The government has approved a new selective licensing scheme for a London council – one of the largest schemes in the country. Brent council has announced that it will launch its licensing scheme for homes in the private rented sector next Spring, and it will cover all rented properties in the borough – except those […]

House prices in the UK increased by 0.5% in November, the second consecutive monthly rise, the Halifax house price index reveals. The average price of a home now stands at £283,615, which is £40,000 higher than before the pandemic. However, prices are still 1% lower than a year ago while Northern Ireland has shown the […]

Property management, whether you’re overseeing a handful of properties or a more extensive portfolio, can often present complex and demanding challenges. Balancing tenant communication, utility and maintenance management, rent collection, and cash flow tracking can quickly become overwhelming. Thankfully, property management technology is evolving to make this task more manageable. In this article, we will […]

Hello, I issued my tenants with a s21 which they defended because the first Gas Safety certificate upon moving in was not valid as I didn’t use a Gas Safe engineer. I went to a possession hearing last week and now it’s going to trial next year. I’m thinking about selling my property with the […]

London Councils is warning of a surge in rough sleeping among refugees and asylum seekers who are evicted from Home Office accommodation without adequate support. The cross-party group represents the 32 boroughs and the City of London, and it has released new research showing that 846 refugees and asylum seekers were homeless in October after […]

Hello, my question is in the context of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. Here is the relevant part of the law: “If your landlord – proposes works on a building or any other premises that will cost you or any other tenant more than £250, or proposes to enter into an agreement for […]

A new study has revealed that some regions of the UK may be more prone to property fraud than others, due to the higher proportion of mortgage-free properties in those areas. The study, conducted by client compliance platform Thirdfort, analysed data from a survey of 2,054 adults and found that the East Midlands, North East, […]

The Labour Party says it wants the UK to outlaw tenant bidding wars for rented homes, adopting a New Zealand policy, the Party’s Shadow Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook, says. Several Australian states have also apparently followed suit and Labour says the practice ‘creates a competition among tenants’ which only benefits the landlord. Mr Pennycook says: […]

A survey has revealed that four in 10 households renting privately (39%) that moved within the last year are paying an average of £1,200 a year above the advertised rate for their property. The findings from the New Economics Foundation (NEF) highlight the level of demand for falling numbers of homes to rent in England. […]

Hi everyone, I had an offer accepted on a top floor flat which shares the building (built late 1800s) with two other flats. Each flat has its own freehold and each owner wants to convert the freeholds to leaseholds ASAP. The current situation is that building work/repairs and building insurance is split equally between each […]

The majority of buy to let landlords in the UK have increased rent in the past year, mainly to cover higher mortgage costs, a new survey reveals. The findings from Landbay, which polled 1,000 landlords, revealed that 76% of them have raised rent over the past 12 months, with 51% citing mortgage payments as the […]

Hello, benefit claimants will reportedly have their bank accounts monitored under new “Big Brother” anti-fraud plans drawn up by the UK government. The law change was introduced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. According to reports, benefit claimants could have their bank account checked every month to verify whether the claimant is telling the truth about […]

The Renters’ (Reform) Bill will scrap fixed-term tenancies (ASTs) and introduce periodic ones that could expose landlords’ properties to more damage, NoLettingGo warns. The managing director of the inspection specialists, Nick Lyons, said: “With ASTs there is a tenancy timescale in place from the start – 6, 12, 24 months – whatever it may be. […]

Hi, I have just received a letter from the leasehold managing company informing me they are no longer going to manage in the future and that a new company will be taking over in January. My question is should I have been consulted on this? Can they just transfer to the new leasehold managing company […]

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is calling for the legal power to impose a rent freeze in the capital AND reinstate the minimum EPC requirement for rented homes. He says that London’s renters could be paying more for their energy bills for years to come after the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ditched the need […]

Hello, I have provided the How to Rent literature to my tenants when they moved in (and used a great deal of my printer ink!). I have since heard that I need to serve all my existing tenants with the Government’s latest version of this leaflet? If this is correct, am I alone in thinking […]

Hello, I’m considering replacing a combi boiler. However, in view of proposed changes in legislation regarding home heating that may (or may not) come into effect in the next few years, is now the time to reconsider what kind of heating system I should replace it with. I am considering different options such as a […]

Hello, Where does the landlord stand from the legal point on the following scenario? Tenant paid deposit when he moved in but apparently the letting agent didn’t register the deposit with any of the government backed schemes. Tenant had signed his AST tenancy agreement which stated that his deposit will be deposited with DPS. The […]

Most renters (76%) are happy with their current rented home, and more than half (54%) live in their preferred area, but many are dissatisfied with their landlords and letting agents, a new report reveals. The findings from OSB Group also found that tenants also value the flexibility of renting, as it allows them to move […]

Hello, I’m looking for some advice please. I had an EICR carried out a while ago, all arranged by the agents who arrange my ‘tenant find service’. The report came back as unsatisfactory, however, the agents have entered me into a tenancy agreement with the new tenants anyway. I am in the process of arranging […]

A new initiative to combat criminal landlords who exploit vulnerable tenants and engage in criminal activities has been unveiled by one city council after it received £2 million from the Department for Levelling Up. Councillors on Liverpool City Council say its Private Sector Housing Intelligence and Enforcement Task Force will disrupt those landlords who work […]