The current pandemic has caused problems for businesses in a multitude of sectors, with big high street names including Debenhams, Carluccio’s, Brighthouse, Chiquito, Laura Ashley and Flybe having already gone into administration. Gatwick Airport, Rolls-Royce, Cairn Energy and Finsbury Food Group are also feeling the pinch but peer to peer lender, Sourced Capital, has looked […]

Over 1,100 landlords watched the April 2020 Baker Street Property Meet event LIVE on YouTube. The content must have been engaging because the audience levels were maintained for nearly two hours. The live comment feeds also support that. I must correct myself on two silly mistakes I made. The first is that HMRC’s internal manuals […]

My son has a HMO property which was let in January to four overseas students who claimed to be two married couples. Having done the Right to Rent checks, their documentation appeared to be above board. The passports were valid and had the correct student Visas and they had evidence of student registration at universities. […]

So, a while ago someone told me that you can set up your own management company. And use this company to , 1, Collect Rent 2, Manage Visit’s 3, Manage Repairs The management company then takes a fee and you get paid the difference. Of course you will then pay tax on both earnings. Does […]

Responding to news that the Department for Work and Pensions has suspended until 10th May deductions from Universal Credit payments for rent arrears, service charge arrears and council tax arrears Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association said: “At such a difficult time the priority should be to do everything possible to […]

A new Covid-19 Housing Delivery Taskforce to tackle the challenges Covid-19 poses to the London housing sector has met for the first time and is chaired by Labour’s Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development, Tom Copley. The group will consider how the sector can adapt and maintain resilience and also look at specific support […]

The average pension fund fell by 15.2%, its worst quarterly performance on record and only 11% of pension funds avoided posting a loss during the quarter. The Average annual annuity income fell by 6% to an all-time low with the average retirement income for someone saving into a pension fund and opting for an annuity […]

I had an Agreement in Principle (AIP) for a Client declined by Paragon yesterday due to credit issues,  BUT the credit file is more or less a perfect score, no missed payments, long historical residency, no CCJ’s etc etc i.e. no adverse. I spoke with Paragon about this and we couldn’t work out what the […]

Landlords and agents have had to carry out right to rent checks under on tenants since 2016 (and in some areas since 2014) – but is the right to rent scheme inherently discriminatory? And if so, is it an unlawful? This was the view taken by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) […]

Lenders have given over 1.6 million mortgage payment holidays to support customers facing financial difficulties due to coronavirus meaning one in seven mortgages are now covered by payment holidays following steps taken by lenders to help households whose finances have been affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Lenders continue to offer product transfers enabling existing customers […]

The government has announced that a new fast-track finance scheme providing loans with a 100% government-backed guarantee for lenders is designed to benefit small businesses. The loans will be interest free and capital repayment free for the first 12 months and the simplified application forms will be self certified subject to not committing fraud. The […]

Has anyone successfully sued a District Council? Like all stories this one begins with a fairy tale and ends as a nightmare. The only trouble is this is no story, it’s all true. Two years ago my husband and I wished to help our daughter and her husband of five months as they found themselves […]

Join me, Shaf Rasul from Dragons Den, Simon Zutshi and Ranjan Bhattacharya live for an online Baker Street Property Meet at 7pm on 29th April 2020. 1000+ property investors will be attending, so secure your spot now. REGISTER HERE IT’S FREE! I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am to be o the […]

Property Redress Scheme has launched a tenancy mediation service for residential and commercial landlords, or their appointed letting agent, and tenants, to aid finding a resolution over issues which have arisen during a tenancy.  The service was in planning prior to COVID-19, but has been brought forward to support landlords and tenants struggling with the […]

I was hoping for some ideas on how I should be dealing with a situation where one person in an HMO is failing to abide by the lockdown social distancing rules. It’s a 4 person house and the other 3 tenants are extremely upset and worried as according to them the 4th person keeps going […]

Instead of renting out the second bedroom under an AST, and where my daughter has the other bedroom, if my daughter takes in a lodger will she be treated as a private landlord and have to jump through the hoops for the new Electrical Regulations coming in to effect? Many thanks Judith Editor’s Notes: From […]

Join me, Shaf Rasul from Dragons Den, Simon Zutshi and Ranjan Bhattacharya live for an online Baker Street Property Meet at 7pm on 29th April 2020. REGISTER HERE IT’S FREE! I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am to be o the same panel as a real life Dragon! There awo things […]

The NRLA are calling on Ministers to instruct local authorities that they should not charge council tax on rented homes left empty because of the coronavirus. A significant number of rented homes have been left empty because tenants have been unable to take up tenancies, or have chosen to move out to be closer to […]

Our Hon. Legal Counsel, Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers will be presenting an overview of several landlords tax strategies at the South Wales Property Meet Thursday 30th April. The event will be held Online and Attendees can expect first class speakers and great networking opportunities. They will also be making a small donation […]

The Business Secretary, Alok Sharma, has indicated high street shops and other companies with a commercial lease that are under strain will be protected from what he calls ‘aggressive’ rent collection and asked to pay what they can during the coronavirus pandemic. The majority of landlords and tenants are working well together to reach agreements […]

I have just had a UC47 rejected as it states rent arrears are not in excess of two months rent. Does this mean the total tent of the property – or does this mean the total amount of rent due by the tenant towards her part of the rent – in other words her top […]