Landlords and homeowners are facing steep costs to upgrade their properties to meet potential Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings – with an average price tag of £13,981. According to mortgage data firm Dashly, homeowners in Greater London will feel even more of a financial pinch with an average cost of £14,589 to make the necessary […]

Hello, we are all required to improve our properties so as to adhere to standards set by the government in regard to insulation etc. This is not a bad thing but it does mean a significant reduction of airflow around the home. Consequently, there is less air available to dry out areas around the house […]

Lisa Nandy, Labour Party’s shadow housing secretary, has rejected calls for rent controls – despite saying at the Labour Party conference last autumn that she supported them. Now, she believes that rent controls are a ‘sticking plaster on our deep-seated problems’. Ms Nandy also expressed concerns that such a policy could result in increased homelessness. […]

Despite a slight nationwide drop in rental interest, the Midlands is emerging as an exception to the trend, a rental demand index reveals. The latest findings from Barrows and Forrester highlight that Dorset is the current epicentre of the rental market, with Herefordshire showing the highest growth rate over the last quarter. The index from […]

Hi everyone, my family own several leasehold flats and in each case the leases allow the freeholder to arrange building insurance and to recharge this to the leaseholders. Every time the property is valued by an RICS surveyor the insurance value has increased way beyond inflation and has now reached ridiculous levels so that the […]

People receiving housing benefits or Universal Credit can afford just one in 20 private rental homes, according to new figures. Research by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) reveals since the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) freeze, the proportion of new private rental properties on Zoopla that would be covered by LHA has plummeted from 23% […]

Hello, I have a five-bed eco house on the South Coast we recently put up for sale when our last tenants left. Unfortunately, then the market nose-dived and there has been no interest. The agents tell me this is the case with all of the more expensive properties in the area. Now, not only are […]

Landlords are increasingly investing in energy-efficient properties that have an EPC rating of C or higher, a study reveals. Rightmove says that since January 2019, there has been a 16% increase in the number of rental properties entering the private rental sector with an EPC rating between A and C. Those homes had previously been […]

The Social Housing Regulation Bill is set to become law after passing through both Houses and is awaiting Royal Assent. The Bill includes Awaab’s law, which will require social housing landlords to fix reported health hazards such as mould within strict time limits. The toddler died in Rochdale from a respiratory condition that had been […]

This week the NRLA reported that one in three landlords are going to trim down their portfolios. A whopping 33% of landlords are currently selling throughout the UK. Of that 33%, most landlords agreed that they would be willing to take 80% of the value just to get rid of them because mortgage payments are […]

Buy to let mortgage brokers are predicting a big rise in limited company lending for BTL landlords in the coming year, a survey reveals. According to Paragon Bank, 49% of brokers expect to handle a larger volume of buy-to-let mortgages for portfolio landlords who operate through limited companies. In addition, 38% of intermediaries foresee an […]

Local authorities in England have raised concerns about the need for additional staff and funding to effectively enforce the proposed banning of Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions in the Renters Reform Bill. The legislation is making its way through Parliament and responsibility for enforcing the ban will fall on councils. But they are already expressing concerns […]

Homebuyers are successfully negotiating lower prices for homes with a whopping 42% of sellers agreeing to discounts of more than 5% on the asking price, research reveals. And, according to Zoopla, 15% of sellers are accepting offers of at least 10% off their asking price. Also, the UK’s annual house price growth has dipped to […]

More than half of commercial landlords (55%) plan to invest £100,000 or more in improving the energy efficiency of their properties over the next 12 months.  Research by Handelsbanken Professional Landlords Survey also reveals one in five professional landlords (19%) plan to spend £500,000 or more to meet EPC standards. The survey is based on […]

Hi all! I wonder, for an owner who has a section 24 issue if he lets his property on a 7-year lease to an Ltd Company client who then sub-lets on either Airbnb, serviced accommodation or indeed to long-term residents,  has he then been taken out of the Housing Act 1988, Rent Smart Wales registration, […]

Hi everyone, My partner and I have been saving for a long while to buy our first investment property together. We’ve found a deal for a one-bedroom flat in Bradford city centre for £125,000 with 107 years left on the leasehold. Comparables in the building sell for £50-60k, however, this has a 25-year guaranteed rent […]

Sanmi Adegoke, the CEO of Rehoboth Property International, has taken his journey from a place of slow-moving dreams and unfulfilling business ventures to a place where he is now recognised and sought after in real estate as an innovative and successful property developer. His passion for community values drives his work, where he uniquely sees […]

Hello, if a right-to-manage company or their managing agent did not follow due process, such as issuing a Section 20B appropriately, all the leaseholders of the building can withhold money for a historic SC item. How should a right-to-management company proceed? I assume the freeholder will not be liable to make up the difference, so […]

Hello, can Property118 please offer some advice: A friend of mine has bought a property only to find it has an abandon order on it which prevents any form of development as all rights have been removed on the property. Has anybody had any experience with this type of order imposed on a property? Any […]

An 8% surge in average annual service charges has left leaseholders across England and Wales grappling with a £1,431 price tag, research reveals, Estate and letting agents Hamptons say the main cause of this increase can be traced back to the implementation of new fire safety measures in 2018. That legislation has led to a […]

Prince William has embarked on a significant five-year crusade in a bid to eradicate homelessness, arguing that such a problem has no place in a ‘contemporary and forward-thinking society’. The royal’s recent journey took him to housing and training initiatives in Brixton, Bournemouth and Newport in South Wales where he sought to gain firsthand knowledge […]