The Government could benefit to the tune of £10 billion if it scrapped the stamp duty levy on the purchase of homes to rent out. According to analysis by the economic consultancy, Capital Economics, removing the 3% levy would see almost 900,000 new private rented homes made available across the UK over the next ten […]

Most people renting their home in the private rented sector are happy with their property and landlord, new research reveals today. An independent report by the Social Market Foundation, commissioned by Paragon Bank, found that contrary to some narratives suggesting renting is an inherently unhappy experience, a majority of people who rent from a private […]

I bought a flat in 2008 in a block owned by the local council. It was rented out to two lovely tenants who stayed with me for many years and eventually left to buy their own home. New tenants moved into the flat and business carried on as usual. I attended to all repairs and […]

I’m upgrading a 5-bed student house in Stoke-on-Trent to provide en-suite bathrooms in each room plus a separate visitor toilet. The electrician says I’ll need a fire alarm system as the house will be 5 separate units. I pointed out to him that the tenants sign a joint contract as a group, and they have […]

If you are a landlord – are you aware that over the next few years you will need to ensure that your property has an energy efficiency rating of C? This is to help the government meet its climate targets – which has become more important in view of the Ukraine war, rocketing prices, and […]

Can we trust the Govt & Councils to then not penalise us in 2 3 4 5 years? This needs to be discussed, as I seriously would love to house some of these people. I’ve even been thinking at night, if I only help one family, I could pay for a driver to drive them […]

A recent study reported in The Daily Mail has found that stress is affecting 1/3 of landlords’ health and wellbeing. From finding, it is more and more difficult to generate a profitable rental income, to worrying whether the abolition of S21 will make it difficult to sell their properties and access the equity many have […]

This news release describes the results of the Bank of England’s latest quarterly survey of public attitudes to inflation. From February 2022, the survey has been conducted on the Bank of England’s behalf by Ipsos, prior to that it was conducted by Kantar. Ipsos interviewed two quota samples of people aged 16-75 across the United […]

Hi guys, I’m in a position to release a total of £680,000 equity on two properties (my home and a buy to let). I’m not sure whether to use this to expand the property portfolio, or use this to clear the mortgage on my main residential home and invest the remainder? Another line of thought […]

A cross-party group of MPs has opposed the Government’s plans to make many buy-to-let landlords pay for the replacement of dangerous cladding. Ministers have proposed that landlords renting out more than one leasehold property will be excluded from its commitment that no leaseholder should have to pay for the removal of unsafe cladding following the […]

If you hold a property as a nominee on behalf of another person or company, it may be mandatory to register this trust with HMRC’s Trust Registration Service (TRS) by 1 Sept 2022. Previously, non-taxable ‘bare trusts’ did not need to be registered. In general, if a bare trust is an express trust, it should […]

It has come across my desk from more than one local authority and in multiple cases that the Council is checking information with Consumer Credit Reference Companies as part of their enforcement, and they are not making a secret of it! They write along the lines of: “Our intelligence tells us that the property was […]

So the news is that sanctions have been imposed on some foreign owners of UK property. Presumably, you cannot buy this property from them nor can you pay them rent? These people will not be allowed into the UK, so they cannot live in their houses? Will they simply fall into ruin? Will this mean […]

VAT 20%, 5%, zero rate, exempt – which VAT rate should you be paying on your property development? Tej Gill talks to Andrew Roberts of Great Property Meet and guides through all of the property strategies, Tej has all of the Answers! HMOs, Build to Rent, New Build, Serviced accommodation / holiday let’s, Buy to […]

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is calling on Government to give him the powers to freeze private rents in the capital for two years to save rent for thousands of Londoners, but no help for Landlords, struggling to cope with the rocketing cost of living. New City Hall analysis, based on estate agent Savills […]

Have you ever wondered why a council has an Additional HMO Licensing or Selective Licensing Scheme that expires and there is a gap before the next one? The answer is timing and nothing more sinister, BUT read on, it can have very SERIOUS consequences. This will some time soon be tested for the reasonable excuse […]

Shelter are doing webinars on: The Renters’ Reform Bill Q&A session is scheduled for 30 March 18:30 – 19:30 and will be run over Zoom Click here Rebalancing the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords. By driving up standards, landlords will know what’s expected of them, and we hope that the new tenancies that […]

Having now given a tenant over 5 months’ written notice to vacate with a section 21 via a professional serving company, the time will be arriving next month for her to vacate. I doubt very much she will leave as the local rental market does not have many properties that would accommodate her. Will it […]

We all know there is pain coming our way with the cost of energy prices, but the stark reality has hit home today even before the effects of oil and gas import restrictions from Russia bite. Our tenant of a 3-bed bungalow had previously topped up her oil tank for around £250 in the past, […]

The Welsh Government has increased the maximum level at which local authorities can set council tax premiums on second homes and long-term empty properties to 300%, effective from April 2023, as well as new local tax rules for holiday lets. This will enable councils to decide the level which is appropriate for their individual local […]

We are applying for the right to manage – notice has gone into the freeholder and the managing agent has acknowledged that they know. We had notices a month ago for an inspection of our flat (as in apartment not actually flat) doors to see if they complied with fire regulations. This will take place […]