Page 251 – Property118

Understand the opportunities in the 2024 property market

19th January 2024

2024 is going to be one of those years that investors look back on and either, congratulate themselves for doing incredibly well with their property investing, OR, they will have the pain of regret from missing out on what will probably be the best opportunity to make money in property this decade. You get to […]

How to find domestic electricity supplier for Victorian style flats?

19th January 2024

Hello, we would like to change the supplier for our communal hallway electricity. Our properties are old Victorian style with a minimum of four flats and up to 10 flats all fully self-contained with their own meters for gas, water and electricity. I can only find small/commercial business suppliers online. Our supply is a domestic […]

UK housing market shows signs of recovery but landlords are ‘scarce’

18th January 2024

The UK housing market improved in December, with buyer demand stabilising and sales activity picking up but there remains a shortage of homes to rent, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) says. Its latest UK Residential Survey, which covers the lettings and sales markets, shows that tenant demand increased in December, with a net […]

Shawbrook’s Emma Cox discusses landlords’ challenges meeting 2030 EPC targets

City flats attract landlords as office workers return to urban areas

18th January 2024

City flats are the top investment choice for UK landlords as office workers resume their urban lifestyles, a new study by Shawbrook Bank reveals. The research found that 28% of UK landlords agreed that city flats were the best investment in the past year, and 26% expected them to remain so in the next year. […]

Wales tops BTL lender’s rental yield chart

18th January 2024

The latest rental barometer from Fleet Mortgages reveals that Wales has overtaken the North East as the region with the highest rental yield in England and Wales. The report, which covers the fourth quarter of 2023, compares the rental yield changes in each region where Fleet operates. According to the specialist buy to let lender’s […]

Scottish rents soar despite rent cap law

18th January 2024

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022, which aimed to protect tenants from excessive rent increases, has failed to prevent new rents from skyrocketing in Scotland. According to Citylets, a leading lettings portal, new rents have risen by double digits for the fifth quarter in a row, reaching an average of £1,097. However, […]

Counting the cost: Council’s exorbitant charges for HMOs!

18th January 2024

Hello, I am expressing my concern regarding the local council charges for HMO licensing fees. I own a 5-bedroom flat in Scotland that has been converted into an HMO, compliant with the guidelines provided by the council. Initially, the council fees were £300.00 per year, which seemed reasonable considering the need for the council’s HMO […]

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 […]