The Supreme Court is debating a key legal case around rent-to-rent operators today to decide if the superior landlord, or any landlord in the chain, should be responsible for a rent repayment order. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img
Barclays has been rapped on the knuckles for a radio advert that urged tenants to rack up credit card debt and increase their credit score to help them rent a flat. The adverts voiceover explained: Using my Barclaycard Forward credit card to pay for the stuff I need now co
The most pressing questions on LandlordZONE readers minds were revealed during a recent webinar hosted by Chief Commercial Officer of the HFIS group, Paul Shamplina (main pic). He joined forces with industry figure David Coughlin
Minister warned that tenancy reforms may reduce student housing supply, urging exemption to protect access to higher education.
Suffolk Building Society has launched a new mortgage aimed at expat landlords with properties that boast a high EPC rating. Its five-year fixed expat buy-to-let product for properties with an Energy Performance Certificate rating of A to C is available on
Tenants union Acorn has pledged to continue targeting letting agents in the city until they stop encouraging 'bidding wars' to help landlords achieve higher rents. Members launched a noisy protest outside a number of branches; some agents which had started talks with Acorn ab
Leading Tory MP Anthony Browne (main pic) has urged the government to ditch stamp duty for home buyers but increase the tax rate for investors. The chair of the 1922 Backbench Treasury Committee says people buying homes to live in are over-taxed while those buying properties for
A landlord has spoken out to defend a substantial rent increase after its tenant complained about his eviction to the local newspaper. Richard Symonds told https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/" target="_blank" Sussex World tha
Damp and mould has always been a very difficult issue to deal with for landlords, but the recent case of Awaab Ishak and the rapid and direct involvement of Government has really brought matters to a head. The death of a Rochdale social housing tenants son, Awaab Ishak, has l
The boss of housing charity Shelter has repeated the organisations previous assertion that tenants seeking properties in the private rented sector (PRS) too often face racism from both landlords and letting agents. Polly Neates comments have been published by the BBC withi
The government has vowed to expedite a proposed law forcing landlords to respond quickly to complaints about damp and mould. Housing minister Felicity Buchan (pictured) told MPs that proposals were being worked through, after it announced plans last week t
Birmingham council has concluded its consultation into an additional licensing scheme across the city that would include 9,500 properties in all 69 wards. Following a full cabinet meeting report on the scheme's consultation which included several landlords sessions organised by
A rogue landlord who let out an unlicensed HMO with no working kitchen, unusable toilets, blocked drains and rats, has been fined a whopping �175,000. Adam Ali had turned the former Anchor Hotel in Cobham Road, Westcliff-on-Sea (pictured), into an HMO whe
Four former housing ministers have backed a Tory thinktank policy paper that urges a radical rethink of government housebuilding policies. The Centre for Policy Studies report, The Case for Housebuilding , explains how the UKs massive shortfall in homes
Big Issue founder John Bird has called on the government to help landlords prevent rent rises. The magazines editor-in-chief - a crossbench peer in the House of Lords - says it needs to stop households who cannot pay their rent from being evicted, warning of a surge in homele
Scottish government replaces controversial rent freeze with 3–6% cap from April, after landlord backlash.
A serial rogue landlord has become the first in the North West region to be served with a banning order after he failed to improve poor housing conditions in his unlicensed properties. Wirral Council had previously prosecuted Frank Morrow from New Brighton
A coalition of landlords and letting groups is seeking a judicial review of the Scottish governments rent control and eviction ban legislation. The Scottish Association of Landlords , Scottish Land and Estates and <strong id=
The number of households becoming https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/new-minister-reveals-millions-more-to-fund-prs-support-schemes-for-homeless/" homeless from private rented tenancies in Scotland is now higher than it was pre-pandemic, according to new government data.
Ministers and campaigners who claim that tenants are trapped in a 'broken' private renters sector are wrong, a new independent report commissioned by the NRLA has claimed, highlighting how three quarters of tenants think their rent fair or excellent value for mo
In the latest episode of The Property Cast , now available to https://www.totallandlordinsurance.co.uk/knowledge-centre/investing-in-buy-to-let-2023?utm_source=landlordzone&utm_medium=investment+podcast+article&utm_campaign=landlordzone+january+2023" <st
Peterborough's new selective licensing scheme requires landlords in designated areas to obtain a £908 licence, aiming to improve housing standards.
Landlords with properties in central https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/rent-rises-hit-20-in-london-last-year-reports-leading-lettings-agency/" London saw the highest levels of tenant demand across England and Wales in the last quarter of 2022. After falling
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has promised to scrap most leaseholds in England this year. The government will make it much easier for leaseholders in flats to take over their buildings and bring them into common ownership, avoiding high management fees and ground rents. <p
Labour's Lisa Nandy pledges a comprehensive review of the private rented sector, aiming to empower tenants and introduce a new Renters' Charter.
2023 is going to be a challenging year for landlords, so here are a few pointers from experienced landlord, Tom Entwistle, a residential and commercial landlord since the 1970s and founder of LandlordZONE . To read more analysis on what legal and financial
In this episode of The Property Cast, Eddie and Paul are joined by Richard Donnell, Executive Director at Zoopla. Drawing on Zooplas latest data and Richards expertise, the trio explore the most important trends in the housing market, sharing their predictions for buy to let in 2023 a
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.
Government officials have reassured private landlords that judges will be able to consider a wider range of behaviours before using their judicial discretion in ASB eviction cases. Giving evidence to the Levelling Up Housing and Communities Committee into
Almost 250,000 BTL landlords face refinancing losses as borrowing rates near 7%, says Daily Telegraph.
The Governments Renters Reform Bill is unlikely to make progress through parliament until much later this year, housing minister Rachel Maclean has admitted. Maclean was unable to confirm when the bill would get a second reading during a Q&A with MPs from the Levelling Up
A team of independent fact checkers and campaigners has debunked Labours claims that most renters live in homes bought with a buy-to-let mortgage. Deputy leader Angela Rayner made the assertion last week, but charity Full Fact says the claim is technically incorrect, as it ho
A letting agency-owning landlord has been fined more than £17,000 for renting out one small room in an HMO to a family of five. Ruhul Shamsuddin and his company Lordsons Estates were found guilty of 23 housing offences relating to a
The Bank of England has warned that landlords with mortgages are under increasing strain from higher interest payments and other structural factors, all of which are likely to put pressure on their incomes�. The commentary is within the banks latest https:
Landlords arrears are growing at a faster rate than homeowners, according to new research that suggests fewer investors are being shielded from economic headwinds. https://www.octanecapital.co.uk/" Octane Capital found that buy-to-let arrears of more tha
Five tenants have shared a whopping �29,000 Rent Repayment Order after their landlord failed to licence its HMO. East London-based https://www.facebook.com/weletroomsuk/" We Let Rooms Ltd did not defend itself at a First Tier Property T
Corporate student housing giant expands as private HMO landlords exit, amid growing demand for purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA).
Landlord leader Ben Beadle has given Shelter a run for its money during a parliamentary committee evidence session on the Renters (Reform) Bill. Beadle, who is chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, wondered out loud during the meeting whether campaig
Changes in tax rules for buy-to-let landlords have definitely made the business of letting property more challenging, particularly with those who have taken on big mortgages to buy their rental properties. The removal of mortgage interest relief (Section 24 of the Finance Act) a
An Essex landlord has learned the hard way that unpicking rent-to-rent or guaranteed rent agreements can be a lot more difficult than many might believe. In a case handled by the Resolution Department Lead Suzy Hershman (main picture) and her team at
