Looking into the mine field of the consequences of the new tenant fees act. I have several HMO’s with 4 or 5 tenants all on a single joint contract (ie. a shared house scenario). Generally about once a year, at a point the contract has become periodic, a tenant will want to move out and […]

Some of the so-called housing charities like to say that tenants must be protected, that they have no security in the private rented sector, that they can be asked to leave at a moment’s notice, on a whim from the landlord. Nothing could be further from the truth. Landlords must always give at least two […]

The Belvoir Q3 2019 rental index reveals interesting new rental trends, confirming a cultural shift towards more families renting, an increase in lengths of tenancies and continued stock shortages that may be further impacted by proposals to abolish Section 21. “The Q3 rental index, which analyses advertised and actual rents across the network, is prepared […]

Proposals by the Mayor of London to introduce rent controls have been dealt a critical blow as figures show rents across the capital falling in real terms. According to Office for National Statistics data published today, in the 12 months to October 2019 private sector rents in the capital increased by an average of 0.9%. […]

The nightmare scenario caused by the gas safety certificate scandal, and not ever being able to serve a section 21 if it was not given to the tenant at the outset of the tenancy, is already here people and it’s gonna come for a lot of older tenancies. I’m already in this position! Landlord Action […]

Marks Out Of Tenancy is a new landlord and property review website for tenants that can also be used as a resource for local authorities to clamp down on unlicensed properties, undeclared HMOs, properties in disrepair and criminal landlords. Nottingham City Council’s safer housing service’s strategic housing manager, Paul Greevy, said: “Sometimes the plates come […]

Email to Dash accreditation list: Licensing is forcing tenants into homelessness. Linda, Tell Licensing I’d like full refunds please, I don’t want the houses any more. Tell em I’m in Mexico for a month. All houses running fine. Full access to builder’s. However now licensing is here there is a problem. Housing Aid, can you start […]

Despite offering opportunities for letting agencies and landlords, the fast-growing short-term lettings market could benefit from regulation, according to PayProp. The professionalisation of short lets, akin to that seen in traditional lettings, is needed to provide the necessary protection for all stakeholders.  Regulating the fledgling market would reduce the number of negative experiences and allow […]

Safeagent, a not for profit accreditation scheme for lettings and management agents, has released it’s own manifesto of policies for political parties to consider promising the Private Rental Sector going into the December general election. Click here to download the full document. Isobel Thomson, safeagent CEO, said: “With 20% of all households now living in […]

The proportion of homes in Great Britain let by overseas based landlords rose to 11% during the first 10 months of 2019, up from 7% (a record low) during the same period last year. This is the first year-on-year increase since our records began in 2010 when 14% of homes were let by non-UK 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 Berkshire Meeting property networking event Monday 18th 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 […]

Paragon’s latest Financial Adviser Confidence Tracking (FACT) Index , based on interviews with 201 mortgage intermediaries, has revealed: – Buy-to-let increases from 15% to 17% of business in Q3 2019 – Intermediaries expect buy-to-let mortgage business to increase by 1% in the next 12 months – Overall mortgage market shows signs of slowdown, with average […]

Hodge is a lender more associated to Residential or Equity Release mortgages, but has recently announced a Portfolio Buy-to-Let product for portfolio landlords, where the portfolio can be held under one loan facility. As per the PRA definition, Portfolio landlords are classed as those with more than 3 mortgaged properties. Each portfolio loan will be […]

I finally got a reply! Here is my original article “A day in court with Shelter and the council’s impartiality?” We got an email about another property of ours: Hi Xxxx I am emailing with regards to the above letter that was sent to Xxxxxx on 14th October 2019. I have just contacted the complainant […]

I wonder if anyone could comment on this case. Two sisters own an unencumbered (mortgage free) leasehold flat with share of the freehold on the residue of a 999-year lease, value approximately £1.2-1.5 million, in London as tenants in common. They are both retired and in their late 60s. To mitigate inheritance tax, they are […]

An article was published in the Daily Telegraph that resurrects the idea the Conservatives should introduce a new Right to Buy from private landlords in their manifesto. It’s not unknown for articles to be floated in the DT to test for a public reaction, and the timing now may not be coincidence. If you’re as […]

There was no Monetary Policy Committee vote in October until today, supposedly post Brexit. Unsurprisingly the MPC voted by 7 to 2 to maintain the Bank rate at 0.75%. The next MPC meeting is now due post general election on the 19th of December. This is when decisions could get a lot more interesting based […]

Devonshire Gardens; a collection of 3-bed end town-houses starting at only £121,396 and with predicted yields of up to 6.7%. Situated in the heart of Blackpool, Devonshire Gardens is a mixed development of 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 bedroom properties built by National developer Belmont Homes.  With open public spaces and allocated parking, Devonshire […]

This is probably a bit of a silly question, but I very new the HMO game and I am refurbishing my property myself (being new to refurbishing a property as well) My question is about bedroom door locks. Are there any special HMO requirements with respect to the type of lock that needs to be […]

The latest Halifax Price Index has just been released showing house prices in October were 0.9% higher than in the same month a year earlier. However, on a monthly basis, house prices fell by 0.1%. In the latest quarter house prices were 0.2% higher than in the preceding three months of May to July. Russell […]

S21 issued to tenant on 1st Aug. (Non payment of top ups)  The tenant applies for Universal Credit for the first time in mid Sept. On 9 Oct I call UC to check status and yes claim had been received and yes tenant has asked that the landlord is paid direct. UC inform me that […]