Fury has erupted in Scotland as a housing watchdog has told social landlords to prepare for rent increases after the rent-freeze ends next March. Critics say that the policy introduced by Nicola Sturgeon is now ‘meaningless’. That’s because social landlords look set to hike rents on the day the rent freeze will end. Currently, there’s […]

Hi Everyone, Much of the chatter in the media is Labour almost certainly is going to have a majority in the hundreds and the Tories down to routinely suggested less than 100 or even single numbers. I was musing how likely is that in reality? Council by-elections are nowhere near as bad and sometimes the […]

The Property Redress Scheme (PRS) has unveiled its new advisory panel to better represent the sector – and revealed that it is now seeking members for its member panel. The redress scheme covers more than 17,000 property agency branches and property professionals and recently asked for applications for their new advisory panel. The new approach […]

Four in ten landlords (41%) would like to see the lending industry introduce mortgage discounts for properties with better EPC ratings, a survey reveals. Apparently, ‘green’ mortgage discounts could be a key tool in helping landlords make the energy efficiency upgrades necessary to achieve an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of C or above. The […]

With so many landlords selling up or at least contemplating selling some if not all of their properties, knowing how much Capital Gains Tax they would pay and what they will be left with in their pockets is a very important part of making the right decision. If you need help answering this question we […]

With inflation at over 10%, soaring energy costs and rising interest rates, we are likely to go further into recession and money will become tight for many people. It is very important to recognise that the property investing strategies you have previously used may not be the most appropriate strategies in the changing market conditions. […]

Rising interest rates have seen nine in 10 landlords either increasing rents or are about to, research reveals. The findings from SME and landlord insurance provider, Superscript, questioned 600 UK residential landlords and found that 50% of respondents have already increased rents following interest rate rises earlier in the year. And half of these landlords […]

The number of companies set up to hold buy-to-let property has doubled since 2017 and now stands at more than 300,000 – driven by landlords incorporating on the back of rising interest rates. The findings come from Hamptons who say this has been primarily driven by existing landlords moving properties from personal to company names […]

After almost 20% growth in the past 10 years, England’s Private Rented Sector (PRS) could exceed 5 million homes by 2025, research from Ocasa reveals. The specialist rental platform says that the PRS has increased in size by 18.8%, from 4.1 million homes 10 years ago to just shy of 4.9 million. On a regional […]

Hon. Legal Counsel for Property118, Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers, will be presenting in person an overview of several landlord tax strategies at the Baker Street Property Meet this Wednesday. Join us to discuss how to prepare for the opportunity in this changing market. Mark Smith is the UK’s leading expert on […]

If you need to evict a tenant, it can be a very stressful experience. There is a process to follow, otherwise even what seems to be a cut-and-dry case can take months and even a year or longer if not handled correctly. Sometimes, very minor things can escalate quite quickly, leading to non-payment of rent […]

Is it any wonder that so many landlords are selling some of their properties to pay down debt at the same time as restructuring the ownership of their rental property businesses? At the foot of this article, I have shared a fantastic video interview where two Letting Agents from Christopher Shaw Residential Lettings interview Alex […]

Property Taxes on your Buy To Let properties are going online. What do digital tax changes mean for Buy to Let business owners and could this be the beginning of further changes to come in the future? Join Alex Norian, the property tax specialist, from Property118, and me to discuss the future of property tax […]

Renters living in a one-bedroom flat can combat the cost of living by moving into an affordable shared house, while HMOs provide landlords with a confidence-building financial buffer against increasing portfolio expenses. We recently conducted an analysis which revealed that renting a high-quality room in an HMO is more than 50% cheaper compared to single-tenancy […]

Let’s call selective licensing for landlords what it is: an unfair mandatory tax that is a massive rip-off. Sure, council officers and councillors will tell everyone how they are going to crack down on rogue landlords, but they don’t actually do that. Selective licensing does, however, appear to be a legalised job creation scheme for […]

Manoj Varsani, founder and CEO at Hammock, the property finance platform for landlords, looks at the implications of the government’s Making Tax Digital initiative. Everywhere you look and in everything you do, it’s seemingly impossible to avoid reminders of the wider economic downturn and the likelihood of an upcoming recession. Landlords have mortgages and suppliers […]

Due to current high-interest rates and even higher affordability stress tests, many BTL single let properties just don’t stack up, so you can’t get a mortgage on them at the moment. Does this mean the end of property investing? If you are just doing single lets, then it will be very hard to acquire more […]

Hi everyone, Would it not be a good idea to tax properties that are left empty and disincentivise them from remaining outside the available housing stock? A residential property, in my opinion, should not be used purely as an investment as it should be used firstly as a home while the housing crisis is at […]

With the recent cost of living crisis, the financial benefits of renting out a room are highly desirable. A lodger may also be a great source of company, and could even help out with the household chores. Many homeowners don’t know where to begin when deciding to take in a lodger and money.co.uk has provided […]

Richard Dawson, rental sector expert at RentGuarantor, says the Renters’ Reform Bill is flawed and explains why he feels greater regulation is the answer. At face value, the ‘Renters’ Reform Bill’ outlined in the recent government whitepaper, A Fairer Private Rented Sector, looks as though it will bring about a great deal of positive change […]

Research by Barrows and Forrester, has shown that the sum of tax receipts paid to HMRC as a result of stamp duty spiked by 62.6% following the end of the stamp duty holiday, hitting its highest level in well over two decades. Thery analysed the historic levels of stamp duty paid to HMRC and how […]