Flatsharing Londoners have seen their rents drop for the second month in a row, after reaching an all-time high in October, new figures from SpareRoom reveal. The flatshare site’s data shows that the average monthly room rent in the capital was £1,030 in October, the highest ever recorded. It then fell to £1,026 in November […]

A survey has revealed that 83% of landlords in the UK have experienced breaches of their tenancy agreements by their tenants. The research is from Direct Line and the insurance company is now urging landlords to inspect their properties more frequently to avoid potential issues. According to the survey, the most frequent breaches are related […]

The Government has unveiled new plans to crack down on unsafe social housing to protect tenants in support of its pledge to deliver Awaab’s Law. Named after Awaab, a two-year-old boy from Rochdale who died from a respiratory condition caused by extensive mould in the flat where he lived. His death sparked a campaign for […]

A consultation on a new scheme to raise the quality of rented homes in Greater Manchester has been unveiled by the Mayor Andy Burnham. The Good Landlord Charter is the UK’s first initiative of its kind, bringing together landlords and tenants to agree on a set of standards for social housing and the private rented […]

Paragon Bank has announced a series of changes to its buy to let mortgage products, including rate reductions, term extensions and criteria adjustments. The bank has lowered its five-year fixed-rate buy to let mortgages by up to 0.70%, depending on the property type and energy efficiency rating. Landlords can now secure a five-year fix at […]

Hi folks, on the lodger’s agreement, our lodger’s heating allowance states 5 hours a day. However, our lodger contracted pneumonia a month ago. She is back to work but probably is still on the mend. When she was really ill, we told her to feel free to turn the heating on if she feels unwell. […]

Tenants face the prospect of rents rising even higher this year and the number of homes to rent will continue shrinking, Rightmove says. The UK’s largest property website is predicting that rents will increase by 5% outside London and 3% in the capital by the end of 2024, following a 10% and 6% rise respectively […]

It’s an all too common practice for local authorities to tell tenants to stay put when facing eviction. This causes not only complications for the tenant but also the landlord as they deal with the legal costs and uncertainty. Here at Property118, we have done various investigations on this issue and now the NRLA wants […]

Hello all, happy new year and I hope you can advise how we should proceed. My son bought his flat and moved in May 2023. As part of the conveyancing process, he paid an apportioned service charge for the period to 31 October 2023. In November, he received his first invoice/service charge demand from the […]

Are you ready to kickstart your journey in UK property investment? If so, then Ranjan Bhattacharya’s latest video is for you. Here, he reveals his top four investing strategies tailored specifically for beginner investors in 2024. Whether you’re a first-time buyer or looking to expand your portfolio, these tried-and-tested approaches will set you on the […]

Foundation Home Loans has unveiled a new five-year fixed rate buy to let mortgage for both acquisition and refinancing needs. The BTL mortgage has a rate of 5.64% for loans up to a 75% LTV ratio, accompanied by a 1.50% product fee. The mortgage follows December’s repricing which saw rates being reduced by up to […]

One of the biggest challenges facing landlords is they simply don’t realise they need subletting insurance. Subletting poses a real threat to landlords, especially if a tenant is subletting without permission. Landlords need to be aware that standard landlord insurance will not cover subletting. At Property118, we’ve teamed up with The Home Insurer who can […]

The Scottish Government has unveiled a scheme for rent arbitration procedures to help restrict big rent rises when the country’s rent cap ends in March. Propertymark says that Patrick Harvie, the minister for zero carbon buildings, active travel and tenants’ rights, has been in touch about what happens when the government transitions from the Cost […]

Generation Rent slams Natwest chairman for his comments about the property market. Sir Howard Davies told the Radio 4 Today Programme, he “did not think it was difficult to buy a house at the moment”. His comments have raised eyebrows in the industry with Generation Rent asking “what planet does Sir Howard Davies live on”. […]

One of the big issues for the ‘housing crisis’ is that so many groups, commentators and tenants welcome the abolition of Section 21 as a panacea. But I have yet to meet a landlord who actually believes that removing section 21 would make things better. I mentioned in a recent column that s21 isn’t a […]

The UK’s house prices rose by 1.1% in December – the third month of consecutive growth – and showed a surprise annual rise of 1.7%, Halifax reveals. The current average cost of a house is £287,105, which is an increase of £4,800 compared to the previous year, and the highest since last March. According to […]

Landlords in England saw rents rocket by nearly 9% last year, and several rent records were broken in the summer, one leading rent index reveals. According to Goodlord, rents rose by 8.8% to an average of £1,182 – in 2022, the average rent was £1,086. However, the highest rents were seen from July to September, […]

Landlords, renters and homeowners in Leeds living in a property without gas central heating are being urged to apply for free or discounted home improvement upgrades. Leeds City Council’s Home Energy Help team is working with energy services provider Everwarm to help residents benefit from £15.5 million of government funding. The money must be spent […]

Landlords and agents, along with housing associations, have been warned by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) about their ignorance of data protection laws. It says that non-compliance by landlords could potentially lead to severe repercussions. Helen Raftery, the ICO’s head of data protection complaints, said: “Housing organisations necessitate access to personal data, ranging from contact […]

Sadiq Khan is urging the government “not to completely give up on council housing” as a vital way of delivering affordable homes. His comments come after new figures show London delivering twice as many council homes as the rest of the country combined. The figures from the government reveal that last year, local authorities in […]

There has been a substantial decline in buy to let mortgage inquiries across the UK for December 2023, data reveals. The findings from technology firm Twenty7tec show there were 175,108 buy to let mortgage searches – 32.8% decrease on November’s figure. However, property valuations and loan requirements for BTL investments showed slight increases, with the […]