The new standards to boost safety and landlord accountability for the social housing sector could cost councils £17.9 million in the first two years of implementation – and £3.7 million a year afterwards. And now the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils in England and Wales, says that these costs should be fully covered […]

Hello, I hold a possession order and applied for a warrant on 20 June – nearly two months ago. No news at all from CC bailiffs. Emailed – no reply. At this rate, I have no idea when, if ever, eviction will occur. Meanwhile, the rent hasn’t been increased since 2019 and is significantly below […]

Property tax collections in Scotland have surged by 50% in just two years, an analysis reveals. Lettings and estate agents DJ Alexander Ltd, shows how revenues for the Scottish Government originating from the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) have soared in June 2023. It says the Scottish Government collected £61.7 million in June 2023 […]

The number of no-fault evictions by bailiffs has risen sharply, according to new government figures. The latest data from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) shows the number of households removed from their homes by court bailiffs is up by 41%. Between April and June this year, more than 2,000 households were evicted by bailiffs using […]

A letting agent operating in Stratford, East London, has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) due to its failure to honour a compensatory award amounting to £10,264 to a landlord – but appears to be trading still. The award came after a landlord lodged a formal complaint with TPO after a dispute involving the […]

Hello, I was trying to fill in the selective licensing form online, and I came across an abbreviation which I didn’t know, so I thought, go on to the next page, in case there are any more, and look them all up at once, but the online form would not let you go on to […]

With high-interest rates, huge uncertainty & opportunity in the market, there has never been a better time to consider the structure for your property investment. As landlords, tax will be one of the biggest costs you face and you will want to find a way to legitimately reduce this. If you are a landlord living […]

The government needs to act fast to prevent a housing disaster, with more people renting than ever before and fewer landlords willing to invest in rental properties, one expert says. Neil Cobbold, the managing director of automated rental payment firm PayProp UK, points to an analysis of HMRC data by accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young. […]

The lack of housing supply is creating huge problems in the private rented sector, an industry body has warned. The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (ACII) blames the Renters Reform Bill and energy efficiency proposals for creating “the perfect storm in the rental market.” With more and more landlords leaving the private rented sector, many […]

Hello, I am told that the landlord’s supply for the common parts of a small block of flats (4) needs an EICR every 5 years as that is the law. OK, if a flat is rented then the electricity supply/unit needs to be checked or tested at a max of every 5 years – but […]

Landlords and homeowners could boost their property value by to £28,000 when upgrading its EPC rating, research reveals. Development site finder Searchland has analysed how much value is added and how much it costs to do the necessary work. The firm says that moving from a D to a C rating adds 3% to a […]

According to the latest RICS Residential Market Survey for July, the rental market is experiencing a strong surge in demand, while the sales market is facing a sharp decline. The survey reveals that +54% of respondents reported an increase in tenant demand over the past three months, the highest quarterly figure since the beginning of […]

The UK’s private rented sector (PRS) has seen a significant decline in the number of homes to rent since 2016, one leading real estate advising firm reveals. According to CBRE, it estimates that 400,000 rental properties have been sold in the past seven years, as landlords face increasing costs and higher mortgage rates. According to […]

Hello, my situation is a bit complex and I hope I will get some answers here.  I was leaving alone in my 4 bedroom house and took on some lodgers to live with me. In 2020 I got a job in another country and spent time going back and forth to my house in London. […]

The Times is looking to speak with a cash buyer, who has recently bought a property, to hear about their experience of the buying process. The piece will cover the rise of cash buyers focusing on whether these buyers have an advantage in the current market. Lucy Alderson, the money reporter, from The Times, would […]

Hi, I am facing issues with implementing rent increases. The tenancies are AST that have rolled on to periodic tenancies on the expiry of the initial fixed term. The rents have to go up as costs have gone up and rents have not been revised for over a year. In one of the properties, the […]

The government is unlikely to deliver the one million new homes it promised by the end of this Parliament, according to research. Property developer Stripe Property Group (SPG) has found that an average of 67,500 new homes every quarter will need to be built by the end of 2024 to meet its target. However, the […]

A leading industry body wants to hear from landlords in London about their future plans for investment. Propertymark and the University of Dundee have launched a survey to uncover whether landlords will retain their property investments or withdraw from the sector. The survey is open till the end of August and while the survey is […]

Hello, we are the landlord of a student HMO. The tenancy has been signed for the upcoming year but one of the tenants has now decided to pull out. They have found a replacement tenant but the agents are saying they can only charge them the £50 fee and want to charge us £42 for […]

Like a jack-in-the-box that keeps reappearing with an unwanted message, Assembly Members on the London Assembly are fed up with Mayor Sadiq Khan’s calls to bring in rent controls for the capital’s private rented sector. They say he is distracting attention away from his own poor performance in the capital and he doesn’t have a […]

Hello, does anyone have any experience of letting their property for short-term lets (3 months – 12 months) to business travellers? I have a property which has been refurbed and is empty right now, but at some point in the future, I shall want to move in there myself whilst my main residence undergoes building […]