We currently let 3 properties, all of the tenants have been our tenants since we purchased them in early 2017. We haven’t increased the rent since, however we would like to do so this year. All of the tenants are on a periodic tenancy agreement and the AST has provision for a rent increase – […]

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has today released the English Housing Survey 2018-19. Click here to download the headlines report. First run in 1967, it is a national survey of people’s housing circumstances and the condition and energy efficiency of housing in England. The Main findings of the report show: The proportion […]

The Government’s English Housing Survey for 2018-19 shows that the average length that a private sector tenant lived in their current rental property was 4.4 years, up from 4.1 years in 2017-18. This is the highest average length of time tenants were staying in their current homes over the last decade. With growing numbers of […]

I have a very tragic scenario and would welcome any comments. Background: My elderly mum has been married to her husband, Mr M, for 25 years. As both were on their second marriages and both have children from their first marriages, they have always maintained an element of independence with regards to their assets so […]

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has given approval for Waltham Forest’s new selective licensing scheme, which will cover 18 out of 20 wards (excluding Hatch Lane and Endlebury) and will commence on Friday 1 May 2020. Waltham Forest council claim to have evidence that over 8,000 rented homes contain significant hazards […]

In just two months the Japanese housing horror, knotweed, will start to rear its ugly head again and by June it will have grown to over three metres. Tradespeople comparison site, HaMuch.com, has looked at the value being wiped from UK house prices due to the nation’s growing knotweed epidemic and what this equates to […]

The latest research by rental deposit replacement scheme Ome, has looked at how the growing preference for custodial deposit protection schemes is creating a more professional, safer and transparent rental sector, with the emergence of deposit alternatives also helping to drive this change. Data from Ome shows that the number of deposits protected via insurance-based […]

Our Hon. Legal Counsel, Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers will be presenting an overview of several landlords tax strategies at the pin Kent Meeting property networking event Thursday 6th February 2020. The event will be held at Village Hotel Club, Castle View, Forstal Road, Sandling, Maidstone, ME14 3AQ The Event hosts are […]

On Monday night, I watched BBC Inside Out London which, following the tragic death of Danny Butcher who took his own life, has been investigating London based company, Property Investors. The company tells its customers they can make a fortune if they sign up to their training course. It’s a two-day free course where attendees […]

So much for being impartial, unbiased and acting as a third party. The AIIC clerk who did the check out report with the tenant present noted as he carried out the inspection that items from the original inventory were missing (eg washer/dryer and bedroom furniture). There was a large bulky item (a huge workbench) left […]

The suggestion (eg Jenrick) that landlords should be utterly relaxed about pets is shortsighted and another threat and attempt to provide council housing terms on the cheap by private landlords. Landlords should insist on a certificate of responsible dog/pet ownership by a recognised body, periodically updated as required, and tenants should have passed this course […]

MPs should back proposals to prevent EU citizens with settled status facing severe difficulties accessing healthcare, housing, and employment a coalition of groups representing EU citizens, immigrants and landlords argue. The House of Commons will today vote on an amendment passed in the House of Lords to the EU Withdrawal Bill that would require EU […]

I have a few properties full managed with previous agreements agreed and signed for each property. I sign a new agreement laying out management and other fees with them for every new AST even on the same properties, and have been doing this for years. However, since tenant fee ban, they have increased their management […]

After tenant fee ban, when a letting agent charges potential tenants one week rent before putting offers to me, WHO does this reservation fee belong to, me the landlord or my letting agent, in case the offer defaults on tenant side? What I find is: 1. after an offer didn’t reach a new AST e.g. […]

I have a tenant asking to add another person to her existing tenancy. 1. Is there any way other than a new AST along with reference check, right to rent check etc, just like setting up a new tenancy with entirely new tenants? 2. Do I need to have a check out of the old […]

The slow pace of improving building safety standards will not be tolerated, the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick warned, as he announced measures that go further and faster to ensure residents are safe in their homes. To give effective oversight of the design, construction and occupation of high-risk buildings a regulator will be at the heart […]

I have just pulled out, again, from the purchase of a new-build flat due to the onerous Ground Rent increases in the lease. In the first lease, which was for 2 flats in Birmingham, the ground rent of £250 increases every 10 years linked to RPI. In the second lease, which was for a flat […]

I’m posting an email a fellow landlord sent to Nottingham Council which highlights one of many issues of their scheme. Dear Whoever, I have received a lot of paperwork from you (draft Landlord License, Proposal to grant a licence, legal documents, notes) plus a request for the second payment. However, within all this paperwork there […]

I have been a landlord for over 20 years and I generally manage my properties without using an agent. We currently have a property empty and have been approached by a prospective tenant who works full time. The only problem is that she has informed me that she has a poor credit rating. I appreciate […]

I am increasingly having potential tenants come to me with requests for housing, but with ‘assistance’ dogs in tow. I have had requests for accommodation for a registered blind person with a guide dog, – no problem here as we had a ground floor flat and a full history of no issues with the working […]

The Rightmove House Price index has reported a post election election surge this month in the average price of property coming to market by 2.3% or up£6,785 to £306,810. Click here for full report. This 2.3% rise in new seller asking prices is the largest that Rightmove has recorded at this time of year since […]