I have two concerns in relation to our tenants who moved out yesterday. 1) The flat was cleaned well, but not at the level when they moved in. Cleanliness means different things to different people and therefore difficult to prove or have an argument unless it is something extreme and obvious. We asked a cleaner […]

The Government will launch a consultation on proposals to give police new powers to arrest and seize the property and vehicles of trespassers who set up unauthorised caravan sites. Currently such trespassing is defined in law as a civil matter, but the Home Office is consulting on making it a criminal offence. Home Secretary Priti […]

The number of laws creating an obligation on private landlords has increased by 32% since 2010. According to a new analysis by the Residential Landlords Association, the total number of regulations affecting landlords has increased to 156, up from 118 when the Conservative-led coalition government came to power. The RLA is warning that the increase […]

In the midst of one of the UK’s largest online letting agencies closing its doors to new business and others losing money raised from Crowdfunding hand over first, LettingSupermarket.com are well and truly bucking the trend. They successfully completed two crowdfunding campaigns in 2015 and 2016 and raised £375,000 of seed funding from 121 investors […]

LLP or LTD Co.? We are a group of 4 individuals – all 40% tax payers looking to do a Commercial to Residential flip. Gross Development Value (GDV) £2.2M Net profit £450k (when the last of the 12 Residential units has sold!) We will be borrowing from friends and family as well as the “banks” […]

I had cause to report the threatening behaviour of a male tenant to the Police. The tenant was British White in terms of appearance. I did not mention this and reported nothing about either his nationality or his appearance. I then hear back from Kent Police that there were “racial undertones” in my reporting this […]

This case study illustrates just how unfair the UK tax legislation will become for private landlords as of April 2020. Perhaps more importantly, it provides insight into what can be done to “level the playing field”. Let’s assume that both businesses own assets worth £2,000,000 and have 75% LTV mortgages secured on them at an interest […]

THE Welsh Housing Minister, Julie James AM, will address landlords, agents and property professionals at the Residential Landlord Association’s Future Renting Wales conference next month. The third annual conference, in Cardiff, will be held at the city’s Jury’s Inn on November 28th offering landlords a valuable insight into the future of the private rented sector […]

Yesterday the 30th October Countrywide Residential Lettings Nottingham faced a RICS Disciplinary Panel Hearing to defend the following charges: “Between 2008 and 2018, the Firm transferred a sum of £10,093,866 of client funds, representing unclaimed and unidentified client balances that had not been claimed for six years or more, from the Firm’s client account into […]

The UK’s worst Halloween house price drops and the cost of buying with a Halloween road name The latest research by national fast sale estate agent, Springbok Properties, has looked at where UK homeowners are in for the biggest fright this Halloween when it comes to the value change in their property since last year, […]

Too much attention is given to the idea that the sector is a problem which requires management. Instead the Residential Landlords Association argues that what is needed is a positive, ambitious programme for the sector which supports tenants and good landlords whilst rooting out the crooks who have no place in the sector. The RLA’s […]

Annual house price growth remained subdued at 0.4% while October saw a modest 0.2% rise month-on-month, after taking account of seasonal factors. Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said: “Annual house price growth remained below 1% for the 11th month in a row in October, at 0.4%. Average prices rose by around […]

Grenfell Tower Phase 1 report response by Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union: “The Inquiry’s interim report must finally be a turning point for fire safety in the UK. Warning after warning from previous fires were ignored; central government must now take responsibility for ensuring that recommendations are applied nationwide, not just […]

NAEA Propertymark has now released its September Housing Report and the number of sales made to First-time buyers increased in September, to 30%. This is the highest figure seen since February. Year on year, this is an increase of 36 percentage points from September 2018 when it stood at 22%. However, the number of house […]

The plot has thickened with regard to what will happen to Section 21. Yesterday, Esther McVey made the following statement with regard to its proposed scrapping: ‘In April this year the government announced that it proposes to consult on the future of Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.’ Private Rented Housing: 28 Oct 2019: […]

Beware of bats this Halloween as over the winter months bats hibernate to stay out of the cold weather and residential buildings, in particular, present an ideal warm roosting site for female bats to rear their young. Scotland is home to nine species of bats and all have European protection. As such, special consideration has […]

Countrywide Residential Lettings Nottingham are due before a RICS Disciplinary Panel Hearing on the 30th October at 10am. The formal charges are quoted on the RICS website: “Between 2008 and 2018, the Firm transferred a sum of £10,093,866 of client funds, representing unclaimed and unidentified client balances that had not been claimed for six years […]

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 Bournemouth Meeting property networking event Tuesday 12th November 2019. The event will start at 6:00pm until 9:00pm and will be free for guests of Mark Smith that have not previously […]

Dame Judith Hackitt has been named as the government adviser on the new Building Safety Regulator, which will have the power to apply criminal sanctions to those breaking the new rules. A respected expert in building safety, Dame Judith Hackitt will provide independent advice to the government on how best to establish the powerful new […]

ARLA Propertymark’s Private Rented Sector (PRS) report has just been released for September. The number of tenants experiencing rent rises remains high overall with 58% of agents reporting an increase in rent prices, which  is up from 31% in September 2018, and 27% in September 2017. See Figure 1 below. However, the agents reporting the […]

I have a few apartments. The electrical meters etc. are communal and outside in a cupboard. The management agent refuses to let me have keys. I have asked many times. So, the inevitable happens. Out of hours, my pregnant tenant loses power. I call a sparky, he says it can only be solved by accessing […]