Housing and industry groups have warned Scottish First Minister John Swinney against promoting hydrogen boilers to heat homes.
North Herts Council has created a tenants’ charter to set out the rights and responsibilities of tenants, landlords and the council, in a bid to keep private rented homes up to scratch.
Rents are growing at their slowest level for more than three years, but a limited supply of new rental homes will help keep prices high, it has been revealed.
A landlord has been banned from letting property in Edinburgh after he failed to report that he was a registered sex offender.
Acorn has taken aim at private landlords again, this time questioning whether their existence is even necessary.
Government vows to finish the job of ending ‘feudal’ leasehold system in England and Wales
Average rents in England jump 4% in a year to February while voids dropped from 24 to 20 days
Almost three quarters of rental fraud involves young people, official data has revealed.
Carl Bayley is the author of more than twenty ‘Plain English’ TaxCafe published tax guides designed for the layperson and the non-specialist
In this episode of The Property Cast, Eddie and Paul are joined by special guest Paul Sowerbutts, Head of Legal at Landlord Action, to discuss how the proposed changes to evictions will affect landlords. How will scrapping Section 21 really impact tenancies and, given the delay
Energy efficiency improvement costs for most private rental homes work out at between �5,000 and �9,999 (46%), while almost a third (30%) could be improved for under �5,000, according to the latest government analysis. At the other end of the scale, 19% of homes would cost be
Landlords hit by mortgage rate hikes are demanding guarantors from increasing numbers of high earning tenants. Many tenants are seeing a greater proportion of their take-home pay go towards rent so are having to provide the additional security of a guarantor when signing new agr
Landlords should be prevented from serving an eviction notice for at least the first year of a tenancy, in the case of repossession for selling or occupying the property, according to a new report from the Fabian Society. The independent left-leaning
The Governments housing policies are coming home to roost as tenant demand continues to soar but the number of landlords advertising new properties to rent plummets, it has been revealed. RICS says that during June it found significantly more members (a net balance increase o
Landlords in one of London's biggest boroughs now need planning permission to convert family homes into HMOs for three to six tenants. After a year-long pilot and consultation with residents, the London Borough of Hounslow (main picture) has made its borough-wide A
Landlords with portfolios of 20 properties or more are making up the bulk of enquiries about selling to the Landlord Sales Agency. Despite reports that smaller landlords with one or two properties will be hardest hit by current market conditions, the firm has one landlord client
Government officials have reassured private landlords that judges will be able to consider a wider range of behaviours before using their judicial discretion in ASB eviction cases. Giving evidence to the Levelling Up Housing and Communities Committee into
According to the Daily Telegraph, around 225,000 landlords will be in a loss making situation following the latest jump in refinancing costs. It is estimated that these landlords will be in the red when they come to refinance as mortgage rates are climbing towards
Tenant are Consumers: The UK Consumer Protection law applies to letting agents and landlords alike when they advertise a property to let or create a new tenancy. It also applies to most private landlords when they deal with letting agents, unless they operate as a company.
