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GOV.UK crown logo representing UK government consultation on EPC reforms

£450m government grants for 90,000 Heat Pumps

19th October 2021

Landlords don’t hold your breath as the Government announces £3.9 billion for decarbonising heat and buildings. Of this only £450m is allocated for grants of £5,000 to replace old gas boilers with new heat pumps. This would equate to 90,000 installations over 3 years for England and Wales. Currently, an air source heat pump costs […]

Detached homes see largest percentage rent increases

19th October 2021

Rents on detached homes increased twice as fast as the average for all UK properties during Q3 2021, according to The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS). The average rents for detached properties during Q3 2021 rose £38 (3.52%) from £1,079 to £1,117, with rents on detached London properties rising £93 (5.27%) from £1,764 to £1,857 […]

Council Tax Liability – Quoting S6 Local Government Finance Act 1992?

18th October 2021

I started possession action due to persistent non-payment of rent in Autumn 2019. Possession was under S21 rather than S8 as advised by my solicitor. I obtained a court order on 27 March 2020 the day after the Govt ban on evictions. The tenants appealed, which was dismissed on 23 April 2020. They however remained […]

Rightmove Index up 0.3% in September with fierce competition over reduced supply

18th October 2021

The national average asking prices of newly marketed properties have risen by 0.3% (+£1,091) this month to hit a new all-time high of £338,462. Despite the traditional summer holiday lull, fierce competition continues among buyers for the record low number of available properties for sale. That competition is hotter than ever, with buyer demand per […]

Insurers claim this is subletting and Landlord doesn’t have control?

18th October 2021

Sadly, following a bad experience, one of the sites was converted into a Cannabis Factory. After usual arguments, AGEAS accepted liability and paid for lost damage around say £50k (Insured losses) uninsured cost (£20k). The loss was in Jan, renewal of policy in Feb and policy renewed. However, midterm AGEAS advised that they didn’t wish to […]

‘Later Life’ landlords swooping in post lockdown

15th October 2021

The number of buy-to-let acquisitions made by later life landlords nearing retirement age increased by more than half following the re-opening of the housing market, more than any other age bracket, Paragon Bank analysis has revealed. There was a 52% increase in the number of buy-to-let house purchases made by landlords aged between 60 and […]

Close-up detail of engraved eye from British currency representing financial focus and interest rate changes

Could Crypto cause a real world crash?

15th October 2021

The Value of Cryptocurrencies has grown exponentially from being worth $16 billion five years ago to currently $2.3 trillion. What if the value of these assets crash? Could it cause a wider contagion in the real-world financial markets? The sub-prime mortgage market that was considered the trigger for the financial crisis in 2008 was only […]

Related Party or at Arms Length Transaction?

14th October 2021

I own three BTL properties on three separate independent developments that have their own Right to Manage Companies in place. I am an active director on each of the companies, and a common Property Management Company is independently managing all three developments. My son has owned and let a property, in one of these developments, […]

Release equity to keep the energy bills at bay this winter

14th October 2021

The news headlines in the last few weeks have been filled with the concerning prospect of energy bills increasing. With the increase, how will you be trying to limit energy usage for you and your tenants? Switching off the heating? Cold showers? Doesn’t sound appealing. What about making your home more energy efficient? It could […]

Lost DIY Declaration of Trust – effective date and CGT liability?

14th October 2021

Hi, I purchased a property with the help of my father in 2014 or so, I had only contributed a small percentage to the purchase price. About a year later, I gave up control of the property (allowed him to rent it out, and gave him the right to instruct me to sell it). He […]

The Cursed Postcode Of London Property Auctions

14th October 2021

Property Auction Analysis of 2 Shop and Upper property investment deals coming up at property auctions, reviewed by myself, Jay Howard and Piotr Rusinek. One of the deals has Jay wanting to turn the camera off, so he can bid, while the other has Piotr worried about London’s ‘Cursed’ Property Postcode. Watch the video below […]

Failure to act signals the government does not care about rent arrears

13th October 2021

The proportion of private renters in arrears in England has more than doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic according to Government data released today. The latest Household Resilience Study reveals that in April-May 2021 seven per cent of private renters were in arrears, up from three per cent in 2019/20. This amounts to over 780,000 renters. […]

Shelter poll claims 22% of renters health is being harmed by poor housing

13th October 2021

A new YouGov poll commissioned by Shelter report claims the health of 22% of renters in England is being harmed by poor housing, with the most common problems plaguing renters’ mental and physical health. They include damp and mould, which affects 26% of all renters; being unable to heat their home (also affects 26%); constantly […]

Tenant changed lock – is the landlord obliged to pay?

13th October 2021

Hi, We moved into a property on a Friday afternoon, when we came in we noticed that the main lock on the door was not secured (the bottom lock we didn’t get keys for). We tried calling the emergency out of hours number for the management (as it was Fri afternoon) but no answer, so […]

Helping a family member and tenant?

12th October 2021

A family member is selling their property in order to now self-fund a much-needed operation, that he is unable to get (quickly) on the NHS. The property is tenanted, and initially, she did not want to move after we gave her notice, but she has come round to the idea as her own circumstances have […]

Buy to Let Limited company criteria

12th October 2021

When setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for your Buy to Lets it is important to use the appropriate SIC Code. (A SIC code is a five-digit Standard Industrial Classification code. There are more than 600 individual SIC codes in the UK) The following codes are normally accepted by lenders: 68100, 68201, 68202, 68209, […]

Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

£57.8 million allocated to councils to develop brownfield land

12th October 2021

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) announced almost £57.8 million from the £75 million Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF) has been allocated to 53 councils for new homes to be built on underused and derelict land. The funding will boost local areas by transforming unloved and disused sites into vibrant communities for […]

The Future Of Buy To Let

12th October 2021

The Times has suggested it’s time to kill off Buy to Let mortgages on its 25-year anniversary while making some pretty outrageous claims. In this video, Andrew Roberts and I predict the future of Buy to Let (BTL) and Buy To Let Mortgages, as well as what you as a savvy property investor should be […]

Lender says letting out as licenced HMO breaches terms and conditions?

11th October 2021

I am a residential landlord of a small portfolio of buy-to-let properties in London. I purchased my most recent property in March 2018, and took out a 5-year fixed-rate mortgage with a lender to enable me to do so. I rent it out to 4 tenants, either professionals or mature students. In October 2018, the […]

Receiving a property gift – What to do next and how to do it?

11th October 2021

Hi, My parents will be gifting a property to me in the not too distant future, and I just wanted to gather some advice regarding best practices moving forward with the aim of growing a buy-to-let portfolio. I am 26 years old and understand somewhat the benefits of doing this within a corporation however was […]