Its known as silly season when the media focuses on light-hearted stories, but news that Jacob Rees-Mogg (pictured) is being mooted as the new Levelling Up Secretary has been seen by some as no laughing matter. As the leadership contest draws to a close, preparations fo
Making tax digital (MTD) for income tax is part of the governments long-term strategy to digitalise tax and will have implications for how landlords pay tax on their income. For those used to self-assessment, it will represent a change, but providing digital records will give businesses
VAT on Commercial Property is a complex topic and anyone wishing to understand these complexities in relation to their own situation should seek specialist advice. This article should give a broad brush general overview but you really should seek advice because errors can be irredeemable an
A rogue portfolio landlord has been banned from letting properties for five years after she admitted multiple offences relating to fire safety issues. Naomi Knapp, a landlord with 34 properties in Bristol, was convicted of eight banning order offences and will now be added to th
Urgent regulation of the spray foam industry is needed to prevent making thousands of homes un-mortgagable, warn leading property groups. Sprayed polyurethane expanding foams are often used in lofts, either to stabilise a failing roof covering or to provide extra insulation. But
Portsmouths HMOs are in the firing line again as growing numbers are being referred to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to have their council tax bands reassessed. Rather than paying tax on the whole property, each room can be classified as a band A at a cost of �1,200, wit
A severely disabled tenant and his family have barricaded themselves into their home in a bid to prevent a controversial eviction. Quadriplegic Harvey Cowe, 62, and his wife Sheree, 55, have lived at the house in Brittany Road, Hove, for 25 years after Brighton & Hove C
A leading letting agent has criticised the reasoning behind the UKs ever-growing list of selective licensing schemes. Selective licensing covers all rented property in a given area or council borough and landlords are required to pay a five-yearly fee of between �500 and �9
Landlords in Bristol will soon be required to gain planning permission to convert properties into HMOs in three key areas, it has been revealed. South Gloucestershire Council is to bring in Article 4 directions in the Bristol neighbourhoods of Stoke Park and Cheswick and parts o
Londons mayor Sadiq Khan has urged private landlords who are planning to exit the private rented market to sell their properties to local councils instead of other landlords. Khan made the comments within a self-congratulatory statement on his website l
A landlord in London must now pay �40,000 after losing his appeal against his fine for breaching Mandatory HMO licensing conditions at a bedsit property above a pub. Earlier this year Islington council brought a prosecution against Mohammed Shahid for fai
For years now, what would appear to have been successive waves of anti-landlord legislation have been bearing down on buy to let, but will this change under a new prime minister? From George Osborne to Rishi Sunack, the Treasury, it would seem, has been milking the buy to let la
The next chapter in the troubling story of property guru Glenn Armstrong has begun after court records have revealed that the infamous �3m seven-bedroom trophy mansion he often used within his marketing effort has been repossessed by bailiffs. The 62-year-olds now form
Ben Beadle critiques Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss for neglecting landlord concerns, urging focus on supply crisis and policy clarity.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called on the next Tory PM to force landlords to pay tenants moving costs when asking them to move out of a property where the renter is not at fault. His comments were made during a debate within the London Assembly on housing issues in the capita
A landlord has been unwittingly drawn into a heated debate over the looming changes to the Welsh private rented sector. The country's Government recently delayed its planned reforms that will alter how tenancies, properties and evictions are managed, similar in many ways to the
Wannabe Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced that, if elected next month, she will introduce measures to enable tenants within the private rented sector to record their rent with the UK's credit reference agencies. This will both help tenants get on the property ladder via imp
A landlord in East London is to pay two of her former tenants just over �12,000 after a rent repayment order (RRO) tribunal judge said she had at times bullied the pair and verged on threatening behaviour. Judge Shepherd awarded
The London borough of Greenwich has re-started its planned roll-out of selective licensing across three of its key areas Woolwich, Plumstead and Shooters Hill. Expected to go live at the beginning of July following its Cabinet committee decision, this means nearly a fifth of
A high-profile property investor hailed as a rent-to-rent success story has put his company StayBC Ltd into liquidation, owing creditors nearly �1.5 million.<br><br>Newport-based Ben Brand charted his rapid rise on social media, describing his introduction to the property sector after atte
Like almost all industries the housing market is increasing its efforts to tackle climate change. Households account for 40% of the UKs carbon footprint and the government has forced landlords to move more quickly than others, and from 2025, all properties in the private rent
Practical ways landlords can boost property energy efficiency, cut costs, and meet EPC rules.
