Research by independent letting and sales agent Benham and Reeves has looked at the unfortunate cost of landing a bad tenant and how much this can reach during the gruelling process of having them evicted from the property. Previous research by Benham and Reeves highlighted the increasing number of fraudulent lettings applications by rogue tenants, […]

In a nutshell; my wife and I own a trading company which produces profits of circa £200,000 a year. The company pays corporation tax on these profits. We each draw a salary of £12,500 (which is tax free) based on advice from our accountants.  We then declare £37,500 each of dividends, on which we pay […]

A recent IPSOS Mori survey for the Chartered Institute of Housing has shown the public don’t think their politicians are working hard enough to solve the housing crisis. Renters are particularly concerned with the survey showing: – 44% (45% of private renters and 43% of social renters) are either very or fairly concerned about their […]

Penultimate sale completed just over a week ago. I am no longer providing social, educational and interest free loan services; the Gov’t can do it now. A muted hooraaah. Being the belt and braces type, I follow up all loose ends. I know from experience it takes time for sale information to wend it’s way […]

I thought an HMO required an AST because of mortgage company requirements. Is a license acceptable for HMOs? An AST and a licence are two very separate things, an AST is the legal contract between the landlord and a tenant. A licence required by law if you rent to 5 or more people who constitute […]

You need not worry Boris, because if you are Evicted from No 10 after the end of October when you have a general election Fergus will give you a home, but only on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy in leafy Ashford on Park Farm! I do not want to put you on the spot Boris but […]

Landlord confidence in their own lettings business has reached a record low, according to research* by the NLA. In their survey for Q2 2019, only 29% of landlords said their business expectations for the next three months were good or very good, the lowest level since the survey began in Q4 2006. Confidence levels dropped […]

One of the main concerns landlords have is keeping up with the myriad new laws and regulations that keep coming out. Not to mention getting a grip on the laws we already have! I am in the process of developing a major new training course to help landlords with this.  It will be an online […]

A torts notice is a legal document alerting the owner of items that have been abandoned on private land or property. It is issued in accordance with the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. The fact that items or property have been left on your property or land makes you an involuntary bailee. This includes […]

All councils that wish to introduce Selective Licensing schemes that cover more than 20% of the area or 20% of the privately rented homes must first seek permission from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG). Stoke-on-Trent have recently had their application refused by MHCLG for a scheme that would cover 3000 properties in […]

Birmingham Midshires have just launched an interest only, five year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage with an interest rate of just 1.95% for purchases or 1.97% for remortgages up to a maximum of 60% Loan to Value. Low geared landlords will be rubbing their hands with glee! Only yesterday I spoke to a landlord who owns […]

MHCLG have finally as of yesterday updated and corrected the wording of the Section 21 official document 6A seeking possession. This is after articles written by Giles Peaker  in Nearly legal along with behind the scenes communication. Click here to view his article. Giles wrote detailing the mistakes saying: “Form 6A is prescribed by statute. […]

According to Richard Bilton in the Panorama Programme there are ten million tenants of Private Sector Landlords. I take that figure with a Pinch of Salt! However, for the purposes of this article I will leave it like that. Shelter’s Chief Executive, Polly Neate, says that the main reason for 300,000 evictions annually is the […]

I have sent the following email to the [email protected] and also my MP along with the current Housing Secretary and Housing Minister Please can anyone who is able please also send this, or something like it to their MP and generally try to highlight the problem with the survey questionnaires. Email content follows: I am […]

HOMELET’s Rental Index figures for July 2019 have been released showing that the rental growth recorded in July 2019 appears to be in line with inflation, recorded at 2% in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) in June 2019. For July 2019 the data shows that the average rental price for a new tenancy in the […]

As well as creating nicer surroundings, refurbishing different areas of a home can add significant value, but what is the true return on investment? Self storage experts Safestore have taken a look at the landscape of homeownership to find the most popular areas of the home people improve, and the number of homes in the UK that […]

Some time back the Alliance was contacted by one of our members based in London. This landlord has a substantial portfolio in Liverpool. Mr Mxxxx was very distressed and angry and informed us that Liverpool city council were engaged in a campaign of harassment against him and his tenants. We tasked him to produce concrete […]

I am the landlord of a 3 story block of 12 flats. Today it was brought to my attention that the fire alarm has become an issue as a result of someone simply cooking a meal, the flat is let as a holiday rental. The internal layout of this top floor flat I discovered has […]

I have decided to let my property to students, but as the property still being refurbished I have missed the opportunity to let to a group of students under one contract as I was told would be the best option. I am now considering letting to individual student tenants to fill the rooms. I have […]

Tenants in private rented housing are bearing the brunt of the Government’s focus on boosting home ownership at the expense of the rental market. According to the latest figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a fall in the supply of private rented housing whilst demand from prospective tenants increases is “likely to […]

The National Landlords Association (NLA) has joined with key players in the aged and disability sectors to promote the need for accessible housing within the private rented sector (PRS). In a roundtable hosted by the NLA, attendees discussed the current state of landlords’ awareness of housing modification grants, the challenges they face and potential incentives […]