Dear Ms. Ellison, SECTION 24, 2015 FINANCE ACT (No.2) I was exceeding pleased to see both Gauke and Osborne shifted from their positions and held high hopes for new thinking, preferably from people who could demonstrate a real understanding of professional landlords. Unfortunately it seems you are continuing to state the obvious falsities of your […]

Hello and I am new to Property118 and about to be a property owner. To cut a sad story short, I’m about to inherit a small property and I’m thinking about renting out. I’ve begun doing the research and it is making my head spin. So I was considering letting an agency manage the property […]

A 3 bed Semi for £60,000, 11% yield I would have thought it would be easy to sell but alas no. I have found Middlesbrough and the North East in general challenging. Hence I have offered to pay the buyers stamp duty. I presume I would be able to offset this additional cost against my […]

My landlord wants to charge double for a new copy of security key. I know where this key is cut as it has been the same for 25 years. I used to be able to get a letter from landlord allowing me to go straight to key cutter and pay only £10.50. Now they won’t […]

I’m doing a major refurbishment at the moment on a house tenanted by a new Polish tenant. His family will be joining him from Poland soon, when the works are done. Today I asked him why he/Polish people found Britain so attractive. Why would he pay a supposedly ‘extortionate’ rent in the UK on a low […]

I have joined the ranks and just paid my £600 to become a founder member of Property118 Action Group. It seems to me it’s easy to do nothing when our industry is under attack and to leave it all to someone else to try and sort it out. Mark, you and your colleagues have a proven […]

I have been repeatedly flooded from the flat above me since 2008. The Burlington management company said that they cannot sort it out, no way to get access to mend the bathroom above. I have just received this: “The new lease states that the rights of access to the flat are for the landlord to […]

I have written this article to demonstrate how apathy can cost buy to let landlords a fortune. The story is an example of how a fraudulent agent avoided a prison sentence. It is based on a real case which Property118 Action Group were involved in. We cannot divulge names for reasons which will become apparent when you read […]

When the Chancellor first released details of the changes to taxation for buy to let landlords, it was implied that they would only make a difference to those paying the higher rate of tax. Then it became apparent that, by the time it was fully implemented, all landlords would be restricted to an allowance of […]

SUBLET INSURANCE is needed by any landlord that does not have directly enter into a tenancy with a person who is paying rent to somebody else to live in one of their properties. Let me explain further: if you have an agreement with a housing association, company or individual that rents the property to a third party tenant […]

My tenant died 3months ago and no one has come forward to claim any of the deceased property. Sadly my wife and I were the only people to attend his funeral. Where do I stand legally I want to empty the contents from the flat. The deceased was an elderly gentleman and the contents and […]

Has anyone bought a ‘court order’ property before the auction please? This property I am interested in is going to auction as per a court order. To cut the story short, the ‘claimant’ or seller (sitting tenant in this case) has been granted full authorisation by the court to sell the property by auction. I […]

The definition of HMO (Housing Act 2004) includes “occupied by three or more unrelated persons” and “(d) the living accommodation is occupied by those persons as their only or main residence or they are to be treated as so occupying it (see section 259)”. My question is this: does a room occupied by any person […]

When the valuation by a surveyor for the existing bank is substantially lower then market expectation. Force to get a second valuation which is in line with market expectation but with a different lender. Having approach the first lender and complained about the surveyor valuation and I gave personal facts etc. They were all ignored. […]

I have both of my sons living with me in my home which is in NE Scotland. One is very helpful and I could not do without, the other is very selfish and contributes nothing whilst living a decent lifestyle himself. He has turned the garage into his personal living space as well as changing […]

It has been three years since a discussion was started on this topic https://www.property118.com/hmo-bedrooms-with-basins-mandatory/46580/ and I would love to know if anyone has successfully used the “not reasonably practicable” argument to avoid installing them in all bedrooms. If yes, can you please give the reasons/arguments used, and how the LA reacted to these arguments? Many Thanks […]

Every landlord should sit up and take note of the prosecution and conviction of Nichola Barker. Durham council prosecuted a law abiding citizen Mrs Barker for not having a reference for her tenant, when the tenant took up occupancy of the said premise. Mrs Barker had indeed demanded a reference however the tenant had not […]

The impact of tax changes for landlords in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) on the availability of affordable housing will be debated in the House of Commons today. Landlords are concerned they could be driven to bankruptcy, leading to a significant reduction in housing supply. The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) has announced their support […]

I have received a Housing Benefit (HB) Over payment recovery decision notice from the council, which is saying they will recover the over payment from myself (Landlord). Obviously this was a bit of a shock, as all I do is receive the HB for the tenants living in the property from the Council directly and […]

We can all breath a sigh of relief.  Property118 was the first to report concerns raised by The Law Society on late amendments and new clauses slipped into the drafting of The Finance Bill 2016. As they were written, these additional clauses and amendments could be read to mean that BTL landlords could be taxed on profits […]

I have a number of Buy to Lets purchased high end of market in the Liverpool area.  All are in negative equity, struggling and I need to make decisions on what to do with them. I am possibly looking to give the keys back to the banks and building societies, but when sold the short […]