Fire Regulations in Rentals: There are several regulations relating to fire safety within rental dwellings; some affect all dwellings whereas others apply mainly to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO).This looks complicated, but fire safety management in reality boils down t
Damp & Mould: You may have seen or heard of the 1970s TV series Rising Damp, which featured a landlord and his tenants (lodgers in this case) which rather implies that all rental properties are troubled with this kind of damp.Far from the case, but some are. In fact the
Renting Standards: Specialist residential property solicitor Amanda Sutcliffe of Bray & Bray looks at the importance of keeping a rental property in good condition.Research conducted by Endsleigh Insurance and TrustMark claimed that over 75% of landlords s
Sub-Letting Licenses: (SOLITAIRE) LIMITED Appellant and CHERRY LILIAN NORTON and other cases [2012]Landlords of leasehold buy-to-let flats are often asked to pay a fee (sub-letting licence or registration fee) to the freeholder when seeking permission to sub-let their flat,
Validity of Section 21 Notice: Amak Property Investments v Laura Sonny [2016]This case was an appeal by the tenant following a county court judgement relating to the validity of a s21 notice on the basis that the landlord had not complied with the deposit protection (MyDepo
Essential guide to rent reviews: why reading the lease is crucial for landlords and tenants to navigate rent adjustments effectively.
Tenant Agreement: The Law of Property Act 1925 talks about having a maximum of 4 tenants on an agreement. So what to do when you have 5, 6 or more tenants sharing a house?There is a common misunderstanding of the rules here. Landlords and agents sometimes think or have heard
Advance Rent: Piggot v Slaven and Johnson v. OldThere are two important cases which clarify (though not necessarily decisively) the position on landlords accepting rent payments in advance. One concerns the accepting of the final two months rent in advance, a common devi
Following some confusion and debate about a deferral for the new standards following the MEES* deadline in April 2018, the new government has confirmed that changes to the EPC rules, preventing landlords from renting out homes below rating E, will definitely be introduced from April 2018.Accordin
Responsibility for Repairs: Who is responsible and who is obliged to pay for repairs to leasehold blocks and flats? What is the procedure if repairs are unnecessarily delayed or not carried out to the leaseholders satisfaction? What is the Section 20 procedure?T
Essential guide on how to conduct a rent review, covering key clauses and best practices to protect landlord and tenant interests.
Test Case Yeomans v Newell [2016]:When a landlord is in breach of the tenancy deposit rules he or she is prevented from serving a valid s21 notice for possession proceedings. Despite the fact that the tenancy deposit legislation has been in force since April 2007, landlords
Test Case: Superstrike Ltd v Marino. RodriguesThe case involved a landlord who had taken a deposit from the tenant before the deposit protection rules came into force in April 2007, since changed by the Deregulation Act 2015 see below. When the tenancy later became a st
Test Case: Leeds City Council v Broadley [2016]This case and the subsequent High Court ruling has brought some clarification about who is liable to pay council tax, tenant or landlord, when a rental property is vacant due to a tenant vacating early, that is, before the tena
Ending a Tenancy: What are the rules governing the ending of a statutory periodic tenancy (SPT) by the tenant, especially when the periods of the tenancy are not the standard 1 month?The answer to this question is not easily defined as it is not covered by one rule or a sing
Deposit Scheme Scam: Mydeposits says it is aware of a new scam being used by a fraudulent company imitating mydeposits and targeting landlords and letting agent members of the mydeposits Custodial scheme in England & Wales.The scam uses an email which imitates one from m
Freezing Pipes: This time of year, as we head towards colder weather and freezing conditions, buy-to-let properties and indeed all rental properties are vulnerable to potentially expensive winter water damageIn this article digital inventory app developer Imfuna Le
Only landlords with property incomes over £30,000 will now need to comply with HMRC's looming https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-tax-digital/overview-of-making-tax-digital" target="_blank" Making Tax Digital (MTD) https://www
One of Londons leading property management figures has said the Governments plans to abolish section 21 evictions is a sledge hammer to crack a nut and not an effective solution to the issue of bad landlords within the private rented sector. The comments come from An
Landlords in Scotland have been hit with a stamp duty rise as the government strives to raise additional revenue. It announced legislation in the Budget statement to increase the rate of the Additional Dwelling Supplement from 4% to 6% for second home buyers and buy-to-let landl
The Welsh Government wants to know what landlords who operate holiday accommodation in the country think of its proposed regulation of the sector. Following a https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/breaking-labour-and-plaid-cymru-to-jointly-force-through-rent-controls-in-w
In September the Government announced a �2bn plan to offer home insulation grants of up to �5,000 per household in England. This is to be known as the https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-the-green-homes-grant-scheme" target="_blank" Green Homes Grant and has replaced
A landlord whos facing bankruptcy has written to Housing Secretary Michael Gove voicing his frustration that he is not eligible for any cladding funding despite only earning �63 a week from his properties. The landlord, who has BTL interest-only mortgages, has two freehold s
A staggering 85% of letting agents in Scotland report that landlords want to sell up following the governments move to ban evictions and rent increases until next April. Propertymark members in Scotland say that even more worryingly, 68% of agents had already seen an increase
Just 0.2% of private landlords would qualify for full state support to help upgrade their properties under a proposed scheme to get the UKs walls insulated, while 87% would be liable for the full costs. The Economy 2030 Inquiry says simply basing hand-outs on means-tested ben
Gov confirms major tenancy law shake-up: abolishing assured periodic & fixed-term tenancies in favour of universal periodic tenancies.
