Scotland’s housing market will slow down at a time when it is already facing delays after the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union announced strike action. That’s the view of DJ Alexander Ltd, the largest lettings and estate agency in Scotland. The union says its members will strike on 1 February, and this includes those […]

Propertymark says that letting agents still face difficulties maintaining their pooled client accounts from high street banks that are still misinterpreting anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. The organisation says it is regularly engaging with banks, industry bodies and government officials on behalf of members who have had accounts closed or restricted unnecessarily. That usually happens because […]

The rocketing cost of rent is the number one concern for renters as they look to the year ahead, a survey reveals. The findings from Goodlord found that 87% of tenants named the rising cost of rent as a key concern. Goodlord says the average rent for a home in England is £1,071 – that’s […]

The worst hit area after the disastrous mini-Budget saw its house values being slashed by up to £315,000, research reveals. The House Buyer Bureau has analysed the market to find which ones have suffered the biggest price drops since September. That’s when then Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, announced his and Liz Truss’s mini-Budget which sent a […]

After several real estate firms, lenders and property platforms predicted that house prices would fall in 2023 by up to 10%, one organisation says that a steep fall won’t happen for a range of reasons. The National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) says that a predicted house price crash for the UK ‘looks increasingly unlikely’ […]

The executive director of the Bank of England financial watchdog, David Bailey, has warned that the Bank of England intends to increase scrutiny on lending to landlords. Mr Bailey said: “Our assessment of firms’ credit risk management will include a focus on traditionally higher risk areas including retail credit card portfolios, unsecured personal loans, leveraged […]

If you need help untangling the confusing mess of the UK economy to understand how 2023 can either help or hinder your property investment goals, the Virtual Property Exhibition is THE PLACE to be. Friday 13th January 9:30am to 5pm. The 9 industry experts normally speak at large, in-person events, but the entire event will […]

A petition that was launched to reinstate tax relief allowing a landlord’s mortgage interest to be set against rental income has now reached 20,201 signatures – and has seen another well-known backer step forward. The petition was started by landlord Simon Foster who says: “We want the Government to reinstate the ability of landlords to […]

The homeless charity Shelter says there were ‘at least’ 271,000 people who were homeless on any given night last year because of rising living costs and private rents. The charity is warning that thousands of people are at risk of losing their homes this year too. The figures refer to England’s homeless and Shelter says […]

An open letter has been published urging the government and local authorities to deal urgently with a ‘housing crisis’ in Greater Manchester. It has been signed by Shelter and the Greater Manchester Law Centre (GMLC) and a range of legal and housing organisations across the Greater Manchester region and sent to various MPs and policymakers. […]

Private landlords are being offered an initiative to rent out their properties to people who are homeless and get a cash grant to improve the property’s condition. The scheme has been approved by Neath Port Talbot Council as part of the Welsh Government’s Leasing Scheme Wales (LSW). Under the arrangement, the council will lease properties […]

Landlords and agents will see the private rented sector (PRS) being dominated by the proposals and progress of the Renters’ Reform Bill this year. That’s the view of Isobel Thomson, the chief executive of safeagent, who points out that the early signs are encouraging. She points to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities […]

A survey has revealed that landlord confidence is ‘robust’, though many worry about the government’s meddling in the private rented sector (PRS) and want changes to capital gains tax allowances reversed. The findings from property lending experts, Octane Capital, also highlight that landlords are concerned about the increasing day to day cost of their buy-to-let […]

Tenants are seeing rents growing at their fastest rate since 2016 when records began, says the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The data shows that 26% of tenants reported their rent had increased in the last six months with rents increasing by 4% in the year to November 2022. One reason for this is that […]

Hello, I own a leasehold flat with 900 years lease, no service charges and peppercorn ground rent. My lease states I need to obtain permission from the management company in order to let the flat out, and they are entitled to charge surveyor’s fees of no more than 4 Guineas. After emailing my management company to […]

Landlords are warning that plans to improve the energy efficiency of homes in the private rented sector (PRS) are ‘dead in the water’ because the Government has failed to respond to a consultation on the issue which closed two years ago. Originally, a target for all new tenancies in the PRS to have an energy […]

Hello, I’m interested in what your opinions are about this. I’ve received an email from my local Accreditation Scheme, advising that the council can’t afford to run it any longer. A decision is being made on 28th February! We apparently will get a pro rata refund of the annual fee. I wonder why it was […]

2023’s housing market will be a lot calmer than has been seen in the last two years because the economic downturn has hit both demand and sales, one leading real expert says. The managing director of Fine & Country, Nicky Stevenson, says that property trends appear to be heading back to those last seen in […]

Housing Benefit is paid to tenants to cover their housing costs (sorry for stating the obvious). There would be numerous benefits to landlords, tenants, Gov.uk and local authorities if it were paid directly. So why is this not already official policy or on @RishiSunak’s To Do list? How would it work? A tenant who is […]

Hello, I’ve had BG boiler plumbing and drains homecare contract cover for some 20 years now for a modest portfolio of London properties and the service has been good – things like appointments or 24 hour service so you can book plumbers in the middle of the night (the only spare time I get). I […]

Hello, my question is, I have a buy to let property, and have noticed my tenants’ gas and electric bill is outstanding at £2,600. They are overseas students so when they disappear will I, the landlord, be responsible for paying it? Thank you, Shahin