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
North Yorkshire Council has adopted a new housing enforcement policy to ensure all private rental properties across the county are up to scratch, the first time this has happened.
A tenant accused of murdering her landlord and stabbing his cat to death has been remanded in custody.
A property raffle has just handed out another £500,000 to a lucky winner to buy their dream house.
Hackney Council has been called out for continuing to process additional and selective landlord licence applications five months after both schemes ended.
The UK commercial real estate sector has faced significant challenges recently due to changing trends, will recent signs of a turnaround continue?
A rogue landlord and also letting agent who let out grotty and overcrowded properties has been handed the first banning order in Essex.
Rental growth has slowed to its lowest level for nearly three years while demand has dropped by 39% during the past 12 months.
As house prices have risen sharply in recent decades, many had thought that the sub-£100,000 house that returned double-digit gross returns had gone for good.
The Scottish government’s failure to plan for the end of temporary rent controls has led to rents rising faster than in most other parts of the UK.
Letting agents have slammed plans to ease licensing rules that will mean local councils can introduce large selective schemes without government approval.
Ealing Council has ramped up its crackdown on rogue landlords with a rigorous programme of HMO inspections.
Local authorities will no longer have to ask the Secretary of State for permission to introduced selective licensing schemes in England and Northern Ireland, it has been revealed.
Economic headwinds are set to shrink purchases in the buy-to-let market by 7% next year to £9 billion, predicts UK Finance.
Landlords in Norwich are chasing thousands of pounds in rent payments from a letting agency which appears to have gone under.
Hundreds of tenants have staged a protest in central London calling for the government to introduce rent controls.
One of the UK’s larger national parks is planning to stop any new homes that are built within it being used as holiday/short lets or second homes.
A crucial task for landlords and agents is to correctly serve statutory notices and other documents
Property experts are pondering what the government might name new tenancies created by the Renters’ Rights Bill.
A district council has come up with a set of exceptional circumstances to help decide when to give the go-ahead to new HMOs.
A landlord in Liverpool has secured £2.3 million to refinance eight student HMOs within the city and unusually has gone public about the deal.
A letting agent has criticised police who failed to act when vandals threw a brick through one of his tenant’s windows.
The never-ending onslaught of landlords, including the abolition of Section 21, tough EPC rules, and changes to stamp duty, have left landlords fed up and thinking of throwing in the towel.
A tenants’ champion has slammed energy companies for failing to help renters with energy bill problems at HMOs.
Northwood letting agency in Romford has gone bust, leaving angry landlords out of pocket.
Most landlords who voted Labour wouldn’t do it again, a new survey from buy-to-lender Landbay has found.
Surveyors are the latest group to report a cooling rental market in the UK, with a slowing in demand among tenants for the first time since 2020.
Reading Council has given the go-ahead for an additional licensing scheme in the town – and defended the rising costs set to hit landlords.
Generation Rent has urged renters to get more MPs backing amendments to the Renters’ Rights Bill.
Rental growth in the UK has dropped to 3.9%, its lowest level in more than three years and down from 9.1% a year ago.
Demand for accessible homes is growing as the tenant population ages, a leading estate agency has reported, calling on Labour to help landlords finance upgrades.
With substantial capital gains gathered within your properties, selling the whole portfolio will probably leave you exposed to a substantial capital gains tax bill
The Welsh Government has followed its counterparts in England and Scotland and raised the stamp duty that landlords buying rental properties must pay, effective from tomorrow.
Landlords may need to prepare for a turbulent and potentially very costly ride once the Renters’ Rights Bill becomes law, a financial expert has warned.
