I have had an enquiry from a disabled gentleman who has two dogs to help him with his disability and has disability benefits as his only income. He has claimed that Citizens Advice and the local council have both told him that it is illegal for a landlord to refuse to let him a property […]

Ipswich Building Society now offer 80% Loan To Value on their Buy to Let mortgage range for a minimum loan of £75,000. There is a 2 year Discounted rate available at 2.95% (variable rate currently 5.49% with a discount of 2.54% until 2 years from completion date). Application fee £199 and completion fee £950. Also […]

I have sent a form 6A to my Tenants dated the 28 Feb with the notice expiring the 1st May. However, the tenant did not receive the notice until the 5 March and is complaining that she will have less than the 2 months notice as per contract. What can I do? I have two […]

Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), has announced new dates for its Academy courses, delivering training on tenancy deposit disputes and adjudication to agents and landlords. TDS’ popular Foundation Course and Adjudication Workshops will be held in cities across the UK and will provide accredited Continued Professional Development (CPD) certification. The Foundation Course is a full day […]

I have read that under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 Section 3 there is a statutory requirement for BOTH the vendor landlord and purchaser landlord to advise a tenant of a change and the new landlord’s actual address, max fine £2500. Interestingly I can’t find anything on “a well known landlord portal” so came […]

Hi, I’d like to ask everyone how you deal with utilities after tenant has left and before new tenant moves in. The problem is that I may not know which electric, gas or water company the tenant chose to use, and may never receive a letter from utility company as they only send bills to […]

My question is would it be better to release equity from your rental portfolio whenever the opportunity may arise or to leave it where it is? If it is the latter then I guess there is a real risk that should the market crash, then there goes your equity as well. If I release equity […]

My hubby and I were unable to sell our residential property (1) before buying our new residential home (2) so we therefore paid an extra £11k in stamp duty because of the second home rule. In the meantime we’ve rented out property (1). We always planned to sell (1) before the three year mark, and […]

I am in a dilemma; I would like to ask other experienced landlord’s opinion. My previous house has storage heaters, I am planning to let it out. Should I upgrade the heating for modern slim electric radiators or install gas central heating? I knew the benefits of an electric heating system has no annual maintenance […]

Follow up letter to Nottingham City Councillors regarding disastrous Selective Licensing that will force me into making 350 people homeless Dear Rav & John, Regarding your letter dated 2 March 2018. You say you are not sure if I’m aware, but the Council undertook an extensive consultation. No I was not aware of the consultation […]

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has once more commissioned work on ‘how to improve’ the private rented sector, using researchers from the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research. I have previously critiqued their work Click Here. I find their latest report is a missed opportunity to sort out the mess that is of the Government’s […]

My question is quite simple it involves a fire assessment and whether I need to do one or not. I understand you do not need to do a fire risk assessment for HMOs if their ‘joint tenancies’ or if their standard family lets. However, what about a 4 bed licenced HMO previously let on a […]

My property is occupied by joint tenants who are about to break-up after 11 months of a 12 month AST agreement. When visiting two weeks ago, one of the tenants told me that his partner had moved out and that he may want to leave if he and she decided that their differences were irreconcilable. […]

I went to county court on Friday and the Judge at first said I had not submitted counter claim and that I would not be able to speak. I then told him where my counterclaim was on the papers submitted by the estate agent with my writing on it. This is what the Judge had […]

Sajid Javid wants more houses building, but his other policies are forcing thousands to be homeless with Nottingham City Council’s Selective Licensing. My Letter to Sajid Javid, Dear Sajid I am having to make 350 people homeless this year because of your decision to allow this Selective Licensing. You have granted Nottingham Council permission for […]

The results of Belvoir’s Q4 rental index, and a survey of landlord trends, according to a recent Halifax review, confirm that significantly less stock is coming on to the market, putting further pressure on the PRS. From a tenant’s perspective, the good news is that tenancy lengths are naturally increasing, and arrears and evictions are […]

My tenant since 2010 has refused to sign an AST tenancy agreement since May 2014. She gave me notice that she wanted to move out in Oct 2015, but when I went to do the checkout (17.12.15) she refused to move out as I said I couldn’t give her her deposit back there and then […]

Are the larger landlords associations conflicted? Only a few weeks ago we heard the Telford and Wrekin Council had abandoned their proposals for Selective Licensing of landlords due to overwhelming feedback advising against it. Clearly these Councils can be persuaded against the introduction of Selective Licensing if enough people take the time and effort to explain […]

Regular subscribers to this site may have seen my critique of the Economist article on buy-to-let. Click Here to view original article. What follows is my reply to the reply by Tom Wainwright, their Britain Editor. I am still waiting for their next reply. I fear it may never come… Dear Tom Thanks very much […]

We’re buying a new home to live in ourselves & have therefore been trying to sell our current main home. This is taking longer than we wanted and we’re on a timeline as the builders for the new home set the exchange and completion dates according to their build schedule. My IFA suggested that rather […]

As an accountant I know the Capital Gains rules regarding selling a BLT property that you once lived in. However, has any one got any advise on the rules in selling part of the garden of a house you once lived in. How do you calculate the base cost to use in the computation to […]