Imagine this scenario. A prospective tenant, T, answers an ad and phones up and arranges to view a property. T meets the Landlord, L, and agrees to rent the property for 12 months starting in 14 days’ time at £900 per month. L asks for and T pays a reservation fee of £200 to take […]

No too long ago Property118 covered Kicking Landlords. Now we have Stabbing Landlords. Such a Course of Action is not to be recommended. If a tenant or his representative threatens violence towards the landlord or his employees, it is certain to result in the termination of the tenancy. In 2014 a tenant threatened to stab […]

Hi Phoebe, If I may introduce myself, I run a Possession company for Landlords who are struggling to get their properties back from bad tenants. The story you wrote for KentLive was an interesting one – ‘Dirty, disgusting and isolating’ Mums describe grim reality of Ashford’s temporary housing B&B’s’ “Two mums have welcomed plans to convert […]

This news release describes the results of the Bank of England’s latest quarterly survey of public attitudes to inflation, undertaken between 8 and 9 February 2019. Q: When asked about the future path of interest rates, 22% said rates might stay about the same over the next twelve months, compared with 19% in November. 47% […]

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 Croydon Meeting property networking event Wednesday 17th April 2019. The event will start at 6:00pm until 9:00pm and will be free for guests of Mark Smith that have not previously […]

Here’s a link to the RLA/Pearl’s current survey: ‘State of the PRS’ Q1 2019 quarterly survey that focuses on Welfare Reform issues. This project is titled: “Welfare Reform and Universal Credit: Evaluating the impact on the Private Rented Sector” and the research has been commissioned from Edge Hill University. Click here to open. “This survey […]

The way I read rent arrears is we can not charge unless it is more than 14 days overdue. Thereafter we can charge 3% above BoE base rate. We can no longer charge a fee for letters etc. So assuming average rent in England excluding London of £782, this equates to £1.12 for the first […]

Ministers have so far failed to publish any guidance for landlords about the implications of Brexit for the Right to Rent scheme. Under this scheme landlords are responsible for checking the immigration status of their tenants with the prospect of prosecution if they know or have “reasonable cause to believe” that the property they are […]

Scottish Government were intending to introduce minimum EPC rating effective April 2019. This has been delayed and proposed legislation is that the minimum requirements are now due to come into effect April 2020, initially set with Band Rating E, rising to Band D from Apr 2022, with back stop dates on existing tenancies being 2/3 […]

This 64 minute webinar, recorded live on 6th April 2019 is now available to view on demand and free of charge. The main presenters are:- Mark Smith, Barrister-At-Law and Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers Mark Alexander, Founder of Property118 Nicky Kita from Insight Accountancy Services To watch this webinar now, please click on the […]

I bought my house mortgage free 18 years ago to house myself and my 2 kids. I got a residential mortgage with Halifax 14 years ago and built a 2 storey extension to the side of my house consisting of granny annex & double garage. The granny annex was to house my ill mother, but […]

A fifth of the UK population now lives in rental accommodation. The Fitness for Human Habitation Act came into force just last week. This new Act is designed to ensure all rental accommodation meets certain criteria. The rental property must be free of defects and this includes all private rentals, housing association rentals and any […]

Rent repayment orders are a relatively new phenomenon, they occur when a First Tier Tribunal finds in favour of a tenant because a landlord hasn’t fulfilled their obligations, these obligations can include the following:Not protecting the deposit Failure to have the correct license in place at the start of the tenancy Failure to repair after […]

A tenant on a six month Assured Shorthold Tenancy has No Rights other than the right to stay in the house for the Fixed Period. That is made Crystal Clear in the tenancy. Generally, the Period is Six Months, but it does not have to be. After the fixed period the tenancy lapses into a […]

The National Landlords Association (NLA) is reminding would-be tenants to be vigilant when looking for somewhere new to live and to avoid getting scammed. The NLA has been contacted by several people who have been the target of fraudulent activity. Such scams trick people into paying an advance fee to rent a property and, in […]

Landlords are welcoming calls today by a parliamentary committee for tax incentives for private landlords to improve the quality of their property. The recommendation is made by a House of Lords committee looking at the regeneration of seaside towns and communities. Following evidence provided by the Residential Landlords Association, the Committee’s report published today recommends: […]

I have a tenant causing a merry host of issues, but I’m now firmly on the legal (if not expensive) route to get it sorted. The last part of the process will be to get her to tidy up the tip she lives in. Rabbits in cages in the lounge, cats and dogs roaming, commercial […]

As of this month Private landlords under MEES regulation are required to pay up to £3,500 bringing properties to the minimum EPC standard of E. To remain on the exemption register with an EPC rating of F or G Landlords must show the cost of improving the property to an E rating is more than […]

Letter to Nottingham Selective Licensing, Please pass my words onto the powers that be, so they can see what happens in the REAL WORLD on GROUND LEVEL from us that actually house people. Screenshot enclosed of Barclaycard message received today. As you know, I’m gonna be owing you over 4k this week for the License […]

When my Property is sold I intend to devote my energies towards helping Battered Wives. In their lifetime 25% of women will be in a battered relationship and at any one point in time 10% of women are beaten by their partners. The whole approach to dealing with a Domestic Abuse situation is back to […]

Hi all, I am in process of selling a BTL with Mortgage Express. When my solicitor asked for a redemption statement they wrote back saying below: “We have the right to consolidate and take all monies. However, on this occasion we will just charge £5k which will be used across overall portfolio.” I am now […]