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 […]

Does anyone have specific detail in their ASTs about decorating? I have a nice flat neutrally decorated about to go up for rent. To avoid botch DIY attempts at redecoration can I say no decoration for the first 6 months and then at my discretion and permission thereafter, but must always be carried out by […]

I own a flat in a block in London built in 2007 (bought off-plan). I have a variable buy-2-let with Roscina that I have been unable to re-mortgage for the last 2 years due to the property not having the EWS-1 form that lenders or buyers need as reassurance they’ll not be landed with the […]

The senior personal finance reporter for the Telegraph, Rachel Mortimer, is looking to speak to Scottish landlords and holiday homeowners who are being forced to sell up by rule and regulation changes in Scotland. Is your model no longer viable? Do you feel like you are being punished for running a business? Any responses would […]

Are you underinsured? With rapidly rising prices for both labour and materials, there’s a big risk that you could come up short in the event of a claim. We talked to Steve Barnes of specialist broker Hamilton Fraser. No-one but a fool would fail to take out buildings insurance on their properties. But many landlords […]

I am a leaseholder of a flat. There are 4 flats in the house, 2 freeholds and 2 leaseholds. The 2 freeholders are keen for all of us to own a share in the freehold. As my lease only has 87 years on it, this is a good opportunity to become a freeholder of my […]

We have a residential mortgage from Barclays which does allow us to let our property during our fixed term with no rate increase. My husband got offered a job abroad and we have consequently moved to Norway. We let our property out through a letting agent and we have landlords insurance. But.. we forgot to […]

We have a lease which says that there can be a porter provided to the building and historically he has lived in a flat owned by the Freeholder under license, no tenancy agreement and we have paid all his expenses and rent via the service charge including a refurb (very expensive and not very good). […]

Hi everyone, as a good landlord and due to a noisy neighbour (next-door to my tenants playing nonstop white noise) l have given my tenants a 20% rent reduction until I can manage to solve the problem. My tenants pay the Lettings agent directly the full amount of contracted rent and then I send them […]

Hello everyone, I am about to begin my journey in property investment. However, reading the current headlines about how dire it will get for Buy to Let landlords both economically and legislatively and for property investment, in general, it is very worrying. For some reason, I’m not put off by this unrelenting wave of negative […]

Landlords will need financial and tax incentives for the government to reach its Net Zero ambitions and plans for EPC standards in the private rental sector (PRS), Propertymark says. The organisation has made a written submission to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) which has called for evidence into the Net Zero […]

Housing benefits haven’t risen since 2020 – and that spells problems for landlords this winter as tenants struggle to cope with rising rent and bills.  Landlords face a grim winter, with the risk of rising rent defaults as housing benefits fail to keep up with increases in rent. Property owners struggling to cover the cost […]

Under pressure from the nervous financial markets and having been locked away in Chequers at the weekend with PM Lizz Truss, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt has given an emergency statement to the country. This is an effort to stabilise the markets and inject some confidence, credibility and trust globally in the UK […]

Has any Judge let Tenants on a Section 8 countersue by deciding money in advance is a DEPOSIT that should have been protected? Even after Johnson vs Old 2013 He appears satisfied the contract says money isn’t a deposit for any damages etc but possibly still wants to set a ‘president’ that any money taken […]

Hi, With all the political turmoil going on at the moment and talk of an early general election I thought I’d take a look at the Labour Party manifesto re’ private renting. Some of the main points are:- Bringing in licensing for landlords – Fining landlords £100,000 for any property considered to be substandard- Minimum […]