As councils across the country ramp up their campaign against student landlords and houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), the Residential Landlords Association and leading property solicitors claim tougher planning rules may not prove to be the answer to controlling shared homes. The issue is a technical problem that may not be settled until a council […]

Budget 2012 for property people Property investors are winners and losers in Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget 2012. Landlords paying tax on rents are likely winners as they will benefit from Osborne hoisting personal allowances for income tax nearer the £10,000 target. While top-end of the market investors dealing in buying and selling the most expensive […]

Today’s issue shines the spotlight on the private rented sector providing housing to a diverse range of tenants. Headlines and views of guest columnists cover the effects of Universal Credit reforms and HMO article 4 directions. The LHA expert, John Paul, guides landlords through the LHA claim procedure in this fifth article of his series […]

Consumer champion gets tough on ‘instant equity’ claims Slick property salesman trying to talk investors in to signing up for cheap buy to let homes with ‘instant equity’ will have to prove the advertised discount is real or face the wrath of consumer watchdogs. One firm – Nottingham-based Property Secrets – has already fallen foul […]

In a country where we have a housing crisis driven by a complete lack of an innovative and all-encompassing housing policy the PRS landlord is being made a scapegoat for simply seeking to run a profitable business. A business which, it is rarely noted, is doing almost as much to make housing available to low […]

Prime Minister David Cameron’s claim that buy to let landlords are dropping rents in response to the Government’s welfare reforms is untrue, according to information from councils. Cameron told the House of Commons that the new welfare policy was forcing landlords to cut rents, but social housing magazine Inside Housing tested the claim by sending […]

LHA Top Tips for landlords. Article 5 in a series of 8 Be thorough, do it once and do it right. Offer to complete all paperwork with the tenant but always hand it in to the council yourself. Ensure that you give the tenant copies of all paperwork. When you deliver paperwork to the council […]

On the 12th January, Councillor Jeremy Moulton set out the Southampton perspective in relation to Article 4 Directions taking away permitted development rights to change the use of single dwellings to small HMOs such as shared houses. The Residential Landlords Association, of which I am the Policy Director, has campaigned vigorously against the use of […]

After reading Experian launches rent payment profile for tenants, I am perfectly prepared to give a person a chance for a new start but I cannot afford to take people who will not pay their rent. Many landlords feel like this too. Many of us are in a position to pick and choose our tenants […]

Last week I had the privilege of meeting Norwich Mediator, Martin Plowman of Mediation-1st for a coffee in the City Centre before work. I kept him talking for almost 90 minutes – what a fascinating man! I had previously spoken to Martin over the telephone about risk assessment and probability outcome trees at the suggestion of another friend. What’s […]

After reading the comments posted here, I wanted to begin a new discussion about Universal Credit and I hope that Ben Reeve-Lewis will join me to give his take on what the future holds for landlords who take tenants on benefits. I hope that others will also join in.

Councillors are blaming student landlords for a shortage of affordable homes for families that is ‘distorting’ the housing market. Now, councillors in Chichester, Sussex, are considering planning controls to stop landlords opening new houses in multiple occupation shared by students. An internal council report claims student landlords cater for around 40% of the local university’s […]

The secret’s finally out about the best performing international house markets for property investors over the past decade – and the results are not what most property people would think. Top of the league is India, where prices have surged by 284% since 2001 – an average annual increase of 14%. The UK returned a […]

The latest news and tips for private landlords. Angus Ryan discusses the issues of repossession, harassment and illegal eviction. John Paul covers the importance of forms and procedures in his fourth article of a series of LHA top tips.  And Glenn Ackroyd poses a thought provoking tenant based question.

If you are a regular reader of our news and blogs here on Property118 you may have noticed that in the last few days we have added some new badges to the right margin of our website advertising Commercial Mortgages and Development Finance. When we started property118.com we made a pledge never to charge our […]

LHA Top Tips for landlords. Article 4 in a series of 8 The most important things are that you need everything in writing; you need to keep it clear and simple for the tenant and you must understand timings.

I’ve just booked a table for Property118.com for the ELA Grand Summer Ball & ELA Excellence Awards taking place at De Vere Dunston Hall, Norwich on 15th June 2012. The event looks to be a great networking opportunity and fun too, not the typical Summer Ball sitting around tables, listening to a boring speaker and […]

Buy to let rents nudged down by 0.6% in February – the third fall in the past year, according to the UK’s largest chain of letting agents. Letting activity dropped back over recent weeks, according to LSL Property Services, mainly due to the end of the stamp duty holiday for first time buyers triggering a […]

Missing a rent payment could affect a tenant’s credit rating as one of the largest credit checking firms opens a new service for landlords and letting agents. Experian is opening data files on a tenant’s rent payment history as a new check for landlords and letting agents vetting renters who want to move in to […]

The landlord of a shared house where a mum and her three-year-old daughter died in an arson attack may face jail for ignoring fire safety laws. They died when a spurned girlfriend set light to her former boyfriend’s room in an unlicensed house in multiple occupation (HMO) in Milton Keynes last year.

A university had to take on extra staff to deal with complaints about a landlord who stole deposits on student housing. Detectives claim 18 theft charges admitted by Tariq Zaman, 42, at Leeds Crown Court were just a ‘representative view’ of the money he stole over several years letting houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) owned […]