My local council where I rent out my properties has since April been charging council tax for empty properties as soon as their empty. I have a case where in April [we think] a tenant who was on a periodic TA left. We were not sure that he left and only realised when no rent […]

My housemate and I attend Greenwich University in London. We live in a two bedroom flat in Charlton, SE7. During our winter, Easter & Summer breaks we tend to venture back home for some free food and heating, and thus the flat is left empty for a few weeks at a time. Just before the […]

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) want a 5% annual price rise cap for houses that triggers restrictions on mortgage  income multipliers or maximum Loan to Value. Although Rics did say that sellers  under their plans would not face a limit on how much they could sell their homes for. Joshua Miller, senior economist […]

I am 24 years old and have owned my own home for a little over a year now. This house is on a repayment mortgage. I have the opportunity to purchase a second house from my father in law which already has a tenant in. My plan was to borrow approx 30k on my current […]

I urgently need some advise Due to living outside the country I have put all my faith in a letting agent. I rent out a property in the North East which has now been empty for over 12 months. I have contacted the agents to enquire as to why they had failed to find tenants […]

I am a landlord of an old lease from the 1960s for a Victorian detached property in Surrey – My tenant who was long term since the 60s recently died. His daughter who cared for him took on the lease – The problem is for such a little rent – they have not complied with […]

Following on from the discussion entitled “Raising Standards or Raising Funds” it appears that the majority of readers agree that additional and selective licensing and property based accreditation schemes run by local authorities are not necessarily the best route forward. However, there does need to be a simple way of differentiating better quality landlords/properties for […]

The United Nations special investigator on housing Raquel Rolnik has said that the Bedroom Tax could constitute a violation of the human right to adequate housing. Rolnik, a former urban planning minister in Brazil, has has told the government it should abolish the bedroom tax, after investigating how the policy was affecting vulnerable citizens during […]

In about 2 months I have to have a major foot op which will put me out of action for about 2-3 months. I am currently building a small flat above detached garages at my home and I will be offering the flat for free for someone who can help me out with my smallholding […]

Many of you will be aware of a ruling made by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in March this year following a tenant complaint concerning letting fees. This meant that changes had to be made to the way letting agents and private landlords advertise, and as a regulator, the ASA has the power to enforce […]

A letting agent who rented out a damp, dangerous and dilapidated property received a hefty fine following a successful council prosecution.  Key Property (UK) Ltd of 47 Bell Road, Hounslow, who trade under the name Key Solutions and Key Lettings, were fined £42,500, on top of costs and compensation worth £5,040, at Feltham Magistrates Court after being […]

A former Capital of Culture and one of the most popular cities in the UK, Liverpool is a buy-to-let hotspot, which makes The Studios at X1 The Quarter one of the most exciting developments on the market. Comprised of 221 fully-furnished studios and attractively priced at just £59,950, the building has full residential planning and […]

Can anyone think of any potential tax or legal implications with letting out a property at below market rent to help a close relative?  I would of course put it all on a formal basis having no desire for a family relationship to sour due to financial reasons! A close relative has recently returned after […]

Eric Walker has been appointed to the role of Managing Director at Northwood GB, the letting agency best known for specialising in guaranteed rent. I have met Eric at several industry events and we have remained friends and kept in touch online ever since. In my opinion he is definitely one of the good guys […]

I was talking to a friend of mine at the weekend who has one property she lets out and I asked which deposit scheme she uses. She said she doesn’t take deposits, claiming it’s not necessary if you apply the “first and last month rent up front” method. Although I’ve worked in the lettings industry […]

I’m looking to do my first time buy to let by releasing c. £25,000 -£37,000 equity from my main residence and the remaining £75,000 to £113,000 on a buy-to-let mortgage to buy a 2 bed property costing c. £120,000 to £150,000.  Mark suggests always having 20% cash in the bank but that would mean delaying […]

We purchased an off-plan flat in London from a well known developer about 6-7 years ago. A couple of months ago we received notice from the managing agent that the roof had been leaking badly and has caused substantial damage to some of the flats and needs replacing, thereby giving us notice of intention to […]

I am being billed for electricity at a flat i have continuously rented out for years and never lived at.  There have been tenant change overs (on the same day) at approx 1 year intervals. I am not and have never been a customer of this electricity company but they have started sending me a […]

My son has moved away from home to take up a new job. We took him there  last week and realized that there no locks on the bedroom doors. He is living in a HMO with 5 other professionals. We asked to have a lock put on the door to the manager. Her reply was that […]

I’m trying to build my property portfolio in London and I’m slightly cautious as to the level of gearing I should aim towards.  Generally rental yields in London are fairly modest and I’m mindful of the potential long term upward trends in interest rates. I was searching online to get the historic average BTL interest […]

I have a tenant who keeps making excuses for not keeping an appointment for an enginer to carry out the annual gas safety check.  He is in arrears to me for over £1,500 and I suspect he may have had his gas cut off for non payment of bills. The previous certificate expired a couple […]