Landlords have been under a lot of pressure recently, with interest rates going up, house prices dropping, and changes in government, anxiety levels have been at an all-time high. However, despite the current state of affairs, we still have options to help us get through this patch without panicking. For many Landlords, selling has been […]

The Government has accepted a proposal from the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) to tackle anti-social tenants who cause misery for neighbours and fellow tenants alike. Felicity Buchan, the minister for the Private Rented Sector, says that the Government’s ambition is to strengthen the grounds enabling landlords to tackle anti-social behaviour when Section 21 repossessions […]

Hello, I’m looking for some help, please. One of my rental properties is an ex-local authority terrace. The immediate neighbour of my property has not maintained his house or garden since he bought it in 2004. Trees are higher than telegraph wires, ivy has overtaken his garden and I can’t maintain some parts of my […]

The UK’s average house price increased by 9.5% over the year to September, down from 13.1% in August, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals. The latest house price index shows the annual percentage change slowed because house prices rose sharply in September 2021, which coincided with changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax. […]

New figures show that London’s rent prices have reached record highs, as rising interest rates and lack of supply put pressure on rents, Foxtons reports. In October, rents reached a new record high of £571 per week, exceeding the previous high of £553 per week in September 2022. This is a 4% uplift in comparison […]

Landlords are making big adjustments to their portfolios to meet the cost-of-living crisis, research reveals. According to Handelsbanken, nearly three in five (60%) landlords say they are preparing to increase rents to compensate for higher costs. And a fifth say they are planning to sell some of their portfolio to directly combat the cost-of-living crisis. […]

The rental sector has long been a leading target for fraudsters, criminals and money launderers with previous research estimating that 5% of all rental stock is being let to criminals. Ocasa, the specialist rental platform, says that equates to 279,497 properties. Based on the current average house price, this means that £82.7 billion worth of […]

Hello, We have an awkward freeloader who’s stopped paying. If it takes 6-12 months to evict him we will have a lot of unpaid rent (Yes, we can sue, but CCJ’s may go nowhere with a “paper” debtor), plus legal/court fees, plus whatever state he leaves our property in. It might be worth considering paying […]

Landlord and agent fears over controversial Government proposals for the private rental sector (PRS) would be eased by the adoption of a rigorous, professional inventory policy, says one industry boss. The chief executive of No Letting Go, Nick Lyons, said: “These proposals are wide-ranging, and they do benefit tenants but, in the end, we all […]

With residential landlords facing the prospect of meeting an EPC rating of C by 2025 for their rental properties, comes news from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) that EPCs are no longer fit for purpose and ‘need improvement’. In a report, the organisation says that a shakeup is necessary if the UK wants […]

The average rent on a newly let home in Great Britain rose to £1,204 per month in October, up £80 or 7.1% year-on-year, costing the average tenant an extra £960 each year, data reveals. The findings from Hamptons show that rents in five regions have nudged into the next £100 price band this year, with […]

The landlord association iHowz has written to three Government ministers urging them to publish the new domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) rules so landlords can prepare to meet them in good time. The organisation says it is worried that the new version of the EPC and accompanying Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) will be published […]

We’ve filmed a fair few episodes of The Property Tax Show now and as expected we have a ton of questions flooding in. 01:04 – Should I Register For VAT To Reclaim VAT On My Purchase? 02:04 Do I Need To Revalue My Property Every Year For My Accountant? 04:52 Can The Setup Costs Of A Smart […]

Finally had enough of a bad tenant – constantly behind on his rent. I issued him with a Section 21 notice in December 2021. Naturally, he ignored the deadline to leave by mid-February 2022. He took me to court for wrongful eviction. His free legal aid for the day looked at the tenancy agreement. It […]

With rumours that the Government might be about to increase council tax bills in its Autumn Statement comes news that hard-up tenants are already paying council tax equivalent to 37.5% of their rent. Ocasa, the specialist rental platform, says that the cost of the average council tax bill in England is equivalent to 17.7% of […]

Dear fellow Property 118 members, Although we have a couple of residential properties, this unpaid tenant’s utility bill refers to a commercial property day nursery tenancy issue, but could equally apply to an AST, I believe. The nursery suddenly advised us they had ceased trading, cleared the building, and are now effectively asking to hand back […]

All new tenancies in Wales from 1 December will have a statutory six-month no-fault notice period, while existing tenancies that convert to occupation contracts will see the extension under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 take effect from 1 June next year. The move follows a consultation that led to 1,400 responses and 90% of […]

Hello, The 6 year rule? From the date of contract on an ex-tenant who is claiming compensation of £4-12k on 7.5 years on a tenancy that has now ended. They left on their own accord. What should a landlord do after receiving a letter from the ex-tenant’s solicitor with threats? Thank you, Sue

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called for an emergency private renting summit – but landlords aren’t invited. He will bring together private renters, charities, advocacy groups and politicians to call on the Government to urgently tackle London’s spiralling rental crisis. The call comes after a survey reveals that 40% of Londoners think they […]

Hello, This is another of those strange anomalies/priorities which make little sense. We pick up thousands of asylum seekers in boats crossing the channel and some have no right to be here. We’ve all seen reports of the overcrowded centres where they start, but what about the luxury hotels that they are sometimes housed in? […]

HMRC is targeting residential landlords in its latest ‘nudge campaign’ that it suspects are not declaring their full rental income, warns tax advisers Kreston Reeves. The campaign comes in advance of Jeremy Hunt’s first Autumn Statement and rumours of a further attack on residential landlords with higher rates of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on property […]