My neighbour had started work without having getting a Party Wall agreement and incorporated my garden wall in their extension at the rear of the house. I have engaged a boundary surveyor who confirmed that they have trespassed on my land. The report was done in September 2020 and sent it to my neighbours. My […]

Last week I spent an hour listening to a podcast by the Resolution Foundation. It can be found here Resolving rents: Tackling Britain’s rent arrears crisis After listening to it I tried to comment underneath the podcast, but for some reason, my comment would not appear. This also happened to others. I don’t know if it […]

Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, confirmed on Saturday that the government will create a second headquarters in Wolverhampton with at least 500 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) Group roles set to be based across the West Midlands by 2025 with further increases planned by 2030. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government […]

In June 2020 HMRC opened an investigation into a £9 million ‘incorporation relief’ claim made by a Property118 client who used the Beneficial Interest Company Transfer structure “BICT” to substantially incorporate their property rental business. The HMRC manual states: “TCGA92/S162 applies where a person other than a company transfers a business as a going concern […]

The government have decided to allow people to have pets whether or not the landlord agrees with this: “The government has released its latest standard model tenancy agreement to cater for responsible tenants with well-behaved pets. Under the new Model Tenancy Agreement, announced by Housing Minister Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP, landlords will no longer be […]

Housing Minister, Christopher Pincher, announced a plan to unleash the economic and cultural potential of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, to transform it into one of the world’s premier growth corridors and a world-leader in sustainability. The spatial framework plan will help to create thousands of jobs, drive investment, protect and enhance the environment, and provide the […]

The attached neighbour to our rental property conducted works which included a loft conversion and kitchen roof height lift. The Council have confirmed that no permission was applied for (or retrospectively requested) and possibly PD rights were exceeded. Building Regs were also not applied for. Work is believed to have taken place circa 2 years […]

I have owned a property for over 17 years, which was bought from a property company with tenants in situ under a Protected Tenancy. The tenants had been moved there from a previous property under a Protected Tenancy. The Agreement stated that the Protected Tenancy would continue for a period of two years. Does that […]

Are lawyer’s fees chargeable against rental income? I had a firm, supposedly well accredited, called Lethbridge, to do the refurb on my flat in London. The work was rubbish, some not completed, so I didn’t pay for all the work. They then took me to Court. We won, but I had big legal fees. Can […]

I am non-UK resident and need to get a retrospective valuation of a UK house as at 5 April 2015. This is because for CGT purposes, the UK tax law says I can use the value of the house as at 5 April 2015 as my “acquisition cost”, instead of the cost I paid for […]

Joint statement by The Big Issue Ride Out Recession Alliance, Crisis, Citizens Advice, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Money Advice Trust, The Mortgage Works, National Residential Landlords Association, Nationwide Building Society, Propertymark, StepChange Debt Charity and Shelter: At least half a million private renters are in arrears due to the economic impact of Covid-19. The UK Government’s […]

I had a gas safety check carried out on one of our properties last Friday afternoon for a tenant, his wife and four children by Your Repair. The engineer carried out the gas safety on the boiler and said all was working well, but noticed a grill was missing from the flue pipe outside, to […]

Hi, I am trying to find a definition for what would constitute an urgent (or emergency) repair in legislation, regulations, etc Which repairs would be considered urgent for a landlord to undertake immediately? Can anybody advise if such definition or explanation exists and where I can find it, please? Thank you, Olga Editors Note: From […]

My daughter is trying to arrange a buy to let mortgage on a ground floor apartment she has recently inherited. The apartment has been let and my daughter needs the money out of the apartment to use as a deposit on a new family home. The apartment is ground floor in a modern 3 storey […]

Responding to concerns raised by the Environmental Audit Select Committee today that money not spent on the Government’s Green Homes Grant scheme will not be rolled over to next year, Meera Chindooroy, Deputy Policy Director for the National Residential Landlords Association said: “Our own survey data shows that 43% of landlords are interested in applying […]

The number of inflation-beating accounts on the UK savings market has fallen month-on-month and there has been a rise in inflation. The latest analysis from Moneyfacts.co.uk reveals the options available to savers to beat the current level of inflation today. – The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 0.7% during January, from 0.6% in December. […]

Hello, I was wondering if Property118 could shed some light on the new proposed changes to the EPC requirements – my understanding is that over the next few years 2025 onwards, properties in the PRS have to be rated a C as a minimum. Currently, has to be above an E. My worry is that […]

For leasehold properties, I have recently been advised leaseholders may be exposed to some gap and loophole between home content insurance and building insurance (usually taken by the management company or freeholder). Can anyone with more experience in the field advise how the best we can cover ourselves, please? Case 1. Typically, home content insurance […]

Our third and next webinar is with solicitor David Smith of JMW Solicitors. This is David’s second webinar in the series where he will be looking at company lets. A company let is where the tenant is a limited company rather than a living person.  It is capable of being a residential tenancy so long […]

Where do you stand if EICR work might need doing, but you have a broken relationship with a problem tenant who scared the electrician away and stated no electrical work will be done in the house? A satisfactory report was given last June with a recommendation to install sockets in bedrooms due to there only […]

The Secretary of State for housing, communities and local government has announced that the ban on the enforcement of evictions, save for the most egregious cases, including illegal occupation, false statement, anti-social behaviour, perpetrators of domestic abuse and serious rent arrears of more than 6 months has been extended until at least 31 March. Possession […]