The government has announced plans to slash ground rents and save homeowners thousands of pounds. Housing Secretary Michael Gove has launched a consultation that aims to cap ground rents at a so-called “peppercorn” rate for existing leaseholders, freezing ground rents at current levels and capping the ground rents at a percentage of the property value. […]

Latest housing & property market update for November 2023, including housing market predictions for 2024. This is a live presentation by renowned property expert, Andrew Roberts. It was delivered to an audience of over 300 property investors at the Baker Street Property Meet. The Baker Street Property Meet is the UK’s largest and No.1 Property […]

After a slew of bad news, this week’s headlines come as a welcome relief for landlords looking to sell. The Telegraph reported that despite higher rates and regulatory risks around rentals, a wave of new investors had entered the market, stepping in to take portfolios off landlords’ hands. These investors are cash rich, looking to […]

Theresa Villiers MP has spoken in favour of the Renters (Reform) Bill and warned the government needs to address the court delays before abolishing Section 21 – ‘no-fault’ evictions. Ms Villiers was speaking during the debate following the King’s Speech to Parliament and said that she supports the Bill. However, she also stressed the importance […]

People from ethnic backgrounds are more likely to be ignored when looking for accommodation in the private rented sector, new research claims.  A new study by Generation Rent reveals white people are 36% more likely to receive a positive response when applying to rent on SpareRoom than black people. The organisation created two fake profiles […]

Landbay has announced a second round of rate reductions in just over a week, taking advantage of the falling swap rates in the money markets. The specialist buy to let lender has cut its rates by up to 0.30% across its two and five-year fixed rate products, offering some of the lowest rates in the […]

Hi, the situation: Landlord has rented out their 4-bed house to 4 tenants for a number of years, but now needs to sell the property. S21s were issued, and all the tenants left. One ex-tenant has now threatened to sue the LL due to a recent change in the local authority’s occupant number that constitutes […]

Up to 60,000 Londoners who rent privately are at risk of becoming homeless in the next six years unless the government increases the housing benefit they receive, a new report warns. The report, commissioned by London Councils, a cross-party group representing the 32 boroughs and the City of London, estimates that between 16,500 and 22,000 […]

Hello, I’ll keep this short as those that know and those that don’t can find better explanations than I can give. Last year’s rent rise for my tenants was 10% based solely on the effect of S24, the same will happen this year for the same reason. What is being done by the industry to […]

Fleet Mortgages has lowered its rates on all five-year fixed products for standard and limited company borrowers. The rate cuts, effective from 8 November, are 20 basis points (bps) across the board. The products affected by the rate reductions are: Standard/limited company borrowers – five-year fixed-rate at 70% LTV now at 5.14% and 75% LTV […]

Hello, I have been approached by a wife and husband couple who are both skilled workers from abroad (care/nursing), they have been granted leave to enter (restricted work) but who have National Insurance numbers but no recourse to public funds, looking to rent my property. The visa expires Dec 2024. It looks like they have […]

The UK rental market is facing a supply-demand imbalance with rents expected to rise by 4% in the next year, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reveals. Meanwhile, the house price outlook remains gloomy, with no signs of recovery soon. According to the RICS UK Residential Survey for October, tenant demand increased modestly in […]

King Charles has delivered his first King’s Speech as monarch, setting out the government’s legislative agenda for the year ahead. The speech outlined 21 bills that ministers aim to pass in the next Parliamentary session, which will last until autumn 2024. Among the key proposals was confirmation that the Renters (Reform) Bill would progress and […]

Labour has promised “to achieve more on housing in six months than the Tories have in six years”. Shadow Housing Secretary Angela Rayner vowed a Labour government would abolish no-fault evictions and support house building. In her commitment to addressing the housing crisis, Ms Rayner said “Labour is the only party serious about housing”. No […]

Economists have revised their forecasts for UK house prices, saying they will not fall this year as the property market defies expectations of a crash, the Telegraph reports. Capital Economics, an economic research group, had previously predicted a 5% drop in house prices for 2023, but now says they will end the year with no […]

Hello, I bought a 999 year leasehold flat in January 2015. Despite thorough searches by my solicitors, no management company was identified and the local London council who was the original freeholder wrote a reply stating that they were not the freeholder. Roll on to March 2023 and a Management Company that I have never […]

A survey by Airbnb, the online platform for short-term rentals, has revealed that most UK renters want to sub-let rooms in their homes to earn extra money. However, a leading landlord law expert has warned that this practice is illegal and highly risky for both tenants and landlords under current legislation. The survey, which was […]

Hello, I repossessed my student property to find the main house electricity supply meter, situated in a bedroom, had been changed to a prepayment meter without my knowledge. I’ve renovated the house as an HMO (It’s in an Article 4 area), and now I want the utility company to return the credit meter. They say […]

One leading industry body has warned that there are no advantages to introducing more rent controls in Scotland. In a discussion with Scottish government officials, Propertymark urged ministers to look at evidence of rent controls in other countries where rent controls are currently in place and are unsuccessful. Scottish ministers introduced a 3% cap on […]

A third of landlords who own rental property in their personal name are planning to switch to a limited company structure in the next three years, research reveals. Paragon Bank says it surveyed more than 1,000 landlords and also found that 37% said it was unlikely that they would incorporate. The main reason for not […]

Hi, I’m new to the forum and can anyone help? I’ve got a lodger who has had a section 8 served on 20th Sept. The main ground is ‘landlord moving back into property’. There are other discretionary grounds including arrears but not 2 months or more, the assured tenancy period has lapsed and, sorry to […]