The only way to bring a tenancy to an end is the voluntary surrender on the part of the tenant or for a landlord to obtain a court order for possession. Any other way is likely to be construed as unlawful eviction which is a criminal offence, using violence or changing the locks when the […]

It’s not often the tax man gives something away, but from the start of the next tax year landlords can pick up a little extra. For many landlords, big tax savings do not often come from major strategies, but from adding together several small reliefs and allowances. Two to watch are home as office costs […]

Rent arrears and debt problems are mounting up for thousands of tenants – with the number calling for help soaring by 55% last year. Debt charity Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) says renters have suffered disproportionately from the country’s economic woes. A combination of rising living costs, increasing joblessness and rents continuing to surge upwards […]

If you had a choice of the two tenants below which would you choose? A middle-aged couple (one working and earning minimum wage, one at home) with two school age daughters, who have rented their current two-bedroom home for 4 years, and now want a 3 bedroomed house so that their daughters can have a […]

The spotlight is on letting and estate agencies in today’s edition as we report on a sharp rise in letting agent complaints and ARLA issue their own response to the dramatic increase. We warmly welcome Ray Brooks Estate Agency who bring a rich history and wry sense of humour to the fold. John Paul continues […]

Following the report from the Property Ombudsman that revealed a sharp rise in complaints about lettings agents, ARLA have issued their response. They are “disappointed” by the figures but believe a closer look creates a slightly different picture, given that only 10% of complaints made it to the Ombudsman.

LHA Top Tips for landlords. Article 3 in a series of 8 The longer you keep a tenant the less paperwork and voids you will experience. Start by finding a tenant you feel confident is right for your property and your management strategy and start as you mean to continue.

Complaints against rogue letting agents surged by 26% to more than 7,600 in 2011, according to independent adjudicator The Property Ombudsman. In a year that saw continuing fraud and bad management leading to landlords and tenants losing cash to businesses that often closed without warning, the ombudsman is calling for higher standards across the industry. […]

Buy to let lenders are squeezing the availability of loans as funding problems ripple out through the industry. Landlords are finding loans more difficult to locate as lenders topple like dominoes due to exceptionally high demand for limited cash.

New online services are springing up that let property people and renters share information about ‘bad’ landlords and tenants – but are the details fair and accurate? The problem for a landlord is these sites can open the door for equality and diversity claims. If a landlord acts on the data and refuses to let […]

“How We Recruited Our Property Manager” Roy Brooks was probably the most famous British estate agent ever. He was famous for being so honest when describing the properties he was flogging (and often their corresponding owners), that he was hilariously rude. People adored him for it, but that was in the good old days. If […]

Fraudster Rose Chimuka conned landlords of out of more than £100,000 by posing as a mum to rent their homes and then sub-letting them to dozens of tenants. She was jailed for four years and three months at Croydon Crown Court after admitting 11 fraud charges. The court was told Chimuka, 32, posed as a […]

I am going to keep it simple I have written two articles with full details but here is the short version including TWO NEW WARNINGS

Buy to let mortgage news dominates the headlines in this edition as we report on how lenders increasing their standard variable rates despite the Bank Base Rate staying at 0.5% will affect landlords in several of our news articles below. John Paul, also known as The LHA Expert, brings us his second instalment of his […]

Letting agents are urging long-distance landlords to make sure they follow six basic renting rules to avoid hassle with tenants. The tips follow a survey by the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) which revealed up to two-thirds of property investors letting homes in London live outside the capital.

Headlines screaming out about rising mortgage interest rates are filling the news, so some facts and figures about the buy to let and home loans market should shine a light on what’s really happening. Here is some information explaining some frequently asked questions about mortgage interest rates compiled with the help of the Council of […]

LHA Top Tips for landlords. Article 2 in a series of 8 Inform yourself. If you don’t know all the rules about being a landlord for Local Housing Allowance tenants, at the very least be sure you know where to look when you need information fast.

Landlords and letting agents could see Rightmove’s crown slip in the rental market as a new pretender steps up – if a proposed merger is allowed to go ahead. Digital Property Group – owned by the company behind the Daily Mail – and Zoopla want to join forces to tackle the undisputed property portal king […]

Landlords with Bank of Ireland buy to let loans can breathe a sigh of relief as mortgage interest rates are hiked by new owner the Nationwide. The bank’s standard variable rates for residential mortgage borrowers are set to rise from 2.99%, to 3.99% in June and then to 4.49% in September, affecting around 100,000 customers.

Property118.com, the UK’s most popular online community for landlords and property investors* has just released its 100th Newsletter featuring updates on legislation, best practice, financial information and commentary relating to the buy to let industry. Launched in January 2011 Property118 now has over 183,000 subscribers to its e-newsletter which is aggregated by News Now and […]

Two of my favourite authors write all of their important philosophies in parable style, this is mine. Once upon a time, a fisherman decided that he no longer wanted to be a wage slave to a trawler captain so he went off to do his own thing.  He made a rod and caught and sold […]