BBC1 Thursday 18th July, 10:30pm: Meet The Landlords. This is a documentary about property in hard times with tenants in difficulty, some landlords enjoying the boom, some in trouble, and Landlord Action helping out. We haven’t seen a preview but it sounds like it won’t be easy viewing, even for Landlord Action. This will be […]

Rightmove doubles 2013 forecast for house prices as it reports ‘aggregation of marginal gains’ fueling a predicted 4.8% annual growth. There have been seven monthly rises on the trot and two consecutive record months as the price of newly marketed property increases by 0.3% (+£860) in July boosting year-on-year growth to 4.8% (+£11,561) Rightmove’s 2013 […]

How should I document the arrival of new tenant? I let a 3 bedroom property to 3 professionals last year on a one year AST. Although all 3 were named as tenants on the AST it transpired that their company paid for all their bills including their rent. The AST term expired earlier this month […]

In The Property Ombudsman’s (TPO) first Interim Report for 2013, Christopher Hamer focuses on the impact of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) for the day-to-day business operations of estate and letting agents. The report has been produced for the 22,000 sales and lettings offices registered with The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme. […]

Why is landlords insurance for Working/Professional HMO’s, Student lets and tenants claiming benefits so much more expensive? In a word – RISK However, as it transpires, it is possible to insure any rental property in the UK for a premium of £1.10 per £1,000 of cover plus Insurance Premium Tax providing there is a decent […]

We have a tenant who is a single mum and she has been in the property since December 2011. One month after her starting the tenancy with the letting agent we use she started missing payments and paying minimal amounts like £5 per month. We served her section 21 notice on Oct 25th 2012 and […]

I have been asked what the dangers or pitfalls for businesses and clients would be in merely sitting back and waiting for the Banks to sort out the issues surrounding interest rate hedging products (IRHPs). The Banks have split down IRHP into three categories of the likelihood of mis sell. In essence, Category A are […]

I have often read that Landlords issue a Section 21 notice at the start of a tenancy. My Question is what are the advantages of doing this, and are there any drawbacks that I should be aware of? What happens if the AST ends and then rolls on to a Periodic tenancy and after a […]

Rent2Rent contracts – if you’re going to to it do it right Rent2Rent companies are using the wrong letting contracts Whilst I have never been a fan of the Rent2Rent scheme I have to accept that a lot of investors are using Rent2Rent as part of their strategy. As it is the mission of Property118 […]

In our role as inventory providers we sign in and out keys on a regular basis but as part of our own processes we also ask that the agent or landlord signs our worksheet to say they have received the keys back. This means that if there is an issue with the property going forward […]

Sorry to have to re-visit the issue of Foxtons again! I’m afraid it is the same story of unfair renewal fees. The “good “ thing is that mine is not a new case, just unresolved since 2010. I had used Foxtons to let a flat in 2009 – at that point I was made to […]

The National Landlords Association welcomes the new NLA Chairman, Carolyn Uphill, to the helm of the organisation. Carolyn, formerly the NLA Deputy Chairman, joined the Board of Directors in July 2011 having worked as a Local Representative in Manchester since 2010. Carolyn has extensive experience as a successful businesswoman and professional landlord letting student and […]

Yesterday the Treasury Committee published a letter sent to Andrew Tyrie MP from Martin Wheatley, Chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority dated 20 May 2013 regarding the Bank of Ireland’s recent move to increase the margin differential on its lifetime tracker mortgages. The letter looks at various aspects of the banks conduct and the FCA […]

I have relatives who have a protected tenancy, living in an oldish house in a rural area. Now in their 70’s they are finding it impossible to heat the house adequately in the winters. The heating system is antiquated and in need of updating. They have already provided improved loft insulation, paid for cavity wall […]

I can see the benefits of upgrading to business membership as it makes a lot of sense to include a link back to my inventory website and also to add my telephone number and email address so that members who follow one of my comments back to my member profile can get in touch should […]

If in doubt ASK Learning from other peoples experiences is often far more cost effective than making mistakes of your own! Advice on forums is no substitute for professional advice because comments and opinions are not insured. HOWEVER, discussion can lead to ideas which you may not have previously considered and can often point you […]

I have a question regarding what would be acceptable information for a planning department to give a Certificate of Lawfulness for a property I am potentially looking to purchase. Background: Property in question is the heart of one of the areas where 80-90% of all properties are of class 4 use. As many of you […]

My landlord has issued me with a section 21 because I have asked for certain information regarding where my deposit is and to see a copy of the gas safety certificate. I am devasted with this as I have a chronically ill daughter whom is on full disability and the house is perfect for her. […]

Referencing services for landlords come in several varieties and with numerous options and price structures.  You can get anything from a credit check for a fiver through to full referencing which guarantees rent on the due date if your prospective tenants and guarantors are considered to be a good risk. The larger referencing companies have […]

My understanding is that when a tenant abandons a property, they are responsible for the utility bills (gas, water, electric, phone) up until the end of their contract or until a new tenant moves in. It appears that if you send the utility company a copy of the AST, and in the terms it states […]

All good things come to an end – and in due course your  tenancy agreement’s fixed term will end too. What happens then? When the fixed term ends Some people assume that the tenancy will end and that if the tenants stay on they will be squatters who can be easily evicted.  However you will […]