I did meet the Queen about four months ago, but she did not mention my Card. I guess I will have to wait until my hundredth birthday! Whilst I appreciate it was meant as a joke it does raise a most important point. Where are all the elderly people going to live? We have an […]

I’ve just received a Reminder Notice from Newcastle City Council for the Council Tax (CT) on my student HMO. This is despite me completing the online change of tenancy notice over two months ago. I called the Council and the gentleman I spoke to (after 32 minutes on hold) was very polite, saying that they […]

Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Shelter, has sent an open letter to PM Boris Johnson calling for him to follow through with the Section 21 ban announced by Theresa May and “make these plans a reality by seeing through the crucial legislation a Conservative government has already committed to.” Polly also directly attacked an individual […]

LCP has analysed HMRC’s Residential Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) statistics, just released for Q2 2019. For completeness, the analysis adds back transactions and receipts from the Welsh Revenue Authority (as Wales has been omitted from the HMRC SDLT report since Q2 2018). It also takes into account First Time Buyers’ Relief introduced in November 2017. Tax receipts for Q2 2019 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland fell […]

I have recently completed on an eight bedroom HMO, where all tenants work at the local Hospital, and the house has been very well managed and kept to a high standard of cleanliness and management by the existing manager (whom we have kept). One of the eight tenants had never been a problem until one […]

Well I am making another programme this week! All those folk who are getting upset should be aware that the real problem is that there is simply not enough homes in the South East for everyone who needs a home to have one. Until such times as HM Government builds a further 4 million homes […]

Since reading two recent articles about Lifetime BTL Mortgages my head has been spinning with ideas, my conclusions from which I would like to sanity check with this superb online community. As background; my wife and I are in our mid 70’s. We have a modest portfolio of Buy-to-Let properties worth circa £2 million and […]

I am a 65 year old single female, no children and my only incomes are state pension, carers allowance and rental income from my former home in London. The property is worth around £1.3 million and rents for £3,000 a month. I now live with my Mother in the North East as her long term […]

Hello, I’m investigating potentially renting my property out and would appreciate advice as to whether the following plans for the occupants would be considered to be classified as an HMO. I thinking of allowing one of my family members to stay in the property for free and then they are sharing the rest of the […]

Firstly, let me repeat the words I said to Richard Bilton in a TV interview I did with Panorama at my office two summers ago (an interview which lasted just seventeen seconds): “There is no such thing as NO-FAULT Eviction under Section 21”. There is always a reason why a landlord wants possession.  According to […]

Many landlords contact Caridon Landlord Solutions to see whether they are following the correct procedures when entering into a letting agreement with a tenant, this has increased ten-fold following a raft of changes introduced by the government such as The Deregulation Act, How to Rent, Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, Universal Credit, the […]

According to our rental partner, Leef Property Management, these two-bedroom houses in Leeds for £152,995 will achieve fantastic rental yields of up to 5.9% and an incredible return on deposit monies invested of up to 13.8%, giving the potential to generate a surplus income of £440 per month.​ Built by national developer Strata homes, the Ambition […]

Foreign Investors will be rubbing their hands with glee. The pound has dropped 14% since 2016 against the US dollar. What does that mean for British house owners? Initially your house remains the same price, but for foreign buyers the house in Britain is 14% cheaper! That is it at Face Value. We can expect […]

Can Millenials use the phone? When we advertise a property through an online agent we are sent email addresses/phone numbers of those who express an interest. We get many, and I need to qualify them before showing them the property. Otherwise it can be a waste of their time and mine. The best and most […]

My two sons look after my properties whilst I am on holiday. If I make a payment to each of them of £1000 each for this service can I declare this as an expense on my tax return? In addition can they take the money and not declare it under the trader’s allowance? “Trading allowance […]

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) today voted unanimously to hold the Bank Base rate at 0.75%. Volatile data surrounding Brexit uncertainty and corresponding falls in Sterling would mean a reduction in rate could put the Pound under even more pressure and an increase to counter exchange rate related inflation could dampen slowing […]

New figures released today by leading flat and house share site SpareRoom, reveal that the Rent a Room Scheme tax threshold increase, introduced in 2016 to encourage more people to let out their spare rooms to lodgers, has actually done more to boost the short term lets market. The Rent a Room Scheme tax threshold was […]

How can you legally find out where a tenant now lives? In my case I had a tenant not only do a bunk owing rent but she decided to remove the washing machine we left in the property for her use, but dragging it all through the flat slicing the carpet in ever room as […]

I am confused as to whether or not the costs of mowing the grass, tidying garden and also cleaning the house to check-in standards (with receipts supplied) as per tenancy agreement is still deductible from the deposit for agreements signed after June 1st 2019. I am assuming any damage will still be deductible from the […]

This week sees the launch of 15 year fixed rates for residential mortgages. Launched by Virgin Money, this long term fixed rate is a great option for rate security against an uncertain backdrop, and clearly for those who have no intention to move in that time frame.  Of course this won’t be the right solution […]

David Cox, ARLA Propertymark Chief Executive, said: “Unsurprisingly, rent costs hit a record high in June as tenants suffered the impact of the tenant fee ban. Ever since the Government proposed the ban, we warned that tenants would continue to pay the same amount, but the cost would be passed onto tenants through increased rents, […]