Dear All, I purchased an apartment in 2011 and it has ground rent charges of £500 p.a. for the apartment and £250 p.a. for the car parking space (which is in a separate building to the apartment). In my lease it indicates that the ground rent is reviewed every 10 years and a variable factor […]

Hi, I’m just at the tail end of purchasing another property to add to my portfolio. The price of the property is £140,000. With the changes made by the government last week in the mini budget will I still pay stamp duty? At this moment in time, my solicitor cannot advise on this as the […]

Good evening, I am looking for some expertise from the forum if possible please. I am a landlord by mistake – currently to my sister. However, she is moving out soon and so I have a new dilemma: 1. Do I rent it out? (An area I have very little general expertise currently) 2. Do […]

Rising interest rates are eroding the profitability of buy-to-let for mortgaged landlords and they are increasingly having to buy properties in higher yielding parts of the country, one survey suggests. According to Hamptons, that charge is being led by London landlords who are looking further afield in search of profits. But if base rates reach […]

Britain’s rental stock has declined by more than 40% in the past three years leaving the market severely depleted compared to the pre-pandemic years, research reveals. The findings from Research from Ocasa, the specialist rental platform, reveal that in 2019, there were 225,000 homes listed to rent across the rental market. But the most recent […]

As I write this article the Bank of England Governor is under immense pressure to take emergency measures to protect against the collapse of the pound by increasing the Bank of England base rate by a further 1.75% to 4%. The £ is currently trading at $1.07 and is predicted to slump much further unless […]

Hi, I have fitted new smoke and CO alarms to replace the ones already installed, as it is a fresh start with the new regulations regarding fitting. Although I had the required alarms already fitted, I decided total replacements were the way to go. But, I can’t seem to find a decent landlord’s installation form […]

The leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer, says his government will clamp down on buy to let landlords if his party takes power. In his speech to the party conference in Liverpool, Sir Keir said he would promote home ownership – and stop buy to let landlords and second homeowners ‘getting in first’. […]

Hi, Has anyone experienced a situation where you can’t get hold of the tenants? I’ve been trying to contact my tenants to arrange access for a surveyor to do a valuation, but there’s been no response whatsoever from both tenants. I have been trying for two weeks, I’ve tried emails, text messages, WhatsApp and phone calls, […]

Hi, I am a letting agent and an unrelated landlord has asked for some advice, his tenants (a couple) have moved in Ukrainian refugees into the rented property without his permission or discussion etc. and they are receiving £350 for this. Surely the tenants should have agreed this with the Landlord? What with wear and […]

Labour has unveiled plans to deliver a new renters’ charter and a decent homes standard for the country’s private rental sector. But the criticism at the party’s conference in Liverpool of private landlords has been slammed by one organisation as ‘demonising all landlords’. Lisa Nandy, the shadow secretary of state for Levelling Up, Housing, Communities […]

The Lettings Industry Council (TLIC) says that if Section 21 is to be abolished under Government proposals, then fixed term tenancies should remain to help negate many of the unintended consequences – whilst still giving tenants more security. The ideas are in a TLIC published a report in response to proposed changes as part of […]

Rising costs are piling the pressure on private landlords who say they can’t afford to implement the measures needed to improve their rental property’s EPC rating, a bank says. The Secure Trust Bank has found that investors and landlords fear that they will not hit the government’s proposed energy efficiency targets for their rental homes. […]

We had a tenant who accidentally set fire to our 4 studio flats causing extensive damage. The council subsequently wanted to interview me under caution for suspected HMO breaches. Out of our depth, we approached Possession Friend and following a Fixed Penalty, Chris appealed to the tribunal. Two fatal flaws in the council’s case were […]

Hi, Just going through some tenancies and have come across a tenant who does not have a signed AST on file (or anywhere else). If we were to sign an AST, dated with the original tenancy start date (01.09.2020) but our signatures dated with today’s date, would there be any implications to this? EG, if […]

The average price of property coming to the market grew by 0.7%, or £2,587, in September to £367,760, the Rightmove House Price Index reveals. The figures show that middle and high-end market sectors are driving price rises, with a new record average asking price of £340,513 in the ‘second-stepper’ category – that is three bedrooms […]

Hi, Are there any other Lambeth landlords reading this please? We submitted our licence fee for their additional licensing scheme in January 2022 and haven’t heard a thing since! I’m now wondering if it is just our application or whether nothing has been done on any application since then. Please can any other Lambeth landlords […]

Buy-to-let landlords will find more lenders have come on board to cater to the growing demand for UK holidays, research reveals. According to an analysis by Moneyfacts.co.uk, there are now more than 300 deals available to holiday let, a growth of 72% since September 2021. The mortgage options for borrowers looking at holiday lets have […]

Hello, I appreciate this is probably not the right place to ask, but I am a bit desperate for some assistance. Myself and my partner rent a property (and have done for nearly 6 years). We signed a 12 month renewal document (online via docusign) in February this year, agreeing to a £35 per month […]

A student accommodation management company has been handed a harsh punishment that will cost them £84,877 for not having an HMO license. The First Tier Tribunal issued a rent repayment order but accepted that the lack of a license was ‘by omission rather than deliberate’. The property, Student Castle in Oxford’s Osney Lane, is purpose-built […]

Hello, Advice appreciated! I have a flat that has no gas, and has electric storage heaters which were on night rate electricity. The tenant left, and we found he had arranged for SSE to change the meter to one without the night rate facility. This was without our permission, and when asked, the tenant said […]