Page 242 – Property118

UK house prices plunge at the fastest pace in 13 years

18th January 2024

The UK property market saw the average house price drop by 2.1% in the year to November, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals. This was the third month in a row that house prices declined, and the steepest annual fall since 2011. The ONS said that the average house price in the […]

Tenants see rents hit record highs in 2023 – ONS

18th January 2024

Tenants in the UK are feeling the pinch as private rent prices reached record highs in the year to December 2023, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals. The ONS reports that rents rose by 6.2% last year, unchanged from the annual rise seen in November. The increase was driven by strong demand and a […]

pic of a to let board as tenants face higher rents when challenging a rent rise property118

Rent rises set a record in 2023 amid landlord costs and housing shortage

17th January 2024

Renters in the UK paid an extra £1,488 per year on average in 2023 as rent prices soared by a record high of 10.2% year-on-year in December, according to a new report. The research from Hamptons, found that rent prices broke 2022’s record of 7.7%. Last year, renters in newly let homes paid on average […]

Zephyr and TMW cut BTL mortgage rates

17th January 2024

Zephyr Homeloans has lowered its rates on two-year and five-year fixed rate mortgages for properties with high EPC ratings. The specialist BTL lender is offering 4.80% on a two-year, fixed rate, standard BTL mortgage (65% LTV), with a 5% product fee, and 5.30% for five-year, fixed rate, standard BTL mortgages (65% LTV), with a 5% […]

Important news about your property investing in 2024

17th January 2024

Why this could be your most successful investing year to date! It’s a New Year, a new start and despite all of the uncertainty in the world at the moment, I, and most property investing experts, believe that 2024 will have more opportunity to make a fortune than any other year, in the past decade, […]

Working tenant wants to bring long term boyfriend?

17th January 2024

Hi, I have a working tenant who wants to bring her boyfriend to live with her. Her tenancy says just her and we have rent guarantee insurance. She says she will continue to be responsible for the rent and does not want to add him to the tenancy. I am inclined not to put anything […]

Pic of landlord insurance document non-resident cover property118

Sub-letting landlord insurance question – who to use?

17th January 2024

Hello, I’m thinking of letting a property to a company given a contract with the local authority to provide temp accommodation for single unit families only (those on the existing housing waiting list). No refugees, no asylum seekers, not tenants that have ‘issues’ shall we say. Not single people – not an HMO. Contract no […]

Business leader highlighting landlord survey on broker expertise in tax and regulation

Landlords eye expansion as BTL market stays strong

17th January 2024

More than a quarter of landlords are looking to expand their property portfolios in 2024 because the UK’s buy to let (BTL) market is resilient, a study reveals. The survey by Butterfield Mortgages questioned 2,000 UK adults about their BTL plans and found that 26% of them want to buy more properties in the next […]

high rise building, property 118

Welsh Government urged to include existing flats in fire safety reforms

17th January 2024

The Welsh Government has launched a consultation on new fire safety regulations for high-rise buildings, following the ban on some combustible materials in 2018. The new rules would cover more materials, buildings and emergency systems, but they would not apply to existing flats. Now Propertymark has expressed its support for the consultation, but also its […]

Matt Hutchinson discussing the government’s second homes policy and housing shortage

More homeowners turn to lodgers amid cost-of-living crisis

17th January 2024

There has been a massive jump in the number of homeowners who are renting out their spare rooms to lodgers with an 89% rise in such listings between January 2021 and January 2024, one flat sharing site reveals. According to SpareRoom, January is usually a peak month for flat sharing as homeowners try to boost […]

Portrait of a business leader in suit and tie

Scottish property tax revenues soar

17th January 2024

The Scottish Government collected more than £600m from property taxes in the last year, a leading property firm has revealed. DJ Alexander Ltd, the country’s biggest lettings and estate agency, analysed the latest statistics and found that Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) revenues totalled £619.6m in the 12 months […]

The random rolling out of HMO definitions?

16th January 2024

The Department of Levelling Up has provided the opportunity for local authorities to roll out their own legislation under the umbrella of their more penal HMO regulations covering all kinds of bizarre areas. I have been caught out as I have 4 tenants (Parliament says 5 or more the London boroughs have reduced the number […]

MT Finance is the latest BTL lender to cut rates

16th January 2024

MT Finance is the latest buy to let lender to announce a rate reduction on its 16 BTL products, effective immediately. The specialist lender has cut rates by 1% and now offers mortgages starting from 4.65% for two-year fixed standard residential BTL products. The interest cover ratio (ICR) stress testing remains at 125% on five-year […]

Property expert outdoors discussing rising UK rent prices

London’s letting agents face the most competition and the highest demand

16th January 2024

London and Wales have seen the biggest rise in letting agent numbers in the past year, with a 4% increase each, research reveals. The study from Zero Deposit shows this percentage translates to a much larger figure in London, where 232 more letting agents have joined the market, compared to only 36 in Wales. London […]

Landlords are owed an average of £725 in arrears

16th January 2024

A survey has found that nearly 60% of UK landlords have seen a rise in late rent payments due to the current financial situation, and that landlords are each owed an average of £725 in arrears. The research from digital mortgage lender Molo also reveals that one of the main concerns for landlords in 2024 […]

Newbie to PRS?

16th January 2024

Hello all, I am in the incredibly lucky position to soon have about £390k in cash, so no mortgage is needed. I want to invest and buy a flat in London and rent it out. I would like to ask for advice. I have read a lot online but every website says different things. Where […]

Estate agent executive commenting on government housing policies

Region with the best house price growth in Britain revealed

16th January 2024

One region has outperformed all other regions of Britain in terms of house price growth since the Bank of England began to hike interest rates in December 2021, a study reveals. According to GetAgent.co.uk, it used seasonal adjustment to measure the true state of the housing market. Seasonal adjustment adjusts the data for the seasonal […]

UK rental market to remain strong despite supply recovery

16th January 2024

The UK rental market is expected to see solid growth in 2024, despite a gradual recovery in supply, according to Knight Frank. The property consultancy said that landlords had exited the sector in recent years due to higher taxes and regulations, which had driven up rents. However, supply was improving as more sellers opted to […]

Woman in red dress smiling while seated in an office chair.

Buy to let incorporations surge despite property market slump

15th January 2024

The property market saw a decline in the number of homes purchased by landlords in 2023, but this did not stop the growth of buy to let companies with a record 50,004 new limited companies being formed, research reveals. According to Hamptons, the number of firms being formed to hold buy to let properties in […]