Wednesday 26th April 2017 is going to be the biggest date this year for portfolio landlords who are looking to restructure their businesses for optimal efficiency. I will be making the trip from Malta to London for one night only in order to co-present an exclusive evening with Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold […]

This is a really tough one to explain but bear with me, this is the first tax year that we do not claim our 10% wear & tear allowance, but there is still a residual value of “all of the old furniture fixtures and fittings that as sole trader landlords we own personally”. In short […]

As predicted four days ago, the Tribunal released a decision , which is beyond comprehension ,unless one lives in Local authority world. I will summaries the decision of the the First Tier Tribunal Manchester Case number MAN/00BY/HML/2016/0005. SWEENEY V LIVERPOOL CITY COUNCIL: The Tribunal refused to rule on my first point but accepted my last […]

Friday I launched a crowd funding deal with a twist. It was an opportunity to be involved and fund a full planning application for a Grade 2 listed office building to residential conversion. Obviously investing in such a deal comes with more risk than usual so I ‘pitched’ it as a high risk investment. However, […]

I have been living in a shared three bedroom flat in London for almost a year. I have just been asked to move out within a month as my flat-mate feels we don’t get along. I would like to know what my legal rights are, as I understand an official termination must come from the […]

UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) has today confirmed the sale of two separate Bradford & Bingley asset portfolios comprising performing Buy to Let loans for a total of £11.8 billion to Prudential plc and to funds managed by Blackstone. Non-performing loans are where a scheduled mortgage payment has not been made for more than 90 days. […]

There is now an All Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking and it is making great headway including with LPA Receivership: Link to site http://www.appgbanking.org.uk/ The Group is asking for victims to engage their MPs and ask them to support the work of the APPG and also us as individuals. The APPG is also […]

A few years ago the following were published on P118: June 2012: https://www.property118.com/claiming-home-as-office-expenses-for-landlords/29305/ August 2013: https://www.property118.com/question-can-landlords-claim-for-use-of-home-as-office/42244/ Has anything changed since then? Many thanks Michael

The saga of Liverpool Landlord licensing continues unabated. This Council have been taken to the First tier Tribunal because it has now come to light that Liverpool have been operating a two tier application process, unheard of by any other local authority. In essence LCC have issued Draft copy licences to some landlords which are […]

I have a building in multiple use (shop and a couple of flats) that I have recently had a fire risk assessment carried out on. One of the recommendations is a full electrical safety inspection which is going to take 4-6hrs. Whilst it is possible to isolate each individual unit from the main incoming supply […]

Are you a Landlord in the Oxfordshire area or elsewhere and have had dealings with LPA Receivers being appointed and feel it was not correct. An expose is being put together by a local radio station. Do any and or all of the following sound familiar about your experiences once the Receivers have been appointed:- […]

The controversial Landlord, Fergus Wilson is likely to face civil charges under the Equality Act for racial discrimination. Mr Wilson, who claims to be one of the largest UK property owning landlords, was reported to have instructed his letting agents not to rent to “coloured people” because of the cost of removing the smell of […]

I am looking to buy my first flat and I can only really afford a studio in London. However I have noticed some have the same gross internal area as some one beds and I could easily re arrange the layout to create a bedroom. If I was to convert a studio into a one […]

The comprehensive report written by Dr Rosalind Beck: Section 24 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2015: “the unjust legislation that will make the UK housing crisis much worse.” Has been sent to The Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York which will be carrying out a review of the PRS led by […]

I’m having a real pickle with a gas engineer (employed by my agent), who has given me an At Risk status on my cert which as far as I can tell is quite contrary to the legislation. The point made is that he states there is no secondary control valve to bee seen, and although […]

Having tried taxing landlords to the wall, then realising tenants couldn’t afford their homes after rents rose by up to 50%, it seems Ireland has woken up to the invaluable service provided by the PRS. A key highlight from the article reads: “The consultation document asks whether a tax relief comparable to the reliefs for […]

I have an apartment in Birmingham, The Masshouse Plaza, recently we received notification that the resident of a commercial block had not paid their service charges for 2 years, and as residents of one of the residential blocks, we are now responsible for nearly £200,000 of debt owed to the Landlord by the commercial interest. […]

I am a landlord myself and am selling my own Principal Private Residence home to move into rented for approx 2 years. I understand the extra 3% SDLT may play a part if I stay in rented this long and then wish to buy another PPR property to move into. Should I move into one […]

I have a tenant, who has not been paying rent since December 2016. I served Section 8 and Section 21 notice together in Jan 2017. I attended hearing under Section 8 Grounds (mandatory) for more than 2 months in arrears. During the  hearing the tenant alleged that, he made December payment in Cash therefore he […]

Nottingham City Council are claiming that between 2013 to 2016 to have received 4500 complaints against the PRS in support of their plans for a city wide licensing scheme. In response to a Freedom of information request that I made the Council have admitted to spending £9,664 between 2014 and 2016 on advertising, specifically to […]

The Budget was a massive disappointment for Landlords. There had been hopes for a reversal of the incoming changes to tax relief on mortgage interest and stamp duty rates.  Unfortunately, there were no such U-turns here. However existing Landlords and Portfolio owners can perhaps consider some of the positives and options: House prices are up […]