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 […]

A Buy to Let opportunity in a unique urban village on the doorstep of Manchester city centre is now available.  The development with 127 high quality homes is in an appealing urban village landscape, complete with courtyards, public square, orchard, play area, car parking and community facilities. Victoria Gardens is an attractive new address for […]

The consultation closes this Friday so any landlord who have not responded to the survey should do so and also email the councillor responsible (as I for one do not trust that the survey outcome will actually be made public). [email protected] The city council have said they had 4500 complaints regarding the 43,000 PRS properties […]

I have a dispute with the letting agent which is being handled by the Ombudsman. I have written to the letting agent to inform the manager that I am terminating business with them and releasing the agency from all management duties. I wrote to the tenant to ask him to pay the rent directly to […]

I have 5 large properties in Aberdeen which I let out room by room to long and short term professionals. I pay the council tax bill and all utilities and then charge the tenant a flat monthly rent. However, I’ve just been informed by the Grampian Assessors office, that EACH BEDROOM will now be classed […]

I have had a full property management contract with a property company. They have recently sold the business to another company and the local council have issued me with a bill for unpaid council tax covering a large period when I have been receiving rent from the properties. The agent insists that they gave the […]

The provisions of the Finance Bill 2017 seem to mean non-UK domiciled people and companies are brought into the IHT net to the extent that they own UK residential property (directly or through a trust structure). So the estate of a French or Chinese investor would suffer 40% IHT on death (with no reduction for […]

I have just bought a leasehold flat and fitted a wall hung letterbox on the wall in the corridor right outside the front door, after sealing the letter box hole in the front door. I have been told I am not allowed to do so without much more information. I don’t see any specific terms […]

I’ve just been informed by my local council that I need on street parking permit for each tenant in my HMO at a cost of £350 per permit instead of the £5 a year the tenants could get for there own vehicle. The tenants for my property are all contractors working in the local area […]

The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC) has recommended that Landlords and agents allow tenants to personalise, decorate and make improvements to their homes. This is following a survey by online home improvement platform Plentific showing that: 73% of tenants have carried out their own DIY 23% of tennats have spent more than £500 on […]

A Buy to Let opportunity in the popular city of Birmingham is now available. Prices start from £149,995, which are extremely competitive value for the city centre location and an  attractive payment plan is also available. The development is situated in a prime location, with major attractions such as the Bull Ring shopping centre and […]

I believe that by letting out properties in my own name I am potentially subject to unlimited liability lawsuits from tenants (apparently very unlikely but not impossible). Would I be able to restrict the limit of my liability by renting out my property to a SPV (Single Purpose Vehicle limited company) for market rent. The […]

Did anyone watch Dispatches: Benefit Families on Channel 4 on Monday Night? The programme started off with single mother Karen, with 5 young children living in a two bedroom council flat in Lewisham South East London, the benefit cap has affected her by £90.00 per week. This amount is taken from her Housing Benefit award […]

North Tyneside Council and the National Landlords Association (NLA) have announced a new partnership that aims to bring professional practice to the private rented sector (PRS). The partnership – the first of its kind between a local council and a landlord body – will see North Tyneside Council encourage local landlords to sign up as […]

It has been reported that the founder of GoCardless (the direct debit service used by many landlords and letting agents) has raised a further £8 million to fund his latest property tech business. I have taken a quick look at the website and it appears to be a property based hybrid of WeBuyAnyCar and a traditional estate agency. […]

The UK’s Prime Minister, Theresa May, finally confirmed March 29 as the day when the country will officially trigger Article 50 and therefore kick off the process to leave the EU for good. After the date had been confirmed yesterday, the Sterling experienced a minor decline in value against the US Dollar and the Euro. […]