Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle has seen Rachel Maclean sacked after just nine months in the job and replaced with Lee Rowley.  Mr Rowley has become the 7th housing minister since 2020 and the 16th over the last 13 years. Mr Rowley will have a lot on his plate with the Renters’ Reform Bill […]

Sadiq Khan has slammed the government for its “poor housing delivery” as new figures reveal the capital is outbuilding the rest of the country. According to new data released by the Department of Levelling Up, up to March 2022, London has increased its housing stock by eight per cent during the years in which Sadiq […]

The most popular search terms among tenants in the UK are reflecting growing concerns over affordability and eviction, research reveals. The study by Zero Deposit analysed Google search term trends around renting to reveal which topics have seen the largest increase in interest from tenants. It reveals that more tenants are worried about the cost […]

The committee stage of the Renters’ Reform Bill will begin today and provides the first opportunity to propose, debate and vote on suggested amendments and new clauses. Housing organisations are calling on the government to address a number of key concerns, including court reform, student lets, notice periods and pets. The Committee is scheduled to […]

An industry body is warning that action must be taken to regulate property agents. Propertymark has written to Housing Secretary Michael Gove urging comprehensive regulation for both letting and sales agents. Under current rules, there is no statutory regulation of private sector letting agents in England or the need to be part of a trade […]

Paragon Bank has unveiled a major product refresh and lowered its rates on six five-year fixed-rate, buy-to-let mortgages. The rate cut applies to five-year fixed-rate buy-to-let mortgages, available at up to 75% loan-to-value. The mortgages are available in England, Scotland and Wales and are suitable for portfolio landlords – those with four or more buy-to-let […]

Hello, my lodgers have an excluded licence agreement. I stupidly only charged £400 deposit which is less than half a month’s rent. They knowingly entered into my house on the 6th of August having come from a “mould-infested basement flat” that they had been living in for 8 months. They did not inform me of […]

Hi Everyone, I have the order for Possession (Accelerated procedure) (Assured shorthold tenancy) in July which said that the tenant should leave the property on the 7th of August. However, the tenant did not leave the property on that day so I had to apply N325(For a Warrant of Possession of Land) in August. Finally, […]

I lived in my property for a number of years before deciding to rent it out. I had my friend who was previously a registered gas engineer fit in my new boiler and service it for me (while I was still living there) Just before my tenant moved in 2018 I got him to do […]

Did you know that fines can be over £30,000 now for non-compliance? And that there are 168 new regulations that have been introduced in recent years? Watch this live debate at the Property Investor Show in London a few weeks ago, which was hosted by Richard Jackson from Alphaletz, with Sean Hooker from the PRS, […]

Liberal Democrats are pushing the government for more EPC reforms in the PRS. The party proposes that all landlords should be allowed to offset their spending on insulation and energy-saving improvements against their income tax. The party has previously criticised the government for scrapping EPC C targets by 2025 calling it “unforgivable”. Incentives for landlords […]

The average asking price of newly marketed properties in the UK has fallen by 1.7% (-£6,088) this month, according to the latest Rightmove house price index. The report suggests that sellers are adopting more realistic pricing strategies to attract buyers as the market transitions from the pandemic-induced frenzy to more normal activity levels. Despite the […]

Buy to let landlords have cut down their mortgage debt by almost 20% in a year of economic turmoil, according to a new report. Octane Capital has compared the total amount of borrowing among BTL landlords between Q3 2022 and Q2 2023 and the same period the year before. It found that landlords reduced their […]

The courts are taking more than half a year to process possession claims, according to new research. New data released by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), reveals it takes an average of almost 29 weeks between a private landlord making a legitimate possession claim to the courts and actually getting the property back. The figures […]

Landlords in Great Britain are holding on to their properties as rents soar to new heights, according to the latest Hamptons lettings index. The index, which tracks the activity and trends of the private rented sector, shows that the share of homes sold by a landlord fell from 15.7% in 2022 to 14% so far […]

Hello, Can Property118 readers please help. The rules seem to have changed for what date to put for a S21 expiry date. The tenancy is a rolling contractual periodic tenancy which originally started in 2021. Do I have to give the 2 months’ notice to the end of the monthly rental period date or can […]

Section 21 court proceedings have reached a record record-breaking seven-year high, according to new research. In figures released by the Ministry of Justice, between July and September this year, 8,399 landlords in England started Section 21 no-fault eviction court proceedings against their tenants – the highest number for seven years. The latest figures also show […]

Hi, I rented a garage space in a block from a neighbour, we drew up an agreement from the internet, no problem. I erected a sectional garage on the space to store a car, I have receipts. Unfortunately, the neighbour has sold up. The new owner now wants the space back and the garage even […]

Hello all, we had an email from someone advising us that the husband of one of our tenants had died he provided a copy of the death certificate. He told us that he would be paying the rent. We responded by stating that we could only receive payment from a lawful tenant named on the […]

The government has been urged to commit to a timetable for banning section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions and reforming the court system by the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee. Section 21 allows landlords to evict tenants without giving a reason and the government promised to abolish it in the Renters (Reform) Bill, which was […]

The number of BTL landlords who are behind on their mortgage payments has rocketed by 29% in the last quarter, UK Finance says. The trade body for lenders said that there were 11,540 buy to let mortgages in arrears in the third quarter of 2023. The current arrears figure represents 0.57% of all outstanding BTL […]