Hello, The totality of my portfolio is now 25% below market value in rents, amounting to at least five digits in lost rent. This is because I have long-standing tenants and haven’t increased the rent for years. Rather than simply serving Section 13, what is the best approach? Thank you, Nick

Not only will demand for rental property in the UK remain high in 2023 – but rents will rocket by 12.9%, one finance firm predicts. That’s the view of Finanze who say that demand for accommodation from employees, young cohabiting couples with children and students will continue through the year. And, as a result, Finanze […]

Hello, I have an older property that is split into 5 flats with one main electricity meter for which I am responsible for the bill and I collect the money from each tenant via 5 sub meters where they pay via either coins or cards which they buy from me. The issue is, I only […]

Life as a landlord in 2022 didn’t get any easier and new research reveals that nearly half of landlords say their life is harder than it was a year ago. The findings from Aldermore also show that nearly two out of three landlords will be putting their rents up this year. Jon Cooper, the head […]

In the run-up to Christmas, there was a reader’s question on Property118 about landlords setting up a charity to help house the homeless and one of those who responded was Robert Mellors. He runs Choice Housing Trust which is a not-for-profit housing association that works with landlords to offer vulnerable people somewhere to call home. […]

The Nationwide House Price Index for December reports the fourth monthly decline of growth in a row with December at 2.8% positive. The reported divide between the strongest and weakest regions was the lowest since the Society’s regional indices began in 1974 with East Anglia performing best and Scotland the worst. Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief […]

The Government is proposing to mandate second staircases in new residential buildings that are more than 30m high in a bid to boost safety. This is the latest step in updating the statutory guidance on building regulations for new buildings to ensure the safety of those living and working in them. The Department for Levelling […]

The cost-of-living crisis is hitting students so hard that landlords could miss out on £3.2 million as they consider moving out, research reveals. The findings from insurance firm Adrian Flux highlight that 60% of students are thinking of moving out of their accommodation because they are struggling financially. In the study of 1,000 students, 66% […]

The prospect for big rent rises in 2023 is slim with affordability already hitting a tenant’s ability to pay rent, one analysis reveals. According to Zoopla, rents rose by 12.1% in 2022 but rent now accounts for 35% of a renter’s income. In total, the property platform says that tenants spent £5.4 billion on paying […]

Hello, The freeholder of a block of flats in which I own one (20 in total) built an extension in order to access two additional Penthouse flats which he built and then sold on. The only way to access the new flats was for him to build this extension in which he housed a fire […]

The best city for buy to let investors isn’t London – it’s a city that has robust property prices and strong rental demand, a Buy to Let City Tracker reveals. According to Aldermore, the best location for BTL investors is Manchester which appears to be weathering the economic storm well from a landlord perspective. The […]

The government has named and shamed three more failing social landlords – with Michael Gove urging lawyers to direct tenants to the Housing Ombudsman to save them time and money. Mr Gove is now demanding answers and action from Orbit Housing, Lambeth Council and Birmingham City Council after the Ombudsman found severe maladministration in their […]

An accountancy firm says that 70,000 buy-to-let landlords have exited the UK’s rental market over the last 12 months. UHY Hacker Young analysed HMRC data and reveals that the UK’s 2.82 million landlords in 2021 have now fallen to 2.75 million. That means the rental market lost 116,000 buy-to-let properties and tenants saw rents rocketing. […]

With signs that the UK’s property market is cooling, experts from across the property sector have shared their thoughts on what’s to come in 2023 – including rents rising by a further 10% as a lack of supply begins to bite. Looking back, 2022 was a rollercoaster year for the property market, following 2021 when […]

Aside from tax, what are the pros and cons of holding UK rental properties in an LLP structure? ANSWER >>> Holding UK rental properties in a limited liability partnership (LLP) structure can have both advantages and disadvantages. Some of the potential pros and cons of holding rental properties in an LLP structure are outlined below. Pros: […]

Are private landlords in Wales being set up to fail with the new legislation? The recently implemented Renting Homes (Wales) Act has automatically replaced all existing ASTs with a new “Occupation Contract” from 1 December 2022. All landlords are now required to issue “Written Statements” (effectively replacement contracts) to tenants (now called “Contract Holders”) within […]

Do most landlords realise the impact of the cost to get to a level C EPC if this becomes legislated as a requirement? We have a property that was fully renovated 5 years ago to full building regs. It had 100mm insulation added in the floor and ceiling, 50mm insulation in the walls and fully […]

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has today (23rd Dec) announced a £654 million funding package to be shared with all councils in England from the Homelessness Prevention Grant to provide support for those who need it the most in their local areas over the next 2 years. The money will be used […]

We need some suggestions as to which way we should go next with a mistake made by a solicitor. Until recently, we owned 2 rental properties, in addition to our own home. I am a higher-rate taxpayer, and my wife is a stay-at-home mum, working a few hours part-time. It made financial sense to have […]

A major house price index says that the UK’s house price inflation is continuing to slow down – leading to property asking prices being slashed. According to Zoopla, house prices in November rose by 7.2% over 2022 but the slowdown in prices is ‘gaining momentum’. The price rise equates to £17,500 on average over the […]

Freezing temperatures and snow-hit travel disruption had a cooling effect on the country’s rental market, research reveals. Vouch and Goodlord have looked at the figures and say that after heavy snowfall on 12th December, the number of tenancy applications being processed fell compared to 2021 levels. It might be a coincidence, but the weather was […]