The governments controversial policy of phasing out natural gas boilers in favour of heat pumps, in its drive to meet internationally agreed energy efficiency targets, could be stymied because of an out of date EPC algorithm. Regardless of the fact that many older poorly insu
Westminster Council has launched a spirited campaign to stop central London being overrun by nuisance short-term lets booked chiefly through Airbnb. It is lobbying the government to follow Paris and Amsterdams lead whose authorities have clamped down on problem properties. </
After two decades of low property insurance premium rates, prices are being driven up by inflation. Steve Barnes, Associate Director at https://hamiltonfraser.co.uk/landlord-insurance/?utm_source=landlordzone&utm_medium=article&utm_id=lz+feb22+insurance+rising" target="_blank" id="
The large herbaceous perennial with its bamboo-like appearance became infamous in Britain for its threat to buildings. Its rapid growth, its size and most importantly the damage it can do, made it the villain of the horticultural world, and it became feared by property owners and mortgag
Four years after it was launched, the number on the Rogue Landlord database has only crept up to 61 out of the thousands claimed to be operating within the private rental sector, the latest government figures show. Asked by opposition MP Gill Furniss to provide an update, Housin
Flat owners (leaseholders) only own their leasehold property for a fixed period of time and during that period they pay ground rent and service charges to the freeholder (landlord). Theres always a long-lease agreement, a detailed legal tenancy agremeent between the leasehold
Luton Council has finally got its act together and revealed blanket HMO licensing for the town after a number of false starts over the last few years. HMOs of any size will now need a licence under its additional scheme which launches on 1st April, while all privately rented pro
The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 provides a right for leaseholders to acquire the freehold landlords management functions by transfer to a company set up by them the Right To Manage (RTM) company. The thinking behind the right was to empower leaseholders. The
Appeal Court judges have found in favour of the landlord in the landmark case of Northwood Solihull v Fearn & Ors, preventing a potentially huge logistical headache for landlords and letting agents. The judges ruled that any authorised employee of a landlord or letting agent
In an apparent re-run of Harold Wilsons 1970s investment income tax surcharge, Labour plan to re-introduce such an additional layer of tax to what is termed unearned income�. The Wilson Labour government applied an investment income surcharge of 15% and kept the top rate
According to a recent report by estate agents Hamptons, over the last four years the number of landlords operating their buy to let business through a limited company has doubled. There were 47,400 new buy-to-let companies incorporated in 2021 right across the UK, the figures be
Landlords and letting agents will soon be able to carry out quicker https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/updated-advice-for-landlords-on-right-to-rent-checks-due-in-new-year/" right to rent checks on British and Irish citizens. From 6th April, Identification Do
An energy expert has sought to reassure landlords that they may not need to spend huge sums retrofitting their properties to raise EPC ratings at least not in the short term. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://upload
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
Tax changes in the private rented sector have lost the Treasury �1.5 billion in revenue, according to new research commissioned by the NRLA. https://www.capitaleconomics.com/" target="_blank" Capital Economics fou
A landlord in Derby has been convicted of an illegal eviction and ordered by a court to pay a �1,600 fine. After initially agreeing a 12-month rental for an unfurnished house with a young family, landlord Grace Young of Pear Tree Street, Derby then attempted to illegally evict
A new devolution deal will give the 10 Greater Manchester councils powers to approve larger selective licensing schemes. The pact, signed by Levelling Up Minister Dehenna Davison (pictured, below), Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham (main pic) and the council leaders, will al
A landlord whose properties are caught up in the cladding scandal faces a bill of up to �50,000 unless the government changes the rules about who it will subsidise. Neera Soni rents out a number of leasehold properties and says she and at least a quarter of those owners at
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been urged to clamp down on rogue exempt accommodation providers who exploit the housing benefit system and put vulnerable tenants at risk. An investigation by the London Assembly Housing Committee found some rogue providers wer
The Isle of Wight Council has vowed to charge owners of second homes and empty properties more council tax as soon as it gets the go-ahead from the government. Its ruling Alliance Administration had suggested putting a 100% tax premium on second homes and empty properties, howev
A senior figure from the banking world has claimed that institutional investment is the golden ticket to solve the UKs supply and quality problems within the private rented sector (PRS). Cedric Bucher (main image), who heads up Hearthstone Investments </st
Another First Tier Property Tribunal has confirmed that a superior landlord cannot be held responsible for a Rent Repayment Order (RRO), following the landmark Rakusen case. Tenant Riaz Moola had tried to argue that landlord Khalil Mbarek was responsible for the property in t
The Government must stop its ongoing and irresponsible attempts to curry favour with tenants via its looming reform of the private rented sector, a buy-to-let lender has said. Mortgages for Business boss Gavin Richardson (main
New data analysis confirms a rise in buy-to-let landlords selling properties during the past two years and the potential for more properties to leave the sector.
