An 8% surge in average annual service charges has left leaseholders across England and Wales grappling with a £1,431 price tag, research reveals, Estate and letting agents Hamptons say the main cause of this increase can be traced back to the implementation of new fire safety measures in 2018. That legislation has led to a […]

Prince William has embarked on a significant five-year crusade in a bid to eradicate homelessness, arguing that such a problem has no place in a ‘contemporary and forward-thinking society’. The royal’s recent journey took him to housing and training initiatives in Brixton, Bournemouth and Newport in South Wales where he sought to gain firsthand knowledge […]

Tenants in London are being warned that they’ll need to gear up for an intense property hunt this summer if they begin searching for a new home to rent. Chestertons says that May saw a 40% surge in tenant inquiries for rental properties compared to April. This marks, it says, the start of what may […]

Millions of renters are feeling the pinch as landlords transfer their rising mortgage expenses to their tenants, resulting in unprecedented rent hikes, housing campaigners say. They warn that the Bank of England’s recent decision to raise the base rate to 5% has far-reaching consequences beyond merely affecting homeowners’ and landlords’ mortgages, potentially sparking a larger […]

Are you serious about replacing your earned income with passive income from property? There are proven ways of reducing the time taken to reach financial freedom. Buying single-let properties won’t get you there, especially with the current high-interest rates, but just three to five HMOs could get you to financial freedom in the next 12 […]

Hello, I’m a new landlord with one property. Can Property118 readers please advise I have not put the deposit in a protection scheme as I didn’t know about these schemes. Is it better to return the deposit as I don’t want to get penalised at a later date if something goes wrong? I’m hoping my […]

Hello, I would appreciate some advice on the process of going to a first-tier tribunal and how to keep costs down as I am already trying to sell the flat to a cash buyer company at a loss. I would really rather not, but due to the lack of management company and cooperation from the […]

Hello, I wish to meet and discuss with the owner matters concerning his/this property, however, the registered owner remains a gentleman who died 13 years ago. The owner died Intestate in August 2010 and the Administration of his estate was begun by his daughter who submitted details at the time to the District Probate Registry […]

Landlords in London and the South East will need to hike rents by a staggering £614 per month to make a profit when remortgaging at present rates. This means that tenants could see their monthly rent leap from £1,498 to £2,112, on average, marking a substantial 41% increase, Hamptons reveals. The estate agency warns that […]

Hello, I have an apartment in Islington which is rented out. Since completion 10 years ago, the managing company has never been able to issue the hot water and heating bills in time. Initially, it was a few months late but now they have yet to issue 2022 bills. One excuse after another. Clever tenant […]

Hi all, I hope you are all well. I have made a mistake on the tenancy and I accidently put that the tenant paid me a £1,000 deposit and that it was protected. That was not the case and I can prove that he did not pay me £1,000 via my bank statement, tenant can […]

Hello, do former tenants owe you money? Here’s how we deal with this: For many years we could not find any debt recovery companies to take on the challenge of trying to recover debts from our former tenants. As most of our tenants were in receipt of benefits at the time of their occupation with […]

Landlords and homeowners alike scrambled to find out how much it would cost to remortgage after the Bank of England’s base rate increase last Thursday, a data firm says. Twenty7tec says there was a 39% surge to 40,902 inquiries compared to an average Thursday – which is also 21% higher than any previous interest rate […]

The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) is demanding immediate action from the government to alleviate the financial strain on renters and landlords after 13 consecutive interest rate hikes. The organisation says the full restoration of mortgage interest relief and the unlocking of housing benefit rates will ease the burden. Its urgent appeal comes as the […]

London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for an immediate two-year rent freeze AND a ban on section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions in London to help 160,000 Londoners who are behind on their rent. His call comes as a survey from City Hall reveals that 30% of private renters in the capital are struggling financially – and […]

It may be good news for our furry friends that under the Renters’ Reform Bill they might be allowed in rented properties, but what does this mean for landlords? The proposed rules mean that landlords cannot reasonably refuse a request to have a pet in the property. How will this work and what does it […]

Hello, due to the Renters Reform Bill and renting my properties becoming unworkable I am considering my options. I’ve seen lots of councils offering five years leases to landlords on fully managed, guaranteed rent, fully repairing etc. Does anyone know if this would constitute a ‘business tenancy’? I am concerned about which legislation would govern […]

The number of new property listings this year has risen by nearly 4% compared to 2022, and is only trailing 6% behind the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, research reveals. Data science firm TwentyEA says the figures are encouraging and indicate that the housing market is steadily recovering after experiencing a slump in recent years. Though […]

Here’s an interesting question for landlords to consider this week: would you prefer the government to offer you mortgage support or help your tenants pay their rent? I was pondering this issue with politicians calling for homeowners to get mortgage payment support to tackle rising interest rates. Why? Why is this an issue when calls […]

In a bold move, the Bank of England has implemented an unexpected half per cent interest base rate increase to hit 5% – the highest since 2008. Seven out of the nine committee members voted for the move, and they acted after seeing the mounting market rates for government borrowing. For now, this aggressive interest […]

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 7 to 2 to increase the Base rate by 0.5% against the expected 0.25% to a new post-credit crisis high of 5%. Interestingly the two dissenting Doves voted for no increase and to hold at 4.5% The Bank of England stand accused of undershooting base rate increases, […]