The former President of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), Simon Gerrard, has sent another open letter to Housing Minister, Alok Sharma, chasing for a response to his housing market proposals. The first letter was ignored by the Housing Ministry and just passed on to the Treasury receiving a cursory reply. The plans given […]

Have a couple of flats in one block. The typical lease fee was £195 every quarter. The solicitors acting on their behalf are now threatening to take us to court for breach of contract and are threatening to apply to the courts for a Possession Order if we do not pay the outstanding balance of […]

My daughter is at university and an agent has just sent an AST to sign with the follow clause; “In the event of the rent or any part of it being unpaid for more than 14 days after it has become due whether legally demanded or not or if there shall be a breach of […]

The All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG) campaign titled Carbon monoxide alarms: Tenants safe and secure in their homes is looking to improving current regulations for rented properties and make it compulsory to fit carbon monoxide alarms. Alok Sharma MP, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, is backing a report by the APPCOG that […]

Hi, I recently purchased (Aug ‘17) a property in Blackpool which has historically been converted into 5 self contained apartments. The property is currently 80% Tenanted, however it is dated and would benefit from a complete refurbishment including some works to the roof. The current intention is to remove the tenants, refurbish the whole building, […]

We own a free hold block of 11 flats in Birmingham area. When we bought the property it was derelict. Since then we have done the work and now all 11 flats are tenanted and generating rentals with limited vacancy for past 2 years. During this time we had a commercial mortgage from Aldermore which […]

Golden Welcome cash payment to landlords Central Government is doing all it can to deter private landlords from providing housing to people on benefits and now Local Councils are desperate enough to do this: Monmouthshire Lettings Service Scheme will offer landlords a cash payment of up to £1,200 just for joining, free quarterly property inspections and […]

Canal-side living in Tobacco Wharf – a converted tobacco factory in Liverpool. 90 one and two-bedroom apartments are assembled over 5 floors, with prices starting from £84,995. The price available on this property means that yields of up to 8% are achievable. The development is fully tenanted so investors can enjoy an immediate income. Situated […]

The Halifax Price Index figures for the last quarter August to October show the price of an average house is now a record high of £225,826. House prices in the last quarter were 4.5% higher than in the same three months last year. The annual growth rate in October is higher than in September (4.0%) […]

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 […]