I’m selling a house set up as an HMO, that hasn’t been rented out to anyone. It has a ‘single private dwelling house’ restrictive covenant. We are/were ready to exchange & complete. The buyer has had the HMO licence guaranteed by the council 14 days post-completion, and it was a term of his mortgage that […]

Hi Landlords I’m looking for advice on a DPS deposit claim, brief outline is the tenant has rented for 4 years the kitchen was new at the start of the tenancy property decorated throughout and new carpets. Apart from being untidy and lived in we have had no cause for concern on inspections, during the […]

Some of you may remember the letter I published, written by Spanish property-owner, Pilar Damian, who had her home squatted. Well, I can now update you on what happened next. Pilar used eviction specialists, led by Dani Esteve and got possession of her property about a month ago. Click here for the article. It is […]

In January 2021, Reigate and Banstead Council declared a property to be a House in Multiple Occupation and served a Section 255 Notice under The Housing Act 2004, against one property. The Council correctly advised the Landlord that any appeal against the HMO Declaration must be made through an application to the First-tier Tribunal and […]

I am taking over the management of a house. The upper floors have 4 flats. 1 flat has been refurbished and is let at Market Rent (£850 pm). Another is being refurbished and the remaining 2 flats have very long term tenants paying £400 per month. Can I legally require them to move around as […]

Finding a mortgage lender who lends to Limited Companies for properties in Northern Ireland has always been a tricky one.  With the limited amount of advertising lenders do for each of their lending criteria, it means that advisers/brokers need to be on the ball and find solutions for their clients even if it’s a simple […]

Our next webinar is with solicitor David Smith of JMW Solicitors. In this webinar, David will be looking at subletting which can be a major problem for landlords, and giving ten tips on how to deal with this difficult problem. This will be a good webinar to watch whether or not you have this issue […]

After the unexpected volatility of 2020, mydeposits in partnership with Ome, a deposit replacement membership, conducted a survey to gain a holistic view of the private rented sector. Despite identifying challenges and some conflicting views, the results portray a largely positive view of the sector, both now and for the future. The survey report, released […]

A London council is running what it describes as “an innovative project” to help private tenants reclaim rent from landlords who fall foul of licensing rules. The London Borough of Tower Hamlets council claims that over £200,000 has been reclaimed for tenants under the Rent Repayment Order project, which holds landlords to account if they […]

Dear Property118 Members, As a landlord, I need help from landlords and letting agents reading this. Could you share the termination terms that you have in your agreement or T&C´s, between landlord and agent? I need clarification on the following, which you hopefully have in your Agreement: 1) on what grounds can the landlord/agent terminate […]

I have a family looking to rent a property from me consisting of a father, mother and young child. They are not married. The mother is a stay at home mum, so obviously she cannot pass a tenant reference check as she has no income. The father is the sole earner in the family. Therefore, […]

If Sunak changes CGT rules what is the best way to minimise CGT? 1. I purchased a rental property for £85k jointly a number of years ago in cash. 2. It is worth £125k now (£40K gain). 3. CGT allowance is £12,300, so joint is £24,600. 4. Can I sell the rental property for £85k […]

Half a million pounds from the comfort of your sofa in just under 26 days. For a Property118 landlord from Wandsworth that’s exactly how he celebrated his week. If you’re a landlord, and you haven’t yet heard of us here at National Residential, you’ll definitely want to. Established in 2006, we pride ourselves on our […]

When lending to your company, you can now charge interest on Directors Loans, offset the interest as a company expense and pay no tax on receipt of the interest. Your accountants might tell you this cannot be done, but that’s probably because they don’t know how it is done. The solution involves the use of […]

My freeholder/landlord took me to court for non-payment of Service Charge arrears, which I disputed. I was away on holiday when the court papers were delivered and judgement was issued (CCJ). Upon return, I immediately paid the CCJ direct to the claimant on the understanding via his solicitor that should I have the judgement set […]

A landlord mate has sent me the below issues with Walsall Council and has asked for anyone’s help/experiences: Have any of you had any trouble with the pilot EPC/MEES scheme that Walsall Council has undertaken.  In brief, they are issuing landlords with Compliance Notices with £5000 fines if you don’t comply.  This pilot scheme is […]

The annual rough sleeping snapshot, which shows that rough sleeping has fallen 43% since the Prime Minister has come into office, has been welcomed by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick as a milestone in the effort to end rough sleeping for good. Data published 25 February 2021 shows that rough sleeping has fallen 43% under this […]

The tenant called in with a ‘slight leak in the bathroom ceiling’. He sends a photo and clearly no way this is just a few days old – he then backtracks and says he’s been away for a few days and comes home to it as it is (really – we are in lockdown!?!) The […]

Another disgraceful act of crime committed by another Local Authority that has powers given to them by the Government, but yet choose to do nothing. The Housing Ombudsmen criticises Woking Borough Council for “Severe Maladministration” in a case where an elderly resident is left without any heating or hot water for 3 years, and furthermore, […]

Hi all 118ters, I have had the misfortune of being taken to court by a nightmare tenant who rents a room in a small HMO. The tenant in themselves is not too bad but her boyfriend who has moved in with her (not in accordance with her tenancy agreement) is a foul-smelling weed head. My […]

One of my property EPC scored 76 as C, 5 points away from band B, the EPC report listed the things to do to improve in order to gain certain points towards the EPC score. For example, in my case, a condensing boiler 4 points, LED lighting 1 point, etc. I redid the EPC assessment […]