I have a long standing Housing Benefits tenant who I always have had direct payment for as there is a history of drink, drugs and spells in HMP. I received direct payment (by HB ) as normal and expected for period 13 April- 19th May. When the rent was not forthcoming for 11 May – […]

The Court of Appeal has today sided with private landlords in a case which threatened the way they could repossess properties. The case of Trecarrell v Rouncefield centred on the relationship between Section 21 notices and gas safety certificates. The landlord, Trecarrell House Limited, was initially granted an order to repossess the property using Section […]

The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to hold the base rate at 0.1%. However, they also voted 8 to 1 in favour of increasing Quantitative Easing measures by purchasing an additional £100 billion of government stock taking the total level of asset purchases to £745 billion. The Bank of England summary […]

I won’t go into reasons for how this happened, but let’s say Eve has a lot of control over Bob and pressured them emotionally strongly into doing it. Bob purchased a flat. Eve asked Bob for the flat to be sold to them at purchase price. Bob was doing v well in life and agreed […]

We have a property on the market for £385,000, mortgaged at £120,000 on an expensive 4% RBS One account. We want to unlock the potential from the house & downsize We found a house that we really want, which was sold, but which has subsequently fallen through, I have an idea to get £62500 (25%) […]

Has anyone else heard of the Government’s CBILS scheme paying out to developers? I spoke to a broker last week who was waiting for an announcement that CBILS was being widened out to cover developers too, but I haven’t heard of any developers getting one yet. Many thanks Groover Editor’s Notes: >>  .Gov guidance  Eligibility […]

If I raise the rent to match (or be slightly under) the LHA rate, what about the Bond secured as a deposit? The Bond at the time was for the 5 weeks max rent, so do I ask for an increase to match the rent increase? Bit of a dilemma even if benefits pay the […]

I’m currently in the process of purchasing a new family home. The plan is to keep our current family home and rent it out, the mortgage is low on the property (7% LTV to be precise). I currently also have a LTD company which holds 2 rental properties. Our thinking is that we would transfer […]

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has released its annual report on the private rental market summary statistics England for April 2019 to March 2020. Click here This report shows the median monthly rental prices for the PRS in England using data from the Valuation Office Agency: The median monthly rent was £700 for England, […]

The latest research by, Howsy, has found that one-bed properties are now proving the best financial investment when it comes to buy to let rental yields across the UK’s major cities. Previous research from Howsy found that three was the magic number for rental yields, offering the highest return with a rental yield of 4.3%. […]

I recently agreed to purchase a new property with Miller homes and part of the agreed purchase price was some additional work. The contracts were signed on that basis. 5 days later the sales agent reverted to say this work was not possible and that I would have to buy the property as is or […]

Research from Belvoir, including the Q1 rental index, and a lockdown survey of franchisees, provides an insight into the changing world of tenant demands, with demand for outdoor space becoming more of a priority. “The Belvoir Q1 rental index was prepared for us by industry expert Kate Faulkner, who began by looking at a breakdown […]

I have two small flats in a small development of 7 which I rent out privately. A couple of years ago we got a new Freeholder who appointed a new Property Services Management Company. Every year the prices are increasing especially regarding admin fees and buildings insurance. This year they wanted to increase the admin […]

Please could someone offer advice on the best way to remove someone from ownership on a property. I own 2 x buy to let’s with a family member. They are in our personal names. They are small HMOs with 4 tenants sharing. They are of equal value/ equity / mortgage give or take. The fellow […]

The decision to extend the ban on evictions in rented housing will compound the suffering of victims of domestic violence and anti-social behaviour says the NRLA As a result of the decision by the Government to prevent any evictions taking place until the end of August, landlords are powerless to take action against tenants committing […]

Is there anything that prevents a landlord from charging the full Local Housing Allowance (LHA) to DSS claimants? The LHA is the amount that the DSS will pay in rent for a benefit claimant in a particular area, dependant on the number of rooms that they are entitled to. This LHA used to be capped […]

I know I can’t charge for an annual Gas Cert to be carried out, BUT … What if after having given adequate notice to the tenant that the engineer is coming, but when he gets there there is no actual credit on the gas meter? In some cases it is not as simple as just […]

I signed a Terms of Business contract with a letting agent in 2014 for let only on an assured shorthold tenancy agreement for 3 years. At the end of the term my tenants and I wished to renew. The agency demanded 3 years at a negotiated 5% + tax and admin fees plus a tenancy […]

I have now released the latest Shamps and Quirky Property Odd Bods Weekend Property Show Episode 4 on YouTube. We are giving all the up to date weekly news, banter, arguments and a prised ‘Property Plum’ of the week. There is also a £200 bet which I’m confident I’m going to win! Please catch up […]

In this video interview with Mark Alexander, founder of Property118, we explore the opportunities afforded to landlords with no mortgages or low mortgages in regards to transitioning their ownership structure to a Limited Company. This is also known as ‘incorporation’ It is widely acknowledged that more than half of the UK’s wealthiest residential landlords have […]

The Northern Ireland Executive announced in yesterday’s Covid-19 press conference it was opening up the remainder of the Housing Market from Monday 15th June. This amendment enables house sales and moves and covers the end to end process such as viewing, securing a mortgage and moving house. The Department for Communities has developed guidance on […]