Can landlords spread rental profits between spouses and minimise tax?

One of our readers has sent in the following email and is looking for ideas that other landlords have used to minimise tax by spreading rental profits between spouses.

Mark Alexander has shared a few thoughts, but would like to point out that he’s not a qualified tax adviser. Therefore, we have also included a contact form for you to get in touch with the accountants Mark uses. He’s also invited their landlord tax expert, Neil Barlow, to comment. read on

The Green Deal goes live today – landlords urged to check it out

The National Landlords Association (NLA) is reminding all private residential landlords to familiarise themselves with the Green Deal and begin making energy efficiency improvements to all relevant properties, as the Government formally launches the scheme today (Monday 28th January.)

The Green Deal is the Government’s vehicle to make the UK’s housing stock more energy efficient. The NLA is warning that after 2016, landlords will be unable to refuse a tenant’s reasonable request for Green Deal improvements. Furthermore, under the new legislation, landlords will be forbidden to let any properties found to have a poor Energy Performance Rating (F or G rated) after 2018. read on

No inventory ………. oh Dear!!

Accidental Landlords question regarding “no inventory”

I have taken over as the landlord of a property after a divorce. Before this I was never involved in the property business!! Anyway the house was purchase about three years ago and the first tenants that took the property are still in situ. My issue is that I have no evidence of the state of the property prior to the tenant occupying it and I am worried that if they now left and the house was in disrepair I would have not claim against the deposit because I cannot prove what state the house was given to them. read on

Landlords and Tenants Becoming more Energy Conscientious

The number of energy inefficient properties owned by landlords is steadily decreasing, according to research from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

In December 2012, 61% of landlords reported that they had no properties rated F or G in terms of their energy efficiency, an increase of 11% on the year before. read on

Stamp Duty set to triple for 10% of UK home buyers

Around 80,000 people in England and Wales, 10% of the market, could find themselves paying three times more Stamp Duty this year as the average property price looks set to breach the £250,000 mark.

For these buyers, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) will jump up from 1% to 3%, a massive increase from £2,500 to £7,500. The Government will need to urgently re-evaluate the 1% Stamp Duty ceiling which has remained unchanged for over 15 years whilst the average price of a house has increased three fold from £79,242 to £249,958. read on

Spam attack on Scottish Association of Landlords

We suspect that hackers have been busy trying to get into our systems over the last 48 hours via a spam attack of Scottish Association of Landlords membership enquiry forms hosted on our systems.

They didn’t manage to get in of course as our security is incredibly robust. However, we first noticed this when somebody sent in a very strange message including a cake recipe. read on

Go to Latest Articles for all Property118 News: CLICK HERE

Including in the last 5 Days:

• Is Rent Hiking a good business model?
• How Private Landlords can beat the rent arrears problem
• Call for CGT roll-over relief to apply to buy to let Landlords
• The House Crowd raises £1million in Crowdfunding success
• Landlord Regulation is NOT the answer
• Tenants Deposit Protection – what are the alternatives?
• Landlords Question about Section 21 notice
• White Goods rental for Landlords – does it make sense?
• Lending Merry-Go-Round- Readers Question
• 10 percent yield for 1 in 10 properties
• Is Rent Hiking a good business model?
• Advertise property to let, reference tenants, guarantee rent – one package

Property Auctions – Download their catalogues FREE

	Download Barnes Property Auction Catalogue for 28.02.2013 Per instructions from East Midlands Housing Group, Mansfield District Council, executors, Beneficiaries, trustees and other sources Barnes Chartered Surveyors is holding a collective sale of investments and “property with potential” of immediate interest to speculators, builders and investors on Thursday 28th February 2013 at the Towers, Botany Avenue, Mansfield, Notts NG18 5NG commencing 3pm prompt. read on
	Parsons Son & Basley Property Auction East Sussex – 21/02/2013 Parsons Son & Basley are auctioning 10 properties at the Banqueting Suite, Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove BN3 3BQ Thursday 21 February 2013 at 3pm. To download a copy of the catalogue please complete the form below. read on
	Nottingham Property Auction – 13th Feb 2013 HEB Chartered Surveyors are holding their first Nottingham property auction of the year on 13th February 2013. There are 17 properties going under the hammer with guide prices from £20,000. read on
	Louis Taylor Property Auction Stoke on Trent 12/02/2013 Louis Taylor are holding a property auction consisting of 12 lots with guide prices from as little as £35,000 at 7pm on 12 February 2012. The venue for the auction is 66 Trinity Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST1 5NB read on
	Clive Emson Auctioneers – Property Auctions 4th to 7th February 2013 Clive Emson Auctioneers are holding their first auctions of the New Year on 4th-7th February offering 116 Lots. Download their auction catalogue by completing the form below. The four auctions cover land, commercial and residential properties across southern England, from Kent to Cornwall and to the M4 corridor. read on
	AWA All Wales Property Auction 4th to 7th Feb 2013 Download the AWA auction catalogue for the national public auction of residential, commercial, agricultural property and land. read on