The government intends to hold a consultation on tenancy agreement lengths, with the proposal setting out the shortest term being three years with a six-month break clause. As it stands around 80% of tenancies in England and Wales are either six or twelve month assured short hold agreements, any changes would be significant and have […]

A “think tank” called The Institute for Public Policy Research has said that Britain needed to “reset” the way it thinks about rising prices to break the “cycle of ever-rising house prices that drives property speculation”, which it argues crowds out investment in the “real economy”. How stupid is that? I can only assume the think […]

Hi, I have a slightly complicated version of the question around terminating a letting agency contact. We were with one letting agent for a number of years. Although there were issues, they found great tenants and we muddled along. The letting agency ceased to trade around 10 months ago, and all contracts were passed over […]

Hello all, Looking for advice on how to best get my tenant out of my property so I can treat rising damp, paint it and sell it. My tenant has rented my terraced house in St Helens for the last 5 years now with many ups and downs, rent arrears, catching up, having moved a […]

Hello – there was a water leak in the property where I am the landlord. There was more than one visit to fix this and the tenant was informed prior (but claims not enough notice). Now he tells me due to time taken off work and re-arranged trips etc at work I am liable for […]

The recently updated ‘How to Rent’ guide has been updated yet again! The 9th of July 2018 edition now replaces the 10th of June 2018 edition. Click Here to download the full document which must be provided by landlords and agents to all new tenants. It seems the main change was the subtitle, which should […]

We are a small close of residential tenants where elderly and disabled people live. Approximately three months ago a flat in the close was let to a single female. She moved in almost immediately with a person we suspect is her brother. Since they have moved in they have called rude and obscene comments at […]

As the Government’s latest cabinet reshuffle sees Kit Malthouse appointed as the UK’s 17th housing minister in 20 years, Belvoir is once again calling for the appointment of an independent housing tsar. Dorian Gonsalves, CEO of Belvoir says: “It is almost a year to the day since Belvoir wrote an open letter to the Prime […]

The Government consultation on Rent A Room tax reliefs looks set hit Airbnb style letting of entire properties rather than individual room lodger type agreements. Click here to see the full consultation. Executive Summary: Rent a room relief allows individuals to earn up to £7,500 tax free from letting out furnished accommodation in their main […]

We live in a small 2 bed terraced house. It had an old toilet in the yard that goes back to back with our neighbour’s. Our roof had cave in and it wasn’t big enough to store kids toys or anything so we decided we wanted to remove it. At the same time we were […]

Recently elected as an MP for North West Hampshire in 2015 Kit Malthouse has taken over from Dominic Raab (now Brexit Secretary) as Housing Minister. This is not what you would call a high profile appointment in a vital area of crisis for the UK, but so many Housing Ministers have come and gone that fingers […]

Two million tenants across the UK could be hit with rent rises in 2018, with Walsall topping the list of the 10 places where the highest number of tenants will face rent increases. Over 70% of tenants in the West Midlands town could be hit with higher rents, costing them £155 more a year, as […]

We have had a few Property118 readers questions on this subject in the past. The Dangers of Japanese Knotweed The dangers of Japanese knotweed have been thrown into light recently after a court ruling spurred discussion as to whether landowners can claim damages if the plant has spread to their property. A Court of Appeal […]

I am thinking about buying a refurbished property originally valued at £680,000 for £635,000 and now have a purchase dilemma. The rental is circa £1850 which provides a decent yield. The thing is the Stamp Duty is £40,000 which is a significant up front investment. My Financial Adviser is advising against buying more rental property […]

Petition: “Reintroduce full mortgage interest relief and drop the 3% stamp duty surcharge” 17,056 signatures – Click Here to sign petition “We call on the Government to reintroduce full mortgage interest relief and to drop the 3% stamp duty surcharge which is increasing homelessness by driving many landlords out of the sector, meaning tenants have […]

I purchase a leasehold flat in late 2005, during the several years I lived there and for the following 5 years it was let, never at any time did I received correspondence from either the Freehold Co. or their Management Company. During this time or the first 2 years there were numerous letters addressed to […]

Dr Rosalind Beck has had an article published today on conservativehome which we are pleased to see sets the record straight on some of the recent proposals for the PRS emanating from so-called ‘Conservatives.’ Please Click Here to read the full article. Dr Beck argues that these policies are ill-founded and unjust and will lead […]

We bought our first house in 1999, lived in it for a few years, then moved out and our in-laws lived there (rent free) until 2012. Between 2012 and 2018 the property was rented and a few years ago we converted the mortgage to buy-to-let. We are now considering selling the property but are unsure […]

Last week, I completed the sale of an apartment. The mortgage was redeemed from Rosinca – this being a mortgage that was recently transferred from UKAR, previously being a Mortgage Express product. Rosinca have charged me a fee (of 0.5% of the outstanding balance) to waive their “Right to Consolidate” all of my mortgages with […]

Paragon have released a new range of Limited Edition Buy to Let mortgage products. The first range is Portfolio products which are designed for professional landlords who own four or more mortgaged properties, and those operating as limited companies and limited liability partnerships. Limited edition remortgage only buy-to-let portfolio products: • No application fee • […]

In North East London, Landlord Steve Moreno has been put in an extremely stressful situation. His problems began after deciding to sell his flat in Lea in order to purchase a property with his girlfriend. Having informed his tenant, Temi, of his intentions to sell the property, his tenant stopped paying the rent and communications […]