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
Barnet Council is reintroducing borough-wide HMO licensing in a bid to improve property standards despite less than impressive figures in its previous additional licensing scheme. According to one of the respondents in the consultation report, only 32% of licensable properties h
A recent RICS survey finds that interest rate hikes and cost of living pressures are beginning to weigh on sentiment. Credit conditions have deteriorated to such an extent that 43% of respondents to the RICS survey felt we're in early downturn.� Investor sentiment is steady, but the ma
HMRC has confirmed that landlords must file a capital gains tax (CGT) property return - even if the disposal has already been reported on a self-assessment (SA) return. The government introduced the requirement to report disposals of UK residential property and pay the subsequen
A leading poverty organisation has called for a radical overhaul of the private rented sector including a government-backed right to buy scheme for private renters. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), which was founded by a Quaker philanthropist and sweets manufacturer i
Kettel Homes has launched the UKs first open market rent-to-own programme for first-time buyers who cant access traditional home financing. Under the scheme, Kettel buys existing freehold single-family homes between �125,000 and �400,000 outside London, charging first-ti
Landlords seeking to evict tenants face more delays when Section 21 notices are abolished, warns the boss of an insurance and referencing firm. Clogged courts and a shortage of judges and county-court bailiffs mean that cases are taking months to be heard, it is claimed. <p i
A rogue landlady has been convicted of illegally evicting tenants during a decade-long campaign of violence, theft and vandalism. Sohila Tamiz , of Flint Lane, Lenham, even helped organise a gang of 10 to douse one man in petrol and smash his teeth, the tri
A mortgage expert has urged landlords not to panic as buy-to-let mortgage rates continue to rise. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63bef2f3c329eff8e3a4af45/64cb992aa1ba8a68d7aa0638_dan-lee.jpeg"
A proptech firm is to spend �1 billion buying up 3,000 private rented properties with low EPC ratings around the UK, which it plans to retrofit and rent out on behalf of its backers. With many individual landlords threatening to quit the sector - faced with licensing schemes an
The UK commercial property market is in a downturn right now. As with the wider economy, commercial property is subject to economic cycles
Tenants’ union Acorn has urged Labour to curb ‘upfront payments’ for new tenants to one month’s rent in a bid to make rented homes more affordable.
Milton Keynes City Council has come up with an innovative scheme to top up rents for those moving from temporary accommodation into the PRS.
Propertymark has warned that the Renters’ Rights Bill poses critical unintended consequences unless the government ensures a fair and balanced approach between landlord and tenant rights.
A landlord with a string of more than 5,000 rental properties across the UK has been fined a whopping £97,000 over the ‘serious and deliberate’ failure to manage a block of flats in Sheffield.
NRLA trainer Henry Davis explains how his Key to Property Investment course can help you stay ahead of the game.
The government has been accused of pressing ahead with renter reform measures that will cause gridlock in the justice system, and pit landlords and tenants against each other in protracted litigation.
Few MPs stood to defend landlords during yesterday’s second reading of the Renters' Rights Bill in parliament, but a few did - with all of them being Conservative.
Landlords listing their properties for sale before potential capital gains tax rises are adding to a widening divide between supply and demand, report letting agents from around the UK.
The Renters’ Rights Bill is expected to fuel a surge in tenancy disputes following a 20% rise last year.
Walsall Council plans to implement an Article 4 Direction to restrict HMOs, despite acknowledging no strong evidence linking HMOs to crime.
Lawyers have warned that an underfunded justice system will hinder any progress made in strengthening renters’ rights.
Landlords urged not to panic amid reform and rate rises—demand stays high despite cost pressures.
Here’s an initial reaction to the Renters’ Rights Bill, thoughts that could change as it progresses through parliament - the second reading is today.
Government announces funding for EPC upgrades in low-income rental homes, but questions remain about coverage and affordability for landlords.
The Renters’ Rights Bill will become law ‘as soon as possible’ housing secretary Angela Rayner has promised as parliament debates her legislation for the first time.
A judge has massively increased the fines given to two HMO landlords who have failed in a legal challenge against their sentence.
Removing fixed-term tenancies will drive up rents as landlords switch to short-term lets, warns Propertymark.
A landlord with multiple properties in Bootle has been ordered to pay £22,630 for ignoring safety risks that left his tenants facing imminent danger.
A significant number of people seeking properties to rent are finding themselves excluded and forced to live in temporary accommodation, it has been claimed, as landlords be become more risk averse.
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has backed calls for better funding of councils’ housing enforcement and stronger selective licensing.
Landlords have criticised the Government’s plan to raise the minimum period of rent arrears from two to three months before they can be served notice to repossess.
The Welsh Government wants landlords to lease their empty properties to local councils in a bid to boost the number of affordable homes within its private rented sector.
Labour MP Florence Eshalomi has promised to hold the government to account in her new role as chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee.
Auctioneers have urged the government not to increase Capital Gains Tax at a time when confidence is returning to the housing market.
