Date

Library

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Big NE town brings in HMO planning restrictions

Big NE town brings in HMO planning restrictions

News

Middlesborough Council has brought in new planning restrictions to clamp down on the “wrong sort of HMOs”.

Big city to expand licensing five-fold despite landlord concerns

Big city to expand licensing five-fold despite landlord concerns

News

Gateshead is to push ahead with new property licensing schemes despite local landlords and letting agents opposing them including 93% saying the fees are ‘too high’.

Is development more attractive than landlording?

Is development more attractive than landlording?

News

Rental property yields are shrinking as the costs created by more regulations and legislation eat into landlord profits – so is it time more BTL landlords became SME developers?

Tenant group says 'landlords can't be trusted' to regulate themselves

Tenant group says 'landlords can't be trusted' to regulate themselves

News

Scotland’s tenants’ union has warned that removing rent rise reprotections will lead to an uptick in de facto evictions and homelessness.

Big Kent council latest to offer landlords 'guaranteed rent'

Big Kent council latest to offer landlords 'guaranteed rent'

News

Maidstone Borough Council has become the latest authority hoping to entice private landlords to hand over their properties in exchange for guaranteed rent.

Landlord to pay £37,000 after running overcrowded illegal HMO

Landlord to pay £37,000 after running overcrowded illegal HMO

News

A rogue landlord who squeezed six people into one room of his HMO has been told to pay £37,000 in fines and costs.

CLAIM: Labour's 'new towns' will be all about BTR not private landlords

CLAIM: Labour's 'new towns' will be all about BTR not private landlords

News

The UK’s new towns will favour build-to-rent developers rather than private landlords, according to a think tank which labels them “profit-seeking institutional investors”.

Big London council to bring back selective licensing

Big London council to bring back selective licensing

News

Croydon has announced plans to bring back its selective licensing scheme after a five-year break.

Lettings agency pays high price for ignoring HMO regulations

Lettings agency pays high price for ignoring HMO regulations

News

A student housing firm has been told to pay £13,160 for breaching safety regulations at a Salford HMO.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Assignment of a Residential Tenancy

Assignment of a Residential Tenancy

Information
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Assignment is when an existing and ongoing tenancy is transferred from one tenant to another. The person who transfers the tenancy is the assignor� and the person who the tenancy is transferred to is the assignee�.The outgoing tenant transfers his rights and obligations under the tenanc

Basement flats are more secure than houses

Basement flats are more secure than houses

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Latest Research Suggests Basement Flats Are Safe As HousesBasement flats in West London have been found to be as secure from intruders as other types of apartments, according to research carried by Basement Flats, a newly-launched London publication.The magazine, which features news and informati

What is a Section 26 Notice

What is a Section 26 Notice

Information
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Section 26 Notice - My Commercial (Business Tenancy) Lease Agreement is coming to an end soon and my tenant has served on me a Section 26 Notice. What is this and what should I do?Commercial (Business) Tenancies in England & Wales are regulated by the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 (Part 2).T

Uninhabitable Premises

Uninhabitable Premises

Information
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Uninhabitable Premises. My tenanted property is flooded. What are my legal obligations in this situation? Am I obliged to re-house my tenant? Must my tenant continue to pay rent?Landlords are under a general obligation to supply property in tenant able condition for the tenant to i

Tenant Blacklist

Tenant Blacklist

Information
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Question: Tenant Blacklists. I've had a very bad experience with a tenant and would like to put him on a black list so that other landlords don't have the same experience that I've had. How do I go about this?Answer: We often get asked this question.Although there have been several attempts by di

Sub-letting Leasehold

Sub-letting Leasehold

Information
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Sub-letting leasehold - I want to rent out my leasehold flat but the managing agent says the freeholder wont allow it. I know that other flats in the block are rented out, so what can I do? Landlords usually prohibit sub-letting to safeguard the interest.Landlords usually prohibit sub-letting

Renting to a 17 year old

Renting to a 17 year old

Information
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

What are the implications of renting to a 17 year old or someone who is under the age of 18? We have an application from a 17-year old that is keen to rent but Im not sure this would be legal?</h2> Many landlords and housing providers would be concerned and therefore refuse to let to

Rent Review

Rent Review

Information
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Question - Rent Review - my landlord is asking for far more rent than I expected on review. Am I obliged to pay this?Answer - Commercial leases are contractual - the parties agree to and are bound by its clauses and that includes rent review provisions.The rent review process is a way of periodic

Re-selling Energy

Re-selling Energy

Information
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Re-selling Energy - As a landlord am I able to make a profit by re-selling electricity or gas?</h2>Resale of Gas and ElectricityThe maximum amount that Residential Landlords or resellers� are permitted to charge for gas or electricity is the amount they

DWP to snoop on benefit landlords' bank accounts

DWP to snoop on benefit landlords' bank accounts

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Landlords’ bank accounts could be monitored as part of new legislation that aims to reduce overpayments to people claiming benefits and fraudulent claims.

