My friend had tenants in a property for three years, but they did not pay any council tax during that time. The council said that he should have sent the Assured Tenancy Agreement to them and that they were not aware any tenants were living in the property. He ended up paying £8,000 in Council […]

Our Hon. Legal Counsel, Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers will be presenting an overview of several landlords tax strategies at the pin Edinburgh Meeting property networking event Thursday 21st February 2019. The event will start at 6:00pm until 9:00pm and will be free for guests of Mark Smith that have not previously […]

Do many landlords ever dare to sign up new tenants remotely – or only in person? I recently gave a viewing to to a prospective tenant who was only in town for the day. We got on well. She now wants to sign a contract without having to meet again for a 2nd time. I […]

With the 3 main changes within the BTL market: 1. The introduction of the 3% stamp duty on second properties 2. The phasing out of the tax deductibility of mortgage interest payments through section 24 3. The tightening of mortgage underwriting standards It is essential that landlords take a professional approach to their portfolios. Many […]

Letter to Gareth Johnson Member of Parliament for Dartford: Judges decisions There are guidelines for when High Court Enforcement can be requested after sufficient reason has been shown to and convinced a judge, or at least there should be – I would very much like to know the answer to this and other questions raised […]

Our Hon. Legal Counsel, Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers will be presenting an overview of several landlords tax strategies at the pin Manchester Meeting property networking event Wednesday 20th February 2019. The event will start at 6:00pm until 9:00pm and will be free for guests of Mark Smith who have not previously […]

As a matter of urgency, we ask all members and Property118 readers to email the information commissioner:  [email protected]. The basis of our complaint is that, as landlords we cannot sign up to Sefton’s new licensing scheme because it is not GDPR compliant. They ask for details of landlords properties outside of their area. This is excessive and not necessary, and is […]

Nearly £250 million of housing deals will deliver almost 25,000 more homes, the Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP has announced today. As part of this, the government will be investing £157 million in infrastructure such as building roads and putting natural green space alongside developments. A new partnership has also been struck by […]

Letter to Gareth Johnson Member of Parliament for Dartford: Local Authority – Gatekeeping The country as a whole has experienced austerity for the last ten years, only I believe with the exception of MP’s salaries. Local Authorities have felt the ‘financial pinch’ along with everyone else. However, like members of the public they are still […]

The Government looks set to introduce a compulsory redress scheme for private landlords. The redress scheme will enable tenants to complain through a ‘housing complaints resolution service’ allowing them to have quick access to resolve problems and issues they face with their housing. The idea being that anyone, no matter what the issue can have […]

What is the best method to remove trespassers from a doorway within the curtilage of a non-residential property together with their belongings?  My client (local authority) owns the freehold of the premises. Where trespassers, for example rough sleeper, refuse or simply fail to move from a doorway when asked politely to do so, it is […]

The Tenants Fees Bill 2017 – 2019, click here, has formally received Royal Asent and has now become law commencing on June 1st this year. The Bill is sponsored by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (image right): “This means the ban on lettings fees will apply to all tenancies signed after June 1st.” Agents and landlords […]

Letter to Gareth Johnson Member of Parliament for Dartford: Dear Mr Johnson, I’d like raise some concerns about justice, or rather the lack of it in Housing. I operate my own business of recovering possession of mainly residential property for landlords who’s tenants have chosen to break their contract. Very similar if you like, to […]

I used a letting agent who had 1 years fees up front for finding a tenant. Upon the request from the tenant and myself, we both now want to use a different agent who also looks after my other properties. So far so good. The original agent now wants to charge me a fee of […]

It has been highlighted recently in the media of some of the many drastic actions that people feel they had no choice but to carry out to finally put an end to their debt nightmare. People living with crippling debt often feel trapped, alone and in despair. In addition to this, many people face mounting […]

The National Housing Federation has released a report ‘Poverty and housing in the private rented sector’, click here to view the full report. The research concentrates on how social rent could make a difference to households living in poverty in the private rented sector with high housing costs the cause and contributor to poverty in […]

Government panel debate marks the National Landlord Investment Show’s return to London Political broadcaster Andrew Neil will be chairing the biggest landlord debate. Over 450 Landlords will be in attendance and will be asking the expert panel including guest speaker Rt honorable Ian Duncan Smith their questions on subjects such as tax, Brexit, universal credit […]

I have a familiar problem with a tenant owing rent, and we have taken out a CCJ against them. He is still in the limbo period where he has a chance to pay but we’re not holding out much hope as he is a tricky customer. He is personally responsible for the debt, it is […]

We own a semi detached freehold house which is ex local authority. The other half of the semi is converted into two flats, which are let out. Both of the flats are owned by the same person. The owner of the two flats (the vendor) is selling the ground floor flat, and her daughter will […]

Stamp duty receipts in decline in tandem with BTL SDLT income take down: “Transactions have fallen by 2.6% in 2018 and now stand at just over 1 million. This compares with HM Land Registry data for 2018, which reports a 4% fall. On a more granular level, HRAD transactions, i.e. those which include the 3% […]

HOMELET’s Rental Index figures for January 2019 have been released. The headlines from this month’s report are: The average rent in the UK is now £932, up by 2.5% on the same time last year When London is excluded, the average rent in the UK is now £775, this is up by 2% on last […]