“We have received evidence that civil penalties are not strong enough to deter landlords who are prepared to commit the most serious offences, and fines issued through the courts are often insufficient to make prosecutions worthwhile. We believe local authorities should have the power to levy more substantial fines, which might stand a chance of […]

After the death of our parents, my brother and I inherited a property which we have been renting for almost 30 years and considering selling for as many years. It is still registered to just my brother and I. We both have families now with two kids each, the youngest soon to turn 16. Our […]

The very things I love about property investing are often the things others can’t stand! For me, buying and holding or buying and selling go hand in hand. I would never buy a property I couldn’t sell for a profit and I would never buy one I couldn’t rent with a strong ROI! This helps […]

We are about to purchase our first BTL through a Ltd company, I already have a couple in my own name, but have decided to shift to the Ltd co. model. The property will be purchased upfront with cash, however I would then like to mortgage the property to free capital up for future purchases. […]

Does anyone have experience of the most common items found by local authorities under the heading “general disrepairs” when properties are inspected in Selective Licensing areas? It would be good to know what in particular they are looking for and the experiences of other Landlords that have had an inspection. Many thanks David

This week’s episode of “Bad Tenants, Rogue Landlords” (Thursday 19th April, Channel 5, 8pm) will serve as a warning to all landlords and letting agents over the dangers of fake tenant references, as landlord Paul Bloom faces a struggle to get his property back from a bogus company let. Paul Bloom, a professional landlord with […]

Council Flat has CATEGORY ONE HAZARD Mould & Nottingham City Council are doing nothing about it for a whole year. Yet Nottingham Selective Licensing wants us Landlords to do all our houses within 3 MONTHS! Dear Councillors & Licensing & Nottm Council, We have a category one hazard in a flat where I own the […]

If you own more than one let property then you could save money and improve cover by buying a landlord portfolio of insurance. If you own multiple properties, there are benefits to buying the insurance all together as discounts can be applied that single properties do not attract. In purely practical terms, it also means […]

The Guardian has sunk to new lows this week with the publication of the most vehemently anti-landlord article, by Rhik Samadder (such an expert in the field that none of us have ever heard of him), that I have ever seen published by a national newspaper. The title alone is shocking: ‘Landlords are social parasites. […]

Do I need to pay the standing charge for electricity on an empty BTL when the previous tenant changed it without my permission and they do not have a contract with me. It has never happened before. I told them by phone I did not want their service. My supplier was British Gas and now […]

I am planning to sell at least 25 properties pre the full roll out of s24 and wonder if there is any benefit to changing those that I can, into holiday let’s for a while? I pay 28% if I sell one now, but believe if a BTL is changed and run as a holiday […]

I currently have a problem with a tenant who has been with me for over 7 years in a HMO renting out a room on an individual AST. He notified me and the agent that manages the property at the end of February that he has run into financial hardship having lost his job. He […]

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas on this as I am not finding much on the web and there seems to be different ideas about CT61 forms. I am about to ( July 18 ) clear the mortgage across my 6 flats which I have had in a ltd company since 2005. I have […]

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has released a short analysis illustrating the individual relationships between some important housing market pressures and house prices. The report is not intended to be exhaustive and has limitations, but uses relationships estimated from the affordability model in the 2007 and 2008 reports by the National Housing […]

Hi there. Any advice on this issue would be greatly appreciated. I’ve just received a request for payment for the next three months’ worth of service charge on a flat I let out managed by a company called Centrick. The service charge has gone up from £94.60 per month (already quite high in my opinion) […]

Should I decide to sell one of my BTL’s I know that I am obliged to declare information that may affect the transaction; such as boundaries, disputes, even “significant occurrences” at the property such as murder or a suicide. Fortunately, none of these exist. However, my question relates to building application, which may fail. I […]

I have a couple of properties and one property has come onto the market recently which I am interested in. The Net Yield is around 3% and should rent very easily and provide around £4K profit each year before tax. The property has potential for extensions which can increase the value However, it seems that […]

I wondered if anyone could advise me on a question relating to the 3% surcharge on SDLT for additional properties and in particular when replacing a main residence. I currently own three properties (my main residence and two buy to let properties). If I was to replace my main residence this year by purchasing a […]

Many self-managing landlords I speak to feel tied to their business and are becoming increasingly depressed about all the new rules and regulations they need to stay on top of. Some have decided to sell up whilst others soldier on, forsaking holidays and family time. However, those of you who have been following my blogs or […]

Four years ago in 2014, Part 3 and Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (TCE 2007) came into force, supported by the new Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, the Taking Control of Goods Regulations (Fees) 2014 and the requirement for enforcement agents to undertake training and certification. The Ministry of […]

When completing paperwork for court, you must always ensure that the correct entity is being named. Although it may seem obvious, suing the correct entity is not always as easy and straightforward as it may seem. Making sure that you have the correct name when attempting to sue is of the highest importance. If a […]