The Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, has come under fire after allegedly ‘dodging’ £40,000 in stamp duty on an £800,000 seaside flat in Hove, East Sussex, by declaring it her primary residence. According to The Times, Ms Rayner removed her name from the deeds of her Greater Manchester home weeks before purchasing the Hove property, […]

I have just obtained an EPC C rating for a small (75 sqm) three-bedroom pre-war semi-detached house in a London borough. It scraped a 70C score, and the certificate gives a potential score of 79, which is 2 points below a B rating. The steps I could take “to save energy” are set out below, […]

Chancellor Rachel Reeves reported targeting of ‘unearned income’ from landlords with a controversial plan to impose National Insurance contributions on rental income, has sparked an outcry. Labour wants to raise £2 billion to tackle a £40 billion public finance deficit, according to Treasury sources quoted by The Times. The move will avoid breaching the government’s […]

The UK property market is at its strongest point in three years, claims estate agent. Estate agent comparison website GetAgent.co.uk reveals both mortgage approvals and transactions are at their highest average monthly levels in three years. Using data from HMRC and the Bank of England, GetAgent analysed residential property transactions and mortgage approvals in England, […]

Molo and NatWest have introduced changes to their buy to let (BTL) mortgage offerings, with Molo cutting rates to enhance affordability for UK landlords. Its two-year fixed rates for standard BTL products now start at 2.68%, while five-year fixes begin at 4.34%, available to both individual and limited company borrowers. These reductions apply exclusively to […]

London’s private rented sector is delivering a strong performance, driven by a big rise in available properties and a robust surge in tenant interest. According to Foxtons’ latest data, nearly 50,000 new rental listings flooded the market, marking a 4% rise from June and a 12% jump compared to July 2024. This influx represents the […]

Fleet Mortgages has launched a comprehensive guide called ‘Getting Landlords Renters’ Rights Ready: A Guide for Advisers’. The resource aims to assist advisers in guiding landlords through the upcoming Bill which is expected to gain Royal Assent this Autumn and take effect in early 2026. The guide provides practical checklists to help advisers deliver clear, […]

Ok, so here goes my dilemma, I have housed a family of 4, a couple and their 2 young kids. The kids are from the lady’s first marriage, so the couple is recently married. That’s not an issue, the kids, however, one 15 and the second 9, turning 10 soon. I have a 3-bedroom property, […]

I have a client who eventually may be facing a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) on a converted semi-detached house into offices many decades ago. 29% is in a trust where that rent is paid to a third party as a pension, so the building would be without vacant possession due to a 30-year verbal agreement […]

Mystic Mortar’s Landlord Horoscope Edition: Friday 29 August 2025 Welcome, star-gazers and key-holders. The skies hum with moving vans and murmurs of fresh tenancy. Take this as playful guidance, not professional advice. Entertainment only, lovely UK landlords, though the cosmos does enjoy a tidy inventory and a timely rent day. Astrological Snapshot – 29 August […]

Millions of landlords could be hit by a plan to impose National Insurance contributions on rental income to generate around £2 billion in additional revenue. Treasury sources have told The Times that the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, wants to target ‘unearned income’. The idea is being floated to tackle a £40 billion deficit in public finances, […]

Another council has launched a crackdown against landlords, warning “they will face severe consequences for unsafe housing.” Harlow council has announced its Building Harlow’s Future plan, which claims to protect tenants and support responsible landlords who maintain quality housing. However, the council say they will punish landlords who run unsafe properties. Landlords who do the […]

More than half of the UK’s buy to let landlords are planning to acquire new properties within the next year, Landbay says. Its research points to a surge in confidence among landlords, with 52% expressing intentions to boost their holdings. This marks a big rise from last year’s survey which was carried out after the […]

Labour’s proposal to replace Stamp Duty Land Tax with a new property tax on home sellers could unfairly burden London homeowners, estate agents Benham and Reeves say. It warns that the suggested tax, which would apply to properties valued at more than £500,000, would disproportionately affect the capital, where 60% of homes listed for sale […]

Student lettings experts are warning that the move away from fixed-term tenancies to periodic contracts could unravel the academic letting cycle. Agency software firm Alto says the Renters’ Rights Bill will leave students and landlords grappling with uncertainty just weeks before the new university term begins in September. It has carried out a survey of […]

Some tenancy requests are simple. Others make you reach for the red pen. This one began with a straight-faced email asking whether a “pet rock” could be added to the tenancy as a permitted animal, complete with a name, feeding schedule (“sunlight daily”), and a promise that noise would be minimal. The exchange The letting […]

Landlords looking for the best opportunities in buy to let investment should consider research revealing the UK’s most promising local authorities for rental returns. The study by Archimedia Accounts highlights where affordable properties in the country’s most overlooked towns have robust rental demand. The firm’s co-founder, Chris Demetriou, said: “With the cost-of-living crisis, we’re seeing […]

The London Renters Union is calling again for rent controls after data revealed tenants are paying nearly half of their income on rent. MyLondon reports data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing the average Londoner spends 41.6% of their income on rent. Despite tenant groups pushing for rent controls to address the affordability […]

The UK’s housing market is witnessing a period of slowing growth, with average house prices rising by 1.3% compared to last year, reaching £270,600. That’s according to Zoopla’s latest House Price Index which highlights that growth at the start of the year was 2.1%. The platform says this reflects a buyer’s market and affordability challenges […]

A London council has taken over the long-term management of 18 rented properties in response to the landlord’s repeated failure to comply with safety and licensing regulations. The council says this is one of the first actions of its kind in the country. But Property118 reported five months ago when Newcastle City Council took over […]

A Labour politician has expressed support for the Renters’ Rights Bill, despite pushback from local landlords and letting agents. Labour MP for Basingstoke Luke Murphy claims to the Basingstoke Gazette that “tenants do not have control over their homes.” However, landlords and letting agents in the area have voiced concerns over the bill, particularly over […]