House sellers in the UK pocketed an average of £100,000 more than they spent on their property in 2023, according to new research by Hamptons. The estate agency said that 93% of sellers in England and Wales made a profit on their home last year, despite a decline in house prices. However, the average profit […]

Older renters are being forced out of their homes and communities due to sky-rocketing rents, according to new research. The charity Independent Age warns elderly people are facing having to move to deprived seaside towns exacerbating the strain on local services and leaving them isolated from friends and family. The charity is calling on the […]

Landlords and letting agents who break right-to-rent rules could be hit with huge financial penalties. In August last year, the UK government announced that agents and landlords who allow rental properties to be let to migrants who do not have the right to be in the UK will face much larger financial penalties. The legislation […]

Tenants are cutting back on necessities such as food and heating to pay their rent, a survey shows. Despite rents rising at a lower rate than inflation, Quotezone.co.uk says that 26% of tenants have switched off their heating to save money for their rent, while 15% have skipped meals for the same reason. Another 7% […]

MPs are calling on the government to extend the proposed Awaab’s Law, which sets new deadlines for social housing landlords to fix unsafe homes, to the private rented sector (PRS). The Health and Social Care Committee says that the legislation will improve the quality and safety of both social and private rented homes. The law […]

Hello, We are starting to build up our rental property portfolio again after being out of the PRS for a number of years. My question is, are tenants less likely to default on the rent if managed by a letting agent? When we managed our properties years ago, we seemed to always have some tenants […]

Hello, Some weeks into lockdown, after regulation in relation to tenancy agreements were changed and landlords were not permitted to serve notice to quit, my tenant requested a rent reduction. Citing that his mental health was suffering due to living alone and he wanted to move back in with his parents for the duration of […]

The specialist buy to let lender Together has announced rate cuts on its personal and commercial finance products because of easing market volatility. The financial services group said it can support more broker clients by offering lower rates on many of its long and short-term products, both regulated and unregulated. The rate cuts apply to […]

Hello, Recent publicity regarding fires caused by electric scooters spontaneously combusting during the charging process has me worried as to where we as landlords stand regarding this potential. With the proliferation of electric scooters mainly in our cities where the majority of rented accommodation is flats who is responsible for consequential damage to both contents […]

Hello, After a very long 7 months of trying to increase the rent on my property, which involved paper submissions, an inspection and a subsequent hearing, the First Tier Property Tribunal returned a decision agreeing to an increase in rent for my tenants. The increase has been backdated which means the tenants now owe me […]

Hello, I contacted my insurer to advise them of an extra tenant moving into my property. I was sent a form to update. The insurer advised me that despite the fact that l have never made a claim, the policy now is that every maintenance or decoration undertaken needs to be reported on my property […]

Landbay has introduced a new range of products that use automated valuation models (AVMs) to cut down the time to offer – and help landlords save money. The specialist buy to let lender is the first to use the platform for its new range of five-year fixed-rate products, with a maximum property value of £750,000 […]

Landlord confidence in the private rented sector (PRS) rose significantly in the third quarter of 2023 after hitting record lows, according to the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA). The NRLA’s confidence index, which measures landlords’ views on the prospects of their own lettings business and the wider rental market, increased by 7.9 percentage points from […]

Hello, With the Government pushing landlords to accept tenants with pets, I would like to know if there is anyone out there that could recommend an insurance company that will provide such a policy (Pet damage insurance for Tenants)? Most policies seem to be for landlords to take out, but I am reluctant to do […]

A prominent industry expert has endorsed a series of amendments to the Renters (Reform) Bill which aims to protect private rented sector (PRS) landlords from unfair evictions and excessive regulation. The managing director of PayProp UK, Neil Cobbold, said the Bill should balance the rights of landlords and tenants, and that the amendments would help […]

There’s good news for landlords who have postponed selling their rental properties despite falling profits and new legislation making the private rental sector less appealing to most landlords. 2024 has already seen a surge of buyers returning to market amid falling mortgage rates following with Zoopla reporting buyer demand at the end of the first […]

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has sparked fury as Universal Credit (UC) applicants face extensive demands to confirm their eligibility. One landlord told Property118 that some of his tenants have been “left in tears” as they can not comply with the list of demands. One of the demands asks to see a full-body […]

Hi All, I have invested in a few MUFB last year. They are historic conversions of terraced houses in London with planning permission to be used as two flats with separate utilities, council tax etc. I am extending and upgrading them at the moment and I am holding two of the properties in a LTD […]

Hello, last month I moved into a leasehold flat (converted house into two flats, I am upstairs). Four days after moving in, the downstairs neighbour asked me to contribute to getting the guttering sorted at £50 per flat. I am now six weeks into living here and she has told me she has rising damp […]

Hello, Portsmouth City Council are trying the tell me the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) applies to a shared house (a small HMO let out whole) on a Joint Tenancy. Of course, in HMOs with rooms let individually, the unlet common parts are subject to FSO as those areas are managed by the […]

Hi everyone. First time posting, but I have been lurking here for a while. I currently have one mortgaged property in my limited company, and I am currently in the process of purchasing my second. The mortgage company wants to know everything about me, my day job, my savings and shoe size. I’m fine with […]