One of the most common issues for landlords in relation to the new Universal Credit system is requesting a Landlord Managed Payment. Under the LHA scheme this was known as simply “direct payments” to landlords. Unlike Housing Benefit & LHA, where landlords could secure direct payment of the Housing Benefit (LHA) by statutory right (regulation […]

I self-manage a property in London and I used a letting agency to find my tenant. My contract with the letting agent states there is a fee to be paid for tenancy renewal (5% +VAT, periodic basis included). The tenant has contacted me well in advance of the expiration of the current tenancy term requesting […]

Hi, I am in need of some thoughts/ideas from the Gurus here. Wife and I live in our flat in London – Mortgage with First Direct. About 210k mortgage left, flat value 500k. Mortgage is being switched to an offset interest only mortgage circa £300pm still with First Direct. Potential rental income £1650pm from flat. […]

We are considering buying the house next door and combining it with our own house to create one property. We would then rent out the bedrooms under the rent-a-room-in-your-own-home scheme, which would be more tax efficient than renting out the house separately. From a legal point of view, does this sound viable, and what arrangements […]

Following a recent brain hemorrhage, I’ve decided to move abroad, with my husband, for health reasons. The silver lining is that hopefully I can sell my 5 rental properties with reduced CGT (up to April 15). I had the properties valued as at April 15 but have owned them for 15 years or more and […]

The proportion of landlords who use a letting agent to help manage their property has spiked since the end of last year, according to a recent survey of property investors.* Six in ten (61 per cent) landlords say they currently use a letting agent to manage their properties, a rise of seven per cent since […]

I have the following question regarding taxation of a limited company. Background: I hold two residential rental properties in joint ownership with my spouse. Each year I complete a tax return on these. Last year, I purchased another BTL property off plan which is due to complete towards the end of this year. Due to […]

The following project outlines how one of our clients used our flexible property funding to turn a profit of £250,000. The client, an experienced Property Developer, purchased a former furniture showroom in Liverpool and transformed it into 15 residential flats. The client drew down the funding in multiple tranches in line with his schedule of […]

A CPD accredited briefing for property lawyers, commercial agents and local authorities on how to remove travellers from land under a High Court writ or Common Law. The Sheriffs Office are authorised High Court Enforcement Officers. They are highly experienced in transferring up a possession order to the High Court and successfully conducting the eviction […]

Some accountants have been telling their clients that if they want to claim they run the “business” as a “partnership” then they will automatically have to pay National Insurance. “That can’t be right”, I hear you cry! Well it’s not quite clear cut, so I decided to do some more research on the subject and […]

Until quite recently, many professional advisers (including myself) have argued that a partnership doesn’t exist unless HMRC has issued a rental property Partnership Unique Tax Reference number “UTR” and that three years of partnership returns have been submitted and accepted. However, earlier this year I was made aware of HMRC issuing non-statutory clearance for the […]

I’m interested in your feedback on a series of Landlord Tax Planning Clinic Webinars I’m planning.  Each webinar will answer 5 pre-submitted questions from subscribers, and if time allows we will answer a selection of live questions too. My co-host will be Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers and Honorary Legal Counsel for The […]

My wife and I want to incorporate our buy-to-let portfolio but our outstanding finance is £600,000 more than the purchase price and capitalised costs associated with the properties. From a tax perspective it seems we could be far better off if we incorporate, especially in a few years time when the restrictions on finance cost relief […]

I’ve got five buy to let properties all in my sole name which I’ve had for around 6 years and they are mortgaged on an interest only basis. Due to the change in mortgage tax relief and the fact that I’m a 40% tax payer earning around £100k a year I’d like to transfer the […]

I bought a one bedroom flat with the freehold in a terraced housed converted into 2 one bedroom flats. The top flat is leasehold but I was not the seller. The leaseholder is my tenant and she is in South Africa. A management company sublet her flat which is above me and has no soundproofing. […]

I’m soon about to start investing with my mum and we’ll be starting with a Buy to Sell strategy using cash. We cannot get a mortgage for now, that is not an option to consider at present. I recently thought about buying a freehold semi commercial property with a flat/flats above then selling each unit […]

For most landlords evicting a tenant is a daunting experience, the whole process leaves landlords often confused and baffled by the process. Gone are the days when landlords could simply write a letter giving the date that they require the property, however most landlords still make this mistake. In accordance with the Housing Act 2004 […]

An elderly aunt of mine bought her parents house under RTB many years ago. She then moved to Italy and allowed her sister to live in the house. My aunt want to sell the house. Some questions arise 1. What tax considerations does she need to address? Im concerned that given she has a primary […]

Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) figures for April show a drop in the number of properties managed by agents in London of 31.8% from 148 per branch in March to only 101 in April. However, the total number in the UK actually rose from 183 to 185 per ARLA member office. This Demand and […]

I have been to court in-order to get a tenant removed, that’s now going to happen very soon, however my neighbour has informed me that the flat has been completely boarded up. What I don’t understand is just who is likely to have done this to my flat, I know I didn’t ask anyone to […]

Can anyone please assist with this scenario?  I am looking to transfer a mortgaged property held in my sole name, to my wife. The property currently has a first and second charge mortgage on it, and a new mortgage would be required to be taken out in my wife’s sole name to redeem the current […]