Hello everyone, I have come across a rental deal where you buy a property with a 25-year lease attached to the property. The property will be leased to a housing association, which will be the head tenant. The housing association then houses (sublets) to people who require assistance for day-to-day living. The rental amount is […]

All of us in the Scottish private rented sector understand the nature of difficult decisions. Many of us have friends and colleagues who are currently considering whether to remain in the sector, downsize their portfolios or simply leave it entirely. The statistics don’t lie. As of December 2025, over half of Scottish landlords were considering […]

The government claims Making Tax Digital helps landlords stay on top of their tax affairs. In a Parliamentary written answer, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Dan Tomlinson, said Making Tax Digital works well for businesses “of all types and sizes”. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax became compulsory in April 2026 for landlords and sole […]

A council claims a £200 late application fee for selective licensing is not “intended to be punitive” for landlords. North East Lincolnshire Council’s selective licensing scheme came into force in April this year. However, the council has announced that landlords have until October 8 to submit their application or face a £200 late fee and […]

A journalist from The Times is working on a piece marking the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the buy-to-let mortgage and looking at how it has changed Britain’s property market. They are looking to speak to landlords who have benefited from a buy-to-let mortgage and have been able to build portfolios or buy one or […]

Housing associations in England have sold 25,000 social and affordable homes to private buyers who do not live in them since 2018/19. The pace has accelerated, with 5,250 homes sold in 2024/25, the highest annual figure on record and 89% more than two years earlier. The Local Councils Network (LCN), which obtained the figures through […]

Buy to let mortgage rates are beginning to move higher as lenders respond to rising swap rates, with several providers repricing or withdrawing deals, research reveals. Moneyfactscompare.co.uk says that average two- and five-year fixed BTL rates now stand at 5.32% and 5.70% respectively, up from 5.29% and 5.66% on 1 September. HSBC increased its buy […]

Rightmove has added a rent review function to its Tenancy Manager platform to help letting agents adjust their processes following changes introduced by the Renters’ Rights Act. The update allows agents to create and serve a Section 13 rent increase notice directly from an existing tenancy record. It is one of the most requested additions […]

Article by Vanessa Griffiths, ALEP Member The government is currently consulting on Leasehold enfranchisement valuation rates to determine what deferment and capitalisation rates should be prescribed under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act (LAFRA). To many investors this may sound like specialist valuation assumptions, but in practice, they are among the most important numbers still […]

Landlords trying to regain possession are facing longer delays and higher legal bills as tenants challenge eviction notices, according to law firm Thackray Williams. The firm warns that every accelerated possession claim it has recently handled has been challenged by the tenant. Instructions from landlords seeking vacant possession rose both before and after the Renters’ […]

Long before Property118, and before The Money Centre, a former footballer turned financial-services leader taught me how to think bigger, ask better questions and turn ambition into a programme. He also belongs to the story of two friendships that have lasted for most of my adult life. One evening in the late 1980s, I came […]

Good news for landlords who have decided it’s time to sell several properties: you don’t have to work out the best way to sell each one yourself. More landlords are reviewing what they want from their property businesses. Some are leaving completely, while others simply want fewer properties, less work and more of their equity […]

A pilot of a digital possession service will launch this month for county court possession proceedings in England and Wales. The pilot will initially be limited to social housing landlords in England and community landlords in Wales. Claims must relate to a property in an area served by one of four initial court centres: Bradford, […]

House prices have fallen year-on-year for the first time since November 2023, according to the latest Lloyds house price index. Average values were 0.4% lower in August than a year earlier, while prices also slipped by 0.2% during the month. The average property price now stands at £298,468, down from £299,153 in July. August’s decline […]

Nearly half of buy to let ownership is now held through companies, according to new figures from property management and finance platform Lendlord. Its latest data puts company ownership at 45.1%, against 54.9% held privately. The balance changes sharply as portfolios grow, with 57.6% of ownership among landlords with 20 or more properties held through […]

Landlords are being offered greater borrowing flexibility after The Mortgage Works widened several of its lending criteria and Pepper Money cut rates across its buy to let range. TMW is raising the maximum application age for first-time landlords from 70 to 75 at up to 70% LTV. It is also increasing the maximum total borrowing […]

A landlord has blasted the court system as “a fallacy” after his possession order arrived two weeks after his tenant was ordered to leave. Nottingham landlord Mick Roberts says the entire possession process took six months after he instructed his solicitor in March. His tenant was ordered to leave by 21 August, but his solicitor […]

Tenants who don’t have family or friends willing to act as guarantors could be narrowing their housing choices before the search has really got going, research suggests. More than half of surveyed tenants (51%), said they would look for a cheaper property if they needed a guarantor and could not find someone they knew to […]

Hi Property118 forum, I had a bailiff’s appointment for 9:45 am on 23rd June. I had called the week before to confirm that it was proceeding and was assured it was. I was on site by 8.30am and the locksmith arrived at 9.30am. The bailiffs didn’t turn up, I didn’t receive any phone calls, and […]

A leasehold group is urging Prime Minister Andy Burnham to bring forward the £250 ground rent cap. The National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) argues bringing in the cap now would help leaseholders with the cost of living by providing immediate savings for households facing ground rent costs. The government has said it plans to cap ground […]

Average house prices in Scotland rose by £3,471 over the year to June, taking the average from £191,884 to £195,355. The figures from DJ Alexander Scotland show that the 1.8% annual increase was higher than in England and Wales, where average prices rose by £2,980, or 1.04%. Moray recorded the largest cash rise at £15,161, […]