-Social Behaviour – are landlords to blame?

News

Are remote landlords fuelling local problems? Are these purchases simply causing misery for local populations? Is selective licensing up to the job?

BBC reveals 'widespread' black market in unlicensed HMOs

BBC reveals 'widespread' black market in unlicensed HMOs

News

A reporter who responded to adverts in shop windows in east London for a ‘bedspace’ in shared rooms found unsanitary and overcrowded unlicensed homes.

The cost of ignoring an improvement notice? £16,000 says council

The cost of ignoring an improvement notice? £16,000 says council

News

A landlord who left her tenants in a damp and mouldy flat has been ordered to pay a whopping £16,267 by magistrates.

Welsh student landlord 'to quit' as renting reforms loom

Welsh student landlord 'to quit' as renting reforms loom

News

Marcel Price is considering converting his properties into short-term holiday lets due to fears over the Renters’ Rights Bill.

Legal expert reveals when each part of renting reforms to go live

Legal expert reveals when each part of renting reforms to go live

News

Lawyer David Smith casts an expert eye over the legislation and divines when its different parts will become law.

Landlords urged to sign Stamp Duty reform petition

Landlords urged to sign Stamp Duty reform petition

News

Leading organisations including Phil Spencer back the campaign, which seeks to give landlords more time to pay their Stamp Duty.

HFIS pays tribute to industry leader Mike Morgan

HFIS pays tribute to industry leader Mike Morgan

News

HFIS is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Mike Morgan, a key figure at Property Redress and Client Money Protect

Encourage, not DISCOURAGE landlords from investing, urges leader

Encourage, not DISCOURAGE landlords from investing, urges leader

News

Comments follow new research that reveals rise in tenants being evicted as their landlords prepare to sell up.

The UK discrimination laws and the Renters' Rights Bill 

The UK discrimination laws and the Renters' Rights Bill 

Information

What Landlords need to know now! Protection from discrimination to be a key component of the new Act

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HMRC restarts landlord pilots for its 'Making Tax Digital' scheme

HMRC restarts landlord pilots for its 'Making Tax Digital' scheme

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News
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Opinion
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More landlords can now try out Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax after HMRC paused the pilot last February.

Rise in HMOs pushes BTL yields to highest for six years

Rise in HMOs pushes BTL yields to highest for six years

News
News
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Opinion
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Average rental yields have hit a six-year high with HMOs and properties in the North East offering landlords the best returns.

EPCs are misleading, inaccurate and need reform, says Which?

EPCs are misleading, inaccurate and need reform, says Which?

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News
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Consumer organisation Which? says there is considerable evidence that many EPCs are ‘not accurate’.

Landlord fined £528,000 after fence mending work leads to burns

Landlord fined £528,000 after fence mending work leads to burns

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News
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A large landlord has been fined £528,000 after a maintenance crew member repairing a fence post inadvertently struck an underground cable, suffering facial burns.

Landlords slam 'infuriating' licencing rules now driving evictions

Landlords slam 'infuriating' licencing rules now driving evictions

News
News
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Landlords in Portsmouth say vulnerable tenants are being unfairly displaced due to the council’s draconian additional licencing scheme.

Rebel MPs demand ground rents abolished for existing leaseholds

Rebel MPs demand ground rents abolished for existing leaseholds

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News
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A group of 30 Tory MPs have written to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt warning that they may vote against the Government’s Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill unless ground rents are abolished for both future and existing leaseholds.

Rent controls 'will undermine investment in PRS' says expert

Rent controls 'will undermine investment in PRS' says expert

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News
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Rent controls will undermine investment in Scotland’s PRS unless there is more long-term certainty, according to one leading lettings expert.

London landlord narrowly avoids refunding tenant £32,000

London landlord narrowly avoids refunding tenant £32,000

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News
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A landlord has avoided a £32,000 rent repayment order after a judge ruled his flat was at an address not covered by a licensing scheme, but only just.

Section 21 increasingly being used by landlords to evict as ban looms

Section 21 increasingly being used by landlords to evict as ban looms

News
News
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Section 21 evictions reached record highs in 2023, with over 25,000 households facing homelessness, prompting calls for urgent reform.

Merry Christmas and a Happy News Year to all our readers

Merry Christmas and a Happy News Year to all our readers

News
News
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The past 12 months have been a momentous time for private landlords as tax changes and looming new regulations have been unveiled by politicians of various hues.

'What's the point of good landlords if rogues aren't policed?'

'What's the point of good landlords if rogues aren't policed?'

News
News
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Councils are sending the wrong message to law-abiding landlords by failing to investigate those who can’t provide a valid EPC certificate.

Northern landlord fined £38,000 over multiple HMO offences

Northern landlord fined £38,000 over multiple HMO offences

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News
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A landlord in Liverpool has been prosecuted by its city council for 23 offences under national HMO management regulations.

