Letting agents expect buy to let rents to keep edging higher as more tenants snap up the few available rental properties. Four out of 10 letting agents reported seeing an increase in rents over the quarter ending October 31, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) residential lettings survey – while some (27%) […]

Private landlords may have to bear in mind their tenant’s human rights before they can evict them, according to the latest court ruling. Lawyers are likely to thrash out the implications of the case that could undermine a landlord’s ability to repossess a property in the New Year.

England faces a worsening housing crisis as house building is drastically out of pace with the demand for new homes.  The nation’s appetite for homes will run at about 250,000 a year for the next 25 years mainly due to the needs of a growing population, according to the latest government figures. 

A flurry of results and reviews about borrowing, the economy and tax that show the current state of the UK’s finances is pretty steady, if uninspiring, are now out. Building society gross lending was down nearly 10% in October – at £1.96 billion compared with £2.17 billion in September. 

Property prices in small market towns outstrip those of most nearby towns and cities by an average of £30,000, according to Lloyds TSB. House prices in English market towns are, on average, £29,319 (14%) higher than the surrounding counties.

What’s the cheekiest/craziest request you’ve received from a tenant?

A new rent survey based on the average cost of renting compared to buying a similar home on an interest only mortgage at 5%. Aberdeen is the cheapest place in the country to let a home, with rents 22% below the average cost of buying a similar home on an interest only mortgage at 5%.

Buy to let landlords making big rental profits and looking to save tax often flirt with the idea of running their business through a limited company. The main benefit is a company can be a tax-effective way of managing income.

Paying tradesmen for cash in the hand jobs seems like a good idea at the time – but ends up costing landlords more. The problem is only the tradesmen win when a landlord hands over cash for a job in return for a discount. The discount is generally equal to VAT the tradesman will not […]

Buy to let specialist lender Paragon Mortgages has announced a 32% rise in profits as the firm looks to reassert its former position as a major funder of professional landlords by lending £1 billion. After nearly three years away from the market, the lender has opened for new business after securing £200 million backing from […]

Tenants have lost two landmark appeals in cases that have rendered tenancy deposit legislation more or less useless. The ruling means that the current 14-day time limit on protecting a deposit imposed on landlords is merely an administrative requirement and not enforceable in law.

Buy to let lending has risen by 12% supported by ongoing demand for rental property fuelled by potential homeowners who have to rent because they cannot buy. There were 26,900 buy to let loans worth £2.8 billion advanced in the three months ending September 30, according to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage […]

Time is running out in some cities for house in multiple occupation (HMO) investors to expand their property portfolios. The repeal of HMO planning rules by Housing Minister Grant Shapps has given property investors who want to open new shared houses or extend existing properties a window of opportunity.

Link to the original Mortgage Strategy article which reads as follows: Three people, including a former police financial investigator were sentenced yesterday to almost ten years imprisonment in total for defrauding mortgage providers of £4.6m. Charles Overend, a former police financial investigator, defrauded mortgage providers by hiding discounts he had received on the price of […]

The taxman has finally come a cropper in the game of brinkmanship played on claiming unpaid tax right on the legal deadlines for chasing money. HM Revenue and Customs is well known for chasing late payers and launching tax inquiries at the eleventh hour.

Property investors have seen prices for homes in rural areas outpace those in towns and cities for the past decade and average house prices are now 20% higher than those in towns. The rural house price rise was also greater than the increase in property prices in urban areas (91%).

The Co-op Bank’s buy to let lending arm, Platform Mortgages, has a new range of fixed rate deals for property investors. The headline grabber is a two-year fixed deal at 4.59% for investors with a 40% deposit – increasing to 5.09% and 5.19% for 65% and 70% loan-to-values.

A 5,000-signature petition demanding changes in the law to speed up the eviction of problem tenants from buy to let rental properties has been handed in to Downing Street. Mike Weatherley, Tory MP for Hove and Portslade is leading the protesters, consisting of 14 landlord businesses and representative groups, including the Residential Landlords Association (RLA).

Landlords can expect to see a jump in the number of complaints from tenants about damp in their homes over the next few months – but who is responsible for paying to put the problem right? Many landlords are seen as a bottomless money pit by letting agents and tenants who are on the phone […]

The new universal credit for housing costs may still leave private landlords out on a limb over rent payments. The proposed new rules will replace local housing allowance with a housing cost element of the universal credit system. But the outline proposals are not clear over who gets the payment – the landlord or the […]

Buy to let rentals have gone up for the ninth month in a row to hit a new record high just shy of £700 per month. According to LSL Property Services, the largest letting agents in England and Wales, the average cost of renting a home rose by 0.4% from £689 to £691 in October, […]