The Minister of State for Housing Christopher Pincher has given a speech at the Savills Annual Housing Seminar outlining the government’s strategy for housing and re-confirming how important the housing market is to the general health of the economy. He also acknowledges how the housing market is at the sharp end of changes to the […]

The Government is being lobbied from all quarters of the property industry from Conveyancing, Surveying, Agent and Landlord groups to extend the Stamp Duty holiday and help unplug the logjam of housing transactions that are trying to complete before the holiday at the end of March ends. A letter was sent to the Government with […]

I have a property that was let in 2009 via an agent. The agent gave me the deposit and the 1st month’s rent.  I didn’t know that the deposit should have been protected in an account at the time. Then in 2015 the agent said that he will deposit £675 in a government scheme. The […]

I moved into the end terrace property 20 years ago and part of the garden to the side and rear of the house was leased from the council. Approximately a year after I moved in the lease expired on the part of the garden and the council wrote and offered me the opportunity to purchase. […]

The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) has issued new guidance on domestic animals in rented properties following the surge in pet ownership during lockdown. According to the Kennel Club, two out of five new puppy owners this summer bought their pet as a ‘Covid companion’, and two thirds of new dog owners agreed their pet […]

York is one of the UK’s oldest cities, rich with history and culture. It is popular with tourists and residents alike who enjoy exploring its cobbled streets and independent shops York is a medieval city located in North Yorkshire, UK. Its architecture and atmosphere are in many ways like its southern counterpart, Bath. Both cities […]

I hired an electrician to do an EICR who found the Consumer Unit needed to be replaced. I then gave the job to him to complete. However, after the job was completed, it turned out he isn’t qualified to register the installation with Building Control at the local council, so called Part P Certificate (Building […]

Having taken 3 months mortgage payment holiday, I now would like to pay back those 3 months interest payments that I deferred. However, the tax implication seems tricky: 1. The reduction of 3 months interest would reduce taxable outgoings, therefore increase taxable income for this tax year? 2. Then if I payback the 3 moths […]

Hi everyone. I’ve been reading some conflicting advice about people who have lodgers and go away for a few months (fixed-term stay somewhere say for a summer job, less than a year, definitely not “moved out”, all belongings still in main home and room kept free). Some people say it’s fine and that the six-month […]

Recently I have been getting to know some landlords in Spain. I think it’s good for us to network with others – to support each other if nothing else. The Spanish landlords have been explaining to me quite how bad it is for them now. They have a huge problem – an epidemic of squatting […]

The BRRRR Method to successful property portfolio building is much talked about. BRRRR stands for Buy, Refurbish, Rent, Refinance & Repeat. The BRRRR strategy is how most successful property investors have built sizable portfolios. In this video I break down the BRRRR property investing method and how to successfully apply it in 2021.

Official Property118 insurance partner, The Home Insurer, is delighted to announce it has won the 2020 UK Customer Service Excellence Award for Best Customer Retention and Loyalty. The award was open to the UK insurance industry and focussed on evidence of customer care initiatives that positively influence the customer journey and encouraged retention and repeat […]

If you are a landlord that owns more than one property then now is the time to price check your existing insurance costs and see if you can save money. Property 118’s Insurance offering has recently benefited from a new underwriter coming on to its panel and offering superb prices and policies for portfolio landlords. […]

HMRC’s Q3 2020 SDLT receipts shows Stamp Duty income rose 27% over the last quarter, increasing to £1.9bn in Q3 2020, up from £1.5bn in Q2 20201 The Number of property transactions liable for Stamp Duty jumps 68% over the last quarter, rising to 250,500 Q3 2020, up from 149,000 in Q2 20201 The Classic […]

A client Of Landlord Licensing & Defence who has lived in abject terror for months due to bullying and ridiculous Local Council action had a successful outcome at Court! Terrified by Council Enforcement; a client who had been summoned to court by an overly aggressive North West council for housing offences got a fantastic result. […]

As everyone knows there is a never-ending amount of pain heaped upon the private individual landlord with unnecessary and expensive regulations and taxes upon taxes. Whilst we sit here wondering where it is going to end, we look at our opposite numbers providing the same services in the council and housing associations largely exempt from […]

Can anybody define the precise meaning of these two words: Revised Payment & Capitalisation? I know the answer, but judges don’t and interestingly the Banks know it? I fought a case of wrongful repossession and lost. It was based on “we’re my arrears capitalised” the judge said your payments were Revised. I note now through […]

I and my brother have in Aug 2020 transferred our residential house we live in to our sons who all live with us in the same house. (Essentially we have gifted it to them to plan for inheritance) After reading the gov.uk site, I was advised that as Myself and my brother still live in […]

The proposed Additional Licensing Scheme for HMOs will focus on the 9000+ properties in the City of Westminster where private renters live in multi-occupant homes including flat shares, bedsits, and buildings converted into flats. The scheme billed as part of the council’s wider ‘private rented sector strategy’, will seek to increase the local authority’s ability […]

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has launched a new online tool to search if a landlord has licensed a rental property and announcing tenants could be owed thousands of pounds in rent repayments if their landlord has failed to obtain the correct licence. If a landlord does not hold the correct property licence, they […]

Snag solving expert, HouseScan has revealed which are the top eight most common snags found when it comes to new build homes in the UK. They’ve revealed just which are the most common defects being found across new build inspections and the potential cost of rectifying these issues. Blocked Guttering Generally caused due to poor […]