The Chancellor should scrap the 3% Stamp Duty Levy on the purchase of additional properties in the Spring Budget to create more homes for rent and generate £10 billion for the Government, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) says. It points to an independent analysis by Capital Economics that reveals the removal of the tax […]

News this week that councils around the country are flagging up the prospect of going bankrupt because of the ever-growing homelessness bill they have to meet. Oh please, cry me a river. Not once will councils and the government accept that their short-sighted policies hurting landlords are to blame. It’s always the landlord’s fault. Council […]

A council has launched a campaign to prevent homelessness in its area – and it says tenants with arrears or who cause anti-social behaviour shouldn’t be evicted. Torbay council is appealing to landlords and tenants to get in touch with them for assistance and advice if they face any difficulties with their tenancy. The campaign […]

Hi, so for twenty-odd years I’ve been told by my accountants that I can claim 10% of my home expenses (Mortgage interest or rent/utility & council tax) as an allowable home as office expense to offset against my profit, so that’s what I’ve been submitting. Now a different accountant at the firm is only allowing […]

Hello, I’m trying to help someone who has vacated a property that is on a joint AST. No notice has yet been served by the tenant who has vacated but the agents are aware of the situation. The tenant who remains wants to take on a single AST but has failed the checks and cannot […]

Hello, we have rented out property for many years and our experience of 6-month break clauses has always been that they perform exactly as implied, ie the landlord or tenant can end the tenancy after 6 months have expired on the giving of at least 2 months notice. We have just negotiated a new tenancy […]

Hello, I intend to issue an S21 on a tenant that lacks mental capacity and has a Deputy of the Court of Protection acting for him (his mother). This is because we have to sell the property and buy a bungalow instead, as one of the other tenants is now wheelchair bound and the property […]

Rents in the UK reached new records in 2023, but the pace of growth slowed down significantly compared to previous years, according to Rightmove. There are also signs that some areas are seeing the tenant affordability ceiling being reached. The property website reports that the average advertised rent for properties coming onto the market outside […]

The Scottish government has announced the end of the emergency rent cap. Introduced in 2022, the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act, aimed to protect tenants from rent increases and ban evictions. The Scottish Parliament has confirmed from the 1st of April 2024, the legislation will no longer apply but one organisation claims the […]

The UK’s buy to let hotspot has been revealed after the city saw a 12% surge in the number of privately rented properties over the past year, a new report has revealed. The findings from Simply Business, which analysed more than 100,000 landlord insurance policies, have identified which cities have experienced the biggest growth in […]

Hello, my tenants have messaged me with concerns about the new tenants in the flat below them. The building is a converted Edwardian property, eight flats. Ever since the new tenants, a man and a woman, moved in not quite a couple of months ago the man, more often than the woman, there has been […]

You’re a landlord looking to sell, but last year was a challenge. In 2024, it’s time to get your portfolios and properties sold and get you moving on to your next projects. Why now? The biggest challenge for landlords wanting to sell is that they want to shift properties in bulk, want a single company […]

Hello, I am selling all my properties and planned to send the S21 to the tenant of the ‘next in line’ in early January as my mortgage fixed term ends in October. On the day I was going to start the process I was very happy to receive Notice from him, of 6 weeks (which […]

Are you a young live-in landlord? Then, Eir Nolsøe, senior economics reporter, for the Telegraph would like to speak with you. Eir would like to speak to young live-in landlords who got on the property ladder with help from family and are now subsidising the mortgage by renting out one or multiple rooms to lodgers. […]

Scotland has seen an extraordinary surge in property prices since the pandemic, with average values rising by £43,381 in less than four years, according to a leading estate agency. DJ Alexander Ltd has analysed the latest data and found that between March 2020 and November 2023, average house prices in Scotland rose from £150,625 to […]

Holiday homes are not only making it harder for homebuyers to buy, but also for tenants to rent in England’s most sought-after holiday destinations, a report reveals. The findings from Zero Deposit found that the average rent for a holiday home is 292% higher than for a regular rental property, and in some places, this […]

A new report by the Housing Ombudsman has exposed the widespread failure of social landlords to make reasonable adjustments for their disabled tenants. The report, entitled Relationship of Equals, is based on more than 1,663 responses from social residents, landlords and advocacy services, such as Citizens Advice. It found 58% of respondents identified as having […]

Hello, We are currently dealing with a tenant who has complained to environmental health about the damp in their property. We have been instructed to re-decorate the whole property which we do not mind, but every time we go to the property, all the windows are shut, there is no central heating on, clothes are […]

Hi everyone, Newbie here and I am looking for advice on letting to my son and his partner. I know most will say not rent to family, but needs must and I’m well aware of the family issues it could cause. I have the opportunity to help my son by renting a property to him […]

Private landlords in Scotland have been warned by SELECT, the trade association for the electrical industry, to make sure their properties meet the new Repairing Standard guidance on electrical safety, which comes into effect on March 1. The guidance, issued by the Scottish Government, sets out the minimum level of repair that all private rented […]

Hello, Two out of four tenants on an AST with a Lambeth HMO licence have given individual notice until 31/3/24. I have reminded them that they are still jointly and severally liable for rent etc. until an agreement is reached. Problem: We have been thinking of selling the house and dividing the proceeds among our […]