Page 499 – Property118

Mass sell-off if government do not get landlord support?

19th December 2019

Government Ministers need to ensure that plans to reform the rights of landlords to re-possess rented housing have their support otherwise there could be a mass sell-off of properties. With the demand for rental housing outstripping supply, the Residential Landlords Association is warning that the proposals in the Queen’s Speech to end Section 21 re-possessions […]

Queen’s speech – Section 21 ban?

19th December 2019

The first Queen’s speech under a new Tory majority outlining the government’s intentions for new legislation in this Parliament has been given. For landlords the most relevant statement, all be it very short was: “New measures will be introduced to protect tenants.” From previously signalled government intention this is likely to be taken to mean […]

Nottingham homeless in The Post again!

18th December 2019

Nottingham homeless in the post again. Nottingham has the highest by A LONG WAY homeless in the region. Us Landlords all know this is because of the Labour Council Selective Licensing who blame it on Tory Govt Benefit Cuts Universal Credit UC. I’m biggest HB Landlord in Nottingham and yes UC is a problem, but […]

Number of rent increases slowed in November

18th December 2019

ARLA Propertymark has released its November Private Rented Sector (PRS) Report.1  Rent prices – The number of tenants experiencing rent rises fell by 18 percentage points in November with 32% of lettings agents witnessing landlords increasing them compared to 50% in October. – This is the lowest figure since March when the number stood at […]

Can I take action against the council for security door breach?

18th December 2019

I am a council leaseholder and the secure door to our block of flats has not been working for around 6 weeks. This was reported to Hackney Council mid November, but they have not fixed it and are saying now it will not be done before Christmas. We have since had homeless people sleeping in […]

Will Nottingham fine landlords for increasing rents to cover licensing?

18th December 2019

I read an article about the council checking that the renting cost/ prices are kept down. Nottingham City Council will apparently fine any landlord that increases the rent cost because of licensing. The reason for this pressure on landlords from the Council is that the licensing is covering a 5 years period. Nottingham City Council […]

New process agreed for valuation of high-rise buildings

17th December 2019

RICS, the BSA and UK Finance have agreed a new industry-wide process to be used by valuers, lenders, building owners and fire safety experts in the valuation of high-rise properties. The new External Wall Fire Review process will require a fire safety assessment to be conducted by a suitably qualified and competent professional delivering assurance […]

Nationwide call to use empty homes

17th December 2019

Nationwide Building Society is urging the new Government to resurrect abandoned funding that would bring thousands of empty properties back into use. With an estimated 226,000 empty properties in England[1], the Society believes the time for action is now. This is set against the fact that 85,000 families[2]  are living in unsuitable and overcrowded temporary […]

New Father of the House and leasehold reform?

17th December 2019

I note since the latest general election that the new Father of the House is Conservative MP Sir Peter Bottomley. One of his main activities has been to push through leasehold reform. This is particularly in response to “new builds” with large ground rent charges. Has anybody got any views how this may pan out […]

How can I trace my previous letting agent?

17th December 2019

I had a letting agent who disappeared owing me £1100 and I have made a claim via small claims. The courts have sent him notice, but he has not replied. I am assuming he has left his office. The courts won’t award a CCJ until I am able to get his known address. They have […]

Top new home builders

17th December 2019

Stone Real Estate collected the latest annual results for 11 of the UK’s biggest housebuilders to see who was top of the pile when it comes to the delivery of homes within the sales market and who has stepped up their game the most compared to the previous year. The most sales: The latest results […]

HomeLet report rental increase of 3.2% in the last year

17th December 2019

HomeLet’s rental index figures for November 2019 have been released with rents showing consistent average growth of over 3% in the last year. The headlines from the report are: – The average rent in the UK is now £947, up by 3.2% on the same time last year – When London is excluded, the average […]

Campaign to Help Rough Sleepers Off the Streets of London

17th December 2019

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is asking Londoners to give generously to his winter rough sleeping campaign as he announces funding for more beds in homeless shelters than ever before. Earlier this year, Sadiq announced he was doubling the rough sleeping budget to £19.2m to increase the range of services available to help homeless […]

Rightmove predict 2% house price inflation and rising rents for 2020

16th December 2019

With increased political certainty post general election and the potential release of pent up demand, Rightmove are predicting 2% house price inflation for 2020. This is more than double the current annual rate of 0.8%, but it’s still a relatively marginal increase in a price sensitive market. With its massive market share Rightmove has the […]

Soham, Bristol and East London agents expelled from TPO

16th December 2019

Buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords in Soham, Cambridgeshire, are being warned that a local estate and letting agent Let365co Ltd (trading as 365 Residential) has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme owing a landlord £1,895 of a £3800 award made by the Ombudsman. A landlord made a complaint to The Property Ombudsman in […]

Calling on Boris to now strengthen landlord repossession rights

16th December 2019

The National Landlords’ Association says the Conservative government must start a new housing court and reform Section 8 “fault-based” evictions to end the logjam of repossession cases that will follow the abolition of Section 21 “no fault” evictions The new Boris Johnson led Conservative government must take urgent action to deliver on its pre-election promise […]

Politics and the Alliance

16th December 2019

When the landlords alliance was born just over 12 months ago, we never envisaged becoming so involved or advocating for any particular party. Our aim was simply to change the narrative. To stop the hate-fest and the stupid counterproductive attack on the PRS. Landlords are your neighbours shopkeepers, police officers, train drivers teachers etc. The […]

UK regeneration hotspots

16th December 2019

New research has revealed Birmingham as the Council area with the most opportunities for regeneration for investment in empty residential and commercial properties. UK fibre broadband specialist Glide made a series of FOI requests to local Councils in order to find the number of empty dwellings and commercial properties across the UK. Collectively, across both […]

Block of flats next door causing flooding and subsidence?

16th December 2019

We have owned this particular 4 bedroom Buy to Let property for 30 years. Next to our property is a block of flats which is on a higher ground and then there is a wall between the flats and our property. The property suffers from historical subsidence. Tenants have complained of flooding previously (going back […]

Tory Landslide – Landlord Reactions

13th December 2019

The Conservative Party have now won a majority in Westminster with over 364 seats and counting ensuring, barring disaster, a Tory government for the next 5 years. The country appears to have voted in line with the vast majority of landlord sentiment favouring the conservatives and rejecting the far left socialism of Jeremy Corbyn and […]