The Scottish government will unveil its draft budget today, with industry bodies calling for legislation to tackle the housing emergency in Scotland. This year, housing emergencies have been declared in Edinburgh, Argyll and Bute and Glasgow. Propertymark is urging the government to increase the supply of homes and support people with their energy bills this […]

Hello, I am the landlord of a property which is divided into two flats, I am also the owner/leaseholder of one of the flats with an overseas leaseholder owning the other. As a landlord it is my obligation to make sure the building is insured and I request the 50% share from the overseas leaseholder, […]

Hi Everyone, A friend of mine has a flat which has an agreed buyer and they were planning to exchange and complete in January next year. However, the freeholder hasn’t (won’t?) provided the LPE1 form, without which they can’t exchange. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what our friend can do please (he needs […]

What differentiates a letting agent from someone who self-manages? I am not aware of a ‘legal qualification’ that Landlords who self-manage their properties are required to hold. I have been looking into the Managing Property and Residential Lettings Level 3 Award and Managing Property and Residential Lettings Level 3 Certificate wondering if there is anything […]

One organisation is warning landlords are being left in the dark when it comes to Net Zero. Landlord organisation ihowz argues there is no clear roadmap for landlords when it comes to energy efficiency and is calling on the government to issue guidance. ihowz says Cop28 has left “more questions than answers” when it comes […]

Social housing landlord Sovereign has been criticised by the Housing Ombudsman for its failure to provide safe and secure housing to two households who suffered from a rat infestation, and another with damp and mould. The Ombudsman made four findings of severe maladministration against Sovereign, two for each case, and ordered it to apologise, carry […]

Buy to let investors can find the best returns in northern and Scottish cities, according to a new report from Zoopla. The platform also says that rents will rise between 5% and 8% next year. The report analysed the average gross rental yield, monthly rent and price of buy to let properties across the UK […]

The UK’s house prices are expected to either drop slightly or stay mostly unchanged next year, according to Nationwide. The lender says the housing market was ‘sluggish’ this year with 15% fewer transactions than before the pandemic. This was more pronounced for mortgage-based deals, which fell by a quarter due to higher lending costs. However, […]

It’s almost the end of the year, and for landlords who can’t afford to wait and need cash now, Landlord Sales Agency are here to help. After seeing an increased number of landlords dealing with financial matters plus property sales with issues that could take months to resolve, we knew that we needed to provide […]

Halifax, the UK’s leading mortgage lender, is forecasting a steeper drop in house prices for 2024 than was seen this year, ranging from 2% to 4%. In 2023, the average house price was £283,615, only 1% lower than 2022, despite the impact of higher interest rates on the property market. Now Kim Kinnaird, the director […]

Paragon Bank has unveiled new five-year fixed-rate buy to let mortgages with attractive features for landlords. The products have no fees and competitive rates starting from 5.80%, and £750 cashback on some options. The mortgages are available for up to 70% loan-to-value (LTV) and cater to different types of properties. Green mortgage offers the lowest […]

Hello, Our tenant of nearly 2 years has asked if we’d consider selling to them under shared ownership. The AST ends in May ’24. The split would be 51/49 in our favour and they would continue to live in the house and pay rent pro rata. I’m aware of a Gov.uk document that gives guidance […]

There has been a significant increase in the number of renters on high salaries being asked to provide guarantors, a survey reveals. The findings from the RentTech platform Goodlord come from analysing 783,000 tenants who submitted a tenancy application between January and September in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Of these tenants, 138,949 were asked […]

Rents in London have increased by 8% year-on-year, with the average rent now at £582, Foxtons reveals. The estate agent also highlights that despite the year-on-year increase, the average rent price decreased by 3% in November. Foxtons has analysed Zoopla data and found that the capital saw a 13% rise in new instructions compared to […]

At least 309,000 people in England will spend Christmas without a home, including nearly 140,000 children – which Shelter says is an ‘outrage’ as it launches a new fundraising drive. Shelter is a campaigning charity offering advice and information to tenants and pushes for policy changes by the government. It doesn’t provide homes for those […]

One firm of chartered surveyors and auctioneers has revealed it has seen a 300% increase in instructions to sell residential buy to let properties in the past five months. Manchester-based Landwood Group attributes the trend to the challenging conditions faced by BTL investors. It points to punitive tax changes, high mortgage interest rates, increasing red […]

The Bank of England has held firm as interest rates remain unchanged at 5.25%. The decision, which was widely expected by financial markets, means borrowing costs will remain at their highest level for 15 years. The Bank had previously raised rates 14 times in a row to tame inflation but has left the last two […]

An independent councillor who referred to private landlords as ‘entitled parasites’ on social media has had complaints against him thrown out by an ethics watchdog, the Edinburgh Evening News reports. Coun Ross McKenzie made the comments during a discussion about new short-term let regulations – angering three landlords who filed complaints to the ethical standards […]

Wirral council has announced plans to extend and introduce selective licensing schemes for private sector landlords in four areas of the borough, targeting parts of Birkenhead and Wallasey. The schemes, which will run from 2024 to 2029, affect four areas – Birkenhead West, Seacombe St Pauls, Bidston and St James West, and Egremont North. The […]

Rents are expected to rise by almost 4% in the next year as the supply of homes to rent dwindles, the latest RICS UK Residential survey reveals. RICS also reveals that tenant demand is still increasing – but at a slower pace than before. The research highlights that tenant demand fell in London and the […]

Hi folks, Hope you all are well. My tenant has incurred rent arrears of nearly £4000 now. He keeps saying he will pay but never delivers the promise. I’ve served Section 21 and the Court possession order as a last resort. Wondering if a lawyer is required or compulsory for lodging a possession order to […]