Page 469 – Property118

Tenant demand is highest for homes that come unfurnished

4th August 2020

The latest research by Howsy, has revealed that across the UK’s major cities, tenant demand is highest for homes that come unfurnished. Howsy compared the level of stock already snapped up by tenants as a proportion of all stock listed to see which was most in-demand when it came to furnishings and whether it’s worthwhile […]

Tenant’s rights after second joint tenant moved out?

4th August 2020

Please shine some light on the following scenario: 2 strangers were renting out 2-bed flat on a joint AST at £1800 per month. The AST expired on 15 May 19 so my understanding is that it would then turn into the Statutory Periodic tenancy agreement. Due to Covid-19 one of the tenants moved out on […]

Allowing family members to live in property without rent?

4th August 2020

I was wondering what would be the status of a property that the owner allowed family members, ie adult offspring, siblings, or nephews/nieces, to live in without any commercial consideration? That is, with no rent payment. I understand this would be a licence to occupy rather than a tenancy. How would the property be treated […]

CEO of ROSICNA Mortgages?

4th August 2020

Has anyone details of the CEO of ROSICNA Mortgages ( bought MX mortgage book). I have checked companies House no listing for this role. Many thanks James Editors note from Rosinca about us page >> Click here INTRODUCING ROSINCA MORTGAGES Rosinca Mortgages is a trading name of Topaz Finance Limited, a business owned by the […]

New NRLA and SAL joint membership option

4th August 2020

Landlords who let properties in England, Wales and Scotland can now have joint membership of associations north and south of the border under a new partnership. The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) and Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) are partnering to allow landlords with properties in England, Wales and Scotland to pay a small top-up […]

£1.3bn to build 45,000 new homes and £2bn Green homes grant scheme

4th August 2020

45,000 new homes and other infrastructure projects were given the green light with nearly £1.3 billion of investment confirmed today by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick. Over 300 successful projects in England are being told they will receive a share of the £900 million Getting Building Fund, which was announced by the Prime Minister in June, […]

Tenant demanding deposit back unfairly?

3rd August 2020

We have a prospective tenant that failed the referencing due to a CCJ they apparently didn’t know about (we refunded their holding deposit). We liked them and tried to work with them and offer an olive branch through them finding a suitable guarantor. They accepted and found someone suitable and paid the holding deposit again […]

DWP have no record of the claim!

3rd August 2020

A tenant has been in situ in a flat since Jan 2020 and from the start (due to alcohol/drug history/ongoing rehab) it was all agreed I would have express permission to talk to DWP and have direct payments. All good. Fast-forward to July – no rent payment. Nothing from the tenant before this point, no […]

Myth-busting – Electrical Safety installations Act 2020

3rd August 2020

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 came into force on 1 June 2020 and will apply to all new tenancies in England from 1 July 2020. Thanks to Bill Stiles from Adept Electrical – http://www.adeptelectrical.co.uk/ for this simple myth-busting session on the new electrical standards. If your electrician has […]

Are courts going to turn vehemently anti-landlord?

31st July 2020

Some tenants left a landlord’s property a year ago with nearly £2,000 in arrears.  The court awarded the £2,000 to the landlord, but the landlord was then asked to go to mediation to come to an agreement about payment. The mediation followed the usual pattern. Instead of the tenants offering a payment plan they accused […]

Rental market may buck the usual seasonal lull

31st July 2020

ARLA Propertymark’s PRS June report for Letting Agents (click here to download) showed the number of tenants experiencing rent rises has increased. 29% of agents reported landlords raising rent compared to only 14% in May. However, this is still the lowest number for the month of June since 2016. Other key findings found the number […]

Commercial Property purchase history – where?

31st July 2020

I know the buyer before my purchase of a property, but there is an issue over Planning Permission, so I need to determine who they purchased it from in 2007 but I’m coming to a dead end as records seemingly (online or otherwise) don’t go back that far, and the last owner is being difficult […]

Gifting his own residential property to his son via his brother?

31st July 2020

A friend wants to gift his own residential property to his son and move into a property he has been renting out. The son, however, has some issues and is not willing to accept the gift of the property for the time being. The friend is contemplating gifting the property to his brother, who would […]

House price growth for July could be a false dawn

31st July 2020

The Nationwide House Price index report for July shows annual house price growth recovering by 1.5% and prices up 1.7% month-on-month, after taking account of seasonal factors. Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said: “UK house prices rose by 1.7% in July, after taking account of seasonal effects, offsetting the 1.6% fall in June. As a […]

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

Some signs of mortgage market recovery

30th July 2020

The Bank of England have released their June report for money and credit statistics showing UK household’s net borrowing was £1.8 billion after large repayments in previous months. The increase can all be accounted for by mortgage borrowing with mortgage interest rates broadly remaining unchanged. New mortgage rates were 1.77%, an increase of 0.03% on […]

Very weird legal letter about council tax arrears?

30th July 2020

Hello, I received a very weird legal letter about arrears in council tax. This derives from a period in which an outgoing tenant did not pay council tax (or rent). The situation is this. June 2019 no rent received. I chase, but tenants avoid me. The tenant abandons property with lots of mess. Their month […]

Has change of use application criteria relaxed?

30th July 2020

I bought a 4 bed property outright in Derbyshire and I would like to convert it from a c3 to a C2 (see below) I have applied to the council for permission and waiting for a response. However, with the recent Permitted Development relaxation by the government to stimulate building has the law about this […]

DWP – obliged to helping tenant secure their TA?

29th July 2020

Where the DWP pays the rent direct to the Landlord, the position is due for review at certain periods. Are they obliged to tell the Landlord the review date? Especially when the Landlord has requested a direct payment. Are they obliged to send payments direct to tenant if they ask at any time irrespective of […]

Ten Covid-19 scams to be on high alert for

29th July 2020

Using the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity, fraudsters are using sophisticated methods to callously exploit people, with many concerned about their financial situation and the state of the economy. To coincide with the launch of its new animation urging people to follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign, UK Finance today […]

Landlord Law HMO Day – 19th August

29th July 2020

A new virtual training event for HMO landlords from Landlord Law: book your place here Are you an HMO landlord?  Or do you work with HMO landlords or manage an HMO property? If so, you may be interested in a new (virtual) event from Landlord Law on 19 August 2020 – an ‘HMO Day’ – […]

Property Redress Scheme credits rise in complaints to increased membership

29th July 2020

The number of complaints against its members has increased by 51% in 2019 the Property Redress Scheme has revealed. The latest stats, released by the Property Redress Scheme on an interactive website, also reveal that the scheme saw rapid growth in 2019, and by the end of the year the scheme had over 12,000 agent […]