I’m a hands off landlord that has been using the same letting agent for 11 years. On Friday I was informed by another Company that my previous one had gone into liquidation and that they have been selected by the liquidator to take over the previous companies properties. I’m still owed January’s rental income from […]

I first heard about this on BBC Moneybox. It inferred that service charges for leaseholders (and many landlords) will be subject to VAT from Nov 1 2018. In short, HMRC are waiving the prior 24 years, but now enforcing this change. Looking closer is more opaque – possibly the managing agent will now have to […]

I bought a house with my now ex-partner in 2008 and I am now in the process of remortgaging in order to take my ex-partner off the mortgage deeds. My now solicitor has carried out a land registry search and informed me of a male in 2007 that declared himself bankrupt from my property address. […]

“One third of UC claimants in social rented housing have their rent paid directly to their landlord. But in the private sector, that number is only 5%. “People in the private rented sector already face a far higher risk of losing their tenancy, and I know from talking to claimants and landlords that the current […]

At approximately 4pm on Wednesday January 9 a serious fire broke out at Tenancy Deposit Scheme’s (TDS) head office on Mark Road in Hemel Hempstead. All staff were evacuated safely with no casualties. While the building suffered extensive damage, TDS’ business continuity plan was successfully implemented. The Mark Road site housed 89 members of staff […]

There is an article in I News yesterday titled “This single mother works full-time, but still needs housing benefit – so landlords refuse to rent to her”: click here to view. The story is obviously about how difficult it was for a working mum to find a new home to rent after she was served […]

Hi, New here, so apologies if I’m asking an obvious question (though you don’t know, what you don’t know!) I’m hoping to purchase a plot and have a house built on it (full turn-key). Can I market and sell the house immediately upon completion of new build? (Unlike the ‘6 month’ rule as used when […]

The government confirmed last month that Tenant Fees Bill stipulates that the total deposit that can be taken from a tenant paying up to £50,000 in rental over a 12-month period is being capped at a maximum of five weeks rent. The introduction of this cap will mean that landlords or their representative letting agents […]

I am a landlord of one flat in a converted house of 4. There is a management company for the block which has always been (badly) run by agents. There are now two landlords and two owners in the block. We have only recently got to a stage where there are enough owners and are […]

Can legal costs be recovered from the tenants using Money Claim Online? You can claim the court fee costs but unfortunately not any other legal fees. The nature of the small claims court is that it is easy to use so therefore legal assistance should not be necessary. Can I use HCEO if occupant doesn’t […]

We are very sorry to report that the TDS Head Office was destroyed by fire yesterday evening. Thankfully it is reported that no one was hurt in the incident involving the Progression Centre business complex in Hemel Hempstead. 35 fire fighters and 6 fire engines were called to the scene. TDS gave a statement to […]

THE average UK rental values continued to grow towards the end of 2018, according to the latest data from HomeLet, with December showing a continuation of the steady rise seen throughout the year. The HomeLet Rental Index – the UK’s most comprehensive and up-to-date data on rental values in the UK – is showing a […]

I recently bought a property and wanted to rent it a 6 months on short term assured tenancy. I have been using the local council with my other property and had no issues in the past as they would always pay the rent to me directly. This time I used a neighbouring borough. The housing […]

Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), the private rented sector’s longest establish deposit protection scheme, has appointed Margaret Doyle as its new external Independent Complaints Reviewer, the first in its industry to do so. The role of the Reviewer will be to look at the way TDS has investigated complaints about its service in order to ensure […]

Following the Caridon Property Ltd v Monty Shooltz case in February 2018, if a gas safety certificate is not provided at the start of a tenancy, before the tenant moved in, landlords may find that any Section 21 notice served during the term is invalid. At the Central London County Court, landlord Caridon Property failed […]

I have four flats above a retail shop on two floors. The property was built in about 1900 and the conversion was undertaken in 2016 with full planning and building control approved and signed off. My managing agent says I must have a fire inspection which I have had done and the report “recommended” certain […]

Carmarthen Bay hotel is a successfully trading hotel which boasts a private pathway leading down to the beach, private function and conference rooms, a pool, a spa and first-class restaurant that serves up fresh produce. Due to its success, developers have purchased the adjacent building with the aim of increasing the hotel’s capacity to 75 […]

Hi, has anyone bought or viewed one of the prefabricated houses being built in a factory by Legal and General? (listen to Radio 4 “In business” programme) I’d welcome your thoughts on their construction, reliability and the ease of getting tenants and mortgages for such properties. Thanks in anticipation. Peter Editors Notes: From L&G >> […]

As usual with so many competing publications we try to normally report on the mortgage industry benchmark of the Halifax House Price Index as used by many lenders. – Prices in the three months to December were 1.3% higher than in the same three months a year earlier. Up from the 0.3% annual growth rate […]

I’ve recently came across a a land registry title with something I’ve never seen before: It states under Section B RESTRICTION:No disposition of the registered estate, other than a disposition by the proprietor of any registered charged registered before the entry of this restriction,is to be registered without a certificate signed by the applicant for […]

I bought an off-plan, new-build apartment in the Adelphi Wharf (Fortis) development in Salford back in 2015 and after a whole year’s delay my apartment was finally finished in November. Or at least that is what I was told by PLS Solicitors, the firm acting for me (and probably most of the other buyers) when […]