We are about to rent out a house that does not have a cooker, just a space for a free standing one with a gas connection. A local estate agent mentioned to my husband that we are legally obliged to provide a cooker. Please could you tell me if she is right as I did […]

When do you need to re-protect tenancy deposits? Clarification from TDS Following an article on Property118 before Christmas some agents and landlords expressed concern as to whether they are approaching deposit protection at the end of the fixed term in the correct way.

I suspect very few of our readers expected to see the words Rent Guarantee Insurance and LHA Tenants in the same headline! Following headlines that only 1.5% of landlords will now let their properties to tenants in receipt of housing benefits is alarming, particularly if you are a landlord whose entire property portfolio is only attractive to […]

Housing Charity “Crisis” report that only 1.5% of private landlords will let their properties to housing benefits claimants. This is because the risks are considered to be too great. Make it a criminal offence not to pay rent, especially if Housing Benefits have been claimed for this purpose, and improve the eviction process for none […]

    Tessa Shepperson of Landlord Law is a solicitor specialising in residential landlord and tenant law. Tessa very kindly wrote a series of articles exclusively for readers of Property118.com some time ago. These still serve to be an excellent resource for landlords who find them when searching the internet so we have decided to […]

We have a house let to three persons and they seem to have fallen out, with the lead tenant (for deposit protection purposes) giving us notice. The deposit is registered with My|Deposits. My question is what is legally correct? Do I return the full deposit to the lead tenant or do I give a third of it […]

Here at Property118 we constantly share ideas to help UK Landlords to reduce your costs and maximise your returns. These are our austerity tips for 2013, each section is linked to the relevant page of our website where you can find out more and make contact with the providers of products and services we currently recommend. Links […]

“Milking the Buy-to-Let” is a Landlords Tax Planning Strategy which is very much under utilised. The strategy applies only to married couples and Civil Partnerships and is used to offset mortgage interest against rental income, regardless of whether the amount borrowed exceeds the original purchase price and also regardless of how the proceeds of the […]

One of our goals for 2013 is to get 5,000 landlords to “like our Property118 Facebook page” We have recently updated it so please take a look by clicking on the link or the logo above. Also, please remember to click the like button.

Both John Paul and the The Castledene Group have earned an enviable reputation of being leading experts in the management and letting of residential property to benefits claimants in receipt of Local Housing Allowance “LHA”. John Paul is a portfolio landlord in the North East and founder of the Castledene Group of letting agents which […]

In the West Midlands we are addressing the issue of educating the young to understand their future housing options, financial obligations and choices. I work on behalf of NLA with a consortium called HOMESTAMP (www.homestamp.com) and we are just coming to the end of a major project to get a module into the national curriculum […]

“Hello Mark, very impressed with your site, I have a question for you: My wife and I have a small portfolio of property which has been built up over the years by keeping on our residences rather than selling to finance the new ones. None were purchased on Buy to let mortgages.

Landlords advice – 10 things landlords should seriously consider before it is too late 1. Know when to stop investing and start living. I have a friend who is fast approaching 50 years old who owns 82 properties. His goal is to get to 100. What’s the point? 100 is just another number isn’t it? […]

According to the housing Charity “Crisis” only 1.5% of private landlords across the UK are willing to rent to benefit claimants aged under 35. Changes in benefit rules have meant that single people under the age of 35 can now only claim benefits which are sufficient to rent a room in a shared house. With […]

I would just like to say a big THANK YOU to the BBC for giving me the opportunity to put forward a landlords perspective on why so few of us now choose to provide accommodation to benefits claimants. As soon as I can get a recording of the programme, which was broadcast live on BBC […]

The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) today revealed its predictions for the UK property market over the next 12 months. Ian Potter, Managing Director of ARLA, said the Private Rented Sector (PRS) will continue to see demand outstrip supply throughout 2013, particularly in London and the South East. The lack of affordable mortgage finance […]

The Loan Directory is a regular feature publishing examples of the most competitive and frequently used products in the commercial market to help readers identify possible funding facilities for their own projects. In this latest update we provide a selection of the most competitive deals on offer in respect of Commercial Finance for Investment and […]

EDITORS UPDATE 2017 – please note the ‘Rent A Room’ allowance is now £7,500 per annum If you’re renting out a room or rooms in your own home, there’s a tax benefit that’s really worth investigating. It’s called the Rent a Room Scheme and offers live-in-landlords the chance to earn £4,250 in rent and services […]

The Dispute Service “TDS” recently posted on this website “TDS members need to log in to their account online and tick a box updating it to statutory periodic ( instructions are available in the Website User Manual). If you do not do this protection will end on the original end date of the agreement. We […]

Popular feedback from our landlords survey was to create a “Guide to Buying At Auction”. We contacted our friends at Essential Information Group “EIG” who monitor the sales prices of over 35,000 properties sold every year at auction in over 1,700 auctions for their help. As it turns out, EIG have already produced a comprehensive […]

Renting by the room has seen a surge in popularity in recent years, as savvy landlords realise that yields for this type of tenancy are much higher than for plain vanilla lets. With the current housing crisis, and the dearth of lending for first time buyers, young people are priced out of purchasing their first […]