Looks like Hallowe’en has come early for landlords with the announcement that Michael Gove has returned to the Government fold. And, for me at least, that’s a huge shame. Because while Gove has a strong reputation for getting things done – he is poised to undo the private rental sector. My big fear is that […]

The number of short-term lets (STLs) has grown steadily in many areas of the UK over the past four years – and could threaten the PRS, a survey reveals. The report from Propertymark highlights that the recent pandemic helped to fuel the rise in short let properties because many people decided to holiday in the […]

The proportion of landlords who are reporting increasing tenant demand has hit an all-time high – for the second time this year. The findings from Paragon Bank found that a net increase in tenant demand during the past three months was seen by 65% of respondents. This surpasses the previous all-time high of 62% recorded […]

A senior minister has confirmed the Government’s intention to introduce a Renters’ Reform Bill in this Parliament – and it could be law by the time this Parliament ends. Andrew Stephenson, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, was responding to a question from Labour MP, Matthew […]

So, what do landlords think of this latest initiative? https://www.serco.com/uk/sites/serco-aasc/landlords On the one-hand, the government are berating landlords for the rent levels which are linked to shortages in supply (read – failure by Govt to build), whilst on the other hand, available properties are being scooped up in contract-sized proportions. What effect will that have […]

Hi Property 118, We wondered what your thoughts are. We have recently let a property out to a nurse who doesn’t come from the UK. She’s a bit demanding even wanting her bins emptied and didn’t realise until she was told by the letting agents that she has to put them out for emptying. So […]

Hello. Is it usual for insurance for an empty property (which is up for sale) to only provide cover for subsidence? No cover for malicious damage or escape of water. I’ve been quoted over £600 for one tenanted and one empty property. Seems a bit excessive? Thanks for any advice. Ann

The number of Build-to-Rent (BTR) homes either in planning, under construction or completed in the UK is up by 15%. The figures from the British Property Federation (BPF) cover the period between Q3 2021 and Q3 this year when numbers rose from 209,313 to 240,202. The BPF says that the sector continues to expand across […]

Landlords are calling on Michael Gove to get the planned Rental Reform Bill right for both landlords and tenants. The call comes after Mr Gove was reinstated as the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities secretary by the new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. The cabinet minister had previously been fired by Boris Johnson in July. Mr […]

Despite the Government’s best efforts to dampen buy-to-let profitability, the average landlord has not only increased the size of their portfolio but has also boosted their rental income, research reveals. The findings from Ocasa, the specialist rental platform, show that landlords enjoyed an 18% increase in their estimated total rental income. Researchers looked at the […]

There seems to be little doubt that interest rates will only be heading upward in the next few years. If you disagree with this please share your thoughts with me. So, I’ve been running some numbers and scared myself half to death. If interest rates go up another 2% I will not be making any […]

Hello. Our lettings agents found us tenants who stayed a year and then asked to renew for another year. Their contract was renewed for a further year and our agent charged us 8% of ‘incoming rent ‘ for the following year, billing us for the first 6 months of the one year tenancy. After only […]

I was somewhat surprised by Rishi Sunak’s re-appointment of Michael Gove as Housing Secretary late yesterday. After all, it’s just three months ago that he was fired by Boris Johnson and he announced plans to quit politics. But I’m pleased he’s back, because he seemed to be a man on a mission last time around. […]

Hello. Private “Rent 2 Rent” operators generally have a bad reputation, there are a lot of operators that have little or no experience, and have simply been “sold” the idea on a training course. Many have little or no capital to back them up when things go wrong, and there’s very little to stop them […]

The above act comes into force on the 31st January 2023. Before that date, all entities including Companies and Trusts, must register with the UK government the details of all Shareholders and Officers involved in running the overseas entity. There are severe penalties for failure to register by the stated date. The government has as […]

The average UK rent rose by more than 2% for the second quarter in a row during Q3, says The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS). The country’s largest protector of deposits said that average rents increased by 2.18% (£19) to reach £889, an increase of 8.68% (£71) since Q3 last year. The organisation also said […]

The City of Aberdeen has seen the worst return on investment in the UK for property investors, being the only area to see a fall in prices over the past 10 years, a survey reveals. According to the online trading platform, CMC Markets, Inverclyde and outer Aberdeenshire are the second and third worst areas to […]

Even with tenant demand far outstripping supply and there being a growing need for more private rental property, one mortgage lender says it is expecting landlords to bide their time when making future investment decisions. That’s the verdict from Fleet Mortgages which points out that it anticipates mortgage interest rates will remain high due to […]

18 months ago my family and I relocated to our dream home in the Algarve, Southern Portugal. This had nothing to do with tax, it was always our plan because we are passionate golfers. We first engaged Property118 to calculate our new base cost for Capital Gains Tax calculation purposes. The purpose of this was […]

Hi everyone, We have one large property divided into 5 flats. Currently, we have one gas and one electric meter supplying all flats. All flats are let out on an all-inclusive tenancy agreement. We are planning to change the utility supply for all flats, so they are independent. It will be very costly and complicated […]

The personal finance reporter for the Telegraph, Alexa Phillips, is looking to speak to landlords about having benefit claimants as tenants. The Local Housing Allowance has been frozen for several years but costs are going up – have you been affected by this? Is this a barrier to accepting tenants on benefits? Please email [email protected] […]