We purchased an off-plan property for BTL in 2008 (yes, I know!!!), and the lease we signed before Completion had the Ground Rent as £150 pa. Our solicitor (a supposed leasehold expert recommended by the broker) proceeded to completion, and we thought no more about it until the 5 year anniversary, when our Ground Rent […]

I purchased property A in 1992 (mortgaged) as our primary residence. In 2004 purchased property B (mortgaged) and moved in as our primary residence to-date. As of 2004 property A was then used as a rental till Sept 2017. We plan to sell property B (our current primary residence since 2004) and then move back […]

Following campaigning work by the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) and their England/Wales partners the RLA, the SAL are pleased to announce a good result. From 6 April 2018 a change in gas safety regulations will introduce a degree of flexibility to the timing of landlords’ annual gas safety checks. This MOT-style change means that landlords […]

Below is a summary of a larger detailed explanation of this complex piece of legislation, due to come into force tomorrow! I thought it would be of interest to Property118 readers. “The Housing and Planning Act, 2016  Part 3 Chapters 57 – 63 set a legislative, if not complex process for recovery of a property […]

I recently received a £90 charge for late paying service charge for a leasehold property for which I never received the service charge demand/invoice, but the management company claimed they sent it by email (an email in their sent folder). I have explained to them that email is not a guaranteed system to deliver notice, […]

I was wondering if anyone could help me on a divorce and tax issue. My ex and I had four jointly owned properties, we were joint owners and there was no deed of trust altering the ownership from 50/50 I assume we should both pay are own tax on our own 50% of the rents, […]

On Thursday 5th April (8pm), Channel 5 will launch “Bad Tenants, Rogue Landlords”, a companion series to “Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords”, which delves into the dark side of the housing crisis and features cases handled by leading tenant eviction company, Landlord Action. In the first episode, English teacher Muhammad Rahman has suffered from serious financial […]

The Scottish Labour party want to bring in far reaching rent control laws using a Private Members bill based around the early campaigning of Mary Barbour. “Mary Barbour first became politically active after joining and becoming an active member of the Kinning Park Co-operative Guild. Her political activism began in earnest leading the South Govan […]

The tenant moved in November and has paid rent due in accordance with the AST. I had tried to meet the new tenant at the flat on a couple of occasions after he moved in, but numerous excuses meant this did not happen e.g. he was traveling or meeting relatives away etc. Last week the […]

I am currently in the process of finding a tenant for my property. I live a couple of houses along from it. I have advertised this property as a ‘no pets’ property, mostly because I don’t want to be annoyed by any more dogs barking and cats messing in my garden which I already have […]

The Government announced its response to consultations for letting industry regulation and Client Money Protection (CMP) in a crack down announced over Easter. Client Money Protection will now be compulsory and privately-led schemes will be introduced alongside civil penalties of up to £30,000 for agents who do not comply with the scheme. Regulation changes include: […]

My husband and I live overseas but we have a portfolio of 38 rental properties spread across the UK. We are considering incorporation for a variety of reasons, one of which is that Limited Companies are unaffected to the section 24 restrictions on finance cost relief for individual landlords. Does the fact that our properties […]

The New tenant Tax Nottingham Council expects private tenants to pay-Selective Licensing The truth about Nottingham Council putting private tenants rents up Licensing cost £780 PER HOUSE Accreditation cost roughly £100 per house Electrical certificate £140 EACH HOUSE + average works per house £97 as stated by Government Floorplans each house £30 Inventory each house […]

My wife and I are in our mid to late 60s, Our commercial property is in our daughter’s name (long story). She and her husband, who have a separate business of their own, now wish to have the property put back into my wife’s and my own names. The (commercial) mortgage, LTV approximately 45%, is […]

My tenant has not signed a new tenancy agreement since December 2015. She is on a periodic. Do I have to give my tenant a copy of the new How To Rent Booklet. Thank you for any information. Christine Editors Note: For reference the new .Gov how to rent guide Jan 2018 can be downloaded […]

A question on Capital Gains for a Primary Residence when I’ve never strictly permanently lived in the property in question…don’t be too hasty to judge, (I hope) there are a few mitigating factors! My mother sold the family home back in 2008, gifted me a sum of money and with that (and other private savings) […]

A little known amendment to Stamp Duty Policy in the Autumn Budget 2017 could help 1,000’s of small landlords in regards to their tax planning. The changes were billed as “Minor Amendments” and were overlooked by many landlords and their accountants who believed the changes wouldn’t affect them. HOWEVER, the new rules confirm that the additional […]

I would be grateful for any advice you can give me. My husband and I own a small property portfolio jointly 50/50. I am employed, but he is not. My rental income plus earned income puts me into the higher rate tax bracket. We had very low expenses this year and consequently we are facing […]

Hi All, Ive made a bit of a school boy error here. I have a small portfolio, and my last purchase around 4 years ago was a flat in South London had the following clause for the ground rent: Ground Rent £250 Reviewed every 10 years by a factor of 2 or by RPI whichever […]

The housing charity “Shelter” have formally admitted that it can take a landlord 8 months to evict a tenant using a section 21 notice. The admission is in the form of their latest viral video campaign. Despite this, they continue bleat that legislation is biased in favour of landlords. How can taking 8 months for a person […]

We are delighted to report that another Property118 member Mark Edwards, MD and founder of Mortgages and Insurers Solutions, has led his company to winning the award for “Highly Commended Buy to Let Mortgage Broker of the Year” at the Business Moneyfacts Awards 2018. Claudia Winkleman presented the award that acknowledges the expertise and superb […]