Skipton International, a UK Buy to Let lender for overseas residents, is reporting strong customer interest despite ongoing uncertainty with Brexit. To the end of August year on year enquiry values through the lender’s online Mortgage Calculator have risen by 43%. So far 2019 has already witnessed more enquiry value than received across the whole […]

I have a tenant in rent arrears. He didn’t apply properly for Housing benefit at the point of moving in, so the Council have decided to only pay from when he did actually apply and have granted his rent benefit. £1300 owing here. Once the benefit was assessed he was then told top ups were […]

The freeholder of my rental flat in a Block split his original parcel of land into two parcels by selling off the parking bays. At FirstTier Tribunal, we won, as litigants in person, the right to free car parking on the bays of the new freeholder . (Needless to say, he was trying to charge […]

A tenant falling into arrears, or simply not paying at all, is a stressful situation, especially if communication between the tenant and landlord has broken down and led to an eviction. Of course, the circumstances can be tricky to navigate, especially if the tenant has not just stopped paying through choice, but has fallen into […]

We would be delighted for Property118 readers to join us at our Property Investment Seminar in Brentwood on Wednesday 18th September. Light refreshments will be served upon arrival and guests are encouraged. All we ask is that you let us know beforehand. Location: Marygreen Manor Hotel Time: 6:15pm arrival, 6:30pm start Venue: Marygreen Manor Hotel (60+ free […]

Oxford Council with the aid of a £274,942 government grant has been using a plane with thermal imaging to catch illegal beds in sheds run by criminals without planning permission. The extra heat signatures given off by people renting sheds as homes is a tell tale give away from the air in the same way […]

Restoring the levels of housing benefit, otherwise known as Local Housing Allowance (LHA), so they truly cover market rents has the potential to prevent more than 6,000 households from being pushed into homelessness and also lift more than 35,000 children out of poverty in the next three years in the UK. As part of Crisis’ […]

I am sure many people reading this will say not yet another old codger going on about the war. At the end of the war there was a shortage of 2 million houses due to enemy action, but now we are short of 4 million houses! I moved into a newly built Council Estate in […]

The National Landlords Association (NLA) and the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) will unite to form the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) with a membership of more than 80,000 landlords making it by far the largest organisation in the sector. Its members will own and manage half a million properties, about 10 per cent of the […]

Labour plans to force landlords to sell homes to tenants for less than market rates would kill off the private rented sector, says the RLA. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has today proposed a new ‘Right-to-Buy’ scheme for private sector tenants to tackle what he describes as the “burgeoning buy-to-let market” and the problem of landlords […]

The Renting Homes (Fees etc) (Wales) Act came into force on 1 September and the NLA say confusion will reign. The Act was given royal assent in May of this year, giving the Welsh Government just under four months to see to its implementation. While the Act outlines the types of payments landlords and agents […]

The National Landlords Association (NLA) has slammed the Labour Party’s suggestion that private tenants could be given the chance to buy their homes at a discounted rate from their landlords. The NLA believes the proposal is yet another demonstration of Labour’s misunderstanding of the housing market. Chris Norris, Director of Policy and Practice at the […]

John McDonnell Labour Shadow Chancellor has given an interview to the Financial Times outlining a ‘tenants right to buy’ policy idea first muted by Jeremy Corbyn in 2015 stating it would be a “great and radical solution to the burgeoning buy-to-let market.” Labour want to redistribute wealth and raise living standards by forcing landlords to […]

For the avoidance of any doubt, let’s first be clear of what a “scheme” is. DOTAS (Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes) is the acronym used for the procedure introduced by the UK government in 2004 aimed at minimizing tax avoidance. Tax avoidance in the UK, unlike tax evasion, is not illegal since it involves using […]

Last November the Alliance was formally launched. Around this time the NLA and RLA entered in to discussions to merge. On behalf of the Alliance, our steering committee and all our members nationwide I would like to offer our best wishes to the new NRLA . The new merged association will still only represent less […]

David Cox, of ARLA Propertymark, has written in the Daily Mail outlining a five point plan for the PRS that will encourage landlords to stay in the sector and give tenants a better deal. In the article he detailed the plans as a new manifesto to be considered by the government: 1. Tax incentives Tax […]

So, Boris Johnson is to suspend Parliament to enable him to set out his plans for Education, The Police, National Health Service, but he must not forget Housing. The only way to provide sufficient homes for the growing population is new build on an industrial scale. Within such plans must be provision for all types […]

Property118 has received multiple anonymous tip offs today that the National Landlords Association “NLA” and the Residential Landlords Association “RLA” will merge later this year. Having once said “I think hell is more likely to freeze over before that ever happens”, I will also be the first to admit that I will be delighted to […]

Property Investor Partnership is delighted to be offering 1 bed, build-complete apartments in the centre of Woking, Surrey – discounted by 10% off list prices. Spectrum House is an exciting development comprising of 41 apartments. Each high specification apartment has been interior designed, featuring high-gloss contemporary kitchens with integrated appliances and smartphone controlled underfloor heating. […]

Which political party has been best for tenants and landlords? Independent letting and sales agent, Benham and Reeves, has looked at which political party has had the most impact on the UK rental market and which way you might want to be voting depending on whether you’re a landlord or tenant. Benham and Reeves looked […]

I have an HMO situation that I may need some help and advice with. I applied to Barnet council for an HMO license which was granted. A few weeks later Barnet council Planning Dept have now written to me asking me questions. After doing some checking myself, I can see that six other flats in […]