Over recent years, governments have tightened lettings legislation and increased the tax burden on landlords. Add on the current cost-of-living crisis, high mortgage rates, and the Renters (Reform) Bill making its way through Parliament, some landlords are understandably beginning to wonder if it’s
Landlords and industry professionals have been invited to share their thoughts on a new professional standard aimed at helping surveyors provide useful retrofitting advice. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has launched a consultation on its draft <strong id=""
A contrite landlord has apologised to the tenant he tried to illegally evict after being rapped on the knuckles by Coventry Council. The landlord sent text messages telling his tenant to leave when they told him the rent would be late. He then visited the property and took the t
Section 21 is the biggest headline grabbing element of the Renters Reform Bill but will be the least effective pieces of the legislation. Thats according to letting agent Kristjan Byfield (main picture), co-founder ofhttps://www.baseps.co.uk/"
Shelter has this morning launched a campaign in partnership with the Co-operative Bank to persuade the Government to press ahead with its proposal to abolish Section 21 evictions. The two organisations have launched a PR stunt on Parliament Square today covering it with 172 card
New data reveals the extent of the landlord exodus prompted by the current mortgage rate surge with 36% of landlords polled revealing they plan to sell a property over the next 12 months. The proportion intending to sell some properties was at 30%, up from 28% the last tim
Landlords are increasingly likely to be renting to older tenants in the coming decade with the proportion of renters in private rented accommodation over 65 years old doubling to 11.5%, it has been reported. Letting agency Hamptons says its research reveal
A council crackdown has uncovered four unlicensed HMOs and one being used as a cannabis factory in Kettering and Corby. North Northamptonshire Council joined forces with Northamptonshire Police in a week-long inspection of 76 HMOs, four of which are still being investigated.
HMO owners and associations are being urged to support calls for a rethink of plans to remove licensing requirements for HMOs used as asylum accommodation. Property lawyer at JMW, David Smith , wants the High Court to agree to a judicial review of changes o
The number of available private rental homes has dropped by more than a third since 2019 to a 14-year low. Only 241,000 PRS homes were available last month compared with 370,000 in June 2019, a fall of 35%, according to consultancy TwentyCi which analysed
A landlord couple have paid a heavy price for ignoring their tenant's request to fix a boiler after being fined �3,500. David and Emily Griffiths, of Tickhill Road, Harworth (pictured), Nottinghamshire left the tenant with no hot water or heating for three weeks. D
Landlord Action's Paul Sowerbutts discusses the impact of abolishing Section 21 and upcoming eviction reforms on landlords and tenants.
Energy efficiency improvement costs for most private rental homes work out at between �5,000 and �9,999 (46%), while almost a third (30%) could be improved for under �5,000, according to the latest government analysis. At the other end of the scale, 19% of homes would cost be
Landlords hit by mortgage rate hikes are demanding guarantors from increasing numbers of high earning tenants. Many tenants are seeing a greater proportion of their take-home pay go towards rent so are having to provide the additional security of a guarantor when signing new agr
Landlords should be prevented from serving an eviction notice for at least the first year of a tenancy, in the case of repossession for selling or occupying the property, according to a new report from the Fabian Society. The independent left-leaning
The Governments housing policies are coming home to roost as tenant demand continues to soar but the number of landlords advertising new properties to rent plummets, it has been revealed. RICS says that during June it found significantly more members (a net balance increase o
Landlords in one of London's biggest boroughs now need planning permission to convert family homes into HMOs for three to six tenants. After a year-long pilot and consultation with residents, the London Borough of Hounslow (main picture) has made its borough-wide A
Mortgage troubles spark surge in portfolio landlords selling up—explore what’s driving the exodus and what it means for the rental sector.