Landlords have been warned about the legal pitfalls of offering a home to Ukrainians fleeing the war. The governments newly launched Homes for Ukraine scheme lets individuals and businesses �360 a month to provide a spare room or separate self-contained accommodation for ref
Business rates or non-domestic rates are a variant of a 500-year-old tax, the current version of which was introduced in 1990 to fund local services based on property values, raising approximately �25 billion a year. RVA Surveyors are business rates reduction specialists who ha
Labour councillors in Hartlepool campaigning to restrict HMOs in the town have been told to find evidence of problems caused by shared properties. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63bef2f3c329ef
Thats the prediction made by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and banking software company, Temenos. Temenos AG is a company specialising in enterprise software for banks and financial services headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. An overwhelming proportion of European
A new four-part ITV drama series starting tonight is based around title fraud which can rob you of your property. Downton Abbey actress Tuppence Middleton and Line of Duty star actor Martin Compston portray a couple who become victims of the little-known crime of house hijacking
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.
Landlords can bear the brunt of longer notice periods due to charging high rents, according to Generation Rent.
An Isle of Man village has become the latest authority to clamp down on the growth in short-term lets.
Burnley councillors have recommended that its three selective licensing schemes covering some 2,000 homes be extended for another five years following a three-month-long consultation. The schemes in Burnley Wood and Healey Wood, along with the Leyland Road area of the town, were
The Royal Family could be raking in £118,775 each month from their holiday let portfolio, adding up to a lucrative annual rental income of more than £1.4 million.
Gen Z are rushing to invest in buy-to-let property, with more than 3,000 buy-to-let landlords in the UK now under the age of 21.
A landlord who reportedly attacked a tenant after he complained about serious disrepairs has been handed a police caution.
A new report that evaluates the dozens of rent control schemes implemented over the past 60 years across the world has concluded that overall they are harmful to rental homes supply.
Tenants can claim compensation from their landlord for repairs that are not done in a reasonable time; repairs that are of bad quality and do not fix things
There’s never been a better time for landlords to convert a commercial building to residential use, according to a leading architect.
Zoopla boss Richard Donnell has urged landlords and investors to steer clear of misinformation about the PRS and focus on the positives.
A rogue landlord who persistently failed to license several rented properties has had them seized by Merton Council in one of the first actions of its kind in the country.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been slapped down by Labour’s national leadership after asking to be given rent control powers, it has been reported.
Coventry councillors look set to give the go-ahead to extending the city’s additional licensing scheme, raising the fee for a five-year licence from £840 to £916.
A landlord renting out an unlicensed HMO was caught out when a prospective buyer reported her to the council.
Private landlords face an average bill of £10,000 to hit government EPC C targets by 2030, according to new research.
The City of Peterborough says it has received selective licencing applications for three quarters of the properties due to be included in the ten-ward scheme, with a deadline for the completion of applications due at the end of November.
A new private rented sector lobbying group hopes to convince the Scottish government to temper its plans for permanent rent controls under the Housing (Scotland) Bill.
An appeal judge has backed a tenant’s argument that serving prescribed information before the deposit is paid isn’t valid, meaning their eviction cannot go ahead.
Gloucester was the fastest moving rental market last month where the average property was let within 14 days of being advertised.
Trade association the NRLA has warned that rent controls would prompt a third of landlords to sell up if they were introduced in England.
Build-to-rent developer Quintain Living has had its knuckles rapped for wrongly suggesting tenants could make big energy bill savings, get free WiFi and work from home areas.
