I have recently been the victim of my local authority reassessing what was originally an HMO, which I converted in the early 1990’s, now as 8 separate flats, with the ruinous financial consequences likely to put me out of business. From the research I have done, it seems this is a new trick that councils […]

Our members and P118 readers will be aware that we have alerted the information commissioner with respect to mass data GDPR breaches by local authorities. Furthermore we are now receiving complaints from members that the ICO are not even responding to complaints. We have directly informed Elizabeth Denham. Are the ICO interested in clamping down […]

The new Landlords Alliance has only been operating a few months and we would like to say to all our members and to P118 a huge Thank You. We have been working hard investigating these horrible greedy organisations called councils who set up dubious licensing schemes to rob cash from landlords on the basis that […]

Special offer for Property 118 readers: Things are getting tougher and tougher for landlords.  Despite Brexit, the Government is continually bringing in new rules and regulations – with more planned for the future.  How can you possibly keep up with them all? One solution is the Landlord Law Service from landlord and tenant lawyer Tessa […]

Bob and his brother Richard own six rental properties in a Limited Company, another six in joint ownership and three each in their sole names. Richard owns another three properties jointly with his two sons, two jointly with his wife and another jointly with his mother. Bob owns two further properties with each of his […]

Two of my former Tax Planning Consultation clients (Steve and Debbie) sent me the following email this week and have since asked me to share it, together with my response, with all Property118 members. “Hi Mark My accountants have suggested that if we pay ourselves a small salary we will actually pay less tax. He […]

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) today voted unanimously to maintain Bank Rate at 0.75% with a reduction in forecast growth slowing inflationary pressures. The Office for National Statistics estimates that the size of the UK economy increased by 0.3% in the three months to November, around half the rate of growth seen […]

I had paid the Southend council’s HMO license fee of £920 per property  and filled in their paper application (hand written) in Sep 2018. Both of my properties are standard 2 floor properties with 5 tenants in each.  They have been inspected by the council in the past and maintained to good standards. When the […]

I’m trying to compile a list of top tips specifically aimed at landlords renovating BTL properties. So I’m focusing more on longevity and cost, rather than all the bells and whistles/creature comforts you find in most articles online. I’m also focusing on internal refurbs only, and not major structural issues or extensions. So far, I’ve […]

People claiming Universal Credit are still struggling to pay for the roof over their heads, despite the wait for their first payment being reduced from 6 weeks to 5, new Citizens Advice data shows. 1 in 2 people the charity helped were in rent arrears or fell behind on their mortgage payments, the same number […]

My Husband and I (in our 50’s) bought a house, our first one together. We managed to save up the deposit and recover our credit over 15 years to get a mortgage. Shortly after completing I fell ill and had to move into a bungalow, but I am still working for now. The house has […]

Property ownership comes in two forms: legal ownership and beneficial interest. The two are usually united, but they can be separated. The legal owner of a property is the person who is registered at HM Land registry, whereas beneficial owners are entitled to enjoy the economic benefits of the property, e.g. to occupy it and/or […]

The English Private Landlord Survey profile of landlords shows the average gross rental income for all landlords is only £15,000 and that 61% have a gross rental income of £20,000 or less. By the time you factor in ever increasing costs and taxation it should be obvious that being a landlord is not some get rich […]

So, our property company pays corporation tax at 19%. If we then declare a dividends, due to being a higher rate tax-payers we pay another 32.5% tax personally, and the company receives no tax credit for that. That’s a net effective tax rate of 51.5% – ouch! Having said that, it’s still a lot better […]

The recent discussion over the future of the S21 process makes us wonder what protection does a landlord have when letting via Airbnb et al? What happens if the guest outstays their welcome and stops paying? Airbnb could keep taking card payment until either the card is blocked or runs out of credit, but how […]

With jitters that prices may drop, but still with plans to buy later this year (at reduced prices?), some of our landlords are now capital raising and releasing what they can based on the current (highest?) values, and then planning on using those available funds to snap up the opportunities when they come their way. Many portfolios […]

The consultation into which major reforms to make to private sector tenancies, including the case for a Housing Court, longer tenancies and the future of Section 21, has now ended and the industry awaits the result.  Critics are calling for Section 21 evictions to be banned, arguing that they tilt the balance of power towards landlords. […]

Scotland’s private rented sector (PRS) continued to rise as at Q4 2018, up 5% year on year (YOY), according to the latest Citylets report. Strong demand for properties of all sizes in major cities underpinned growth, with larger 3 and 4 bed properties posting the steepest gains as an increasing number of families settle in […]

HMRC’s report for 2018 will not come as a surprise to most as there has been very little positive news of late. The successive tax hikes introduced on residential property and the lack of a clear Brexit scenario looms heavily over the UK. Transactions have fallen by 2.6% in 2018 and now stand at just […]

Shelter’s accounts for the year to March 2018 show total income of £67.4m, and total expenditure of £66.4m.  Compared to the previous year, income was up 11% and expenditure was up 6%: click here. It got donations and legacies of £36.9 million, but spent £11.7 million on obtaining them. It got £17.3 million for housing […]

Hamilton Fraser (HFIS plc) has taken full ownership of Tenancy Deposit Solutions Ltd (TDSL), which runs mydeposits, one of the three Government-approved tenancy deposit protection schemes, following the purchase of the shares of its joint venture partner, the National Landlords Association (NLA). The NLA agreed to sell its stake when it became clear that the […]