Guidance from Lord Chief Justice and soon-to-be enacted Coronavirus legislation both mean landlords have a very small window to complete ongoing evictions. The Section 8 evictions court system is continuing but is on the brink of being shut down, Landlord Action has warned. Blackpool County Court was the first to follow the Lord Chief Justice’s […]

SCHEDULE 29 of the Coronavirus Bill outlines government policy for Assured shorthold tenancy evictions. Click here to download the entire Bill. It looks as if the only changes in the new bill are an extension of notice periods under the Housing act 1988 from 2 months to 3 months. The relevant sections of the new […]

“In recent days, the Bank of England and the government have worked closely with the major banks to put in place a range of measures which give enormous scope to the financial system to provide help to both businesses and households during these extraordinary times. The UK’s banks are in a strong position to provide […]

The latest research by Hamilton Fraser’s deposit replacement scheme Ome, has found that the average rental deposit being paid by tenants in England has fallen -10.3% since the ban on tenant fees was introduced in June 2019. Ome looked at the average cost of a rental deposit in the six months prior to the introduction […]

Commercial tenants who cannot pay their rent because of coronavirus will be protected from eviction, the government has announced. Many landlords and tenants are already having conversations and reaching voluntary arrangements about rental payments due shortly but the Government recognises businesses struggling with their cashflow due to coronavirus remain worried about eviction. These measures, included […]

I am concerned that the Government has overlooked Corporate Landlords in its bail out provisions. It has effectively allowed our tenants the discretion to delay paying rents by removing the option of eviction and yet there is very little if any support financially for landlords that are incorporated. As we are deemed to be Investment […]

Anyone know what is a landlords legal position if a tenant asks for a repair eg dripping tap, boiler problem etc during this pandemic? I know that Local Authority repair teams for their stock social housing have been told they cannot go into residential properties. If one can even find a tradesman is there a […]

I own a commercial property and had to forfeit the commercial lease of the tenant due to non payment of rent. The property remained empty for some time partly due to a legal issue with the ex-tenant and then trying to ensure any new tenant was suitable. During the period of the legal issue we […]

The London Renters Union have released a template letter for tenants (see below) requesting a suspension of payments until the Coronavirus situation improves. They appear to be insinuating that landlords are being given help by lenders suspending mortgage payments and that tenants haven’t been offered any corresponding assistance. The LRU state: “It’s good news that […]

I have just purchased a house to let and I don’t have a mortgage on it. I have an agency looking for a tenant for me. I’m thinking about the current situation and is it best to keep it empty and pay the council tax until this Coronavirus is sorted or rush having someone move […]

1. Tenant on PAYE – laid off temporarily or permanently (not because they have the virus) and say they can’t pay the rent indefinitely, can they claim government assistance to pay the rent eg housing benefit? If so is this immediate? If not what can I do? 2. tenant who is self employed and whose […]

If the rental property is not mortgaged then there is no payment holiday, (for up to three months) for a landlord which 3 month’s monies could then be offered on the understanding this payment holiday benefit is to be passed on to the tenant. Are we then saying that tenants get up to 3 months […]

The NRLA are welcoming the Chancellor’s package of measures to support people’s incomes during the Coronavirus outbreak. The Residential Landlords Association and the National Landlords Association are pointing especially to the decision to ensure the Local Housing Allowance is guaranteed to cover at least 30% of market rents in a claimant’s area as a vital […]

Dear All Every single human being on this planet is both concerned and affected by the Covid-19 Corona virus in different ways. During these difficult times, it is important that we all remain level-headed, which is why I am sharing my private thoughts with those of you who rent your home and those of you […]

In this video, Mark Alexander (founder of Property118) discusses ownership structures for buy to let landlords with Ranjan Bhattacharya. As the video is 26 minutes long you might want to grab yourself a cuppa before you start watching. The first two key messages are that buying in your own name or within an ‘off-the-shelf-company’ are […]

Landlord Action has received its first court adjournment from Blackpool County Court for a Section 8 eviction, after the government announced this week it is to ban evictions and introduce three-month mortgage payment holidays for landlords whose tenants are struggling to pay rent due to coronavirus. A statement from the county court says all new […]

The NRLA are calling on the Government to build on its positive steps to date to support the private rented sector through the coronavirus outbreak. They are calling for: Efforts to help reduce costs for landlords without mortgages Not all landlords have a mortgage and therefore will be unable to secure a buy-to-let mortgage holiday. […]

UK Finance has confirmed Buy to Let (BTL) lenders will look to assist all customers by extending the option of a payment holiday of up to three months to residential BTL  landlords who have tenants who are experiencing issues with their finances, as either a direct or indirect result of Coronavirus, as well a three […]

The government has released its emergency Bill for legislation introducing emergency powers to tackle the spread of Coronavirus. Click here However, on initial skim reading and form the contents list it does not seem apparent that there will be any new or temporary legislation clarifying the position regarding protecting tenants from eviction or landlords from […]

I have a student HMO, one of the students who merely signed up 2 months ago for a 6 months contract without any deposit has contacted me today and advised that, as her University is closing due to pandemic she no longer needs the accommodation and would be returning back home as her parents are […]

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) convened a special meeting and voted to cut Bank rate to a record low 0.1% and increase holdings of UK government and corporate bonds by £200 billion. “The spread of Covid-19 and the measures being taken to contain the virus will result in an economic shock that […]