Lettingsupermarket.com are assisting in the representation of a large Investment Group based in the U.S. who specialise in the acquisition of Student Accommodation. They currently have over £300m invested in Student Accommodation developments in the U.S., with over 3,000 units across Maryland, New York and California. They are now looking to acquire Student Accommodation developments […]

This week landlords watched with trepidation as the BBC presented a so-called Panorama investigation into the use of Section 21 notices in the private rented sector. The inauspicious title: ‘Evicted for no reason,’ warned us that we should expect the usual bias and inaccuracy as Section 21 notices are not served for no reason. That would just […]

Here at the Sheriffs Office we have been pleasantly surprised at the speedy turnaround of writs of possession over the past few months. This can be a huge advantage to landlords for whom receiving rental income is important, and to whom rogue tenants have caused undue stress and financial hardship. It can mean that within […]

Private landlords in England need to be prepared for increasing regulation following the publication of a Government consultation. Tim Miles, a Partner with national firm Clarke Willmott LLP, says the consultation on electrical safety will have a significant impact on private landlords and the buy to let sector in England. The consultation proposes to compel […]

Can anyone get there head around this for me. An investor wants 3 flats building (Value is £465k) by “giving” me or my company £450k to do a commercial conversion to 6 flats. I keep the other 3. Worst case scenario, the company needs another £350K to do the work and cover all loan fees […]

Capital gains tax receipts hit £5.5bn in January and leaves the Treasury on course to rake in £8.8bn this tax year. Analysis of the tax receipts by NFU Mutual, the financial advice firm, show the taxman is set to collect around £0.4bn (5%) more than in 2016-17. HMRC usually receives a glut of Capital Gains […]

I might be late to the party with this one. Yesterday I received from HMRC a letter/notice under Paragraph 1, Schedule 23 to the Finance Act 2011 from HMRC requiring me (as a letting agent) – a ‘relevant data holder’- to provide ‘relevant data’ about the landlords I manage for and the payments that have […]

A water pipe has burst in a brand new property rented by a family member of mine. Lots of the tenants possessions are water damaged. The landlord (a big corporate London agency) is doing the right thing and paying for alternative accommodation – but is the agency/landlord also on the hook for the water-damaged possessions […]

This week, BBC Panorama (Wednesday 21 February at 20:30) investigates the widely debated Section 21 no-fault eviction procedure and whether tenants deserve more protection, or whether new rules would make the housing crisis worse. The show will feature leading tenant eviction company, Landlord Action, highlighting the real reasons landlords turn to Section 21. Instances of […]

This is a must read for all landlords with HMO’s in Bristol. The council proposes to introduce an Additional Licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation across Bristol City.  Specifically 12 wards that make up central Bristol – Ashley, Bishopston & Ashley Down, Central, Clifton, Clifton Down, Cotham, Easton, Hotwells & Harbourside, Lawrence Hill, Redland, Southville and […]

You know how some offers are just too good to refuse? Well I’m sharing one with you right now. If you’re anything like me then £60 of a minimum order off a £99 wine order from Naked Wines is probably going to be of interest. You’re not tied into making any future orders through them and […]

Last week Jeremy Corbyn unveiled a draft animal welfare policy, which included plans from Labour to make it mandatory for tenants to be allowed to keep pets in rental properties. However, property management franchise Belvoir, which has over 300 High Street offices, has many landlords who already support this initiative, and has some top tips […]

There have been recent reports since Grenfell that faulty domestic appliances such as washing machines, fridges, tumble dryers etc. are the cause of some 13 fires a day. These statistics are causing concern. What advice should we offer as landlords? Some of the appliances would obviously be supplied by the Landlord and of course the […]

Computershare has announced the successful transfer of £12 billion of buy-to-let Bradford & Bingley and Mortgage Express mortgages to their new owners. The transfer follows the sale of the loans to Blackstone and Prudential last year, and the new owners have retained the UK’s largest third-party mortgage administrator to provide a full suite of administration […]

Westminster Council have placed its own lettings agency, CityWest Residential, on Sadiq Khan’s Greater London Authority’s register of rogue landlords and letting agents. CityWest Residential was fined £15,000 after being found in breach of Section 83 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for failing to display its letting fees accurately, details of its Client Money […]

Sajid Javid, the Housing Secretary, has released new plans over the weekend to create a simple complaints procedure for ‘consumers’ (tenants) to gain access to dispute resolution and compensation and indicating tenants should have “a clearer version of redress for their grievances.” The PRS currently has no compulsory complaints system as there is in industries […]

I think this may have been covered in the past regarding tenants and fraudulent applications. I have a current tenant who used a fake employers letter and fake previous landlady reference to secure the tenancy. The tenants have also been in the Property nearly 2 months without making any rental payments! Surely this is fraud […]

17th March Workshop – PLACES AVAILABLE  ‘How To Corporatise Your Property Business’ workshop. The next one is Sat 17th March, with just a few places remaining. The workshop takes you through the process of incorporating your personally held property portfolio into a limited company without capital gains tax or stamp duty, while retaining your existing […]

Being a fan of Jacob Rees Mogg, I was struck by a comment he made in a recent U Tube article. He stated that David Cameron had made a condition passed into law that there would be no increase in income tax during the tenure of his Government. I don’t know the ins and outs […]

Will I pay the additional 3% Stamp Duty Surcharge? This is by far the single most commonly asked question to Property118 and it is about time HMRC made the rules far clearer and easier to understand. Even professionals are getting it wrong including solicitors. Government released figures reported on a while ago show 15,700 purchasers […]

I know there are many, many variables to this question but as a quick poll (assuming we all know about section 24, SDLT etc,) how would you invest £100k? 1, Buy more property through new limited company but maybe not great for regularised income? 2, Buy a holiday home, which avoids section 24 for now […]