The UK Government has identified that homes across the UK contribute about 1/5 of all carbon emissions from the country. In order for the UK to reach its ambitious carbon neut
As a landlord, your life is far from idle as you work hard to find new tenants, manage your current ones, do the admin, find reliable tradespeople and much more.<br>Faced with
House building giant Barratt has revealed what it claims to be the future of UK housing a 37 sq metre one-bedroom apartment for sale at �285,000. The 160 initial Smrt homes are within the companys huge Eastman Village development in Harrow, North London where event
A national rogue tenant register to combat the issue of renters trashing properties and leaving landlords out of pocket could be open to abuse, a leading expert has warned. Sean Hooker, head of redress at the https://www.theprs.co.uk/" target="_blank" <strong id="
August got off to an unsettled and changeable start this year, with heavy rain and flooding in many parts of the UK. But the long-range weather forecast is now predicting warmer than usual conditions in late August, and potentially even a heat wave, with temperatures set to soar across some
Rent Smart Wales is challenging letting agents and landlords over the widespread practice of charging student tenants summer retainer fees which it claims are unlawful under Welsh legislation. It says a retainer is an additional fee which is unlawful under the Renting Home
Owners (landlords) of commercial (business) premises and sometimes residential premises want to let to a tenant on a short term basis, but are fearful of creating a long-term arrangement such that the tenant cannot be removed if the landlord wants it.Basically, there are three ways to do that whi
When it comes to owning a buy-to� let property, the decision as to whether to use an agent or not is a big one. It is estimated that more than half of landlords self-manage their rental properties, believing it to be the best way to maintain control over who lives there and how
Commercial investments produce an average yield of 10.7% while residential properties offer just 3.7%, new research has claimed. Scotland is home to the highest commercial yield at 20.4%, along with the South West (13.7%), while Scotland is also where investors can find the high
Westminster City Council has repeated its calls for a compulsory registration scheme for short-term lets, a tax on overnight stays and powers to issue penalties to unregistered hosts, saying Airbnb is now causing an ‘enforcement nightmare’.
The government is being urged to bring in a dedicated ‘sex for rent’ law to protect tenants after it promised to clamp down on predatory adverts.
The Bank of England has blamed higher rents on more landlords than usual quitting the private rental market within its detailed quarterly report on the economy.
Landlords have more of an incentive to make green improvements following PM Rishi Sunak’s announcement that they can now claim £7,500 for a heat pump installation.
Westminster City Council has repeated its calls for a compulsory registration scheme for short-term lets, a tax on overnight stays and powers to issue penalties to unregistere
The government is being urged to bring in a dedicated �sex for rent' law to protect tenants after it promised to clamp down on predatory adverts.
Brighton & Hove Council hopes to introduce a huge selective licensing scheme that would eventually cover 17 of the city’s 23 wards.
York Council has teamed up with Justice for Tenants (JFT) to help more residents claim rent repayment orders from errant landlords in what is claimed to be a ‘ground-breaking partnership’.
York Council has teamed up with Justice for Tenants (JFT) to help more residents claim rent repayment orders from errant landlords in what is claimed to be a 'ground-breaking
Haringey Council has given the green light to an additional HMO licencing scheme consultation.
North Devon Council could close a loophole that allows HMO landlords to rent out their rooms as holiday lets.
Birmingham Council has confirmed to LandlordZONE that its selective licensing scheme will continue to be enforced despite its dire financial situation.
So called title fraud is on the rise, where someone steals your identity, transfers your property title and either mortgages it or sells it off
Rishi Sunak has made a speech rowing back on several key green policies that were to cost landlords thousands but that were part of his key Net Zero pledges.
Scores of landlords could be owed thousands of pounds in stamp duty overpayments, according to a specialist tax firm.
The PM is considering scaling back the Government’s green pledges by delaying the ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035 and slowing the phase-out of oil and gas boilers.
The NRLA has urged the Welsh government to ditch rent control proposals as the worst possible idea for a PRS facing a chronic supply and demand crisis.
A property management firm and its fire risk assessors face a hefty fine for fire safety breaches following a blaze which saw 17 people evacuated.
Sunak to U‑turn on boiler ban & ditch EPC fines for landlords, easing thousands in green‐policy costs.
In an unusual move the Jersey government is to give local authorities on the island more powers to prosecute landlords who do not protect tenants' deposits within the 30 day
A rogue landlord who ignored fire risks and serious hazards at his flats and caravans has been fined £32,000.
Landlords can effectively now charge what they like as the government’s draconian policies are stifling competition, says Nottingham benefits landlord Mick Roberts.
In an unusual move the Jersey government is to give local authorities on the island more powers to prosecute landlords who do not protect tenants’ deposits within the 30 days required, it has been reported. A tenant deposit protection scheme was introduced on Jersey in 2015 and landlords, as in mai
The National Residential Landlords Association has warned the Government that the crumbling courts system for evictions will undermine its hoped-for reforms of the private renting sector unless they are reformed.
A landlord who ignored his tenants' pleas to fix their boiler during sub-zero temperatures has been ordered to pay out nearly �10,000 in fines and compensation.
