Considering the Hung Parliament result in the general election last week, and the subsequent agreement in whatever format it evolves to for the Conservatives to work with the DUP, it is worth a closer look at the DUP policies that concern the Housing Market and the Private Rental Sector. From the DUP website on Policies […]

After 2 months I have received a response to my FOI request for more detailed information on the complaints received about private landlords / property in Nottingham City. To recap NCC are proposing a city wide licencing scheme at a cost of £600 per property(43,000 in the city) as they feel there is a problem […]

Food for thought if the next housing minister is in your constituency and this is a bit late in the day, but only dawned on me when Gavin Barwell lost his seat. These are really rough figures so take with a pinch of salt, but you’ll get the idea. In Croydon roughly 177k people voted. […]

I moved into a housing association property 6 months ago and have had problems with my neighbours since day one. The property is a house converted into two flats. I live upstairs and the neighbour is below me. I have to enter the property via a door at the front, and then head up the […]

If you would like to get hold of a first edition PDF copy of one or both of our latest eBooks, before they go on sale on Amazon Kindle, this is your opportunity to do so. As for all products and services provided directly by Property118 Limited, these eBooks come with a guarantee of total […]

I’ve recently purchased a lease hold, top floor flat, with a leasehold stating the loft space is part of the flat. Moved in couple of weeks ago, and settling in. Two weeks later (yesterday) i received a call from the freeholder himself wanting to arrange a meeting about buying the loft space, so he can […]

It is official the 2017 General election will be a Hung Parliament. What Does this mean for Landlords? With the two major parties both being Anti-Landlord could this be a Good thing? Will any new minority Conservative or Coalition Government find it difficult to implement further new Anti-Landlord agendas? What would potentially a Softer Brexit […]

After a lot of research I have unfortunately learned that the new SDLT rates with a 3% surcharge will apply to myself. I am currently a landlord, but still living with parents. I am in the process of buying my first main residential property however, as I am not selling any home ‘disposing’ and only […]

I’ve been looking at whats been said on this already and I’m a bit confused. Let me describe my scenario. My wife has a property, gifted to her in her name, bought a couple of years ago for £285k. She now wants to sell. Its value is £320k. We have other rental properties owned jointly […]

During our recent webinar on the eviction of private tenants, we received a number of questions relating to tenant deposits. In this article, our guest presenter Yezdan Izzet from Bolt Burdon answers all the deposit-related questions that were raised. If a deposit has not been registered is it worth registering it prior to the hearing […]

The increasing tax burden on Buy to Let is encouraging many landlords to investigate alternative ways of investing in property and an increasingly popular option, particularly with the rise of Airbnb, is to purchase property as a holiday let. Running a holiday let is treated by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in the same way […]

“Who repairs what?” and “Who owns what?” These are two fundamental questions that any leasehold owner looking to do works to their property must ask and get the answers to. The answer will be found by reading and interpreting your lease. For instance, a common enquiry relates to wanting to develop into the roof space. […]

Is anyone aware of the Mortgage Securitisation issue that has arisen with “promises” of “up to 8 out of 10 UK Borrowers could qualify for a reduction in their mortgage by up to 70% if mortgage was sold by lender without borrower being told”?   I have been cold call approached by a mob seeking to […]

Could it happen in the UK? US property portal Zillow has a new Instant Offer program which allows sellers to receive offers direct from purchasers. It is being piloted in Las Vegas and Orlando. The hundred billion dollar US traditional Real Estate industry is seeing this as an attempt to displace or disrupt the status […]

The outcome of the due diligence of our professional advisers on this matter was that Landlords are NOT obliged to pay Class 2 National Insurance, regardless of whether they are running a business, unless they are also a trade. Furthermore, payment of Class 2 National Insurance also has no bearing whatsoever on claims for incorporation relief under Section […]

The three government approved redress schemes; The Property Ombudsman (TPO), Ombudsman Services: Property and The Property Redress Scheme have today issued a revised version of their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Established to support the ongoing communication between the three redress schemes where relevant, the MOU ensures that any agent with an outstanding award with one […]

Homelet’s recently released rental index shows UK rental prices have fallen in May for the first time since 2009 by 0.3% with the average rent now at £901. This may not be statistically significant over a one month period, but the biggest regional fall was in London of 3% compared to May last year. Martin […]

I’ve just got married and I’m wondering if this changes how I should manage my buy to let property. I own a buy to let property with a mortgage (both solely in my name). The property is worth approximately £350k and the mortgage is £262,500 and 75% LTV – the monthly mortgage payment is about […]

Can anyone tell me if one is exempt from the additional 3% SDLT levy on a new house we bought after the change last year? We use it as a serviced accommodation to students providing breakfast and Dinner or just breakfast depending upon the students. Does that exempt it from the SDLT surcharge? If not […]

My wife is a basic rate tax payer and solely owns one property (with no mortgage) which she rents out. I also solely own one property (again with no mortgage) which I rent out. Annual rentals are around £6,000 per property. I currently have no other income apart from the rent of £6,000 from my […]

We are the leaseholders of an ex-council flat in a block of 12, roughly 50-60 years old, and the council is the freeholder. Their fire risk assessors claim that the front doors of the flats (open onto the communal stairwell) do not comply with current fire safety regulations, and so they want to force all […]