Angela Rayner, Labour’s shadow housing secretary, is coming under growing scrutiny as questions emerge over her potential liability for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) following the sale of her former council house. The controversy has escalated with allegations that she provided misleading information about her living arrangements. Ms Rayner, who purchased the property through the Right-to-Buy […]

Build to Rent (BTR) homes are becoming increasingly attractive to renters and investors, as new data from Foxtons shows that they now represent 2% of the UK’s private rented sector (PRS) and 4.2% of London’s PRS. The lettings and estate agency conducted a market analysis of the BTR sector, which consists of purpose-built rental properties […]

Hi, I’m currently renting my property out through a letting agency. The tenancy was a fixed two-year contract. Of course, commission had to be paid upfront for the two years. It is a three-bed flat and a few months into the tenancy, one of the tenants wanted to move out. The agency said that the […]

Glasgow SNP councillors have called for new powers to force private landlords in the city to make their homes more energy efficient, to help tenants and homeowners in fuel poverty, Glasgow Live reveals. Cllr Ruairi Kelly and Cllr Kenny McLean have written to Scottish Ministers to ask for more flexibility around the Energy Efficient Scotland […]

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has echoed calls made by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) over direct benefit payments being made to a landlord. The NRLA has been pushing for tenants to have more control over how their benefits are paid, such as allowing them to request that the housing element of […]

Bristol has emerged as the most desirable city for landlords to invest in for 2024, according to Aldermore’s Buy to Let City Tracker. The tracker ranks 50 UK cities based on five key factors that affect the attractiveness of buy to let properties. The factors are average total rent, short-term yield, long-term house price growth, […]

Hello, I have a big issue as I recently discovered the tenant at my address has forged a tenancy agreement. I’m looking at various options and wondering if I can evict using a Section 8 notice, if so what ground can I use? I’d like to add that the tenant is in arrears too but […]

Landlords can benefit from the lowest buy to let fixed rates in 18 months, according to the latest research by Moneyfactscompare.co.uk. The online comparison site found that the average two- and five-year fixed rates for BTL mortgages have dropped month-on-month, reaching their lowest levels since September 2022. Six months ago, these rates were the highest […]

Hi, I rented out my Edwardian flat from 2017 to 2023 with as described in the inventory as ‘heavily aged ‘ windows and one window was ‘‘rotten top right-hand side”) Tenants took on property happily renewed in 2019 and in 2020 complained of a broken window frame to me via WhatsApp as they communicated problems […]

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has dismissed Tory accusations of hypocrisy over her use of the Right-to-Buy scheme, saying she is proud of owning her former council house. Ms Rayner said she bought her home in Stockport, Greater Manchester, with a 25% discount in 2007, under the policy introduced by Margaret Thatcher in 1980. She […]

Hello, I have a tenant that has been hospitalised then released and put under a mental health officer for almost 30 months. In that time all rents have not been paid and I’ve taken it to court and won possession of my property back it has cost me in solicitors and losses so far 16k. […]

Dear landlords, We have a buy-to-let property with two decent-sized bedrooms in London where our son goes to University. He is currently living in the university’s hall of residence but would like to live and share with his friend in our own buy-to-let property from the next academic year onwards. Can we ask the two […]

Despite predictions of a UK house price crash in 2023, new data shows that prices were resilient. The UK house price index from the estate agents Yopa reveals how the property market fared despite the cost-of-living crisis and higher interest rates. The data shows that the average national price was largely unchanged, with a minor […]

Molo Finance has announced the launch of new expat buy to let mortgages for British nationals living overseas. The new products are designed to provide financing for those who live and work in Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE, the European Union and a wide range of other countries and want to invest in the UK property […]

Renters in England could see rents rising by up to 41% per month by 2030, a new study reveals. Zero Deposit analysed historic rental market data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to forecast what the average cost of renting could look like. It found that the average tenant across England is currently paying […]

London’s ageing population faces eviction risk, warns the Deputy Mayor of London. According to the think-tank Centre for London, by 2030, there are projected to be over 1.4 million people aged over 65 living in London. Speaking at the ARCO (Associated Retirement Community Operators) event Mr Copley said City Hall is looking to support the […]

Spareroom is criticising the government for failing to address the underlying issues driving landlords to short-term lets. The government recently announced a crackdown on short-term lets with plans to introduce a national register. However, the flatshare website says many landlords are concerned about the discrepancy in tax incentives between short-term let landlords and residential landlords. […]

It’s another week of news suggesting that landlords need to sell. If you’ve not yet considered cutting your losses, this might be the sign it’s time to exit the market, fast. The Independent reported that not only have landlords over 55 increasingly been getting rid of their buy-to-let properties to exit the market before things […]

As all landlords know, being a landlord involves a lot more than just sitting back and waiting for the rent to drop into your bank account. In fact, if you are not careful, that rent might not be sufficient to pay all your expenses. One expense you really won’t want is a fine or penalty […]

A Tory MP has claimed that the UK’s housing crisis is being aggravated by the post-Brexit migration system which sees tenants now paying 40% of their disposable income on rent, The Times reports. Neil O’Brien, who was the levelling-up minister until last year, conducted an analysis that showed Britain had one of the lowest homeownership […]

It’s not often that politicians offer an opinion and get it right, and it’s probably even rarer when it is the Edwardian throwback Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg talking sense. Of course, he hits so many nails on the head in his GB News monologue about the ‘socialist error’ that is the Renters (Reform) Bill that no […]