Nearly 60% of landlords are either against or not convinced by the Government's plans to bring in mandatory membership of an ombudsman for all landlords in England, it has b
A mortgage expert has advised landlords not to be put off by high arrangement fees on BTL mortgages, but some landlords and brokers have accussed lenders of profiteering.
The number of selective and HMO additional licensing schemes launched this year has already equalled last year's total as councils come under pressure to tackle private rent
A town council in the SW has declared a �housing crisis' blaming affluent new arrival renters but also 'landlords pulling out of the market' for rapidly-rising rents.
Bedbug Pest Control: There's been an explosion in the incidence of bed bugs that Rentoki
Property sector bosses have urged the government to give landlords stronger laws to take back possession of their property if it has been abandoned.
If the Government needs evidence that landlords are struggling in the current economic climate, then the most recent mortgage arrears and repossessions figures should be sober
It's hard not to come to the conclusion after reading the most popular articles, discussions and comments in multiple landlord news portals that landlords are being
For many years some housing developers in the UK were involved in a leasehold housing scam; they found a very lucrative second income stream, but this was all at the expense o
While there has been a shortage of all types of rental accommodation across the UK for several years now, the student market has been hit particularly hard.There is currently a shortfall of over 200,000 beds, which is expected to grow to around 450,000by 2025. This is thanks to rising student number
Shelter has urged the government to make scrapping Section 21 a priority after new Ministry of Justice data showed a 41% rise in the number of households removed from the
Landlords are being urged to give their views on an overhaul of EPCs (Energy Performance Certificates) in Scotland including making both residential and commercial landlords a
The latest RICS housing report has revealed a sharp downturn in property sales but in contrast a rental market bolstered by continuing �strong demand', landlords will be r
Many landlords will not have clocked the huge changes coming down the line within the Government's Renters (Reform) Bill due to become law next year - but h
Two rogue landlord firms which granted a tenancy in �cynical disregard� of licensing rules, then failed to properly repair ongoing faults, have been handed a hefty fine.</
London's rental market is contracting dramatically as landlords exist the market, a new joint report by estate agency Savills and the London School of Economics has highligh
A landlord in the Kent seaside town of Whitstable has won plaudits after deciding to rent her rental property to local people, it has been reported.
Both landlords and letting agents have slammed the Government's proposal to hugely increase fines for property managers who breach existing Right to Rent check laws.
A free service that helps landlords manage their portfolios more profitably but also sell individual properties to sitting tenants through an innovative funding model has secu
Bolton council has revealed its intention to begin a coordinated campaign to rein-in the creation of more HMOs within its boundary including via planning and parking rules and
Bidding wars, tenant CVs, queues outside properties � these phenomena have become common in the rental market across Britain.� So runs the editorial in this week's Su
The Home Office has revealed plans to hugely increase the level of fines that landlords can face if they are found to have not checked tenants properly to see if they have the
A landlord in the North West has been handed a �36,000 fine after a fire at his property revealed it had not been licenced.
Warwick is the latest local authority planning to more than double the size of its HMO licencing scheme, starting in January 2024. This follows a public consultation earlier t
