Police are warning about fraudsters who are ripping off landlords and tenants by posing as bogus letting agents. Scotland Yard detectives are looking for those behind two scams. In the first, tenants pay over a deposit and first month’s rent on buy to let homes that are already let.

Landlords are starting to feel a squeeze on rental profits despite rising rents, according to a new study. The number of buy to let landlords with large portfolios of 20 or more rental homes making a loss soared to 8%, says the research for the National Landlords Association. The findings for the last three months […]

I read with interest an article in the Daily Mail this week based on an announcement by Santander that they are radically over-hauling their policy on interest only mortgages. Now you can’t get an interest only mortgage from Santander unless you have 50% deposit to put down. Business as usual, they can run things as […]

Rightmove Premium Listings ‘Do they work?’ Rightmove themselves state that their own research indicates that properties with a “Premium Listing” banner generate 21% more enquiries. Of course they have a vested interest because they charge Agents £10 for every listing, which is all extra profit for them. In truth, it is impossible to test this […]

A council hit-team is readying to prosecute rogue landlords who have dodged signing up to a selective licensing scheme. The team is tracking down a group of landlords in Sunderland who have ignored calls to license their buy to let and HMO properties in the city. Investigators are planning to interview them under caution with […]

Lloyds is the latest bank to tighten up interest-only lending criteria following the lead of Santander. Both banks are significantly restricting interest only borrowing for personal residential mortgages, but leaving buy to let options intact.

The latest news and views from the private rented sector including top tips on how to find the perfect tenant from Steve Hanbury, the legalities of evicting a bad tenant by Mary Latham and Mark Alexander raises the question of whether the major property portals could help clean up the lettings industry.

The thriving buy to let market is driving a letting agent boom as firms respond to increasing demand from tenants eager to rent a home. Two key nationwide firms are pouring millions in to expansion plans. Countrywide has earmarked £5 million on growing lettings and has acquired a number of smaller specialist buy to let […]

Eight out of 10 landlords plan to supplement their pension income from letting property, according to the latest research by the National Landlords Association. Landlords see buy to let as a way to increase their wealth and as a key method of generating a retirement income as an alternative to mainstream pension savings.

That is a question that I am asked by landlords all the time and I am pleased when they ask me because it means that they do not intend to “send the boys round”. These landlords want to remove unwanted tenants legally so I am always happy to explain the process of either Section 21 […]

It has just occurred to me that most of the lettings agents that don’t carry professional indemnity insurance or protect deposits still need to advertise on the major property portals such as Rightmove, Zoopla, PrimeLocation, Globrix etc. There have been plenty of media articles recently calling for the Compulsory Licensing of Letting Agents and stories […]

A landlord moved his tenant lover in to his home while she carried on fraudulently claiming benefits for his buy to let. The pair conned the local council out of £20,000 in housing benefits, council tax and income support. Mandy Huskisson, 44, pleaded guilty to four fraud offences at Runcorn Magistrates Court. She was given […]

Letting agent Zulfiqar Hussain must pay his victims £250,000 or face three years in jail after stealing money from dozens of landlords and tenants who trusted him with their cash. Hussain was sentenced to a nine month suspended prison sentence after admitting seven charges of engaging in unfair commercial practices and one of money laundering.

Finding that perfect tenant can be time consuming and a very tough task. No matter how a prospective tenant may dress or whether they come across very genuine and trustworthy, there is no guarantee that what you see is what you get. Recent research undertaken by the NLA found that over 50% of landlords have […]

Great news for our readers this week, Property118 has been appointed as a source of Google News which means your comments will carry far more influence than ever before and will help to portray what is happening in the ‘real world’ of UK property. Mary Latham adds a tongue in cheek video blog which contains […]

The 1st of March will see the launch of the countries first tenant accreditation Scheme, (UK TAS), bred from a pilot scheme trialled in Southend-on-sea by the private sector housing of the Borough Council. The UKTAS is in stark contrast to the numerous accreditation schemes out their aimed at agents and landlords to drive out […]

“I only rent out one property”, “I use a letting agent”, “I’m a passive property investor”, “I do buy to let but I’m not a landlord”. Why do people say these things? If you own a property, even if it’s only one, and you collect rent from it, YOU are a landlord in the eyes […]

Government need to take note because this illness has reached epidemic proportions and, in my opinion, is the reason many private landlords are refusing to take tenants on benefits. If a cure is not found soon Shelter may need to build shelters to house sufferers. I know that it is not PC to suggest that […]

About 500,000 new tenants have registered to rent buy to let homes over the past two years with just one network of national letting agents. Over 275,000 signed up in 2011 – an increase of 53,000 (24%) over the 222,000 who were desperately seeking to rent a home in 2010.

– News Sourced by Property118 News Team – Landlords have been told to ensure their tenants know how to deal with and prevent mould from condensation by The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks. With the cold meaning bathrooms windows will be firmly shut, condensation could be creating costly-to-fix damp. The AIIC have created a check […]

We have witnessed a variety of different challenges which have impacted upon the housing market at different times and in different ways. In the early 80s the problem was one of excessively high interest rates; there have been times when rampant inflation has caused house prices to escalate by thousands a week in certain areas […]