The Deposit Protection scheme reveals some of the unusual tenancy deposit disputes that they have come across relating to gardens. One case saw a tenant pulling up thousands of pounds worth of exotic plants believing they were weeds. Only a small proportion of landlords and renters register a dispute over the return of a deposit […]

Inventories play a key role in protecting tenants from house fires, according to an industry figure. The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC) believes running through safety protocols and properly monitoring during tenancies can prevent fires and save lives. Rescue services attended 33,390 domestic fires in Britain last year. ‘Inventory process is the ideal opportunity […]

Payments on account are advance payments towards your tax bill for the following year based on the tax you owed in the previous year. These payments are due in two instalments, one on January 31st and the other on July 31st. If you expect your tax bill to be lower in the current tax year […]

Hello, we moved to Dubai and rented out our property in Peterborough appointing an estate management company. One tenant left the property and a new tenant moved in. The estate agent sent a cleaner to clean the property and on the same day, they notified a leak in the en-suite. This flooded the en-suite which […]

Hello, I have come across a few leases now which have the ground rent clause: “The rent shall be subject to review on each twenty-first anniversary of the commencement date. And then shall (if appropriate) be increased to such sum as is the same percentage of the review value of the block but so that […]

Our high-net-worth Clients and Property118 members can now have access to Coutts via my team of Brokers. Coutts mortgages and services can be seen by clicking here The Key criteria for Coutts include a minimum loan for new clients should exceed £1 million on UK properties only with no minimum income requirement. The Product range […]

The number of build-to-rent (BTR) completions in the UK has slumped by 56% in a year – with the decline being blamed on the London market, research reveals. Property developer Stripe Property Group has analysed the historic data on the annual BTR completions in London and elsewhere to better understand the emerging residential sector. It […]

Hello, I have received an invoice of £75 to register the name of my tenant with the freeholder. Part of the process requires that I submit the AST to the freeholder. I have queried this payment on three levels:- 1) The name of my tenant if personal information as defined in GDPR. The freeholder has […]

Hello, with a glass of red in one hand I had a thought . . . I am considering selling off a BTL house valued at £1.4m which makes less than 3% return in rent – but I hate the idea of giving this government the £350,000 CGT it will force me to hand over […]

Research shows that 99.7% of home sellers in England and Wales managed to achieve their home’s asking price over the past 12 months, on average – and some have sold for 110%. The findings from GetAgent highlight that a year ago, 98.5% of sellers achieved the asking price. The firm also found that the best […]

Homeowners and landlords in one in five of the UK’s local authorities have seen the average rate of house price growth outpacing the rate of inflation – and in some areas, prices have leapt by 25%, research reveals. The findings from Octane Capital show that price increases are higher than the current inflation rate of […]

Hello, I’m looking for some advice from the Property118 community. My ex-tenant has left quite a lot of rubbish in the flat and the flat also needed quite a bit of repair to allow for re-letting. Our conversations about this are all on WhatsApp. If I go to court to claim the money from her, […]

The long-awaited Renters’ Reform Bill which could lead to a massive shake-up of the private rented sector (PRS) is set to be published next week. However, there is no confirmed date and no mention of it in the Parliamentary timetable for next week. And the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities could not confirm […]

Calls by London Mayor Sadiq Khan for a rent freeze in the capital have led one resident to pen an open letter in the hope of a response. Rob Thomas is a mortgage market researcher, and he was prompted to write to the mayor after reading on Property118 that Mr Khan had signed a letter […]

Rents across the UK have continued rising to a new high with the average being paid by tenants reaching £1,199, an index reveals. HomeLet says that the average rent grew by 1.3% from March to April – and by 9.9% annually. The data shows that rents have gone up in every region and when London’s […]

Hello, is the zero deposit scheme a better option than a normal 5 weeks deposit? I have an agent looking for a tenant and he’s pitched both options as available to an incoming tenant. I am looking for pros and cons for each from a landlord’s perspective, please. How do I satisfy the deposit protection […]

Hello, We had a burst pipe in the loft. Our tenant was away and considerable damage was done to the property. The insurance company sent a loss adjuster but unfortunately we did not get our own assessor. As requested by the insurance company, we have sent our bills totalling over £15,000 (for repair work and […]

Critics are lining up to condemn a government plan to remove the HMO licencing regulations for landlords who will house asylum seekers. Housing and refugee charities have condemned the move as ‘shameful’ and an ‘assault on human rights’. The condemnation follows a draft law that has been quietly published which would remove a landlord’s obligation […]

Landlords will increasingly look to sell up if interest rates continue rising, a round table discussion reveals. The host Phil Spencer was chatting with Vanessa Warwick a landlord and co-founder of the platform Propertytribes, and Timothy Douglas, the head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark. The trio discussed the impact on renters if a large […]

Almost two weeks ago the team from Property118, along with all the big names in the property industry were exhibiting at the 2 day Property Investor Show at Excel. Friday (the first day) was particularly well attended (usually by the more professional investors) and the Saturday (which is normally busier) was not as well attended. […]

Hello, The managing agent for my block of flats in London NW4 is unresponsive at most times and is very very slow or non-existent when it comes to attending to building management issues. There is no residents’ association and I have written to the landlord but I’ve had no response from them either. I have […]