Bonfire Night is almost here. As one of the most popular and widely-celebrated days of the year, towns and cities up and down the country will be hosting large, public displays. But, with COVID-19 still an underlying threat, more people than usual are choosing to hold their own fireworks displays at home. For homeowners, this […]

Rough sleepers will be helped into safe and warm accommodation and treatment services for drug and alcohol dependency this winter, supported by an extra £66 million the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced. The support will help rough sleepers off the streets at a time of year when they face falling temperatures and […]

The latest London property market analysis by Benham and Reeves, has revealed that rental values across the capital have not only bounced back versus the pandemic dip experienced in 2020, but have also breached pre-pandemic levels in all but three areas. The research shows that between 2019 and the initial pandemic year of 2020, the […]

I have just purchased the roof space of a terraced house. The freeholder has given consent for the development of this space. However, one of the main issues is that there is no direct access to the roof other than going through one of the existing flats below. We would need to add an external […]

Hi, I have a 9-month fixed term AST with my tenant that includes a clause for the tenancy to become a contractual periodic tenancy after these 9 months. The question can I serve a section 13 notice to increase the rent after the initial 9-month fixed term? I note a section 13 can only be […]

The Bank of England Base Rate is currently at an all-time low at 0.1% and this has led to mortgage rates being at all-time lows. Interest rates change over time, just over 30 years ago the Base Rate was 14.88%, but for the last decade, it has been 0.5% or below. However, all of this […]

We are in a situation, where a dubious agent is advertising greenbelt land for sale on RightMove.com with a clause that says ‘Suitable for residential, commercial or agricultural subject to the necessary consents’. The local farmland was recently purchased, but the new owners are now subdividing into small plots which any new owners will have […]

We own or are responsible for several rental properties which are Listed Buildings or are Flats within a Listed Building. We have done all we can to mitigate the Energy Performance, but we have a couple that are never going to get above E because there is no gas in the building, and we cannot […]

The government released new figures on homelessness in England for the period April to June 2021. These figures include data for the first month after the ban in evictions was lifted at the end of May. They show: 91 families became homeless each day as lockdown restrictions lifted. Since the start of the pandemic a […]

The Government’s planned release of the White Paper for the Renter’s Reform Bill which includes proposals to ban section 21 evictions and introduce lifetime deposits has now been delayed until next year. The extra time is apparently needed to give an opportunity to produce a ‘balanced package of reforms’. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing […]

As of Budget day, the government has immediately extended the deadline to report a Capital Gain on the sale of residential property from 30 days to 60 days. They have obviously realised this was a needlessly tight timescale and may have responded to complaints made by members of the Association of Accounting Technicians who have […]

Responding to the announcement in the Budget that the Universal Credit taper will be cut from 63 to 55 per cent from 1st December 2021, Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “Today’s announcement is welcome news for those private tenants who have struggled to afford their rents throughout the pandemic, […]

Rishi Sunak announces his Autumn 2021 Budget. This is a budget aimed at recovery and rebuilding the economy as we come out of the Covid-19 crisis. In this video, I look specifically at what this budget means for property investors. Where are the opportunities? Where are the threats? And what property investors should do next […]

No Nasty New surprises were announced for Landlords in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 2021 Budget speech to Parliament today. A key concern for landlords is inflationary pressure having to be released by the Bank of England increasing interest rates. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is predicting CPI inflation to average 4% over the next year. […]

Over the weekend, the government announced a new £65m support package to help vulnerable renters who have fallen into rent arrears during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s to be provided during the winter months and distributed directly to landlords through local councils, who will decide the best way to use the funding to support households behind […]

Persimmon, the major housebuilder, got its latest development project completely wrong by building blocks back to front! Join Andrew Roberts and me as we break down what exactly went wrong, as well as our predictions on the future of interest rates. Please click on the video below:

It’s been an interesting time for landlords, as we’ve all been witness to the property market soaring to record highs, and very rightly it’s caused many of us to think: Is now finally the time to sell up my portfolio and cash in? Over the last decade, a huge proportion of landlords have been enjoying […]

Here we go again as yet another local authority, this time Birmingham City Council (BCC), decides to get on the gravy train which is selective licensing, with what is being touted as the largest selective licensing scheme ever attempted. As always, this is being brought in under the misnomer of ‘improving housing quality for local […]

My 5 year fixed rates came to an end in June of this year, I began nudging my brokers in September last year, and they only started dealing with them in May of this year. One mess after another preceded the properties surveys, which came back valued the same as they were valued when they […]

Hi, any advice would be appreciated. I am selling a flat in a small development. The buyer’s solicitor has asked for proof that the Community Infrastructure Levy was paid. As far as I know, this is payable by the landowner or developer at the start of the build. They are implying, if it has not […]

Responding to new Government funding to tackle Covid rent debts, Chris Norris, Policy Director for the National Residential Landlords Association said: “We welcome the announcement of this funding and urge local authorities to target it at those tenants most struggling with Covid rent debts. “It is great news that those households worst hit by Covid […]