Or is it a commercial enterprise, a sub-contractor to government or a left-wing pressure group financed by the general public? The answer to all of these is yes. In the year to March 2017 Shelter received £2.1m from legal services contracts, and £2.5m from advising advisers on behalf of the government: “Shelter received £2,494,000 in […]

It is easy in life to think that you as one person can make little difference – wrong. Shopping in B&Q for example! You spend a few or a few hundred pounds on materials for your rented house – possibly one which has been wrecked by rogue tenants. You get to the counter and see […]

We are a share of freehold flat in a block of 6 with a management company. We have had a demand letter from them to replace the front door to our flat with a threat of legal action if this is not completed by December 17th. We need some help and advice as I’m not […]

We recently set up a family partnership company through Property118 to enable us to split property income between my wife, daughter and myself for tax efficiency. We currently own and rent out 2 properties in Dorset. This year our daughter has started university and we are considering purchasing a property for her and a few […]

Nottingham City Council, who have been heavily crticised by our own Mick Roberts and Property118 members for their selective licensing scheme, are now under fire for wasting £95,000 of tax payers money on a failed Supreme Court appeal case. The Council lost both cases against a landlord who was taken to court over the size […]

I am a freeholder living next door to a Housing Association tenant. Yesterday, she drove her car into our boundary fence. It is my boundary fence and I am responsible for the upkeep. She is an absolute nuisance, constantly dumping her rubbish/old furniture outside of her property, putting her rubbish into other people’s bins. The […]

A sequel to Kicking Landlords by Fergus Wilson A landlord was threatened with being stabbed by a tenant who telephoned to a Letting Agent leaving terrible messages: “You are a dead man! I will get you! I will stab you in the neck! And I will bury you!” The issue is whether a Threat to […]

There are many problems associated with empty properties in the cold winter months. Freezing pipes, security risks, ventilation, heating costs, council tax and no rental income. Lettingsupermarket.com are able to let property almost immediately* and on top of the rent we will pay you an incentive or grant which could be thousands of pounds towards […]

Karen Buck, whose Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill is set to become law, has a backbench debate on ‘S21 and how to improve security for tenants’ on 6th December. I asked her on twitter to take into account the views of landlords as well as tenants. Her reply was ‘I am quite willing to […]

If you tenant is in rent arrears landlords can apply for third party deduction, the maximum that DWP can recover per month is up to 20 per cent of off the claimants personal allowance. DWP are now changing the way Universal Credit Full Service pays rent arrears, if you are currently in receipt of Third […]

A recent article by Savil’s predicts that the North-South divide will be turned on its head during 2019 to 2023, with the biggest price rises in the North West (21.6%). All of this making ‘now’ an incredibly exciting time to invest in the North.  Our latest build-complete investment opportunity is in Kirkby, a town situated just 9 miles […]

Polly Neate and Greg Beales took over the management of Shelter in August/September 2017. In August this year Shelter started to harass letting agents over alleged bans on housing benefit (HB) claimants. Click here On 11 September Shelter obligingly published a guide for letting agents and landlords on avoiding discrimination, click here, which says: “Although […]

With the average semi-detached house costing £225,674 in the UK, the housing crisis has left many of those within the younger generations short of an opportunity to own their own home. As the UK experiences a widening generational wealth gap, research from credit comparison experts TotallyMoney uncovers how much different generations are saving, and overspending, […]

I have a tenant I would like to evict. However, I have recently been informed that the tenant changed their name by deed poll, but the tenancy is still in their old name. Can I still evict them and what is the process? On top of that I haven’t been able to issue the new […]

I have not seen this discussed before, but was wondering why there aren’t more BTL lending products where there is an much larger arrangement fee and much reduced interest rate as the fee is tax deductible, but the interest is not and would help get around S24 for those who are unincorporated. Basically if you […]

The National Landlords Association (NLA) is calling for the Government to review the section 8 possession process. The section 8 possession process requires landlords to seek a court order to gain possession of their property where the tenant has breached the terms of their tenancy agreement. However, tenants can challenge the possession claim and remain […]

On Monday 12th November, BBCs latest Panorama investigation focused on the impact of the controversial Universal Credit, and most crucially the housing element. The programme revealed the extent of the rent arrears problem as a result of changes to the benefits system. Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action, together with Mick Roberts, one of the […]

I had a loft conversion done in 2006 and since I have had leaks. The loft conversion company has reluctantly repaired each time but only ever did a “patchy” job even though their own roofers said the roof needed to be fully replaced. The last repair was three years ago where once again they did […]

This article appeared in The Times: 09 November 2018 by Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson. ‘Connect House is a run-down converted office block in the middle of an industrial estate….. Windows are broken, damp is seeping through the walls, and there is nowhere for children to play. 86 families live there’. Got the picture? Good! […]

As promised in the government’s last manifesto the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have proposed a new Housing Court. This new court will be  route for landlords and tenants to speed up and improve usability in obtaining redress and has now gone to consultation. “Tenants, landlords and agents can bring a range of […]

Sainsbury’s bank has now added the Personal Touch Financial Services network to its list of Buy to Let Partners so they can be added to the list of options for Property118 members and readers. When a borrowers takes out a new mortgage with Sainsbury’s Bank they can get 5 bonus Nectar points per £1 of […]