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deregulation act

Q and A for Deregulation Act 2015

16th November 2015

We recently held a webinar on rapid tenant eviction via HCEO (High Court Enforcement Officer) which included a particular focus on the various eviction notices that need to be served. Some great questions were raised so in this article we are going to focus on providing the answers to those questions relating to the changes […]

Religious symbols and Facebook Posts?

16th November 2015

Just wondering what people’s views would be about tenants in a shared house (all on individual room contracts) putting religious symbols in communal areas? The religious symbols in question being Catholic symbols. No-one has complained about this (except someone viewing the property who asked lots of questions about them, and clearly was very uncomfortable with […]

I paid for alternative accommodation but now tenants want rent refunded too!

16th November 2015

No Fault Fire in the house – I paid for alternative accommodation while the house repaired and re-decorated. Tenants are now demanding I also refund the rent for the period. The alternative accommodation cost more than the rent I received for the period. I used a standard RLA tenancy agreement. Anyone have any ideas how […]

Assigning a Joint Fixed Term AST?

16th November 2015

My house is let to four people who jointly signed a 12 month fixed term AST last June. One of them now wishes to leave and will find a suitable replacement tenant – subject to references being checked by my agent. The agent wants to tear up the existing contract and make a new 12 […]

Tenant eviction register

13th November 2015

Not sure how controversial this is but with all the changes to protect tenants which I don’t think is wrong, maybe there should be a tenants record in an aim to help protect landlords?  The idea is this would be kind of like a criminal record whereby any evictions and the reason for the eviction […]

Newbie Landlord – Taking risks growing my portfolio

13th November 2015

I became an accidental landlord in October 2014. I bought myself a one bed property in Surrey in December 2012, and had no intention of ever making property a business. However, when I approached my mortgage broker last year to discuss a switching deal after my fixed rate came to an end, he mentioned that […]

BTL Clause 24 and Sharia mortgages

13th November 2015

How does Clause 24 impact on Sharia mortgages where interest isn’t paid?  Are Sharia mortgages exempt from clause 24? If so is there a case for transferring to this type of mortgage or does this bring the proposed legislation into a religious and/or racial discrimination area? Thanks for sharing your thoughts Peter

Letting Agent charging for HMRC tax assessment

13th November 2015

The latest statement from my letting agent had a fee of £35 for ” HMRC tax assessment”.  When I queried what this was for her reply was; “the HMRC requested information from me under new Agent Regulations that have ‘just’ been enforced, and I had to provide to them a detailed spreadsheet of all landlords […]

Need help with a s21 and s8 notice please

12th November 2015

First Post so be gentle! I have a periodic AST where the rent is payable 4 weekly, so on serving a s21 notice do I give 2 months notice? If so what dates do I need to match up to make it work. OR do I give 8 weeks notice which is 2 rent cycles? […]

Conservative peer speaks out against Tory tax grab

12th November 2015

We are pleased to report that week, a member of the House of Lords had the intelligence and nerve to speak out against the anti-landlord ‘tax grab.’ Property118 landlord, Dr Rosalind Beck, has written to him to express our thanks. The extract and letter are below: In the Lords debate on the Finance Bill, Lord […]

Lord Davies of Oldham supports Clause 24

12th November 2015

I say: what about supporting the tenants? Labour, by supporting Clause 24, in effect, continues to support the Government’s attack on landlords who have borrowed to purchase properties. This is despite the fact that it is now generally agreed, the decision will lead to rents rising across the board in the private rented sector. This […]

Landlords – what do you need to know about changes to electrical safety laws?

11th November 2015

Landlords have the responsibility of keeping their tenants safe and electrical safety is a big part of this. In order to avoid fines and protect your tenants, be aware of changes to the latest legislation. Failure to keep electrical equipment such as light switches, microwaves and fuse boxes safe and in good condition can lead […]

What steps to follow for a new Housing Benefit tenant?

11th November 2015

I have now found a Housing Benefit tenant and done all the credit checks/ references etc and all is good. They are currently receiving HB in another London borough, but will be moving to my properties London borough so wanted I wanted to know if anyone could briefly outline the procedure I would need to […]

Avoiding Restrictions on Finance Cost Relief for Landlords

11th November 2015

  GENERAL GUIDANCE  If you have been retaining profits after paying the higher rates of income tax then you have probably been paying more tax than necessary. IS TAX AVOIDANCE LEGAL? The law regarding tax avoidance was clarified nearly 80 years ago. In 1936 a landmark legal case was heard in the House of Lords […]

Mydeposits to operate a custodial scheme

11th November 2015

Mydeposits has been given government approval to operate a custodial based tenancy deposit protection scheme in England and Wales from April 2016. Protecting tenants’ deposits has been a legal requirement in England and Wales since 2007, with landlords and letting agents having the choice of an insurance based scheme that involves a fee, or a […]

Council tax demand and told every tenant should be on a fixed term AST!

11th November 2015

I have received a demand from Bedford Borough Council for back dated council tax for 2013. The tenant said he moved out 6 months earlier  and could I actually prove when he vacated. The Council say that due to a recent case, if the tenant’s tenancy has gone periodic and moves out without informing council, […]

Fire risk assessment templates – what do you use?

11th November 2015

Does anyone know, or have, a good template for Fire Risk Assessments please, as most I look at seem a lot more geared to larger business properties rather than 5-8 bed student HMOs? Do you carry them out yourselves, or get them done professionally? Thanks Midsicl

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Sub-letting abuse will not be stopped by Government’s new over-crowding measures

11th November 2015

Landlord Action is in full support of the Government’s latest proposal to crack down on rogue landlords. In particular, those who carve up properties to creative multiple sub-standard sized rooms in a bid to maximise their rental income. Imposing a minimum square footage per room, as a legal requirement, will help reduce the number of […]

LANDLORDS – hold onto your money

10th November 2015

Don’t allow the restrictions on finance cost relief to ruin the viability of your property investments. Complete the short fact find linked below and we will show you the way.

Tenant has had to move out 4 times due to lack of roof maintenance!

10th November 2015

I have an apartment, but the Right to Manage (RTM) company with their managing agent have failed to repair the roof and I have lost 6 months rent due to them not repairing it. The  Buildings Insurance company will not pay as they are saying it was not maintained! Can I hold the RTM company […]