The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) conducted a survey of its members which highlighted their concern over landlords leaving the PRS when demand for rental property is already outstripping supply. Member Surveyors surveyed thought on average over the next five years rental price inflation would be 3% where as they thought house price inflation […]

Leicester overview – the landlord year in figures According to Zoopla, last year the average price for a property in Leicester was £206,115, whilst that average rose to £215,257 for August 2017, a growth of 1.11% on the year before. According to Rightmove’s Rental Trends Tracker for the East Midlands, asking rent saw an annual […]

This is the 16th and last post in my 2017 Legal Update series.  See the rest of them here. During this legal update series, I have given you a brief overview of the main laws which apply to landlords renting in the private sector. It’s a big topic and I have not been able to […]

I have just been approached by church who want to rent my 4 bed house for 1-2 years for their Pastor. Could I do normal AST with them? Is there any pitfall in that.. as the letting agent said we cant do any credit check etc as they are registered charity and they were not […]

Dear All 16 months ago I bought a 6 bedroom HMO in Liverpool for 145k (105k interest only mortgage with Paragon, 5 year fix); I live in Somerset so it’s managed for me. I’m 54 and planning to retire in a couple of years. Unfortunately, the expected tenants didn’t materialize, (or at least not enough […]

Maybe Government should focus on only two things to solve the Housing crisis:- That supply meets demand Available housing is lived in Instead, Government seems to be obsessing about ownership. No, no, no, no, no! In my opinion focus should be to incentiving the building of new housing and empty housing to be sold or […]

This is the 15th post in my 2017 Legal Update series. Evicting tenants is not a nice thing to have to do. Sadly, however it is sometimes necessary. If it is necessary then it is best all round if you just get on with it. In many cases eviction proceedings are brought solely to force […]

North Somerset Council are now working in collaboration with local landlords on a brand new solution “The Ark Passport Scheme” to help more benefit assisted and low income tenants secure private rented accommodation. A shortage of affordable housing and the introduction of Universal credit*, which restricts the payments of rents direct to landlords, has led […]

Radio 4’s Unreliable Evidence program on this evening (13/9/17) @ 20:00 is discussing housing law and looks to be covering a number of topics of particular interest to landlords. more details can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0939hpt “Housing Law Unreliable Evidence A judge led inquiry has been set up to establish the facts of the devastating […]

Money Facts has reported the number of Buy to Let mortgage products available to landlords has hit a record number since they dropped to below 200 after the financial crisis 10 years ago. There are now 1,725 different Buy to Let products available across lender compared to the pre-crisis high point of 1,942. The last […]

Does anybody here know anything about Pinnacle’s Canterbury Student Village developed by Manchester-based Pinnacle Alliance during 2013-5? The development, which consists of 336 student pods, was developed by Pinnacle Alliance off-plan aimed to attract both UK and overseas buyers. The ownership is leasehold. Completed in 2015, the development has been successfully tenanted until now. Despite […]

The National Audit Office has released its homelessness report with all indices rising isn’t it time the government works with landlords rather than using them as a political expediency. Click Here to see full report. 60% increase in households in temporary accommodation since March 2011 with 77,240 households in temporary accommodation @ March 2017 £1.15 […]

This is the 14th post in my 2017 Legal Update series. If you are in Wales or own or manage a rented property in Wales you may have noticed from this update series that quite a few of the new regulations don’t apply to you and you may be wondering what is going on. What […]

Two developers Douglas Barrowman and Baroness Michelle Mone OBE have started a £250 million development in Dubai of two luxury apartment towers and a shopping mall. The first 150 apartments can be purchased off plan from the developers using the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Studio apartments can be purchased from 33 BTC, with additional interior design requests […]

We are now 10 years on from the Global Financial Crisis and in particular in the UK from that infamous news report by the BBC’s Robert Peston. Peston reported on BBC news he had heard that banks were no longer willing to lend to the Northern Rock bank and that unsecured savers need not panic […]

I have two properties in my sole name and I am a 40% tax payer. However, my wife has no income at all. I am looking to enter her on the deed by transferring her 50% of the equity on these properties. She will be hit with a tax bill of £3750 on £125,000, but […]

We have a small portfolio of 10 flats and a house in Hertfordshire which we have managed for several years now. We also have a development company that builds/renovates property to sell. My daughter who works in London earning £45,000 a year is looking to buy a flat near where she works. A suitable flat […]

This is the 13th post in my 2017 Legal Update series. It’s been my opinion for some time that HMOs are an enforcement bonanza waiting to happen. If I were head of a Local Authority Enforcement Team in any large city I would be rubbing my hands with glee. Bearing in mind the issues discussed […]

The cost of bridging loans have been reducing over the last 5 years. Rates now start from 0.49% pm and therefore they are no longer seen as a lender of last resort. Also their use has changed from just the traditional chain breaking bridging loan. Bridging loans are mainly used to provide quick, short-term capital […]

A CPD accredited briefing for property lawyers, commercial agents and local authorities on regaining possession of commercial property. Wednesday 27th September 12:30-1:30 The Sheriffs Office is a leader in the field of regaining possession of commercial property, including the removal of squatters and trespassers. We provide nationwide coverage and have worked on many high-profile cases. […]

Last month a couple of unsubstantiated statistics were published in the papers.  They both came from the Labour mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales, who has an axe to grind.  He is fighting the government over the continuance of the mandatory universal licensing scheme that was introduced in 2013 and will end in December.  He […]