It’s not often that two separate stories manage to tell the unfolding horror of what is happening to the private rented sector – and both involve so-called tenant activist groups. This is a story about unintended consequences and the sting in the tail that is coming to tenants everywhere. First out of the blocks are […]

The buy to let sector is facing a lot of challenges in the UK, from tax changes to higher mortgage rates – but there’s another factor affecting the reputation and morale of landlords: the media. According to Stuart Haire, the chief executive of Skipton Building Society, the private rental sector is being ‘demonised’ by the […]

Hello, I am a student landlord, student dwellings are exempt for council tax. However, Lancaster Council appear to be making up rules to increase their revenue take. Can anyone help? 1) When a student decides not to take up his/her place on the lease, most people try to replace that student, usually with another student. […]

Cash buyers are taking advantage of their stronger negotiating position over their mortgage-reliant investors because they can secure prices lower than those financed through mortgages, research reveals. Octane Capital sees the trend is now becoming apparent and in June 2023, cash buyers finalised property transactions that were £27,600 below the prices negotiated by mortgagees. This […]

Hello everyone, I have a student tenant who moved in on July 1st and as soon as little more than 2 weeks later he was already threatening legal action against me and going to the council for alleged mould issues. He also had made complaints about various non-issues such as a thermostat that was said […]

Hello, I own a flat in a block of 15 flats. Some of them are rented and some of us live here. We own the freehold. I am a shareholder and was a director at one point. I didn’t resign as a director. Ever. I never signed anything. Nothing. I was told by the managing […]

Hello everyone, My son bought a leasehold flat in North West London and the freeholder has been sending him numerous letters from his solicitor alleging the flat is not maintained etc. All untrue as my son spent £20,000 on refurbishment The freeholder is trying to get my son to sell the flat to him. He […]

Hello, I have a prospective tenant who wants to rent my property. They are actually friends of mine. They are from Lithuania and have passed all necessary checks. I have only ever let before using Assured Shorthold Tenancies. However, they have informed me that this will NOT be their main home as this is in […]

Tenant activist groups have helped the Metropolitan Police rewrite its guidance and training for officers dealing with housing evictions. The Met says the changes are ‘reflective’ of a tenant’s needs and now include a presumption in favour of the tenant against eviction. Generation Rent and Safer Renting have helped with writing the guidance and the […]

Hello, I am aware in properties such as blocks of flats it is now required to have a six monthly safety test on the fire alarm, which includes the control panels, sounders, call points and emergency lighting batteries, tested with a drain down. However, the local fire officer told another local agent that they must […]

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is threatening enforcement action against landlords and letting agents who do not follow consumer protection rules. The CMA has published an initial assessment of the private rental sector (PRS) and it says there is a ‘significant minority’ who are breaching the rules. Sarah Cardell, the CMA’s chief executive, said […]

Hi there, I found similar topics on this forum, but none addressing this specific question – so I posted a new one. We had a lady staying with us for nearly a year. She did not leave on great terms, and still owes us £3,000 of unpaid rent. She did not give us a new […]

Hello, I’m reaching the end of my large family home mortgage and the end of 2 BTL company ones. In the past I’d always leveraged the large personal interest only one as the interest is so low and only took up company ones as I expanded. (They are all are interest only). Given the environment, […]

Hi, we have recently had a long term tenant die in hospital. We have served notice to his representative (assuming he has one) and sent it together with form NL1 to the relevant address. The question we have is: What do we do with the tenant’s possessions once we legally have the property back? As […]

Hello, I have received the form VO6048 from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to complete in connection with their review as to whether Business Rates continues to be appropriate for my holiday lets block of 13 flats or whether Council Tax should apply. Does anyone know the answer to the following areas of confusion? Do […]

Councils across England are struggling with a surge in demand from households facing homelessness with nearly a quarter of a million households looking for a home, one organisation reveals. The findings from Crisis are part of its annual ‘state of the nation’ survey and it found that the equivalent of 1 in 100 households are […]

The property consultancy Fisher German is urging the government to provide more clarity on the future of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) regulations, which may affect thousands of landlords and tenants across the UK. The EPC regulations, which aim to improve the energy efficiency of rental properties, have been under scrutiny by the new housing secretary […]

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has come up with a bonkers idea to deal with hundreds of thousands of London homeowners who are at risk of a mortgage ‘bomb’ next year. He says that the cost-of-living crisis is putting more pressure on households that are already struggling to pay their mortgages. And to resolve […]

The Housing Ombudsman has hit social landlord Sanctuary Housing with a charge of severe maladministration and demand they pay compensation to a tenant after a poorly managed case of damp and mould in a home. The decision will see Sanctuary paying £5,600 in compensation after failing to address the prolonged exposure of a tenant and […]

How soon after nominating our main residence to HM Revenue & Customs can we sell it and still get partial Private Residence Relief on the Capital Gains Tax? We bought a London flat 25 years ago, lived there for 11.75 years then moved out to an apartment in a country house in Surrey when we […]

Hello, I need to write an addendum to a new tenancy agreement that I got from LawDepot, to reflect the fact the tenant has already paid the security deposit, and am concerned to word it properly. Not sure if anyone can help? I’ve looked online and got part way – apparently it must be written […]