Tenants are snapping up buy to let homes within hours in some areas – although the average is 12.7 days, according to letting agent Countrywide. Although homes are disappearing fast, the national agent reckons more homes are coming to the market to maintain supply.

Buy to let insurance does not always offer the top 10 features landlords look for in their policies as standard cover. A review of the market that scrutinised 87 policies from leading suppliers has revealed some of the most popular options are often only available at additional cost.

I know there’s been a lot of mud thrown at lettings agents over the years mainly due to their high charges, limited ability and the fact that most landlords think “anyone can do it”. However, I always gave them the benefit of the doubt as, alongside being a Dartford Tunnel toll booth attenda

There is a lot of talk these days about tenants needing security of tenure and organisations like Shelter would like Government to change legislation to force landlords to give tenants longer tenancies. I acknowledge that tenants do need security and, as a landlord, I want to keep my tenants for as long as possible. Many […]

A London council has won a criminal compensation order against a letting company who failed to licence a house in multiple occupation. In what is believed to be a landmark case, Newham Council claimed rent paid to the company, Sumal & Sons Properties, of Stamford Hill, was a criminal benefit as the property did not […]

Topsy-turvy house prices were up 1.2% in October, but after almost a year of monthly increases and falls they are more or less where they started in October last year. If any truth has hit home in 2011 it’s that the property market is unpredictable. In the past 10 months, the market has gone up […]

The true success story of a business entrepreneur, written in parable style and set to a magical piece of classical music. The Jolly Giant in this story is a real person. His business provides a service to the property sector. This is possibly the most simple corporate video you will ever watch, I hope you […]

The UK will comply with proposals to regulate buy to let mortgages if the European Union decides to include the loans in the forthcoming consumer credit directive. Despite warnings that regulation will change the face of the market from bank and building society trade body the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the Financial Services Authority sees […]

The geography of buy to let is due change as corporate investors move into the private letting market. The warning comes as Sweden’s largest private housing investor has instructed a leading property consultant to buy up 10,000 flats around London. The purchase would create one of the UK’s largest rental portfolios in an open market […]

The building of new homes has slumped to the lowest level ever – running at half the number needed to keep up with demand. The latest government figures revealed 120,000 new homes were built in England last year. Although London has the most resilient housing market, the capital saw the largest drop in the number […]

Thousands of property investors face fines of up to £50,000 for ignoring laws requiring them to sign-up to a landlords register in Scotland. No-one is sure how many rogue landlords are ignoring the law – but the worry is they face a double whammy of tax and fines if they sign the register. The authorities […]

I was going to write a piece about what to do when an HMO tenant goes AWOL (Absent Without Leave) and disappears off the face the earth.  As an “exciting” read as that sounds, I’d rather pick up on the Article 4 directive that has been publicised today. Over the last six months quite a […]

Paul Fieldson from the online property auction service BidOnMyHouse.co.uk and John Paul, founder of the highly successful Northern Letting Agency Castledean Group, which specialises in LHA tenancies, are Northern Property “Giants” in every sense of the word. Both businesses have been established since the beginning of the credit crunch and are putting many established operators […]

Whilst we were waiting around to be called by our professional camera crew to record a new corporate video for the home page of Property118 we decided to get together for a chat and record it on video. It was just a bit of fun to get us warmed up for the real thing but […]

Rents in London have soared by more than a quarter in two years, according to a firm of leading estate agents. In a snapshot of the private home rental scene in the capital, Knight Frank revealed rents have increased by 27% since 2009 while tenants are moving in to more homes with fewer coming back […]

Squatters who move into homes will commit a criminal offence under proposals announced by the government. Following consultation, the government will introduce the new offence of entering a residential building as a trespasser. Squatters, occupiers of land or a building without consent of the owner, will commit the offence if: They enter a home without […]

Regular readers will know that I am a working Tenancy Relations Officer dealing with harassment and illegal eviction cases and also a freelance trainer of housing staff, delivering housing law courses and communication skills such as conflict management. I was recently training a group of housing staff in Dorset who told me that the worst […]

We are delighted to introduce two new guest writers this week, HMO Landlady and Tulloch Priest. They have very kindly taken the time to share their experiences and expertise on two very different subjects, maintenance companies and how to reference tenants. There have also been some excellent and very interesting debates taking place in reaction […]

Around 250,000 second-home owners could see their council tax double under changes that let councils scrap their discounts. Councils will have the power to scrap discounts and charge second homeowners the full rate of council tax with the extra money offsetting bills for full-time occupiers. Communities secretary Eric Pickles expects most councils to take the […]

A buy to let mortgage lender called in more than £1 million of loans when a landlord described as one of Britain’s worst slum landlords was arrested for fraud. The Co-operative Bank ruined the rental business by demanding Joshua Danski repay his borrowings when managers were alerted to his poor business practices.

A 200-strong team of investigators is targeting overseas property owners to check they are not tax cheats. HM Revenue and Customs has warned wealthy UK residents with homes and land overseas that the team is checking whether they have paid enough tax on rents and capital gains. The task force can call on finance, accounting […]