A bigger seasonal dip than usual has seen property prices continue their slide with sellers dropping the price on a new listing by 2.1%, Rightmove reports. That price fall equates to an average of £7,862 and is a bigger drop than is usually seen at this time of year. Rightmove says that is down to […]

Hello, A question on financial responsibility for the roof of a block of flats that has been sold to another ‘user’. We’ve had an item on our service charge for legal fees that were run up by the freeholder in relation to legal fees for issues regarding works to the roof of our building by […]

Letting agents in Scotland say that 85% of their landlord clients are planning to leave the private rented sector (PRS) after emergency measures introduced by the Scottish Government brought in a rent freeze and a ban on evictions. The claim is made by Propertymark who point to agents saying that fed-up landlords have told them […]

It has been another interesting week in the life of a landlord in the UK – and none of it good. My attention has been drawn to the use of statistics to prove that all landlords are bad – and how the media swallows these figures without closer examination. So, let’s look at my old […]

Hello, As of 9th December 2021 the Lambeth BC decided to reduce the number of unrelated people using shared facilities from 5 to 3 to class it as an HMO. At that time we had 3 gents living in the flat under AST which commenced in September 2019 and became a rolling AST from September […]

A leading lettings agency says that prime rental demand in the UK is running at an unprecedented level and is up by more than 20% year-on-year. That’s according to Nicky Stevenson, the managing director of Fine & Country UK, who points out that prospective home buyers are having to rent for longer because of higher […]

A new way for tenants to improve their renting experience is being promised with the unveiling of a new, free app called tlyfe. The app is a result of a tie-up between The Deposit Scheme (TDS), the tenancy deposit protection and resolution service provider, and prop tech firm OpenBrix. The new offering promises to be […]

Single tenants are finding it harder to afford their rent with rocketing prices, one property platform reveals. In its latest rental market report, Zoopla says that rental unaffordability for single earners has reached its highest level for more than a decade. The report points to the average rent for a new letting growing by £117 […]

Rents across the UK continue to hit new highs with the HomeLet Rental Index revealing that tenants are now paying, on average, £1,175 per month for a new tenancy. That’s a rise of 0.3% from October‘s figure – and it is up 11.1% from 12 months ago. But it appears that landlords are becoming increasingly […]

Hello, After reading the Renters Reform Bill, try as I might, I can’t find any provision for landlords like me who wish to convert some of their portfolio to HMO’s. My understanding is possession could only be gained for “serious arrears”, save of property or tenant giving up the tenancy. So, as from what I […]

Homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage bills will be able to switch to interest-only deals without a formal repayment plan under new plans to help borrowers through the cost of living crisis. The planned FCA guidance advises lenders to let homeowners at risk of payment shortfalls switch to an interest-only loan without an agreed repayment strategy. Borrowers […]

The Local Borough Council introduced changes to the government’s housing 2004 scheme at end of last year. We initially had potential issues with a 3-bed ground-floor flat however within several months they gave notice and moved. (Current tenant well inside rules). My question here is having read many times the regulations I still cannot be […]

Hello all, a scenario I have not come across before has arisen. I have for sale a large converted Victorian house consisting of 1 x 1 bed and 3 x studio flats. It is fully tenanted with good LHA tenants faultlessly paying rent etc. The property has been on the market for a fortnight and […]

Hello, I have just finished renovating my first holiday let. I am 20 years into BTL, so understand what I can and cannot claim in this area. But HL’s are new and I am reading about them, but it is still a little unclear. Please do not say go and ask an accountant. There would […]

House prices in the UK have continued to fall but rents, fuelled by falling supply and increasing demand, have risen, a survey by RICS reveals. According to the organisation’s Residential Survey for November, its members report that the flow of new homes to rent continues to dwindle – there was a net balance of -27% […]

In Britain’s fastest-moving rental markets, up to 30% of homes are being snapped up by eager tenants within two weeks of being listed, research reveals. Market analysis from Ocasa, the specialist rental platform, found that high demand continues to drive up rental values. The firm points out that Britain’s rental market ‘has flown under the […]

A city council that introduced a selective licensing scheme in April has been deluged with 31,000 applications from landlords – but has only issued 104 licenses so far. This has prompted the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) to condemn the scheme as a ‘waste of time’. And, the NRLA has calculated, it will take council […]

Paragon Bank has revealed that it has increased its full-year buy-to-let lending by 18.2% to £1.9 billion on the back of strong demand from professional landlords. The company says that by focussing on specialist BTL lending, in the year to 30 September accounted for 98% of its new mortgage originations. Specialist lending is classed as […]

Hello, As we’ve now entered a tougher period for the prospect of increased rent arrears, what do fellow members feel about stipulating that all enquirers, for example to a self managing platform like Openrent, are to have the necessary resources to put the landlord into a positive cashflow position in advance? Then repeated six monthly […]

The UK’s house prices slipped by 2.3% in November which is the biggest monthly fall since October 2008, the Halifax house price index reveals. The bank’s figures show that the annual rate of house price growth has fallen from October’s 8.2% to 4.7% in November. Halifax says that the average UK house price has fallen […]

The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has been forced to drop mandatory housebuilding targets in a bid to see off a backbench rebellion from Tory MPs. That would see demand remaining strong for the private rented sector (PRS) and Labour says the move shows the Prime Minister is ‘weak’. The move follows a threat from up […]