I have just completed a refurbishment of a property from two flats to five. The new tenants have complained that they cannot get car parking permits for the new development as car spaces are assumed to be provided. There were car permits for the previous 2 flats. Car space does exist, but is at the […]

Well George, it’s that time again when you look back on the past year and forward to the year ahead. How was 2015 for you? You are probably feeling very pleased with your achievements. Your Conservative party was elected with an overall majority in the May election. Now there is no Clegg, Cable or other […]

I wish to make the following comments on the consultation on ‘Higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on purchases of additional residential properties’. My first point is a general one. The Government says that it is committed to accelerating housing supply and wants to see more homes built. This policy on higher rates […]

Please can I highlight the proposal to make the self-employed, landlord and others submit their tax / income details on line at least 4 times a year under the guise of reducing the admin / burden on the self-employed, landlord etc. This will be an on-line requirement (Digitalising the tax system) There is a petition […]

With an uncertain year ahead for buy-to-let landlords, almost half (45%) are planning to raise their rents in 2016, and almost one in five (18%) are planning inflation-busting increases of more than 3%, according to a survey carried out by flatshare site, SpareRoom.co.uk. The most common reason landlords cite (38%) for raising rents is the […]

Clause 24 restricts finance cost relief for individual landlords and was proposed by George Osborne in his Summer Budget on 8 July. Companies are not affected, nor are the wealthiest landlords with no mortgage debt. Landlords are currently able to offset all their finance interest against their rental income, before calculating their rent profits and […]

Does anyone have the inside track on why lenders seem to have been so slow to come up with more BTL mortgage products for limited companies, following the new tax measures announced in the Budget and Autumn Statement? I have been looking into options for buying a property in Scotland and have been advised that […]

We are in the process of a major renovation project of a period townhouse with 5 flats. The building currently has two overhead phone lines coming in, both of which we understand are now disconnected (the house is now empty). We consulted Openreach on options to arrange new phone lines and were given the following […]

I have a scenario in which I would like to know if the normal or extra stamp duty (second home or buy to let) thresholds will apply. Currently I have a small number of rented out properties. One of which I have lived in for some periods of time (circa 3 years or more) before […]

Can anyone advise me on what the landlord responsibilities are towards a flooded property (due to the recent unprecedented weather in the north of England) which has become inhabitable? Do we need to pay for alternative accommodation for the tenant and if so 1. For how long? 2. Does it need to be like for […]

All you need to do is type a message consisting of the following: 1) A brief introduction along the lines of “Dear Sir/Madam, though I am not writing to you regarding your property vacancy, this message concerns a matter of perhaps even greater importance to yourself.” 2) A brief explanation of Clause 24, the threat […]

A section 21 was issued to my tenant to leave the property on 27th December he now tells me he can’t go as the flat he is moving into will not be ready now till the end of January. Can I issue him a licence or a holiday let to allow him to stay till […]

Is Clause 24 of the 2015 Finance Bill (“restricting finance cost relief for individual landlords”) discriminatory? Join the campaign for a Judicial Review

Landlord Tax – George Osborne Policy To Face Judicial Review. Private Buy-to-Let housing providers have chosen Boxing Day 2015 to begin their fight back at Chancellor George Osborne and his discriminatory tax regime, announced in the Summer Budget, which only targets private landlords with mortgages via the Judicial Review process. New tax rules will treat […]

David Strange, a member of Property 118, recently wrote to Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, about the Government’s plans to restrict finance cost relief for individual landlords. The exchange between Mr Strange and Mr Carney reveals that the Bank of England Governor acknowledges that the recently announced changes to landlord taxation have […]

Ever since the Summer Budget we have been encouraging Property118 members to actively lobby their local elected officials to explain the real life consequences of Clause 24 of The 2015 Finance Bill (Restrictions on Finance Cost Relief For Individual Landlords). The vast majority of responses have been gratitude for highlighting the consequences of clause 24 and […]

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has warned that rents could outstrip house prices with tenants paying as much as 25% more in 5 years time. Chief economist for RICS, Simon Rubinsohn, was concerned that recent government moves to discourage Buy to Let with a cap on mortgage interest relief and increasing stamp duty […]

Commenting on the decision by Greg Clark, Secretary of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to reject Redbridge Council’s application for a borough-wide landlord licensing scheme, Richard Lambert, CEO at the National Landlords Association (NLA) said: “The NLA did not believe that Redbridge’s proposals to licence every landlord across the Borough […]

My tenant reported via the estate agent a leaking window. It turns out the damage is quite extensive with some internal drain having not been set properly inside the wall (something like that). Anyway… I requested 3 window repair contractors to quote on the repairs and one of them went ahead with doing the work […]

Our block is currently being prepared for major works, the first since it was developed in 2002 (of course it should have been done every 7 years but due to a major fall out between leaseholders and freeholder/management the leaseholders refused to fund it – previous funds had been used for repairs that would benefit […]

I am converting a semi-detached large house into 5 self contained flats. 4 x flats will be 1 bedroom and 1 x 2/3 bedrooms. The 1 x 2/3 bedroom flat will have gas and I was contemplating gas central heating for the others too. However, I am now reconsidering as now the partitions are going […]