The RLA is calling on the majority of Buy to Let lenders to stop discriminating against lending to Landlords that let to benefits tenants in their criteria. They are citing and example where a landlord had their Buy to Let mortgage called in, because it was discovered they were letting to a benefits tenant. Click […]

I’m hoping that the well informed members of the forum will be able to help me with my problem below. I unfortunately bought a freehold maisonette that resides over a flower shop below just over 2 years ago. I own the freehold to the whole building with the shop owner owning a long lease below. […]

I want to sell a property I’m currently renting to the tenant that lives there. The tenants are looking into getting a mortgage but they are unable to raise a deposit. Can I let them rent the property for 12 months and I accept rental income this as their deposit to buy? Is this legal […]

Last year I described how Patrick Collinson had misunderstood two reports with big numbers in them: Patrick Collinson “Guardian of Housing Ignorance” Patrick Collinson has done it again! This week he has blindly quoted the press release for a report – with small numbers in it – which was designed to deceive policymakers: Click here […]

Landlords, Our sector is under attack like never before. Politicians and pressure groups who want to tax and regulate the PRS out of existence are causing unbelievable hardship for tenants. The new UK tax on turnover goes against all the basic norms of accountancy rules. I wish here to address all the P118 readers who […]

This is an article that I recently published on my Linked In page – Homelessness Reduction: PRS co-operation Homelessness, and severe housing need, is on the increase, there is a huge shortage of social housing, and no matter how much the Government say they are investing (even if you believe the figures), they cannot keep […]

I thought this was going to be a simple, but there is so much conflicting information on the web. My property is currently let on a 12 month AST that was set up via an agent. The agent has been useless and I am in constant discussion with them about other issues so I am […]

On Tuesday Generation Rent published a paper by its Director, Dan Wilson Craw. He proves – to his own satisfaction at least – that the Law of Supply and Demand does not apply to the UK’s private rented sector. The paper is called “Do measures that discourage buy-to-let investment increase rents?” Click here He claims […]

Last Friday Melanie Onn MP had an article published in The House, Parliament’s Magazine. Melanie Onn is Labour MP for Great Grimsby and shadow minister for housing. Towards the end she wrote “We’d also tighten up tenancy rules to help prevent private evictions, now the leading cause of statutory homelessness, by banning section 21 evictions.” […]

Hamilton Fraser’s first academy course for Letting Agents sold out and now a second date has been added. Next month, Hamilton Fraser is launching the Hamilton Fraser Academy, a series of half and full day workshops to offer property professionals advice and education covering the full tenancy lifecycle. The first course, ‘Legal update and compliance’ […]

I have just read that Croydon Council ( who I believe are Labour) have become the first council to support the scrapping of the Section 21 no fault eviction. A council member stated “With Croydon having lost around 70% of its budget since 2010, we are struggling to deal with the scale of this problem, […]

After selling my house to a cash buyer who wanted to move quickly, I found myself renting a house to oblige him. I am paying £2350 for house which is part of a converted mill in Hampshire. It’s in a lovely location but since moving in at the beginning of August, we have had nothing […]

Given the significant changes that have occurred in the buy-to-let (BTL) market in the last few years, not to mention the recent base rate increases, it’s no wonder that many landlords are feeling uncertain about their future. Thankfully, it seems lenders are feeling less nervous, as the average five-year fixed BTL rate has fallen to […]

Hi all, I had a tenant leave on the 1st of March 2017 with £1,050 arrears and dilapidation’s. To my surprise they were already in the process of arranging an IVA and I was added as one of a number of creditors expecting 25p in the pound spread over five years! Fast forward fifteen months […]

After owning and letting a Leasehold flat for around 20 years the freehold changed hands a few months ago. I have now received a letter informing me that letting the flat breaks a clause in the lease that says the flat must be used by either the Leaseholder or a member of the leaseholders family […]

There are many reasons as to why 2nd charge loans are becoming increasingly popular. A second charge mortgage can offer an ideal solution to a remortgage, further advance or an unsecured loan. Today second charges offer very competitive rates. Some of the main reasons for using a second charge loan rather than remortgaging are: Current […]

High Speed 2 (HS2) is a Government plan to construct a high-speed rail link from Birmingham to London, the West Midlands, Leeds and Manchester. Curzon Street Station, due to open in Birmingham with seven high speed platforms in 2026, is set to be the first new intercity station built in Britain since the 19th century. The upcoming […]

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request was sent to Nottingham council in March this year requesting information a break down of average costs associated against the £600 licensing fee. In the response the authority estimated that an average cost of carrying out a rental a house inspection was £77.17. There was no further breakdown of […]

Once more I am after landlords’ views – this time about a proposal put forward by the Centre for Policy Studies. In a nutshell it is this: ‘What we propose, therefore, is that the Government should make every buy-to-let landlord in the country a time-limited offer. For one year, if they sell up, they will […]

I would like to share the 38 Degrees petition to pause the rollout of Universal Credit: click here “To Esther McVey: Universal Credit is a scheme that replaces lots of different benefits. But it’s been riddled with problems since it was first trialed. It’s seen families relying on food banks, people forced onto the streets, […]

Like all employers in the South East I was heavily dependent on an East European workforce. On 1st October, 2018 at 7.30am a Hungarian workman did not turn up for work. He telephoned to say he was on the ferry heading for Calais as he had been offered a job the previous night in Germany. […]