New government press release today: More than 100 councils across England have been awarded a share of over £4 million to crack down on criminal landlords and letting agents, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP has announced.  The majority of landlords provide decent homes for their tenants, but a small minority persist in breaking the law, […]

Government funding to root out criminal landlords is welcome, but inadequate to tackle the scale of the problem, the RLA has said. Ministers have today confirmed details of more than 100 local authorities in England which will share £4 million in new funding, as part of what it describes as a “crackdown on criminal landlords”. […]

I owned properties in my name and completed self assessment returns. I set up a company and eventually bought property through the company and submitted dormant returns. This is the first time I need to submit a return for the company. I collated all the figures, but when I tried to complete the return for […]

Research by Hamilton Fraser’s deposit alternative scheme Ome, has looked at the real cost of a tenancy deposit for those that have to borrow the money in order to overcome the initial financial hurdle of renting. For many, the average tenant deposit cost of £1,299 is manageable but the issue is the requirement to pay […]

Leading tenant eviction law firm, Landlord Action, says they have numerous cases where court delays and administrative errors mean evictions are taking longer than ever, pushing landlords into further debt. One case has taken nearly a year and the landlord is still no closer to gaining possession.  Founder, Paul Shamplina, says investment in the court […]

Two years ago my Nan, who had dementia, went into a care home. In order to help pay for the care home we (her family) decided to rent out her home, which she was the sole owner of. My mother had Power of Attorney so was able to act on my Nan’s behalf. The tenants […]

I am the named tenant on my current lease. I have a permitted occupier living with me who I would like to have vacated. What is the best way to go about vacating them from the property? Their status on the lease is merely a ‘permitted occupier’ status, can I simply give them a month’s […]

Since moving into the house the washing machine has been leaking. The tenant has used a large number of bath towels to save the carpet, but can any related over-spill be construed as damage to the carpet caused by the tenant? None of the above electrical items seems to have been PAT tested, although the […]

Hello Everybody, I’m new here so excuse any errors. I ran into some financial difficulties and decided to let my flat out (6 months tenancy) to a couple who deceived me by their lies. I admit I am a bit gullible and new to this. They moved into the Essex flat and now telling all […]

I would welcome advice on the following. I issued a tenant with a 6 months short hold tenancy agreement and obtained a letter from a guarantor for any non payment of rent by the tenant. The tenancy has rolled over into a periodic tenancy. Is the guarantor still liable for any non payment? My query […]

As we rapidly approach the end of the year, and the end of this Decade, I would like to help you to get a flying start to 2020, because I believe it is going to be a great year to invest in property, as long as you know what you are doing. There is still […]

We managed to evict a tenant after getting a CCJ, but the Court did not register it with the Registry Trust. We have discovered she is a serial offender with multiple CCJs, but none are registered so she can keep conning new landlords who will be unaware of her evictions or CCJs. It is not […]

A petition has been started on Change.org, click here, ‘Charity ‘ – Shelter CEO’s on £125 K – Year, should NOT receive Honours. Polly Neate, Chief Executive of the so called housing charity Shelter, has been honoured with a CBE in the New Year’s Honours list. This will be particularly controversial with Landlords and Lettings […]

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick spent the evening volunteering on Christmas Day at Birmingham Christmas Shelter, which was open throughout the day and night during Christmas week and welcomes up to 150 guests daily. The team at the shelter provide hot food and drinks as well as entertainment, services, clothing and a safe and warm place for […]

A year ago I sold a property that was used loosely as self contained units/bedsits. The new owner knew that it did not have full planning consent for this use – it had previously been a hostel, then HMO (I had an HMO license) when licensing came in and a few were altered further. The […]

Considering how long it took for the Tenant Fees Act to come into force, it is probably best not to hold your breath for the Renters’ Reform Bill 2019-20 announced before Christmas in the Queen’s Speech. It has been confirmed that no date is yet available for the second reading. The Bill will includes policies […]

I have heard about landlords coming unstuck with UC payment periods for tenants. What’s the best way to ensure you get all your rent paid? Start a tenancy a day before or on the day of payment period date, or during it? I have already found out to my cost that UC won’t backdate any […]

Possible Tenant X has incomings of £737.36 in total (£419.94 per month housing element, £317.82 other benefits). UC are deducting total of £95.35 per month for 3 various ongoing unpaid debts/fines. Take out the rent of £450, and his total left per month is £192.41 I have spoken to UC direct (tenant gave full permission) […]

When I first wrote my book “Property Magic” I wanted to come up with some simple guidelines which would help investors to minimise the risks of investing and maximise their returns. I observed that most investors, myself included, made some common mistakes which could easily be avoided by following these principles: Always Buy from Motivated […]

I am recently having problems with my lodger whom I lived with two years and a quarter. I met with the person I will call “A” over one of room advertising website and after A moved in we gradually became good friends and had lots of family occasions together. Time to time A had work […]

As part of his drive to tackle homelessness, over £260 million has been committed for local authorities to support people who are homeless or at risk of losing their homes. The funding will empower councils across England to provide the best services for local needs, helping those experiencing homelessness in their area to improve their […]