During a rare period of downtime this week I have been catching up with some of the vast number of articles, readers’ questions and comments posted on Property118.  I have read with interest (and despair) some of the tales of agents having shut up shop and disappeared with deposits and rents belonging to both landlords […]

Precise Mortgages has launched a new “Almost Prime” Buy to let mortgage range for investors with minor and historic adverse credit including products up to 80% Loan to Value (LTV). “Almost Prime” can assist investors with the following credit problems up to 80% LTV: Defaults  none in the last 24 months CCJs none in the […]

It has been suggested that I start a new discussion thread to share their experiences and anecdotes of landlords who have been taken to Court by tenants.  Tenants who have taken their landlords to court are equally welcome to join in. If you want to discuss another persons case, please do not name and shame […]

My estate agent found a tenant for me and sent me a bill for £1,000 plus vat for finding me a tenant.  The following year the tenant decided to renew for another year. The agent then sent me another bill for £1,200 (incl vat) as renewal fee. When I asked why the same amount had […]

I own an ex council flat that I rent out which I had double glazed some years back. I’ve just received a letter from the council advising that they intend to replace the windows in my block (2 flats) but even if I’ve had mine done I will have to contribute according to how many […]

The Office for National Statistics have today released figures analysing household data from the 2011 Census compared to 2001. The biggest news for the PRS is that 18% of all occupied household spaces were privately rented, an increase from 12% in 2001. That’s a 50% increase in the ratio in 10 years! This was the […]

HSBC has released a report showing the average rental yields for the top Buy to Let hotspots of England and Wales based on data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and Land Registry. This information broken down to specific areas is valuable for Landlords looking for future property investments, giving a base line picture […]

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has launched a new voluntary accreditation scheme for Landlords and Letting agents. It is called the “London Rental Standard” and an accreditation badge will be issued upon successful completion of a one day course. This scheme is designed to improve the quality and standard of rental accommodation for tenants […]

Please help me … I am rather confused on this issue.  I have paid off mortgage on my primary residence. I have now bought a second home with a mortgage. I am wondering if I can offset the interest on this mortgage against the rental income from my first home. Any tax gurus out there? […]

I have received an invoice after my property was secured after a police break in. My tenant of 7 years has left the house recently and I’ve given him his deposit back. I am currently getting the property ready to let out again. I commented to him that the front door was difficult to close, […]

Our tenants son is been done for ‘sex trafficking offences’, he’s given his address as his parents address so our property is been dragged through the mud. They’ve owed us some rent arrears for 18 months plus but we’ve never pressured them for it so long as they paid their full rent weekly. There have […]

Does anyone know the legal position on my dilemma? I was paying a reasonable service charge of £60 per month for a number of years on a flat I was letting. The freeholder is a Housing Association. Over time, a small credit built up of approximately £600 and I have a statement that confirms this […]

My wife and I have been considering starting with BTL for quite some time with the aim of building a small portfolio to supplement / provide an income when we retire. We are in our late 40’s, and for most of my working life I have worked for firms that do not provide a company […]

I am a new B2L landlord and after 18 months of trouble free letting I now have a troublesome tenant.  I will be applying to court for a possession order via the s21 route as their 6m tenancy ends soon. However, I saw them smoking in the flat despite them completing the application and telling me […]

Following the non payment of rent due on the 1st May, my tenants have requested an early termination of their fixed one year tenancy as a result of family change of circumstances. Their guarantor to the Agreement (their father) has now paid the o/s rent following an exchange of emails/telecons, in which I have reminded […]

Liverpool City Council is proposing to bring in ‘selective licensing’ for all private landlords – if you own property in Liverpool you have the opportunity to ‘ take part in the consultation and share you views’ at meetings arranged for Monday 2nd June and Wednesday 4th June. visit www.liverpool.gov.uk/selectivelicensing . As a landlord with several […]

While it sounds exciting to purchase a property to renovate, television programs would make you believe that people will spend significantly over their set budget. Well, maybe on their first property. But with experience, hindsight and knowledge there are ways to make sure your costs are kept in control.  Certainly a lot depends on the […]

I am about to issue section 21 notices on two of my properties, I plan to sell one property and return to the UK and move into the other one. I issued new AST’s in July 2013 so they have about 2 months to run. As both tenancies have been in place for several years […]

I found out yesterday that Woolwich have now started using a reference rate of 5.79% at 125% in their rental calculations. They seemed the last of the lot in this regard after BM stopped using the pay rate last year. I’ve only been in the BTL game for a couple of years now, and wanted […]

The CUBE brand have announced their latest release in the UK. Using new architectural design for luxury en-suite student projects, facilities will range from a fitness gym to a pop-up cinema. Using group buying power a discount of £10,963 has been negotiated. The £50,913 high-spec en-suites would generate yields of around 8% however, due to […]

Can I as a Landlord, do my own tenant checks? Or is my only real option to use an agent or referencing service? I am really struggling to find a definitive answer on this one. Tenant checking services in general charge approximately £25. But what am I getting for my money? How do I know […]