Five projects along the Great British Coast have been awarded over £10 million from the government’s Coastal Communities Fund. These include projects in Cumbria, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Kent and Suffolk to create jobs, boost tourism, improve transport and protect coastal heritage sites. The Coastal Communities Fund projects announced today are forecast to support nearly 1,000 jobs […]

Extensions and loft conversions can add both value and extra space to your property, but what can you do when things don’t quite go to plan? There are ways to mitigate the risk of hiring a cowboy builder, recommendations include the following: Ask for several references Look them up on Companies House Check review sites […]

Maybe I haven’t read previous articles thoroughly, but I’ve just learned that this Government does not intend for new Tenancy Reforms to apply retrospectively. See reply below from Mark Lambert. His answer was a blanket answer & did not address my specific concern, but I was at the very least pleased to learn they do […]

I have just acquired a small shop and wondered if anyone has advice on Commercial contracts? Up to now I have only rented residential flats or houses. What about deposits? To try and encourage a longer lease I am discounting the rent if the tenant leases for 2 years or more. How do I detail […]

The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has today voted unanimously to maintain the Bank Base Rate at 0.75%. This is largely because inflationary pressures have dropped below the medium term target of 2% with August’s CPI at 1.7%, down from 2.1% in July and increased volatility in exchange rates with Sterling recently recovering […]

Below is a Press release by Shelter and displays why they should be working with landlords rather than against to build up the trust tenants may need in the future. Shelter: With little or no savings to fall back on, 45% of private renters in England could not afford to pay their rent for more than a month if they lost their job, new research from Shelter shows. Surviving from one […]

Leading tenant eviction company, Landlord Action, says that as many as 50% of Section 21 cases they handle are as a result of tenants wanting to be re-housed by the council. They believe the abolition of Section 21, and subsequent expansion of Section 8, could put thousands of tenants at greater risk of receiving a […]

ONS UK House Price Index: July 2019: Monthly house price inflation in the UK, calculated using data from HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, and Land and Property Services Northern Ireland. Average house prices in the UK increased by 0.7% in the year to July 2019, down from 1.4% in June 2019 (Figure 1). This […]

I am in the process of evicting a tenant with a Section 21. The council told the tenant to stay put after the Section 21 expiry date (typical), so forcing me to pay up £355 to send it all off to court to progress to possession. My question is: Getting the £355 costs from the […]

Assuming the Liberal Democrats ever get near government again, their members have voted for the policy proposal of banning Section 21 at their party conference in Bournemouth. This policy will presumably feature in next Lib Den manifesto and may or may not have time to be updated following the government consultation that is due to […]

Following meetings held today, members of the National Landlords Association (NLA) and the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) have voted for the two organisations to unite to form the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA). The new organisation will have a membership of more than 80,000 landlords making it by far the largest organisation in the sector. […]

In 2008 my property was let to a couple through an agent. The tenancy agreement was drawn up and both paid money into the DPS, £575 in total. A year later in what would now be a periodic tenancy they separated and the lady decided to remain. I drew up a new tenancy agreement in […]

There are two flats in a converted terraced property of which I own the ground floor flat. The other first floor flat (FFF) is owned by another leaseholder. I bought the freehold over 10 years ago with the previous leaseholder who then sold up and it was transferred to the current leaseholder and hence we […]

The Fabian Society, a left wing but not Marxist think tank, has released new research claiming private renters support for rent controls is motivated by more than just saving money, but also to tackle insecurity and unfair treatment. However, renters want rent controls that make a difference, but that aren’t so tough on landlords that […]

Esther McVey, the Minister of State for Housing, has given a speech at the convention for the residential property sector outlining government policy enacted and futures plans in place to increase the supply of new homes to 300,000 per annum by the mid 2020s and assistance for extending the affordability of home purchases for First […]

New analysis shows that the government’s Rough Sleeping Initiative is having a significant impact on reducing the numbers of vulnerable people sleeping rough on the country’s streets. It has provided £76 million to 246 councils across the country to date, supporting rough sleepers in their area off the streets and into secure accommodation where they can […]

I have a well funded ME student arriving on the 27th September and wants occupancy ON the 30th. He receives his funding on the last day of each month which might be the 31st. He wants to pay the rent regularly on the 1st, if the rent is payable the day before each monthly date […]

Electric usage either side of tenant change is conducive with what I would expect. However a 3 month timeline between tenants has left me with a huge electric bill. My summation is that various electrical items have been left on. I know the electric bill is my responsibility. However, is my letting agent accountable for […]

Our landlord insurance partner – The Home Insurer – has been announced as a finalist in the 2019 Insurance Times Awards, marking it out as one of the very best landlord insurance brokers in the UK. The Insurance Times Awards are the gold standard in the insurance industry and gaining a place as a finalist […]

We will shortly be filming a ‘deep-dive’ interview with Mark Smith on all things to do with landlord incorporation. If you have any questions on landlord incorporation or specifically about incorporation using BICT please let me know. I would also like to include questions from those who have already incorporated and are looking for pointers […]

A quarter of the Labour Shadow Cabinet own multiple homes according to the Daily Mail. This is despite the latest attack on landlords proposed by John McDonnell under a planned ‘Right to Buy’ policy if they were ever to get into government. Labour want to redistribute wealth and raise living standards by forcing landlords to […]