On Monday 8 July, Paul Shamplina and his team at Landlord Action will once again appear on Channel 5’s ‘Nightmare Tenants Slum Landlords’, this time highlighting the need for better fraud detection when it comes to referencing. Paul Shamplina says letting agents and referencing companies who invest in technology with the means to validate tenants’ […]

Harrogate is the first area in Britain to trial a major new phase of Universal Credit. Up to 3,000 existing benefit claimants in the Yorkshire spa town are being moved to the six-in-one system starting this month, in the first test of “managed migration”. So far, only new benefit claimants or those whose circumstances change […]

The Alliance promised to publish a list of rogue/non-compliant local authorities who have introduced selective licensing schemes. Our list is not exhaustive. We have spent a lot of time studying these schemes and we will in due course update and add to this list. For now therefore because of time constraints we will only list […]

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) statistical release reports national statistics on new build dwellings in England for the year to 31 March 2019. The statistics show the numbers of starts and completions for new build dwellings in England for the year and in each quarter. Click here to download the full […]

The Government says that the bulk of homelessness is due to Section 21. Is this true? Homelessness is not down to a single factor; there are several factors to consider including the reduction in social housing and the increasing pressure on existing housing stock. The UK has a housing stock issue and not a section […]

My wife and I own a small flat which we wish to sell. We have prospective purchasers, but they want to extend the lease from its current term, of 92 years, up to 99 years, even though they are cash buyers and not restricted by terms of lenders. They are willing to pay for the […]

The government has delivered a sharp rebuke to Labour-controlled city council after hearing from the National Landlords Association that it was found to be “unfairly penalising” landlords. Hull City Council has been taking an aggressive stance against landlords whose tenants report them for an alleged failing in their property, serving them with enforcement notices before […]

Local authorities are failing in their duty to prosecute rogue letting agents, undermining efforts to improve the image of the private rented sector, the National Landlords Association warns today. The NLA found that more than half of local authorities did not prosecute a single letting agent in the four-year period from 2014/15 to 2017/18. In […]

We have been in the student lettings business for a number of years. With the changes that have recently come in with regard to fees etc. we would now like to update our tenancy agreement to include the guarantor agreement. We have been advised by the NLA that the guarantors should always sign first before […]

Almost four out of ten landlords (39%) would like the Government to introduce a fast track housing tribunal if the Section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction process is abolished as planned according to Paragon’s PRS Trends Report for Q2 2019 which surveys the views and experience of over 200 landlords. The Section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction process was […]

The roll out of Universal Credit has had an impact on rental arrears for claimants. Rent owed by Universal Credit claimants in the UK is, on average, £663 compared to just £263 for those on housing benefit (source: a FOI request made by Panorama). In July the Government will begin porting over legacy claimants of […]

My letting agent took on a lady in May last year who I knew was vulnerable. She was on the higher rate of both care and mobility Disability Living Allowance so her total income was £470 per week including her housing benefit. Her rent was £850 per month which was at the higher end of […]

Speech by Communities Secretary James Brokenshire at the Local Government Association Annual Conference. Click here to read the full speech: Housing “Housing is another vital area where local authorities need to strengthen their ability to deliver. This is, undoubtedly, our top domestic priority – the challenge of a generation. Whatever else changes, that will not […]

New research* for specialist lender**  Precise Mortgages, shows 52% of landlords use letting income to boost earnings from a full-time job.  The findings highlight the need for lenders to offer top slicing to help more customers achieve greater flexibility on buy to let products and loan size. The study found that even among landlords with […]

I let a ground/lower ground floor flat out in a converted property of twelve flats. It is let out on a standard AST where there is a clause for the tenant to pay for the removal of “vermin, pests and insects, if the infestation occurs during the term”. During the hot spell the flat was […]

Competition within the first-time landlord buy-to-let mortgage market has increased significantly over the last five years seeing a rise in the number of products available and a reduction in rates, research from Moneyfacts.co.uk reveals. Over the last five years, the number of products available for first-time landlords has increased from 645 in 2014 to 1,405 […]

Following on from the onslaught against the PRS emanating from Government, Councils and other anti-landlord bodies, the Alliance has now published its housing policy. We have stated our case at the Fair Possession Coalition summit regarding the abolition of section 21. As the curtains come down on May’s failed Premiership, there is an opportunity for […]

I wanted to share this story, because it demonstrates the importance of direct payments from tenants in receipt of Universal Credit to Private Rented Sector (PRS) landlords.  Not only does it give landlords peace of mind, it also safeguards tenancies, ultimately preventing homelessness. Last week, (Tuesday 18th June) a landlord contacted Caridon Landlord Solutions (CLS) because […]

Landlords are urging the candidates to lead the Conservative Party to adopt a more positive approach to the private rented sector. In a letter sent to Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson the Residential Landlords Association warns that the interests of tenants are not being well served by policies which are reducing the supply of homes […]

I pay £70 a month for an agent to collect rent on my property. For this they have done nothing since finding the tenant. Oh yes, they did an inventory, but it never materialised. With 2 months’ notice of the end of the 1 year tenancy, they want to charge £600 to let me take […]

Nearly two years ago my Husband and I separated, at this point he went to live in one of our properties recently purchased on an Option Agreement. I stayed in the marital home, which is now going to be sold so that I can move on. We didn’t want to get solicitors involved as we […]