New landlords continue to enter the UK property market every day, despite reports of many established Landlords exiting. Are these new Landlords naïve or do they know something we don’t? I think the answer is somewhere in between. For starters, they don’t have to worry about Section 24 because many of them are advised by […]

A Scottish council says it will, for the first time, consider buying homes from private landlords and allow the tenant to remain in the property as a council tenant. This will, the council says, help prevent homelessness and increase the council’s housing stock. The scheme might appeal to landlords in the area after the Scottish […]

A third of UK landlords believe that rental reforms are currently the greatest threat to the market, with one in five (20%) planning to sell as a result. That’s the verdict from Simply Business who have surveyed more than 600 buy-to-let landlords as part of their Landlord Report. It reveals what landlords think about rental […]

Residents in one council area are being asked to have their say on a proposed crackdown on new HMOs. Blackburn with Darwen Council is looking to impose a ban on properties being changed into HMOs without applying for planning permission. The process is called an ‘Article 4 Direction’ and the local authority wants to introduce […]

Hi, Our tenant claims a first floor flat must have a Yale lock and not a more secure Chubb lock. She has been told that ready access outwards is the priority in an emergency. Has anyone else acted on this? Thanks. Hilary

The UK’s average house price increased in August to reach a record high – after a slight fall in July, the latest Halifax House Price Index reveals. Their data shows that house prices increased by +0.4% in August, after falling 0.1% in July. However, the annual rate of growth has eased to +11.5% – from […]

Simon Clarke has been appointed as the new housing secretary as part of the Liz Truss’s new cabinet. The MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland was widely expected to be given the job. He has been an MP since 2017 and yesterday he tweeted: “Delivering on Levelling Up for communities in all parts of […]

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced a rent freeze for private and public rented properties with a moratorium on evictions during winter. It comes at a time when landlords were already thinking of getting out of the buy-to-let sector. A week ago the Financial Times reported that “many buy-to-let investors plan to sell all […]

Our Hon. Legal Counsel, Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers, will be presenting in person an overview of several landlord tax strategies at the Progressive Property Network Bristol meeting Thursday 15th September. The Bristol PPN Meeting venue will be the Aztec Hotel & Spa, Aztec West, Bristol, BS32 4TS and hosted by Paul […]

In a bid to help tenants struggling with rising bills, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced a rent freeze for private and public rented properties. The rent freeze starts immediately and will be in place until the end of March next year – and the government will also introduce a moratorium on evictions during […]

The government’s plans for reforming the private rental sector will become a charter for anti-social behaviour without urgent changes, MPs have been warned. The warning was made by Ben Beadle, the chief executive of the National Residential Landlords’ Association (NRLA), as he appeared before MPs on the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee. The […]

The Telegraph Money desk is covering Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement that she will bring in rent caps. We’re looking to talk specifically to landlords who are selling up now as a result of this decision, or who are thinking of selling up, about how this decision will destroy your business plans and profit margins. Are you […]

After several years of onerous taxes regulations etc. etc. I finally put my London flat on the market for sale. I got the asking price of £550k but the buyer’s valuation is 5% below the asking price at £525k Options could be: 1. Take it on the chin? 2. Remarket it hoping a different valuer/ […]

Hi, I would like to highlight tenants taking advantage of the landlord and Universal Credit and the likes of Shelter, the local housing office and Citizens Advice Bureau being complicit in helping them defraud the landlord and government. In October 21, I let a flat to a ‘Spanish’ couple who were actually Romanian but had […]

Landlords that have reached the state pension retirement age of 65 are generating a net income of more than £10bn, according to new research. The findings come from property consultancy Savills who have analysed the latest English Private Landlord Survey and found that more than half (54%) of landlords in England are using buy-to-let properties […]

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 […]