Two Labour Councils made investment purchases of commercial property. (Strange when councils are meant to tax us for the provision of local essential services, not for running a property investment business!) The councils have purchased these properties using offshore companies in Luxembourg and saved £12bn in SDLT. … And its all perfectly legal. The councils […]

My tenants arrived back from hols to find water pouring in through a leaking roof vent down via a 9inch pipe connected to an en suite extractor fan. I couldn’t get a local trades person to attend despite spending a full morning of calling. My tenants have and continue to be brilliant, but despite their […]

We are the process of change from personal to limited for our property portfolio. Do all of the properties need to be transferred to one company or can they be transferred to two companies as long as they are all transferred. I also have existing companies with portfolios in. The main reason for this situation […]

A Bill to set up a ‘PPI’ like compensation scheme for new home purchasers suffering from their house being set up as a leasehold has been passed for as second reading to be heard on the 2nd February. The Bill to be debated in Parliament was introduced by Labour MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston  […]

An article from Mortgage Strategy which explains that six of the top ten lenders say they use ‘all monies charges’ in residential mortgage documents, letting them repossess homes if borrowers struggle with non-mortgage debts. Click here to see the full article.. The charges give lenders the right to secure non-mortgage borrowing, such as credit card […]

Victoria Whitlock, writing in the London Evening Standard tells of her Landlord friend’s decorator catching the new (unnamed) letting agent holding a ‘party’ at an empty property. Click here to read the full article The landlord has several properties in South London, but his previously reliable letting agent had been bought out by another company […]

Landlords of student and professional house share accommodation all over the UK have a number of legal obligations to fulfill, and depending on the type of property you let or exactly where it is, there may be some additional considerations to take into account. This article is intended to serve as a brief reminder to […]

Subject: DCLG Secretary of State misguided Perceptions Dear Mr Johnson, Mr Javid was recently quoted at a Conservative party conference about proposals for new laws on the Private rented sector ( as though we haven’t had enough over the past couple of years ) Could I draw the following to The Secretary of State’s attention. […]

It has been widely reported that in a bid to cope with Britain’s housing shortage, councils often advise tenants facing eviction, and in need of social housing, to stay put in buy-to-let properties when landlords ask them to leave.  This is because, with resources already stretched, councils are reluctant to rehouse tenants until they are […]

Pass the Keys – UK’s leading Airbnb management service is based in Greater London and operating in London, Bath, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Manchester, Oxford and just expanded to York and Glasgow. Pass The Keys overs a hassle-free Host-Service around the globe using the concept of the sharing economy. Through an efficient use of vacant […]

I’m in Brent and being charged for licensing EACH of my buy to let properties. The amounts are extortionate !! What for? Since being licensed (they are NOT hmos) I heard nothing except reminders about Gas Certificate renewal dates. The Government is reconsidering these licensing schemes if you think they are a waste of time […]

UK Landlords put your questions to Iain Duncan Smith directly. Dear fellow Property 118 Members, My name is Tracey Hanbury and I am one of the Directors of the National Landlord Investment Show and also the Editor of Landlord Investor Magazine. I am interviewing Iain Duncan Smith this coming Tuesday 7th at our show at […]

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is refusing to disclose five reports regarding the controversial Universal Credit programme that were requested under the Freedom of Information Act. To read more please click here “The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ruled that the Project Assessment Reviews (PARs) should be disclosed but the DWP is appealing […]

The issues surrounding the buy to let market. Some months ago I attended The National Landlord investment Show, on the issues surrounding the buy to let market and I am now returning to discuss the issues that still affect the market and to what degree the tax changes have made to the market and those […]

Dear Mark The crux of the issue regarding putting BTL properties into a company seems to be whether HMRC will agree that my wife and I are in “business”.  This means whether what I do at present can be correctly described as “business”. If yes, then relief from CGT and Stamp Duty will be given on […]

Was the Bank of England’s decision to increase the Base Rate from 0.25% to 0.5% and overreaction to artificially high inflation figures or can we anticipate potential future adjustments upwards? One of they key factors expressed several times by Mark Carney and his team for the increase in Base Rate is the erosion of slack […]

Hi is anyone aware of any mortgage lenders available for a 10+ portfolio with values from £50k other than TMW (I have given up looking for 40k lenders unless anyone know of one). My wife and I have built up a portfolio of 15 properties over the last two years, generally for between 50-60k each […]

The Bank of England has increased the Base Rate for the first time since July 2007 from 0.25% to 0.5%. Despite modest economic figures and a cut in projected growth rates the current 3% inflation rate was apparently too much to ignore against the 2% medium term target. The Monetary Policy summary press release said: […]

The Grenfell fire has quite rightly forced all owners of high-rise blocks of flats to consider their safety, and in particular, analyse their cladding, if any. I am the leaseholder of a flat in such a building. It has been told it has the same cladding as Grenfell Tower, and must be removed and replaced, […]

Live system, constantly updating …. please allow up to 30 seconds loading time The Property118.com mortgage sourcing tool is available for you to use with our compliments (no charge). Once you have found a product you like simply click the “ENQUIRE” button and complete your contact details in order to progress matters. This system can […]

The Government will extend a proposed cap on security deposits to six weeks’ rent instead of four, it has been announced today 1/11/2017. The details were included in the publication of the draft Tenant’s Fees Bill. The Government first announced that they would introduce a cap on security deposits along with a ban on charging […]