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 […]

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 […]

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’ – […]

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 […]

It seems that the stay on possession hearings, ending 23rd August, will require a further piece of work by landlords in England and Wales. Can anyone please tell me if the “Reactivation Notice” in the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) (Corona Virus) Rules 2020 No 751 (L.17) applies to progress an accelerated claim for possession? […]

Shawbrook’s most recent Broker Barometer has revealed that as the UK emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, broker confidence in business growth and in the lending environment remains high. Nearly two thirds of commercial brokers (63%) and second charge brokers (66%) stated that they are confident about the lending environment as coronavirus restrictions ease. Similarly when […]

Value of Enfranchisement? I am a freeholder of a small block of flat (3 in total). I live on the first floor and there are two flats on the ground floor both rented out by the current leasehold owners. Leasehold owners have shown interest in purchasing their share of freehold. One flat owner has 95 […]

Hi all, I’m always sceptical of these so-called ‘eco schemes’ and grant. Although having heard they’re in the last phases of funding, I thought it was an option worth exploring especially if the government wants to splash out on my property on my behalf ?. I have a few rentals dotted around the south wales […]

Former RLA policy director David Smith has been announced as legal counsel for the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA). David is a partner at JMW Solicitors in London, specialising in landlord and tenant and property litigation in the residential sector. He will use his specialist legal knowledge to help the NRLA scrutinise legislation and the […]

Hi All – I am in the middle of buying a house and the solicitors’ checks came back with a note that there are no documents (planning permission or building certificates) for the following: 1) conversion of the old side garage into a bathroom and utility room (the side extension) 2) Rear conservatory Both were […]

The Welsh government has announced a temporary increase in the notice period for eviction in private rented and housing association accommodation in Wales. The change means that unless a tenant is being evicted on the grounds of anti-social behaviour, they will be entitled to six months’ notice instead of three. This will apply for all […]

I have 2 properties I share ownership of and both of which are run as HMO’s. It does take more work and I have become something of a social worker, but as a business, it definitely has its good points re yield even with a small turnover of tenants. I see live-in landlords and tbh […]

Is it possible to insist upon using my own solicitors under house legal insurance for builders breach of contract? I employed builders to extend and renovate my house and in short it is a horror story, missing truss, incorrect specifications, leaking house, failing building control etc. I have house legal insurance for breach of contract. […]

Hi, We are looking at incorporating our buy to let property (purchased in 2016 as our primary residence and has been let out since 2019) into our Ltd company (set up in March 2020). The house we currently live in was purchased in Nov 2019 at a higher stamp duty and I was wondering if […]

Like any loan, you’ll have to pay it back. However, with this loan, there’s no certain deadlines or tight time frames. You can choose to pay the loan back at any time, but the loan must be paid back after 25 years or when you sell your home – whichever comes first. You also have […]

The Government have announced great news this week regarding new permitted development (PD) rights for repurposing defunct commercial buildings. However, some leftie University Academics have put out a report (published in mainstream media) on how permitted development has resulted in worse quality housing. In this video below, I take apart the report point by point […]

I purchased a buy-to-let property at Auction in 1996 which I believed to be freehold and was registered as such when my ownership was recorded with UK Gov Land Registry. The legal work involved was carried out by a solicitor with whom I had a long-standing association at the time. When I discovered it was […]

Landlords: don’t complain when you pay more tax than everyone else; you are, in fact, receiving a gift from Government. There has been some controversy since the announcement of a Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) ‘holiday’ a fortnight ago. In England and Northern Ireland, the house price point above which stamp duty is charged has […]

I am looking to possibly move to another Agent in regard to a Rent to Rent/Company Lease arrangement for one of my properties. I’m not happy with the current company at all – dire call back response, never reply to emails etc among other things. They have conceded that I can have a new contract […]

If you are currently thinking of remortgaging your property I have a list below of the top five things to consider first. 1. The value of your home: House prices can vary from place to place so get an accurate valuation of your home. You can do this by looking up similar properties Zoopla or […]

I have a tenant who has not paid any rent since late 2019. I obtained a possession order just before lockdown and was in the process of instructing county court bailiffs when Covid-19 caused everything to grind to a halt. I managed to get Universal Credits to commence direct payments in April so the arrears […]