I’ve just inherited a tenanted Victorian terraced house in reasonably good condition. When I asked the tenants if there were any problems or niggles with living there, they said that they had all slipped down the steep stairs at some point. One of them had done it a handful of times. The treads are typically […]

HOME OWNERSHIP “But for me, there’s one big piece of unfinished business in our economy: housing. A Greater Britain must mean more families owning a home of their own. It goes back to those Conservative beliefs: reward for hard work. If you’ve worked hard and saved, I don’t want you just to have a roof […]

I entered into an agreement with a letting agency at the end of Jan 2015 and an excellent tenant moved into my property in March. That months rent went to the letting agency as a finders fee and since then they have been taking 10% + VAT of the rent in return for property management […]

An increasing number of property investors are using bridging finance to expand their property portfolio. The main uses are for auction finance where they usually have 28 days to complete and for purchasing properties that are not in a habitable condition and hence they can’t get a mortgage. There are lots of reasons for purchasing […]

I have a small of piece of land in my garden that can fit a small 2 bed house. I went for planning advice and I was told that if i was granted planing permission, I would have to pay a CIL fee, and also contribute towards the council’s education/ highways/ affordable housing etc which […]

Landlords are under a legal duty of care to ensure that the risk of exposure to Legionella for tenants, residents and visitors to their properties is adequately assessed and controlled. Landlords are obligated to have a risk assessment conducted out on their properties followed by subsequent periodic reviews. Provided that the property is low risk […]

Shawbrook bank have launched two regulated bridging finance products for the first time. These are treated and regulated in the same way as a residential term mortgage. It is primarily where the borrower is taking a loan secured by a first charge (soon to include 2nd charges as well) against their main residence. This might […]

I’m just about to let a property to Tenants. The Government Model Agreement contains a landlord’s break clause. However, there is a potential problem to it. The break clause must be exercised by not less than two months notice expiring exactly on six months – not before and not after. However, to get possession by […]

Does anyone know if there is a requirement to protect deposits taken for a company let? All the literature that I have come across refers only to ASTs. Thanks regards Chris

I am currently in the early stages of buying to let with 2 friends, we are still learning the ropes and educating ourselves before we start. We intend to put in equal amounts of deposits and due to our differing financial and employment situations, have been advised that the best way forward is to set […]

We have a difficult tenant who signed a periodic tenancy last year and we now need to sell the property. She wants to stay until August 2016 but we need to sell and complete by the time she moves out as we don’t want to let it out again. Can we start marketing the flat […]

I own a flat in Ealing, West London. There are total of 47 flats in my block. Flats 1-45 are in the main block and Flat 46 & 47 are at the back of main block. Flat 46 is on Ground Floor (separate door) & Flat 47 (my 2 bedroom flat-approx.63sq.mtrs) is on First floor […]

The one thing that struck me is that my MP did not understand how Restrictions on Finance Cost Relief for Individual Landlords works in practice.  It was only when he understood that, after I gave him a very simple and relevant example, that he could begin to comprehend the unintended consequences. When I explained that […]

Our latest sponsors “Buylec” provide landlords with the ability to offer unrivaled independence and control over power budgeting to their tenants, leaving you content in the knowledge that payments are assured whilst enabling The Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 compliance without breaking the bank. For more information and to download their explainer PDF […]

As a follow up on the recent articles on the new regulations that came into force as of the 1st of October the following statement on the booklet to be given to all tenants: “How to rent- the checklist for renting in England” is causing a great deal of concern. It says, “If you have […]

I’m in real turmoil and would appreciate any words of wisdom from someone with your property experience! I own a 3-bed house in London, W7 within a one-mile walk of a Crossrail station, Hanwell. I am selling it to move the family to a bigger house, but in a cheaper area outside of London (Hook, […]

The Department of Communities and Local Government’s (DCLG) new regulations are due to come into force on the 1st of October. They introduce new obligations on landlords to provide specific information to their tenants, and restrictions on the use of the section 21 notice no fault possession procedure if they fail to do so. The […]

In July, the British Property Federation (BPF) put forward its views on CRAR. CRAR – or Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery to give it its full title – was introduced in April 2014 as part of the enactment of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. It replaced distress for rent as the means for commercial […]

I am looking to buy a property from an Estate Agent. They will not pass our offer onto the buyer despite this being the law to do so. They do not appear to be registered with any of the 3 schemes as quoted on GOV.UK (The Property Ombudsman, The Ombudsman Service, Property Redress Scheme). I […]

UK rents are increasing at a rate of 4.6% year on year for three bedroom homes, according to a new index. This is higher than the rise experienced by all other UK properties, which averages 3.3%. Areas located within a commutable distance of London are experiencing the highest rental growth for three bedroom properties. In […]

Today (Thursday 1st October), as part of The Deregulation Act 2015, a whole range of changes come into force which affect whether or not a landlord can serve a Section 21 notice on an assured shorthold tenancy (in England) as well as changes to the form itself. However, following lengthy consultation, leading tenant eviction firm, […]