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 […]

Last minute changes to the housing eviction law in Wales will see more landlords having to give their tenants six months’ notice. That’s a change from the rules which enable a landlord to hand a tenant with a periodic tenancy just two months’ notice without giving a reason. But now the Welsh Government has expanded […]

Hi Everyone, My question relates to council bonds and if they are legally categorised as a deposit? I ask because a legal cash deposit is capped at 5 weeks under the tenant fees ban, but would a council bond fall under the same regulations? If the Council offered bond comes to more than the standard […]

Figures released to the press today from Foxtons, estate agents, show rental inflation continuing to surge in London. The average rental price in September was a record £553 per week, up from the previous high in June of £549 per week. Central London continued this trend producing the highest average weekly rent this year at […]

It’s not looking good for landlords, is it? What with rising interest rates, mortgage availability and the government handing bad tenants an opportunity to live rent-free in our homes! That’s right. Liz ‘Blundertruss’ has struck again. First, she raised my hopes that common sense will prevail on the proposed abolition of Section 21 when it […]

The Prime Minister, Liz Truss, has announced that corporation tax will rise which will affect businesses and landlords who have incorporated their property portfolio. Previously, in the mini-Budget, it was announced that the planned increase in corporation tax to 25%, would be ditched. Instead, the rate of corporation tax was going to remain at 19%. […]

I need some advice for a property I am buying, please. It is a corner plot house with an extra large garden extended to one side and back. Apparently, it is an ex-council property with a restrictive covenant of single private dwelling 1980 from the city council. The neighbour’s property is still owned by the […]

The government’s changes to the Right to Rent checks will be explained in detail in a free webinar being organised by Propertymark for its members and non-members. Right to Rent checks require landlords and/or letting agents to determine the immigration status of all prospective adult tenants by checking their ID before the start of a […]

Nearly two-thirds of landlords say they would sell their properties in the next five years because of the burden of meeting stricter EPC requirements, research has revealed. The findings from Shawbrook also show that the rising cost of living is driving tenants towards energy-efficient homes in the UK’s private rented sector. Shawbrook says that nearly […]

The government has updated its guidance on how the Energy Bills Support Scheme will hand £400 to tenants who have an all-inclusive rent agreement. They also reveal that legislation will be brought forward to make landlords pass on the energy bill savings. The Energy Price Guarantee started on 1 October to help reduce the unit […]

Exceptionally high RPI in the current cost of living crisis means those existing leaseholders with RPI-linked ground rents face exorbitant increases. The UK Government has stated it plans to do something about this, as it has now created a very unjust and uneven playing field by ensuring all new leases are with peppercorn ground rent […]