Heat pumps 'don't help upgrade EPCs' warns new report

Heat pumps 'don't help upgrade EPCs' warns new report

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News
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Despite enthusiasm in Whitehall for heat pumps they not the best way to upgrade a rented property EPC rating, a new report has claimed.

Two thirds of private renters struggling to pay rent

Two thirds of private renters struggling to pay rent

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News
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Nearly two-thirds of working private renters - 4,450,000 people - are falling behind with rent payments or struggling to pay their rent.

COMMENT: Year end 2024 heralds both optimism and some pessimism for property investing…

COMMENT: Year end 2024 heralds both optimism and some pessimism for property investing…

News
News
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Tom Entwistle recalls the year in property and looks forward to the year ahead

Labour to help landlords trapped by unsafe cladding

Labour to help landlords trapped by unsafe cladding

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News
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Landlords who own flats in blocks with unsafe cladding have been given an assurance that developers must meet repair deadlines next year following the publication of the government’s Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP).

'Bills-included' tenancies are more profitable, says EPC expert

'Bills-included' tenancies are more profitable, says EPC expert

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News
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Landlords offering a bills-included rental could dramatically increase their profit margins by improving its energy efficiency.

Council boasts about landlord prosecution success

Council boasts about landlord prosecution success

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News
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Sheffield Council has boasted that it’s one of the keenest prosecutors of rogue landlords in the UK.

Savills’ optimistic outlook for property in 2025 

Savills’ optimistic outlook for property in 2025 

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News
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Unveiling its 2025 cross-sector UK forecasts, Savills strikes an optimistic note and predicts highest returns for North West buy-to-let

Licensing expert slams Labour's selective scheme rule change

Licensing expert slams Labour's selective scheme rule change

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News
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An expected expansion in selective licensing schemes next year may fill council coffers but won’t improve housing standards, a leading landlord figure has claimed.

Labour's 'peverse' renting reforms will raise rents, warns TV landlord

Labour's 'peverse' renting reforms will raise rents, warns TV landlord

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News
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The Renters’ Rights Bill will discourage landlords from renting out their properties and raise rents, according to Talk TV presenter and private landlord, Cristo Foufas (main image).

Famous landlord offers rental home at £180,000 a MONTH

Famous landlord offers rental home at £180,000 a MONTH

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News
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Renters with only the deepest pockets will be getting the keys to what is understood to be the most expensive ever rental home marketed in the UK.

Every rental property 'chased by 11 tenants on average'

Every rental property 'chased by 11 tenants on average'

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News
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UK letting agents are still receiving nearly double the number of enquiries about each available rental property than they were pre-pandemic.

Corporate landlords to be exempt from Decent Homes Standard

Corporate landlords to be exempt from Decent Homes Standard

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News
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The Government has revealed more details about how the ‘corporate’ student sector, which competes with traditional landlords for tenants, will be regulated in the future.

Landlord fights council over £15,000 HMO fine... and wins

Landlord fights council over £15,000 HMO fine... and wins

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News
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A landlord has successfully fought a licensing fine after an Upper Tribunal judge ruled it couldn’t be proved that a fifth tenant was living permanently in his HMO.

'Landlord bashing won't help solve housing crisis'

'Landlord bashing won't help solve housing crisis'

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News
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A mortgage lending expert has warned that landlord bashing risks pushing out more smaller landlords, creating a vicious circle of fewer available rental properties and higher rents for tenants.

Landlords spending 'too much' on EPC upgrades

Landlords spending 'too much' on EPC upgrades

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News
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Most landlords’ ignorance of the points-based EPC system means they can sometimes spend more money than necessary on energy efficiency improvements.

Tenants can now pay landlords via their credit card

Tenants can now pay landlords via their credit card

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News
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A digital platform that enables tenants to pay their rent via their credit or debit card rather than a BACS payment has officially launched in the UK.

Local authorities’ new powers to auction leases of vacant commercial premises

Local authorities’ new powers to auction leases of vacant commercial premises

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News
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Local authorities' now have new powers to auction off leases of vacant commercial units in Britain’s town centres and high streets

Landlords worried about missing payments discover agent in jail

Landlords worried about missing payments discover agent in jail

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News
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Landlords who complained about a missing letting agent have discovered that he had been jailed for assaulting a sex worker.

Government to spend millions stopping landlord evictions

Government to spend millions stopping landlord evictions

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News
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More money will be spent persuading landlords not to evict tenants as part of a huge cash boost to help prevent homelessness.

Northern council to expand selective licensing

Northern council to expand selective licensing

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News
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More landlords in Wirral could have to pay for a selective licence under plans being drawn up by the local council.

Rents rising by 9.1% a year on average, official figures reveal

Rents rising by 9.1% a year on average, official figures reveal

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News
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Rents charged for new tenancies across the UK continue to rise as landlords seek to offset higher costs and supply continue to be weak, latest Government data shows.

Labour to allow councils to 'take over' empty rental properties

Labour to allow councils to 'take over' empty rental properties

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News
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Councils will be given more power to force landlords to rent out vacant residential properties as part of the government’s English Devolution white paper.