The government has warned landlords they could face fines of up to £40,000 under the Renters’ Rights Act. The government has issued guidance for landlords on what constitutes an offence, with £40,000 penalties for serious or repeated breaches and £7,000 fines for other breaches of the rules. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, councils will gain […]

Many landlords in 2025 are considering moving their portfolios from personal ownership into limited companies. The drivers are varied: restructuring for succession planning, creating refinancing flexibility, or managing long-term liabilities. While incorporation can deliver commercial benefits, the mortgage implications are significant. Lenders treat company structures differently, and planning ahead is essential to avoid being caught […]

I can’t get my head around how this Mansion Tax can ever work in practice. HMRC can surely only work with agreed valuations from the District Valuer, not the likes of Rightmove / Zoopla. If there is no surcharge council tax payable at £1.999m and £2m pays an extra £2500, anything up to say £2.25m […]

What started as a routine maintenance job quickly escalated. Contractors repairing a ceiling identified asbestos insulation board. Work stopped immediately, and the property was deemed unsafe until a licensed removal team could be brought in. The landlord had not carried out an asbestos survey and was unaware of the material. The result was weeks of […]

Chapter 5 … The candles flicker against the glasses. Laughter fills the room. Grandad sits at the head of the table, surrounded by his family, four generations, one story. The roast has long been finished, the plates pushed aside, the smell of red wine and wood smoke mingling in the air. His eldest grandson stands, […]

Making Tax Digital for landlords is getting closer, and many landlords tell me they still feel uncertain about what will actually change in practice. The worry is not technology. It is the fear of making mistakes, missing deadlines and losing control of records at a time when everything else in the rental market already feels […]

Many landlords assume that selling a property means obtaining vacant possession and listing it on the open market. This belief is so widespread that it is rarely questioned. The assumption feels natural because estate agents, lenders and even family members often speak as though there is only one way to dispose of a property. There […]

 The Renters’ Rights Act is just six months away from being “fully operational,” and if you’re a landlord thinking of selling before it comes into action, you’re not alone. An article in The Telegraph this week likened the rush of landlords selling as a “fire sale” naming the Renters’ Rights Act as the trigger to […]

The government has issued guidance on how rent increases will work under the Renters’ Rights Act. Tenants will be able to challenge rises in court, and Tribunals can defer increases by up to two months in cases of hardship. Landlords will be limited to one increase per year, and rent review clauses will be banned, […]

House prices have slipped across London and the South for the first time in 18 months, Zoopla’s data reveals. But it warns that the Budget’s removal of a proposed property tax on homes above £500,000 offers relief for more than 210,000 sellers. The property platform also says there has been a clear shift with buyer […]

I have had a tenant since Oct 2004. I gave him Section 9 notice to quit, which expired 30th Sept 2025. I have allowed him extra time to find a home, mainly as he can only afford council property, and it took a while for him to register to bid due to the council giving […]

Hackney Council has signed off on a borough-wide licensing overhaul that will require most private landlords to obtain a licence for every home they let. Landlords will have to fork out £925 for a single rented home, while a house in multiple occupation will cost £1,400. The plans, agreed by the council’s cabinet after a […]

Landlord and tenant organisations have criticised the Chancellor Rachel Reeves for freezing local housing allowance (LHA) rates in the Autumn Budget. The government has confirmed housing benefit rates will remain frozen for a second year in a row in 2026/27. Generation Rent, Shelter and the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) say the move will hit […]

I want to stay anonymous because I already feel ridiculous writing this, but I think most landlords will understand how quickly your mind spirals once neighbours start getting involved. One of my tenants is a young woman who has lived in her flat for about eight months. She pays her rent on time, keeps the […]

The rental had an ageing hot water system, but the landlord never considered legionella risk. When a tenant complained of recurring health issues, the council investigated and referred the case to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The landlord had no written risk assessment and no evidence of controls such as flushing or temperature checks. […]

Most landlords read the 2025 Budget and focused on the rise in property income tax rates. They would have been forgiven for thinking that was the main story. Every headline pointed in that direction. Every press release echoed the same message. A far more significant change was hidden from view. The Government has quietly rewritten […]

Jim Rogers once said that the smartest investment strategy he ever learned was simple. Observe the masses and do the opposite. Baron Rothschild went further with his infamous line: Buy when there is blood in the streets, even if the blood is your own. Both statements feel uncomfortable. They run against instinct. They also cut […]

Property industry experts have warned that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget decision to raise income tax rates on property income will hurt tenants. Ms Reeves confirmed in the Budget tax rates on dividends, property income and savings income will rise by 2 percentage points. The Chancellor also announced a new High Value Council Tax surcharge […]

I felt compelled to write this article because it’s one of the most frequently asked questions by clients when we are discussing Family Investment Company structures during consultations. Many landlords reach this question once they start thinking beyond their own lifetime. It usually appears when a parent begins to wonder how their children will feel […]

The government claim that ending fixed-term tenancies “will end the injustice of tenants being trapped paying rent for substandard properties,” as they issue new guidance for landlords on tenancy reform On 1 May 2026, all fixed-term tenancies will become periodic under the Renters’ Rights Act. The government guidance says that if a tenancy agreement has […]

One in three letting agents has admitted they have taken no steps to prepare for the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act, according to new research. Data from Goodlord, based on a survey of 700 letting agents, shows that while more than 69% say they have taken concrete steps to get ready for the changes, […]