I hear a lot of talk about double taxation for private landlords who decide to incorporate. However, when I explain that a husband and wife could withdraw £100,540 a year between them from their company and pay less than half the amount of tax as individual landlords, that tends to get people thinking a bit […]

Hello, Police smashed their way into a block of 3 flats I own to interview some suspects. There was no need to use a battering ram to gain entry when there were call buttons and all three flats were occupied. The damage cost just under £1,000 to repair. The police have refused compensation as they […]

Propertymark, the body for property agents, says that the average number of new prospective tenants registered with each member branch in October fell by 42% on the month before. This drop in demand will, they say, reduce pressure on rents, with another fall this month in the number of agents reporting month-on-month rent price rises. […]

Increasingly worried landlords are demanding that their tenants offer a guarantor in the face of looming rent arrears, research reveals. According to referencing firm Goodlord, the region with the largest proportion of new tenancies being offered with a guarantor is for renters in the South West. That’s where 28% of landlords are requesting their tenant […]

Hello, I have 2 questions about the practical approach to meeting regulations. I have just requested an electrical safety check which the property has failed with a number of C2 faults. I have asked for an estimate for rectifying the faults which the electrician is preparing, but he has said that he can’t do the […]

More than 50% of property investors are looking to further expand their portfolio in 2023 – despite the uncertainty of the UK’s economic outlook, research reveals. The findings from bridging finance broker Finbri of more than 1,000 property investors found that 50.45% are planning to invest, with more experienced investors saying they are planning more […]

As a landlord, would you know what to do if a tenant said they are leaving a tenancy immediately because of a ghost in your property? Or how to deal with a tenant who hoards rubbish? These, and a lot of other questions, are answered by Gina Peters in her new book ‘Lettings Law for […]

While landlords have never been flavour of the month, we have lost the moral high ground over standards in private rented accommodation and it’s not coming back. It’s hard to believe that landlord associations do not do more proactive PR work in reaching out to media organisations and that those media outlets don’t bother contacting […]

It is very welcome news that the Chancellor has confirmed that the government will uprate benefits by inflation with an increase of 10.1%, giving families on Universal Credit a boost of £600 per year. We would also like to have seen some form of tax relief for landlords who let to tenants in receipt of […]

Hi, After a flooded kitchen, it was needed to be redone and insurance helped. They also agreed on an amount for disturbance daily payment instead of alternate accommodation for tenants. My questions are: Can the part of the disturbance allowance be used to update the kitchen to a better standard than insurance would otherwise pay? […]

The rising cost of household bills will cause more arguments between housemates over the coming months – with higher energy bills already causing friction, research reveals. The findings from Comparethemarket show that eight out of ten (82%) people who live in shared rented properties say that rising bills will cause arguments within the next six […]

Hi, I was looking something up and came across this on HMRC website. I have 4 mortgage-free properties and work full-time elsewhere. Do you have to claim this £1k on your tax return (as a personal not business landlord) or is it included in their calculations once you submit your tax return?………. >> https://www.gov.uk/renting-out-a-property/paying-tax   “……Property […]

Hello, Once again there has been a case of black mould on the national news. This time a child died because of it. The local authority is the landlord and everyone is out for blood. Surely there is no need for any of this. Instead of the landlord being somehow responsible, all that needs to […]

For those that are unaware of the history let us examine how and why the Private Rental Sector came to be so prominent over the preceding decades. Housing became a legitimate and sound financial investment by the coming together of many factors most of them being political. It now seems that there is some political […]

The much-anticipated Autumn Statement has seen the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, delivering a mixed bag of tax rises and policy changes. And now the property sector has seen what the potential impact of it will be – and not everyone is happy. And that goes for landlords too with the senior investment and […]

Professional HMO landlord network, Platinum Property Partners (PPP), is urging all landlords to get behind a campaign that aims to abolish council tax re-banding for shared houses, which has the backing of Gosport MP, Caroline Dineage (pictured right). For some time, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has had discretional powers to charge council tax per […]

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, has today announced his Stealthy tax threshold increasing budget in a plan to preserve stability, promote growth and protect public services. Whilst on the face of it not as severe as many predicted, Hunt took great care not to use the words ‘tax rises’ but everyone will be […]

More than half of tenancy deposit disputes during the last year concerned property damage and cleaning, The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) reports. The DPS offers a free, impartial dispute resolution service to help ensure a fair conclusion to a dispute without the need for complex or expensive legal proceedings. The list of disputes when […]

Government policy has left the private rented sector (PRS) ‘in tatters’ as figures show the number of homes to rent falling, but tenant demand continues to rise. The criticism comes from the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) which says that since 2015, the government has embarked on a deliberate effort to discourage investment in private […]

More than 500 workers at the housing charity Shelter will stage a two week strike next month, in response to the organisation’s management attempt to impose a real terms pay cut on its staff. Unite the Union believes that Shelter can make a fair pay offer and points to its reserves last year of £14.5 […]

Social housing landlords in Wales will face a rent cap of 6.5% from next year – and there’s an eviction ban on tenants who engage with their social housing landlord. Climate change minister Julie James has confirmed the cap for social rents for the next financial year, along with a package of support for tenants. […]