The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) today voted by a majority of 7–2 to increase the Base Rate by a further 0.5% to a post credit crisis high of 4%. The two dissenting members voted to freeze the rate at 3.5%. The US Federal Reserve yesterday increased its rate by only 0.25%, so […]

There are between 120,000 to 160,000 social housing properties in England that have notable issues with damp and mould, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) says. And up to 80,000 of those homes have ‘serious issues’. The revelation comes after the RSH wrote to all social housing landlords in November in the wake of the […]

Hello, I paid a reservation deposit of £1,000 for BTL property for it to be taken off the market. I commenced all legal work and applied for a mortgage with the first lender and they down valued the property by about £10,000. I couldn’t fund the cash difference, so I made this clear to the […]

More landlords will decide to raise rents in 2023 because profitability has taken a hit, according to a report. Foundation Home Loans says that larger landlords are 20% more likely than smaller landlords to put up rents in the first six months of 2023 after profits fell between the third and final quarter of 2022. […]

The private rental sector (PRS) in England has rocketed in value by 30% since 2019 to be worth £1.5trn, research reveals. The findings from debt advisory specialists Sirius Property Finance looked at the level of stock and its current market value, along with the average yield available before the Covid pandemic hit. And, despite the […]

Hello, Beware of Buckinghamshire Council rules!! Buckinghamshire Council apply long term empty penalties to a house not the owner. So, if you buy an empty house you can incur up to four times the normal council tax. They also don’t allow the new owner to apply for a 50% discount on council tax for major […]

Rent prices increased in January but voids have reached their highest level since 2021, data from Goodlord reveals. The firm also highlights that tenant salaries are rising more quickly than rents are. It says that January offered a mixed picture for landlords as the average cost of rent in England rose by 8% to £1,076. […]

Hello everyone, I’m looking for advice as to what to do in a very difficult situation I’ve landed in. I bought a property at auction with the seller stating the tenant had been served a section 21 notice and would be gone prior to completion, (I made a mistake of not getting that in writing in […]

House prices have now fallen for the fifth consecutive month, Nationwide says. Its latest house price index reveals that in January, the average house price fell 0.6% from December to £258,297. And annual house price growth continues to slow – it was 1.1% last month. In December, annual house price growth was 2.8%. Robert Gardner, […]

Well, it seems the war on landlords continues and all morality from the Government and city councils is lost. Please see the link to the latest consultation on Council Tax for Manchester. As per usual for the Government and city councils, the wording of their proposal is very poorly constructed but I think the eventual […]

Hello, I have three properties with deposits registered with the TDS. One tenancy has come up for renewal and the tenant is happy to remain. The deposit stays with TDS, but they have emailed me asking me to re-register it at a cost of £25. This seems unnecessary, a waste of time and a £75 […]

Landlords with properties in central London have reported the highest levels of tenant demand across England and Wales, research from Paragon Bank reveals. It found that more than nine in 10 landlords (94%) with properties in central London reported strong levels of tenant demand, with just 6% reporting levels as ‘stable’. The research, covering the […]

Hello, Has anyone had any joy in getting an LA to give the thumbs up for permission to replace a wooden sash window with a UPVC (single or double glazed) window that replicates what the original looked like from the outside in a Grade II listed building? I was going to go to town and […]

I don’t have a lot of money but, I am passionate about property investment, development, flipping etc. and want to learn the following wealth-building techniques from the best of the best:- How to source and package viable property projects with a view to selling those deals on to other investors in return for fees How […]

Hello, As we all know the government is stipulating a minimum EPC ‘C’ for new tenancies signed in 2025, and for all rented homes by 2028. I run licenced HMOs with individual room lets on ASTs. Legally, do I need to reach ‘C’ in 2025 on the first new room let tenancy, even though the […]

With the Bank of England set to put up its base rate this week, one firm is warning that landlords will put up rents if the base rate reaches 4.5%. The bridging finance broker Finbri says that with the base rate expected to reach a high of 4.5% in 2023, 53% of landlords will look […]

Falling house prices will only last a couple of months, according to a new report. The findings from GetAgent reveal that while 155,000 home sellers could be hit by a price drop, the organisation says that price depreciation will only last a matter of months before the market rebounds. The estate agent comparison website has […]

Hello, I wanted to share a bad experience I had this week whereby a cleaner has cost me over £1,000 in electricity. I share this as a warning to others but also I would like to know if anybody else has ever encountered a similar situation and if they managed to resolve it or hear […]

In its latest report, The Property Ombudsman (TPO) reveals that it has excluded six agents from its scheme in the last quarter of 2022 for failing to pay a compensatory award. All six agents were referred to the scheme’s independent Compliance Committee which ruled that they should be excluded. As part of TPO’s compliance process, […]

Hello, I have a dishwasher in a rented property that has gone wrong and needs to be repaired. I understand that I am responsible for this as it was part of the tenancy. The tenant does not have time to wait in for the visit and says it is my responsibility to be there as […]

The private rented sector (PRS) plays a crucial social and economic role in the country, a report reveals. According to a survey carried out by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), most tenants in the PRS have had a positive experience of renting. And, the report adds, it would be wrong to claim that private […]