Hello, I have two tenants who have been with me for over two years with the rent paid by the council or Universal Credit. They were both were vetted by the council, and the rent paid. Two months ago, the rent payment stopped. Since then there has been no rent on both and no suggestion […]

HMRC has replaced long-standing guidance that accountants and tax advisers may have relied upon when advising landlords about refinancing and withdrawing capital. If HMRC now applies its revised interpretation to historic transactions, landlords could face unexpected tax demands, advisers could face negligence allegations and the professional indemnity market may be left funding the resulting disputes. […]

The First-tier Tribunal has confirmed that refinancing at the point of incorporation can jeopardise full Incorporation Relief, while the Property118 Substantial Incorporation Structure avoids that risk. The warning was already contained in leading professional tax commentary, yet it was never absorbed into mainstream tax, legal and mortgage practice. Property118 did not simply win its DOTAS […]

Landlords facing the final Section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction court deadline fuelled a sharp rise in possessions last month. Tenant eviction specialists, Landlord Action, recorded its busiest month for enquiries in almost a year. That excludes the spikes seen in March and April before the Renters’ Rights Act took effect. It says that new instructions were […]

Calls for the Labour government to regulate private rents have intensified after polling found strong public backing for government intervention. The Fabian Society, a left wing think tank, says ministers should build on the Renters’ Rights Act by introducing controls designed around local housing conditions. Polling found 57% of private renters and 49% of the […]

Landlords could face penalties of up to 30% of unpaid tax after making ‘careless’ mistakes in their self-assessment returns, the Daily Telegraph reports. HMRC is seeking powers to decide whether an error should be treated as deliberate when a taxpayer fails to correct it. Current rules generally regard an inaccuracy as deliberate only where someone […]

Hello, I rent a house commercially to a private care company under the government-run SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) contract which began in Oct 2025. The monthly rent has always been weeks late after written prompts – June/July 2026 rent is unpaid to date. I’ve had no replies to messages from the tenant. He […]

Landlords face civil penalties of up to £7,000 where councils identify an initial Category 1 hazard, putting inspection records and repairs under closer scrutiny. Inventory Base estimates the private rented sector’s theoretical exposure could reach £3.53bn across England. Its calculation applies the maximum initial penalty to 504,808 privately rented dwellings estimated to contain at least […]

Only four in 10 English social landlords reported full compliance with required gas safety checks in 2025/26, compared with 56.9% a year earlier. Housemark’s early analysis of Tenant Satisfaction Measure (TSM) results put the latest figure at 41.7%. That’s despite an increase in the proportion of tenants who said their home was safe. The social […]

Landlords in one city could face a £1,050 selective licensing bill after the council opened a consultation. The council says that no selective licensing fee discounts are being offered – and neither is payment by direct debit or instalments. If the scheme is approved, all private landlords operating within the designated areas would need to […]

Landlords considering property purchases, refinancing or refurbishment face a fresh mix of lower rates, wider specialist criteria and one notable price rise. Paragon Bank has reduced its selected five-year fixed buy to let rates by 15 basis points for single self-contained properties, HMOs and multi-unit blocks. Its green mortgage range now starts at 4.95% for […]

A successful landlord may leave behind a property portfolio worth several million pounds, but that does not necessarily mean the family will be able to keep it. The estate may contain substantial equity while having very little accessible cash. Mortgage payments, repairs, insurance, letting costs and tenant issues will continue, while the executors may also […]

Thousands of landlords could face a rethink over how they handle tenant deposits if future reforms come into force. The government has hinted at axing insurance-backed deposit schemes, but the plans are not yet law. Now industry experts are warning landlords to understand their options and consider the risks before any changes are introduced. Two […]

Landlords will be able to manage insured and custodial tenancy deposits through one platform under a major overhaul of mydeposits administration. The firm is moving its insured-backed scheme onto Total Property; the system which is already being used for its custodial service. The move follows what it described as its largest investment in insured deposit […]

Landlords do not yet know whether they or their tenants would be responsible for paying the proposed High Value Council Tax Surcharge. Now Propertymark is calling for the liability rules to be clarified before the charge is introduced. It argues that the government has not fully considered the effect on landlords or the supply of […]

The government has claimed the Renters’ Rights Act cracks down on rental discrimination in the private rented sector. In a parliamentary written answer, housing minister Matthew Pennycook claimed the act addresses overt discriminatory practices. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, it is illegal for landlords and letting agents to discriminate against prospective tenants who receive benefits […]

London rental supply has dropped following the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act, according to new data. Findings by SpareRoom reveal the priciest postcode area in the capital is west London, where average rents stand at £1,043 per month. The area also currently has the lowest supply of available rooms. However, the data shows a […]

One city council is claiming to have cracked down on tenancy fraud, which recovered 36 homes and stopped fraudulent housing claims to help save taxpayers nearly £5 million. Birmingham City Council said its tenancy fraud team made the savings during the past year by investigating illegal subletting, false social housing applications and fraudulent Right to […]

Renters are finding it harder than homeowners to charge electric vehicles at home due to installation costs and landlord restrictions, according to new research. Data from temporary car insurance provider Tempcover reveals that homeowners are far more likely to have access to home charging than renters. As previously reported by Property118, the government has said […]

With the summer holidays now in full swing, many landlords are finally getting the chance to take a step back and think about what comes next. The latest Property118 Landlord Sentiment Survey suggests many have already decided the direction they want to travel. More than two-thirds now expect to sell some or all of their […]

At first glance, the business considered by the Upper Tribunal in The Executors of Keith Denis Lewis Beresford v HMRC looked very different from an ordinary commercial letting operation. Four floors of a London office building were divided into serviced offices, customers received reception and telephone-answering support, offices could be reconfigured to suit their requirements, […]