Following a committee report calling for Awaab’s law to be extended to the private rented sector, one industry body argues qualifications are the only way to eliminate bad practices from the rented and social housing sectors.   Propertymark believes all letting agents should be trained across the social housing and PRS sector and is calling […]

More than half of renters have faced problems with their housing in the past six months – and 78% of agents and landlords quickly resolved them, a survey reveals. The findings from TDS Foundation, which interviewed more than 2,000 renters, found that only 40% of tenants had no issues with their rented homes, while the […]

Nearly half of mortgage brokers in the UK expect to see more buy to let business from landlords operating through limited companies in the next year, a survey reveals. According to Paragon Bank, more than 300 brokers were questioned and 49% of them are predicting an increase in buy to let mortgages for portfolio landlords […]

One landlord organisation has criticised the government for its “sticking plaster approach” in addressing the energy transition to net zero. ihowz wrote a letter to the Energy Security and Net Zero committee arguing landlords have a lack of guidance from the government regarding the new minimum energy efficiency (MEES) standards. Last year the Prime Minister […]

“A perfect storm” is how one legal expert describes the difficult position of landlords within the private rented sector (PRS), with the Renters’ (Reform) Bill playing a significant part in it. Gina Peters, the head of landlord and tenant at law firm Dutton Gregory, says many landlords of all ages are leaving the market due […]

Molo Finance has cut its buy to let fixed rates by up to 71 bps with products from 3.94% for two-year fixed and 5.19% for five-year fixed products. The digital lender says the offers are available to both individual and corporate borrowers at 75% LTV. Molo also caters to specialist segments, such as HMOs, MUFBs, […]

Hi, I have a question about filling out form N5B – specifically on Question 1 and statement of truth, where the landlord is a limited company: At the top of the form, it asks to ‘Enter the full name of the claimants’. Question 1 then asks the First claimant’s First name and last name The […]

Despite a pandemic-induced surge in demand for spacious and rural properties, London remains the undisputed leader in the £1 million home market, a new report by Savills shows. The property firm estimates that there are 670,100 homes worth £1 million or more in Great Britain, down by 8.3% from 2022, but still up by 28% […]

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 […]