The freeholder of my BTL flat is selling the freehold to me. It is going through now but I would like to know what my responsibilities and roles are as well as the advantages and disadvantages. I have emailed my solicitor twice regarding this but no response. I contacted RLA who directed me to Leasehold […]

This is the third post in my 2017 Legal Update series. Section 21, as you will know, is the section in the Housing Act 1988 which sets out the rules for ‘no fault’ eviction for Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs). Section 21 has been both a blessing and a curse to the private rented sector. It’s […]

This is the second post in my 2017 Legal Update series. Today I am looking at Tenancy Deposits Tenancy deposits were first introduced in April 2007 and ever since then all landlords have had to: Protect their tenants’ deposit within a government authorised scheme within a time limit and Serve ‘prescribed information’ Although many deposits […]

I have noticed that there are a few articles floating around the landlord community regarding a new landlord helpline for landlords that have tenants on Universal Credit. In one article it states “The new number 0345 600 4272 can be used by landlords who are unable to obtain the tenant’s co-operation to get DWP to […]

Dear all, I am a landlord with 3 rental properties that all earn a reasonable profit (and therefore tax). The properties are jointly in my name and my wifes. I am currently employed but my wife has recently decided to take a 1-2 year (maybe longer) break to look after our children. In addition, I […]

A few us of secretly signed up to receive Generation Rent emails some time ago, mainly to stay abreast of their latest propaganda. However, they now appear to be inadvertently giving us insight into the best places to invest for both rental and capital growth. Apparently, all we need to do is find out where Waitrose […]

My local County Court is being difficult in respect of registering a £4k CCJ for a s8 eviction, see email trail below, am I missing anything or did anything wrong??? [me] “We have still not received payment for the attached order for possession. Can you please issue a CCJ judgement against the defendants and confirm when it […]

Summer is a time for holidays and relaxation. I think it is also a good time to stop and take stock and bring yourself up to date. There have been a lot of legal changes for landlords and letting agents over the past year – with more to come. To help, I have got together […]

A nationwide game of Property Bingo has been triggered by a comedian and former estate agent’s witty new glossary for beleaguered property seekers Glossary translates infamous go-to estate agent lingo into what it means in real life Property Bingo card available to download from https://twitter.com/PrivilegeUK @PrivilegeUK Comedian and former estate agent, Nick Page, has released […]

With the annual busiest day for end of tenancies approaching, the country’s leading deposit protection provider TDS has launched a new guide to make the process of concluding a lease easier for tenants, landlords and agents. TDS expects the third Thursday in September (21st September) to be the busiest period for tenancies coming to an […]

A survey of 1,500 landlords across the UK conducted by the RLA showed that 7% are now using Airbnb or similar sites to offer their properties as short term of holiday lets. The RLA concluded from these figures that if this trend was consistent throughout the whole PRS then potentially 134,400 homes have been taken […]

We own a building with 20 flats. We are considering putting up CCTV cameras in the communal areas such as entrance lobby and the ground/car park. Are there any legal or practical issues anybody know about? What about cameras with audio facility? Many thanks Sam Editors Note: From the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) click here […]

Newham council are the first Council to take the step to rate lettings agents using a star marking scheme from 0 (cause for concern) – 5 (no concern) the list will then be published on their website. Newham Council have decided to launch this scheme to protect tenants and landlords from rogue agents as they […]

My partner and I are looking at moving house. Currently we own two flats which we rent out as well as the property we live in and what we would like to do is to keep hold of our current property and rent that out. We would need around £70k deposit for our new house, […]

Are you getting ripped off by TMB (part of Lloyds). It was bad enough that they got away with putting their interest rates up several years ago, but I have just realised that they didn’t reduce their standard SVR last August when the BOE dropped theirs by 0.25%. When I enquired why I was told […]

It’s been tough times for Sheffield’s Buy-To-Let landlords. As a student letting agent in Sheffield, we’re at the eye of the storm! Let’s take a look at the last year of activity and take you through the new legislation, and what it means for the future. According to Zoopla, last year the average price for […]

Should I be concerned about giving out names of Tenants? I have an HMO and the local council has asked for the names of my tenants for non single band council tax. As the Landlord am I at liberty to give out my tenants’ names without breaking the data protection act? Many thanks Peter Editors […]

Retirement Advantage have launched their first Equity release products for landlords to gain access to their capital tied up in rental property for their retirement. Retirement Advantage head of marketing, Alice Watson, said ” based on available data, we estimate there could be over £250 billion locked up in Buy to Let properties that landlords […]

Landlords are being urged to re-mortgage before tougher buy-to-let lending criteria, due to be introduced in September, make it more difficult to obtain finance. The call comes as the proportion of buy-to-let re-mortgage transactions, as a share of the total lending market, has risen over the last few months*, and as a diminishing demand for new […]

Landlords who need to evict tenants will need to serve notice correctly and then obtain a possession order from the court before they can proceed. In this article we look at the pros and cons of choosing the accelerated possession procedure, which can be a faster option. However, it may not be used in all […]

My tenant has requested a water meter as at present he has single occupancy of the property. Has anyone else encountered this scenario or have any advice on it please? Thanks Tim