It seems to be a regular thing that councils, with our money (tax-payers), are encouraging, even helping tenants to break their legally binding contracts. It surely is immoral if not illegal that they do this to help massage their own housing list figures? We need to start a campaign to highlight this, how do others […]

I’m a buy-to-let landlord of one property (should be two in a couple of weeks). My wife came across another potential investment online yesterday. The property is a 3 bed detached house set back from a main road which comes with a commercial property (car repair workshop). The property is priced at £160k, both the […]

Does anyone have any suggestions as to why the supply of new properties for sale in London has has reduced by 85% or more in the last 4 or 5 months? Even Estate agents can’t believe the drop in new instructions. They simply have so little to sell hence causing such a frenzy in the […]

Hi all, I have been looking at sales particulars for 3 bed house which is subject to a lifetime tenancy. It is valued at £195,000 with vacant possession and is for sale for £82,000. I would very much appreciate your thoughts and any advice you can offer. The details are as follows. 3 bedroom detached […]

How do I work out when a tenant hits the ‘2 months arrears’ threshold that allows for the serving of a section 8 notice citing ground 8 “substantial areas? Consider an AST requiring a monthly rent payable in advance on the 1st of every month. Lets say the rent is £800 and up till now […]

We are about to check out at the end of a tenancy. The landlord is insisting that he attends the checkout inspection. We feel this will produce a potentially confrontational situation and do not want to agree.  What are our/his rights in this regard? Thanks Stephen

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has this morning reported the UK economy has grown by 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2013 with total GDP for the year growing by 1.9%. These are the best annual growth figures since 2007 (recorded at 3.4%) although we are still 1.3% behind the peak GDP figure in […]

I know this site is mainly for renting, but a lot of landlords also flip properties so may be able to help. If I was to buy, modernise and sell 3 properties each worth £100k in a year, hopefully making around 50k total profit (before tax), would I have to be VAT registered on the […]

Hello All, Just a quick one. I’m keen to get some opinions on the way forward. I currently have one buy to let, Value £120,000 , Mort £100,000 and I would like another one /two. The thing is, I have a flexible openplan residential mortgage (£70,000 outstanding) with access to around £50,000 of borrowing at […]

What are the best tactics here? I have found some great new tenants who want to move into one of my properties ASAP. They are currently on a Periodic Tenancy paying monthly, so by my reckoning, they should be free vacate their existing home when the next full period ends on 10th March, subject to […]

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I’ve discovered that a tenant I’m currently trying to remove is already registered on a ‘bad tenant’ database. I’ve done a quick straw-poll with some of my regular agents and discovered that none of them routinely check if prospective tenants are on any of the various databases available. Does anyone know why these databases seem […]

HELP! I’ve an HMO Licensed flat in Edinburgh. My tenants have been noisy late at night and the Council Night Time Noise Team have attended. As this is the second event in 4 months this has led to me been warned that unless I take sufficient action then my HMO Licence may be withdrawn or […]

A tenant has left a property with damage worth more than the deposit held, as well as owing one month’s rent and, by breaking the lease without notice, defaulting on the remaining three months of the lease. The tenant was originally supplied and vetted by a reputable letting agent and we paid the usual professional […]

My partner and I began renting a house through an estate agent last year. We paid our month upfront, our deposit and our admin fee to the estate agent to draw up the tenancy agreement. We have since received letters from the landlords bank and their debt collection company stating that the landlord has defaulted […]

Hello! I am hoping to get some ideas from a dilemma that I have. I have just had an offer accepted on a London 2 bed flat (share of freehold I am pleased to say) I am buying to let out and in the last 4 or 5 months have seen prices rise rather crazily, […]

Hello everyone, I need advice as a Buy To Let novice I am what might be called an accidental landlord. I was living in a flat I had purchased and then I bought another flat in another town as I was due to be moving there with my job. I did not move there in […]

How do I prove I’ve served a tenant a Section 8 notice? Since my tenant stopped paying he’s totally dropped of the radar. Won’t return my calls, won’t respond to messages or texts, ignores my emails and pretends he’s not in when I knock on the door.   I’ve dropped a section 8 notice through […]

Hello all, I am a prospective first time landlord and am asking for any advice regarding buy to let mortgages. I am looking to buy a property for around £80k (with a £20k deposit). The best interest only mortgage I can find is a 2 year fixed rate mortgage at 3.7% (£185 per month), or […]

I have recently written to Wellingborough Council as follows and would be interested in the views of other landlords (in particular those with a detailed understanding of the relevant legislation): Why are local authorities Paying Housing Benefit directly to tenants? It has recently come to light that Wellingborough Borough Council has been paying housing benefits […]

Can anybody help me please? My previous tenant has appointed a solicitor who has written to me claiming for numerous things. One issue is “Repairs”. The solicitor states that the tenant complains of the following defects at my property since the beginning of the tenancy in June 2011. These include:- (1) The screws behind the […]