Page 544 – Property118

Here we go again – PRS Right to Buy!

4th March 2019

I came across this posting on another forum and wanted to share it with P118. “Sian Berry, The Green Party’s London Mayor candidate plans to introduce a right to buy for tenants. Sian Berry has been influential to Sadiq Khan, The London Mayor who has adopted Green policies and also Jeremy Corbyn so there is […]

High Court rules “Right to Rent” breaches human rights!

1st March 2019

The High Court in a ruling this morning have said it will be illegal to roll the “Right to Rent” scheme in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland without further evaluation! This is the much criticised regulation requiring landlords to be HM Border Force officials and document proof that a tenant has the right to stay […]

Croydon HMO Licence “Evidence” Dubious

1st March 2019

Croydon are doing a consultation so they can implement borough wide Article 4 restriction on HMOs. Their main claim is that 3 bed or more houses are being lost to HMO conversions. Details can be found: Click here The ‘evidence’ is dubious. If you look at there evidence report, there is Figure 1, page 10 […]

3% Stamp surcharge only if property is suitable as dwelling on purchase?

28th February 2019

The Times has highlighted a First-Tier tribunal ruling that overturned a decision to charge the additional 3% stamp duty for a second property, because it was not deemed suitable to be used as a dwelling on the date of purchase. HMRC have to date applied the stamp duty surcharge for properties capable of being used […]

Two amazing opportunities within high specification refurbishment

28th February 2019

We are delighted to offer two amazing opportunities within this high specification refurbishment, in the sought after L25 postcode of Gateacre. We have been able to secure discounted prices exclusively for our investors.  The spacious 2-bed apartment is available for only £170,000 and the beautiful studio apartment for only £90,000.  According to local letting agents, these outstanding […]

6 sold and only one final two bed left

28th February 2019

Sorry last property now sold We are delighted to offer our investors one final opportunity to invest at this fantastic Newton Road development in St Helens, near Liverpool. Having already sold 6 plots at this popular development, and we have been offered one final 2-bed, build complete property for the amazing price of £117,500 with an anticipated […]

Information Commissioners Office logo

DWP are sending me claimants NI numbers – ICO complaint

28th February 2019

Dear Information Commissioner, DWP are disclosing multiple tenants’ National insurance numbers to me. I am also copying in some of the Universal Credit UC staff that I have been sending the below to, some quite high up people actually, so you can see the UC Director Generals know about this, but have done nothing. The […]

£100,000 slander payout to Landlord by Doncaster Council

28th February 2019

Private landlord, Rob Bloor, has received a payout of £100,000 by Doncaster Council after he threatened to take the council to court over alleged slander. This was reported in the Doncaster Free Press yesterday. Mr Bloor alleges the council had slandered him by making unfounded and disparaging remarks regarding his honesty to people who were […]

BBC report Newcastle Plans for selective licensing

28th February 2019

Please see this BBC iplayer link for the Inside Out North East episode 25th Febuary. It shows an environmental health officer inspecting problem properties. At 9.14 mins you get the council view acknowledging licensing plans could put rents up! At 11.10 mins Chris Jackson asks landlords to get in touch if they don’t agree with […]

Gifting a Directors Loan for IHT purposes

28th February 2019

James asked …. I asked some accountants about the directors loan in a company and they said you could gift the directors loan as a potentially exempt transfer for IHT purposes (tick! ?) but that from the moment, you as a director could then not ever have that money repaid to you from the company loan […]

Furnished holiday let opportunity in Cornwall

27th February 2019

This furnished holiday let investment opportunity is based on an operational holiday resort based in Cornwall – a popular tourist destination for British and overseas holidaymakers alike. As the site is successfully trading, the developer is looking to expand and therefore investors will have the opportunity to purchase the additional homes that will be built […]

Possession consultation

27th February 2019

It has just been announced that the Government are holding a consultation on the enforcement of possession orders. At present there are two routes to possession; the High Court route and the County Court route, both with different legislative and administrative processes. The consultation is looking at the differences in each approach and how the […]

New dispute training course for agents created by DPS and NALS

27th February 2019

A new free training course which guides letting agents through the key principles of disputes, has been released by The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) and the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS). Deposit Disputes  is an online training module written by The DPS’ Head of Adjudication and is available in The DPS Training Hub section […]

Possession after tenant surrendered – Court Action still advisable?

27th February 2019

I have an ex tenant, who faced with the prospect of a confirmed court hearing under section 8 ground 8 has voluntarily terminated the tenancy AFTER the hearing date has been set. What are the advantages (if any) of continuing with the court action bearing in mind the additional costs involved to myself such as […]

Stamp Duty 15 properties or more?

27th February 2019

If you have 15 or more properties do you pay the normal rate of Stamp Duty or is it the higher rate with the 3% surcharge? When the changes regarding Stamp Duty were first being discuss it was mentioned that if you had 15 properties or more you would only pay the basic rate of […]

Lambeth Council ‘Private Renters Charter’

27th February 2019

Just to let you know, Lambeth Council are seeking views from tenants in the PRS in the borough. I’ve pasted an excerpt below and the story can be found if you click here I’m curious to know what additional support and advice the council are contemplating, or is it a route to further regulation via […]

Bad Tenants Database

26th February 2019

I’m only aware of one bad tenants database and I would like to know whether there are any others? landlordreferencing.co.uk is the bad tenants database I have used in the past, but bad tenants names rarely appear when it is searched. I don’t think enough people know about it, my agents certainly didn’t. The reason I […]

The Mortgage Misery that could affect over 1.5m UK Households

26th February 2019

It has recently been reported that according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), there are 1.67 million homeowners in the UK on some form of interest-only mortgage. That accounts for over 17% of all borrowers. Subsequently, many of these borrowers are at risk of not having enough money to pay off their loans when they […]

Name discrepancy between referencing and ID?

26th February 2019

A potential tenant has passed referencing, but the referencing process has flagged up a discrepancy in the name on their documents. The applicant has given the name Wilkinson which was used to pass referencing. However the name on the passport and driving licence is showing Wilkison! The birth certificate and payslips do however show the […]

Eviction for dog sitting when agents already knew?

26th February 2019

My letting agency are looking to evict me, because I had my friends dog in the property when the owner turned up unannounced on a Sunday evening at 9.30pm, the dog was collected not long after this. I understand it says in my contract that I am not allowed to keep pets in the property. […]

Urgent action required – MoJ Enforcement of Possession orders consultation

26th February 2019

The newly formed National Landlords Alliance has submitted proposals to the ministry of Justice concerning possession procedures. From the moment we set up, we identified the problems being faced by landlords when attempting to recover possession of properties, from delinquent Anti-social Behaviour tenants and rent defaulters. This issue is now under review by the Ministry […]