Just as residential landlords are contemplating the costs of bringing older properties up to the proposed new standard - very likely EPC band C� required by December 2025 - so too are commercial landlords.<br> See: https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/compulsory-epc
Compulsory EPC band C by 2025 causing confusion There have been recent confusing reports put out that from 2025, all newly rented properties in England & Wales will be required to have an EPC rating of band C or above. This is somewhat misleading and jum
LandlordZONE sits down with one of Londons most prolific but little-known landlords who has spent 30 years amassing a huge portfolio in the East End and West End areas of the capital. For reasons of privacy, and a desire to remain behind the scenes, he doesnt want to
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
Wayhome has raised �8 million
A rogue landlord has been fined a whopping �115,181 for operating four poorly run and unlicensed HMOs. West Northamptonshire Councils private sector housing team inspected the four properties, including one at 93 St Michaels Road, Northampton (pictured), in March 2020 under
Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) is calling for a ban on landlords who evict tenants illegally as part of a strategy to clean up the private rented sector. Landlords can only be included on Scotlands landlord register if they pass a councils fit and proper person test an
The Welsh Government has published the draft legislation that will change the terms of converted contracts and any renewals that replace them within the private rented sector. This is the mechanism that will replace ASTs in Wales and replace them with occupation contracts,
Is buy to let still a good investment? In this article, Tom Entwistle, a residential and commercial landlord since the 1970s and founder of LandlordZONE , draws on his experience to weigh up whether now is a good time to invest. Is there ever a good time to
A student lettings platform has been exposed for misleading investors while raising �470,000 in a crowdfunding pitch by boasting it would become the Uber of student rentals. Edinburgh-based Student Rents , run by father and son team Grant MacCusker a
The director of a property investment and management firm has been stung with a £15,900 rent repayment order after failing to convince a First Tier Property Tribunal that he didnt know about HMO licensing. John Campbell , the boss of Hackn
A landlord has been handed a suspended jail sentence for kicking out his tenant during a national eviction ban. Amjad Ali Khattak removed the womans possessions in December 2020 and left them on the street in the rain (pictured), which was witnessed by
A senior property figure has both welcomed this week's Government announcement that guidance is imminent on how the pets element of its looming renting reforms will work but warned several problem areas need clearing up. Timothy Douglas (main picture), who is Head of Policy and
Many landlords have spent thousands of pounds on energy efficient upgrades in readiness to meet regulations that have now been ditched by Rishi Sunak.
A ground-breaking ‘rent to buy’ service that helps tenants get on the property ladder has been expanded to include private landlords.
More evidence of trouble within the courts system and in particular for landlords seeking to evict tenants via possessin hearings has emerged, LandlordZONE can report.
The government has confirmed that the latest How to Rent guide will go live on Monday, 2nd October, including details on the new Housing Loss Prevention Service.
Letting for the first time can be a daunting prospect. Here is a summary of the key points you should look out for...
Ever since the launch of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme in April 2007, the lettings industry has recognised the importance of a professional standard inventory if deposit damage claims by landlords or their agents are to succeed.
Rishi Sunak’s decision to scrap tougher EPC rules for rented properties may spark anger among some landlords following new research that four in five of them had already made preparations to meet the former minimum ‘Band C’ requirement.
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.
