Barnet Council is reintroducing borough-wide HMO licensing in a bid to improve property standards despite less than impressive figures in its previous additional licensing scheme. According to one of the respondents in the consultation report, only 32% of licensable properties h
A recent RICS survey finds that interest rate hikes and cost of living pressures are beginning to weigh on sentiment. Credit conditions have deteriorated to such an extent that 43% of respondents to the RICS survey felt we're in early downturn.� Investor sentiment is steady, but the ma
HMRC has confirmed that landlords must file a capital gains tax (CGT) property return - even if the disposal has already been reported on a self-assessment (SA) return. The government introduced the requirement to report disposals of UK residential property and pay the subsequen
A leading poverty organisation has called for a radical overhaul of the private rented sector including a government-backed right to buy scheme for private renters. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), which was founded by a Quaker philanthropist and sweets manufacturer i
Kettel Homes has launched the UKs first open market rent-to-own programme for first-time buyers who cant access traditional home financing. Under the scheme, Kettel buys existing freehold single-family homes between �125,000 and �400,000 outside London, charging first-ti
Landlords seeking to evict tenants face more delays when Section 21 notices are abolished, warns the boss of an insurance and referencing firm. Clogged courts and a shortage of judges and county-court bailiffs mean that cases are taking months to be heard, it is claimed. <p i
A rogue landlady has been convicted of illegally evicting tenants during a decade-long campaign of violence, theft and vandalism. Sohila Tamiz , of Flint Lane, Lenham, even helped organise a gang of 10 to douse one man in petrol and smash his teeth, the tri
A mortgage expert has urged landlords not to panic as buy-to-let mortgage rates continue to rise. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63bef2f3c329eff8e3a4af45/64cb992aa1ba8a68d7aa0638_dan-lee.jpeg"
A proptech firm is to spend �1 billion buying up 3,000 private rented properties with low EPC ratings around the UK, which it plans to retrofit and rent out on behalf of its backers. With many individual landlords threatening to quit the sector - faced with licensing schemes an
Surprising new research has revealed that three quarters of landlords would allow a tenant to redecorate their home, and half of landlords would pay for the costs of completing the work.
Landlords are being invited to join a deep dive into the Renters’ Rights Bill during a two-day online conference featuring big hitters from the property sector.
Norwich Council is overhauling its HMO policy by bringing in higher standards and tougher enforcement action.
Local authorities are not enforcing private landlords’ legal duty to maintain safe housing, a BBC investigation has found.
Nottingham benefits landlord Mick Roberts has warned that the government’s push to get rental properties up to an EPC C by 2030 could backfire.
Angela Rayner’s promise to build 1.5 million new homes this Parliament is looking increasingly optimistic
Seven out of 10 landlords planning to buy a new rental property during the next 12 months will use a limited company structure, it has been claimed.
Four tenants have won £21,076 from their landlord who failed to explain why she hadn’t licensed her damp and cold HMO.
Many landlords are struggling to sell leasehold flats because management charges have reached astronomical levels with many now forking out £2,000 or more a year.
One of the UK’s larger national parks is planning to stop any new homes that are built within it being used as holiday/short lets or second homes.
A crucial task for landlords and agents is to correctly serve statutory notices and other documents
Property experts are pondering what the government might name new tenancies created by the Renters’ Rights Bill.
A district council has come up with a set of exceptional circumstances to help decide when to give the go-ahead to new HMOs.
A landlord in Liverpool has secured £2.3 million to refinance eight student HMOs within the city and unusually has gone public about the deal.
A letting agent has criticised police who failed to act when vandals threw a brick through one of his tenant’s windows.
The never-ending onslaught of landlords, including the abolition of Section 21, tough EPC rules, and changes to stamp duty, have left landlords fed up and thinking of throwing in the towel.
A tenants’ champion has slammed energy companies for failing to help renters with energy bill problems at HMOs.
Northwood letting agency in Romford has gone bust, leaving angry landlords out of pocket.
Most landlords who voted Labour wouldn’t do it again, a new survey from buy-to-lender Landbay has found.
Surveyors are the latest group to report a cooling rental market in the UK, with a slowing in demand among tenants for the first time since 2020.
Reading Council has given the go-ahead for an additional licensing scheme in the town – and defended the rising costs set to hit landlords.
Generation Rent has urged renters to get more MPs backing amendments to the Renters’ Rights Bill.
Rental growth in the UK has dropped to 3.9%, its lowest level in more than three years and down from 9.1% a year ago.
Demand for accessible homes is growing as the tenant population ages, a leading estate agency has reported, calling on Labour to help landlords finance upgrades.
With substantial capital gains gathered within your properties, selling the whole portfolio will probably leave you exposed to a substantial capital gains tax bill
The Welsh Government has followed its counterparts in England and Scotland and raised the stamp duty that landlords buying rental properties must pay, effective from tomorrow.
Landlords may need to prepare for a turbulent and potentially very costly ride once the Renters’ Rights Bill becomes law, a financial expert has warned.
A landlord has been ordered to pay six tenants a whopping £44,358 after failing to provide an excuse for operating an unlicensed HMO.
Tenants heading for retirement age are the fastest growing group privately renting in England, according to new figures.
Tenant group Acorn has protested outside a landlord’s shop after he refused to return a former tenant’s deposit in a dispute over a leak.
Edinburgh Council has responded to accusations of double standards when housing homeless people in 30 unlicensed HMOs by moving tenants out of the properties.
Hyndburn Council wants to deter landlords from making the most of its cheap properties and ‘multiple deprivation’ by clamping down on HMO conversions.
As we approach the festive season of 2024, like many of us, I find myself drawn to Charles Dickens's timeless tale, A Christmas Carol.
Landlords blame upcoming legislation and tax changes for causing 73% of them to feel less confident than they did last year.