EXPERT: Removal of Furnished Holiday Lets relief 'may never happen'

EXPERT: Removal of Furnished Holiday Lets relief 'may never happen'

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Plans to abolish the Furnished Holiday Lets (FHL) regime could be delayed by at least a year from April 2025, and might never happen, according to one tax expert.

More pet rights for tenants tops landlords worries over reforms

More pet rights for tenants tops landlords worries over reforms

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Landlords are more concerned about tenants’ right to request to keep a pet than the potential abolition of Section 21, a new poll reveals.

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

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

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

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
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

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?

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

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

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

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
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

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

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

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

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

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

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

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
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

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

'Time for bold action with rent controls has come' says mayor hopeful

'Time for bold action with rent controls has come' says mayor hopeful

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

The Green Party’s mayoral candidate in London has said she will bring in rent controls saying the time for ‘bold action’ has come.

Landlords promised compensation as huge estate faces bulldozer

Landlords promised compensation as huge estate faces bulldozer

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Landlords have been promised fair compensation by a developer planning to bulldoze scores of homes on one of England’s most deprived housing estates.

Letting agents call for short-lets crackdown in London

Letting agents call for short-lets crackdown in London

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Propertymark has urged London’s Mayor to crack down on short-term lets through licensing in a bid to tackle over-supply in the capital.

Struggling HMO giant sells off more properties

Struggling HMO giant sells off more properties

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Troubled property development company Home Holdings has put another raft of HMOs onto the market in a bid to shore up losses.

Osborne's 3% extra stamp duty is reason for BTL buying slump

Osborne's 3% extra stamp duty is reason for BTL buying slump

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

The decision by George Osborne in 2015 to introduce a 3% additional stamp duty levy on landlords has seen a slump in the number of BTL properties bought in the Tory heartlands of Southern England.

'Scotland's fast-rising rents are the SNP/Green's fault'

'Scotland's fast-rising rents are the SNP/Green's fault'

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

A leading letting agent in Scotland has laid the blame for the country’s rental supply woes firmly at the feet of former Tenants’ Rights minister Patrick Harvie.

Fugitive Midlands landlord faces long jail sentence

Fugitive Midlands landlord faces long jail sentence

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

A rogue landlord and fugitive fraudster who intimidated his tenants is in jail after more than five years on the run.

Landlord fined for 'unlawfully profiting' from London flat

Landlord fined for 'unlawfully profiting' from London flat

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

A landlord who used an agreement that tried to undermine her tenants’ rights has been fined a total of £5,800.

Protesters force South West council to evict their business tenant

Protesters force South West council to evict their business tenant

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Financially challenged Somerset Council has capitulated after a concerted campaign by protesters force it to abandon one of its business tenants

RICS survey shows signs of commercial property recovery

RICS survey shows signs of commercial property recovery

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Signs that the market is moving into a recovery phase, though there is still ample evidence that there remains a challenging backdrop. 

NEW:Landlords to face unimited fines if they illegally convert homes into HMOs

NEW:Landlords to face unimited fines if they illegally convert homes into HMOs

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

New changes to planning rules mean rogue landlords who illegally convert HMOs could face an unlimited fine.

Scotland's 'rent controls tsar' Patrick Harvie loses power

Scotland's 'rent controls tsar' Patrick Harvie loses power

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

The Scottish government has been urged to reverse its anti-landlord policies after the SNP ended their power-sharing agreement with the Greens.

MP's bill forcing private landlords to fix mould delayed AGAIN

MP's bill forcing private landlords to fix mould delayed AGAIN

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Private renters are most in need of Awaab’s Law due to the frequently worse conditions of mould in their homes, says Labour MP Fleur Anderson, who hopes to instigate stricter rules for the PRS.