After weeks of campaigning, Liz Truss is the country’s new Prime Minister – and the property industry has already reacted with views on what she should do to help. While Ms Truss has made clear that she wants to cut taxes, she also said during her campaign that she wanted to simplify the planning process […]

Landlords who rent out private homes in one city are now subject to a mandatory selective licensing scheme – the first one outside of London. And the council has also unveiled plans this week to close a loophole that sees landlords renting out properties as short lets having an unfair advantage over local hotels because […]

Hi, Like a good number of fellow residential landlords I am exiting the PRS in favour of a holiday let and am currently waiting to complete. For my chosen property, as the hot water demand by holiday guests will be substantially greater than with residential use (think 6 people having a shower at the same […]

The British towns and cities where student landlords can earn the best yields have been revealed. According to Paragon Bank, landlords letting to students can achieve the strongest yields in smaller single university towns and cities. The bank has analysed mortgage applications for properties located in popular student postcodes – and found that student accommodation […]

Hello everyone, the levelling up proposed by ministers is good only if it is equally distributed amongst the PRS AND local councils. I used to manage an HMO in Camden, London, where the local council demanded both Grade A and Grade D fire alarms, whilst the very next house, a Camden-owned HMO, had no integrated […]

One lettings agency in London says that tenant demand is so great in the capital for rental properties that many homes are being let within minutes of becoming available. Benham and Reeves point to demand created by the return of professionals and international students, along with the growing shortage of available properties to rent, for […]

Despite the Government’s best efforts, the number of landlords within the British rental market has climbed by 2.4% since 2016/17, research reveals. The findings from Total Landlord Insurance, who examined a Parliamentary answer, show that: There are nearly 2.6 million landlords – a 2.4% increase over the last three years London is not only home […]

Letting agents across the UK are increasingly concerned about lack of stock as well as the state of the economy – as 10% of landlords have already left the sector and more are expected to follow suit in future. More than 2,600 agents, landlords and tenants have taken part in this year’s ‘State of the […]

Hi Property118 readers, I am writing to request if you could share my petition  – on change.org >> Click Here I know many landlords registered may agree with me. National Tenants Database to tackle rogue tenants costing landlords thousands of pounds “Campaign to start to protect landlords, utility suppliers, local councils from the rogue fraudster, […]

I’m hoping to sell my portfolio of 4 x HMOs in Aberdeen. 2 are 5-bedroom flats with a yield of around 8% depending on valuation, but the other 2 properties are larger (12 bed and 9 bed) and have higher yields of 14-15% – again depending on valuation. Is a commercial valuation more appropriate for […]

Hi. I have four properties and yes all with recent electrical safety certificates. The solicitors have advised that the certificates do not have a 5-year valid period stating only the date that the certificate was issued/certified. I think they are mixed up. The safety test and certificate is really only valid on the day it […]

Hello everyone, A tenant went on holiday for a month, came back and her flat had been robbed. Thieves had damaged the windows and wooden flooring, made a mess elsewhere so a deep clean will be needed. She claims it’s my responsibility to make all good again and organise a clean and fix the windows. […]

Hello everyone, The sale of one of my rental properties fell through at exchange due to the breakdown of the chain lower down. My buyers are still really keen to buy it but need to re-sell their property. They are currently renting and the property they need to sell is empty but requires a bit […]

Simon Zutshi is a prolific property investor with an ear very close to the ground, and lately, he hasn’t exactly been quiet about what he believes to be the buying opportunity of the decade. The opportunity has arisen from landlords leaving the market in record numbers. Ever the contrarian investor, Simon is going all-in on […]

The National Residential Landlords’ Association (NRLA) says that the government should not be considering a move to extend the Decent Homes Standard from social housing to the private sector. Instead, it should be focused on simplifying existing laws that target criminal landlords. When the plans for a Decent Homes Standard for the private sector were […]

The government has unveiled a consultation for a new Decent Homes Standard for the private rented sector – and it could be the biggest shake-up for landlords in 30 years. This is the first time that a standard has been put forward for the sector and the government wants to hear the views from landlords, […]

Every region in the UK has seen annual and monthly rent growth with the average price now standing at £1,143, one index reveals. According to HomeLet, the average rent in August grew by 8.5% from last year – and rose by 1.4% from July’s figure. However, the highest rents are in London where tenants are […]

Landlords and property investors are being warned by a real estate firm that house prices will ‘flatline’ in 2023 as interest rate rises will cool the market. And it will be low-yielding landlords that will be forced to leave the PRS because of higher mortgage costs and having more legislation to deal with. Aneisha Beveridge, […]

The UK’s annual house price growth slowed to 10% in August – down from July’s 11%, according to the latest Nationwide house price index. The data also reveals that prices rose 0.8% month-on-month after seasonal effects were taken into account. And the average house price is £273,751 – that’s a £50,000 increase in just two […]

It looks like student landlords will have to move to periodic tenancies for their rental properties – according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC). While the Renters Reform Bill has still to make its way through Parliament, the DLUHC is responding to landlord fears with a letter that states: ‘While we […]

There’s just one month left before landlords – or their agent – must meet the mandatory requirement of fitting smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to their rented properties. The rules state that all rental homes in England – including buy to lets, licensed and unlicensed HMOs – must provide a carbon monoxide alarm in rooms […]