Well, it seems the war on landlords continues and all morality from the Government and city councils is lost. Please see the link to the latest consultation on Council Tax for Manchester. As per usual for the Government and city councils, the wording of their proposal is very poorly constructed but I think the eventual […]

Hello, I have three properties with deposits registered with the TDS. One tenancy has come up for renewal and the tenant is happy to remain. The deposit stays with TDS, but they have emailed me asking me to re-register it at a cost of £25. This seems unnecessary, a waste of time and a £75 […]

Landlords with properties in central London have reported the highest levels of tenant demand across England and Wales, research from Paragon Bank reveals. It found that more than nine in 10 landlords (94%) with properties in central London reported strong levels of tenant demand, with just 6% reporting levels as ‘stable’. The research, covering the […]

Hello, Has anyone had any joy in getting an LA to give the thumbs up for permission to replace a wooden sash window with a UPVC (single or double glazed) window that replicates what the original looked like from the outside in a Grade II listed building? I was going to go to town and […]

I don’t have a lot of money but, I am passionate about property investment, development, flipping etc. and want to learn the following wealth-building techniques from the best of the best:- How to source and package viable property projects with a view to selling those deals on to other investors in return for fees How […]

Hello, As we all know the government is stipulating a minimum EPC ‘C’ for new tenancies signed in 2025, and for all rented homes by 2028. I run licenced HMOs with individual room lets on ASTs. Legally, do I need to reach ‘C’ in 2025 on the first new room let tenancy, even though the […]

With the Bank of England set to put up its base rate this week, one firm is warning that landlords will put up rents if the base rate reaches 4.5%. The bridging finance broker Finbri says that with the base rate expected to reach a high of 4.5% in 2023, 53% of landlords will look […]

Falling house prices will only last a couple of months, according to a new report. The findings from GetAgent reveal that while 155,000 home sellers could be hit by a price drop, the organisation says that price depreciation will only last a matter of months before the market rebounds. The estate agent comparison website has […]

Hello, I wanted to share a bad experience I had this week whereby a cleaner has cost me over £1,000 in electricity. I share this as a warning to others but also I would like to know if anybody else has ever encountered a similar situation and if they managed to resolve it or hear […]

In its latest report, The Property Ombudsman (TPO) reveals that it has excluded six agents from its scheme in the last quarter of 2022 for failing to pay a compensatory award. All six agents were referred to the scheme’s independent Compliance Committee which ruled that they should be excluded. As part of TPO’s compliance process, […]

Hello, I have a dishwasher in a rented property that has gone wrong and needs to be repaired. I understand that I am responsible for this as it was part of the tenancy. The tenant does not have time to wait in for the visit and says it is my responsibility to be there as […]

The private rented sector (PRS) plays a crucial social and economic role in the country, a report reveals. According to a survey carried out by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), most tenants in the PRS have had a positive experience of renting. And, the report adds, it would be wrong to claim that private […]

Hello, Hopefully, most prospective landlords would make checking the EPC one of their first tasks when looking at a property to buy. But say you inherit a property you want to use for a buy-to-let. The property is in a good state of repair, was inhabited up to inheritance, and is fit to rent out […]

Just over a year ago, the Bank Base rate was 0.1%. Since then, there have been 9 consecutive increases with the rate now at 3.5%. It is predicted that the rate will increase by a further 0.5% this coming Thursday, bringing the rate up to 4%. It is also forecast that the bank rate will […]

I have come across a Northern Rock excess mortgage interest claim being started by Harcus Parker. Although they have not yet had High Court permission to pursue the claim, if it proceeds they say it will be on a No Win No Fee basis. Their fee will be 35% plus VAT (although their paperwork also […]

Dear Community, I am facing a situation and your opinions will be greatly appreciated. I am a leaseholder of one flat that is my only property. I have lovely tenants living in this flat. There has been a substantial leak from a flat right above the flat adjacent to mine. Those two flats (next to […]

Hello, We are considering buying a block of 5 flats, all tenanted. Some have been on-boarded through an agent and others have not. Our concern is that at least some are not valid tenancies in which prescribed information was not given or deposits protected in the correct way, which could cause us major issues down […]

The government has imposed a six-week deadline for housing developers to sign legally binding contracts that will commit them to pay to repair unsafe buildings. And the government warns that companies that fail to sign and comply with the terms of the contract will ‘face significant consequences’. Legislation will be brought forward in the spring […]

Home buyers are holding off from entering the market and are now waiting to see if house prices and mortgage rates start to fall, Zoopla’s latest House Price Index reveals. The platform says that demand for homes has rebounded in the first weeks of January – and is now in line with pre-pandemic levels. However, […]

Hello, Would reinstatement (like for like) following an accident to a property be considered a capital cost or allowable expense vs income? My instinct is to view it all as maintenance/repair because there was damage which needed attention to get it back to how it was prior to the accident. However, if the damage was […]

Hello, I have a tenant who has refused to leave the property, as advised by the local housing office as she would be deemed to have made herself deliberately homeless, until physically evicted by a bailiff. They also advised the tenant that the short term rental 6 month agreement which ended 21 October 2021 was […]