Many landlords in the UK are hiking rents to deal with increasing costs, especially higher interest rates and legislation changes, a survey reveals. The findings from The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) show that three-quarters (75%) of landlords have either increased rents in the past year (40%) or intend to do so soon (35%). The […]

Hello all, I’m hoping that someone can help with this matter. Our grand floor flat in a building of 7 flats has an issue with water ingress that has spread from the front corner of the property along a wall that is now making the bedroom uninhabitable. The building’s property management company is siting section […]

Growing numbers of renters are having to work more than one job to make ends meet amid soaring inflation and spiking rents, according to a new report. The findings from SpareRoom, a flat-sharing site, questioned more than 2,000 renters and found that 17% of tenants have more than one job – which increases to 20% […]

Landlords in Middlesbrough have criticised a selective licensing scheme that charges them £800 for a five-year licence – but it only has months to run. Teesside Live reports that the scheme, which covers part of the Newport ward, has been criticised by landlords who say it is a ‘private tax’ that is forcing them to […]

Hi, I’m sure a lot of us landlords watched the BBC programme about the housing market, which disappointingly stopped short of looking at the directly associated PRS problems in detail and the reasons behind the quagmire successive governments which have progressively got the country further and further into. I for one was unaware that a […]

According to HM Land Registry, the average sold house price at the peak in September 2007 was £190,032. However, as of August 2023 that figure is £291,044. But surely that’s a gain of £101,032 I hear you say! Well, from a tax perspective, it is, and if you had purchased an average property in September […]

Renters in shared housing could save up to £1,000 a year thanks to a campaign by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA). The Government has announced it will reform the way council tax is applied to houses of multiple occupation (HMOs). Currently, some local authorities assess each room in an HMO as a separate unit […]

Can you help? The Telegraph is looking to speak to landlords who have had to use section 21 to evict problem tenants. Have you had any nightmare situations where using it was necessary? How do you feel about the prospect of section 21 being abolished? Please email [email protected] if you would be interested in talking […]

On Wednesday, October 25, 2023, 4:29 AM, Consultation Team wrote: Consultation on new schemes to improve the quality and management of private rented properties across the city Dear Resident Bristol City Council is seeking your views on a proposal to introduce two new property licensing schemes in Bristol. Scheme 1 A citywide additional licensing scheme […]

The Mortgage Works (TMW) has announced a series of rate reductions across its buy to let products, effective from last Saturday (28 October). The lender is offering some of the most competitive deals in the sector, with rates starting from 4.49%. The rate cuts apply to both new business and switcher products and cover a […]

Finding a cheap rental home in the UK is a daunting challenge with only 1.9% of the current rental market stock costing less than £500 per month, research reveals. The analysis by Zero Deposit highlights that this is the lowest level of stock of all the rental market price bands they looked at. However, the […]

Higher mortgage rates and cost of living pressures have caused house prices to fall in four out of five local markets in the UK, Zoopla reports. According to its latest House Price Index, annual house price growth has slowed from +9.2% a year ago to -1.1% today, the most dramatic slowdown since 2009. House price […]

The Housing Ombudsman has been slammed by a legal expert after it handed out a fine of £66,441 for poor housing – an average of £2,000 per case – when a landlord in the private rented sector would have been fined more than £2 MILLION for the same offences. The Ombudsman highlighted a range of […]

Investing in houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) can be more profitable than non-HMO’s with landlords enjoying nearly DOUBLE the average yield, research reveals. Octane Capital, a specialist property lending company, analysed the cost and return of converting a four-bedroom property into an HMO across England. The research found that the average house price in England […]

The Government’s plans for the private rented sector (PRS) have been criticised by a leading industry figure as confusing and chaotic. Daniel Evans, the chair of the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC), said the Renters (Reform) Bill, which aims to overhaul the PRS, was ‘like a half-baked cake’. The Bill will scrap Section 21 […]

More than 180 tenants of a social housing trust have been overcharged by nearly £500,000, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) says. Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT) has admitted its failure to set rents correctly and vowed to reimburse the affected residents. The trust, which owns around 2,600 homes in York, Leeds, Scarborough and Hartlepool, […]

An association is demanding the government give more legal aid to tenants facing eviction. The Law Society warns tenants on low incomes will be unable to afford legal advice if they face eviction. The association is urging the government to invest in the legal aid system and the courts. Access to housing legal aid becomes […]

Nearly a third (32%) of buy to let landlords are planning to buy more property in the next 12 months, despite the challenges posed by higher interest rates, a survey reveals. The research from Landbay also reveals that 43% of landlords are not intending to buy any more property soon. The main reasons for this […]

Students are struggling as soaring rents outpace average maintenance loan, according to new research. A survey by student housing charity Unipol and Higher Education Policy Institute reveals rents for student accommodation have increased by nearly 15% over the past two years. Bristol has the UK’s highest average annual rent at £9,200 per year outside of […]

Hello, S21 has been issued and now in accelerated stage. Awaiting a date from judge. Council has just contacted me about tenant asking the following… When did tenant move into the above address? How much is the rent at the above address? Why has tenant been served with notice to leave his/her accommodation? Did tenant […]

Hello, I have a tenant who on the 25th Oct informed me she would be leaving on the 31st Oct 2023. She is on an AST that started on the 1st May 2023 and would be due to roll over on the 1st Nov 2023. The tenant pays their rent per month and is up […]