An HMO sales firm has launched with the ambitious aim of becoming the sector’s go-to property platform.
A majority of landlords back some form of rent control, a new poll by a leading letting agency has revealed, as the likelihood of Labour ‘interference in rent pricing’ increases.
Rents are rising at record levels because the private rental sector needs an extra 120,000 homes, the UK’s largest property portal has claimed.
A patchy and slow recovery across the commercial property sectors is boosted by the prospect of interest rate cuts
The number of renters who plan to vote Conservative on Thursday has halved since the last election, from 20% to just 10%, according to a new poll. Zero percent of student tenants said they'd back Sunak.
The NRLA has joined forces with property leaders to call for the next government to pass the Renters (Reform) Bill as a matter of urgency.
A tenant who threatened to share a naked video of his former landlord if he wasn’t given back a cash deposit has been handed a 12-month suspended jail sentence.
Landlords have been warned that thousands of tenants face losing their housing benefit and may struggle to pay the rent as changes brought in by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) take effect.
TV property expert Martin Roberts has hinted that he’s been lined up for the next series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Landlords in Brighton & Hove with small HMOs will have to pay £1,051 from today for an additional licence.
Properties with a sitting tenant cost an average of 15% less than those without, and are a whopping 24% cheaper in Scotland, according to new figures.
Landlord representative body the NRLA has rounded on all the political parties ahead of this week’s General Election for ignoring one of the ‘most important’ issues facing the private rented sector.
The bank puts a positive spin on buy-to-let, despite others regularly asking, “should I give up on buy-to-let?” And Savills reveals a secret market segment that heralds growth.
Landlords and homeowners are paying an average of £5,787 to buy and fit a heat pump after deducting the £7,500 government grant.
More landlords are working together with tenants to commit fraud while running illegal cannabis farms, according to one property lawyer.
A furious landlord has criticised Keir Starmer for claiming landlords are ripping off tenants and making a fortune from huge deposits.
It’s time to cut to the chase. We’ve all been thinking it: is property becoming more hassle than it’s worth? If you’re questioning your property portfolios, you’re not alone.
All eyes are on Scotland where a scheme to regulate the holiday lets sector has caused a storm after the new licences, which cost between £260 and £520 per property, were introduced.
A despairing landlord has resorted to protesting on his roof after failing to evict a rogue tenant for the last 25 years.
The Conservatives’ anti-landlord policies have failed to win much favour among tenants who are most likely to vote Labour in the general election, it has been revealed.
A council in London has taken the unusual step of banning a woman from renting homes in the private sector for three years after she illegally sub-let a property in a case that is one of the worst LandlordZONE has ever reported on.
A housing safety law expert has called for Southwark Council to be hit with a multi-million pound fine after it failed to carry out required electrical safety tests at its properties.
All the major political parties have now released their manifestos ahead of the July general election. Here James Kent, the NRLA’s Chief Innovation Officer, and founder of digital compliance platform Safe2, looks at what they are promising when it comes to PRS property standards and compliance.
A rogue landlord who was fined £34,640 for having eight unlicensed HMOs has failed in an attempt to have his conviction overturned.
Labour party figures’ desire to end tenant bidding wars is unworkable in practice, while unenforced legislation would not lead to any real improvement, according to a top property lawyer.