Obtaining Possession Using Section 21 Notices Updated October 2016This article explains how to gain possession of your residential rental property in the most efficient way possible. You may just want your property back for your own use, or to sell, or you may be having prob
Winter Condensation: Its that time of year again, a time when tenants are most likely to complain about the mould appearing in those corners of the property where the walls and ceilings are really cold, and hot air with moisture always rises to the top. If its black mo
Tax Relief: Starting from 6th April 2017, those landlords with mortgages will have tax relief on their buy-to-let mortgage costs gradually reduce over a 4-year period.Many landlords dont have a mortgage (up to 50% it is said), so this change does not affect them, but many
Rent Arrears: At this time of year, soon after the Christmas spending spree, inevitably rent payments begin to suffer. If you are having problems with rent arrears, this article should help.As in most areas of life,prevention is better than cure . To re
Tax Return 2016-2017: As a general rule, and as outlined in the previous articles in this series on tax returns, landlords can claim the expenses of running and maintaining their rental properties.If the rent you charge includes additional services like water, or council tax
Tax Return 2016-17: With some costs its very easy to decide: a repair to a drain, downspout or roof tile are all allowable expenses, but what about replacing a broken single glazed window with a new plastic frame and double glazing, what about decorating and installing a
Penetrating damp, just as its name implies, is where water leaks into a building from outside the structure, through the walls or roof. Less common is where an internal leak from a water or drain pipe leaks into the structure of the building.Common causes of penetrating damp are: <ul <l
Fire Regulations in Rentals: There are several regulations relating to fire safety within rental dwellings; some affect all dwellings whereas others apply mainly to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO).This looks complicated, but fire safety management in reality boils down t
Damp & Mould: You may have seen or heard of the 1970s TV series Rising Damp, which featured a landlord and his tenants (lodgers in this case) which rather implies that all rental properties are troubled with this kind of damp.Far from the case, but some are. In fact the
Renting Standards: Specialist residential property solicitor Amanda Sutcliffe of Bray & Bray looks at the importance of keeping a rental property in good condition.Research conducted by Endsleigh Insurance and TrustMark claimed that over 75% of landlords s
Sub-Letting Licenses: (SOLITAIRE) LIMITED Appellant and CHERRY LILIAN NORTON and other cases [2012]Landlords of leasehold buy-to-let flats are often asked to pay a fee (sub-letting licence or registration fee) to the freeholder when seeking permission to sub-let their flat,
Validity of Section 21 Notice: Amak Property Investments v Laura Sonny [2016]This case was an appeal by the tenant following a county court judgement relating to the validity of a s21 notice on the basis that the landlord had not complied with the deposit protection (MyDepo
1.0 Introduction 1.1 - At rent review, the starting point obviously is to read the lease. I say obviously because it never ceases to amaze me just how many landlords and tenants I come across having a go at rent review without bothering to read the lease. Its as
Tenant Agreement: The Law of Property Act 1925 talks about having a maximum of 4 tenants on an agreement. So what to do when you have 5, 6 or more tenants sharing a house?There is a common misunderstanding of the rules here. Landlords and agents sometimes think or have heard
Advance Rent: Piggot v Slaven and Johnson v. OldThere are two important cases which clarify (though not necessarily decisively) the position on landlords accepting rent payments in advance. One concerns the accepting of the final two months rent in advance, a common devi
Following some confusion and debate about a deferral for the new standards following the MEES* deadline in April 2018, the new government has confirmed that changes to the EPC rules, preventing landlords from renting out homes below rating E, will definitely be introduced from April 2018.Accordin
Responsibility for Repairs: Who is responsible and who is obliged to pay for repairs to leasehold blocks and flats? What is the procedure if repairs are unnecessarily delayed or not carried out to the leaseholders satisfaction? What is the Section 20 procedure?T
In 1978, I published a pamphlet "The Framework of Rent Review Clauses" which was given free publicity in leading law and property journals. In 1983, I published a 28-page booklet ' How to do a Rent Review; priced at �5 it was an instant hit and in a letter to me was described by Professor Joh
Test Case Yeomans v Newell [2016]:When a landlord is in breach of the tenancy deposit rules he or she is prevented from serving a valid s21 notice for possession proceedings. Despite the fact that the tenancy deposit legislation has been in force since April 2007, landlords
Test Case: Superstrike Ltd v Marino. RodriguesThe case involved a landlord who had taken a deposit from the tenant before the deposit protection rules came into force in April 2007, since changed by the Deregulation Act 2015 see below. When the tenancy later became a st
Test Case: Leeds City Council v Broadley [2016]This case and the subsequent High Court ruling has brought some clarification about who is liable to pay council tax, tenant or landlord, when a rental property is vacant due to a tenant vacating early, that is, before the tena
Ending a Tenancy: What are the rules governing the ending of a statutory periodic tenancy (SPT) by the tenant, especially when the periods of the tenancy are not the standard 1 month?The answer to this question is not easily defined as it is not covered by one rule or a sing
Deposit Scheme Scam: Mydeposits says it is aware of a new scam being used by a fraudulent company imitating mydeposits and targeting landlords and letting agent members of the mydeposits Custodial scheme in England & Wales.The scam uses an email which imitates one from m
Freezing Pipes: This time of year, as we head towards colder weather and freezing conditions, buy-to-let properties and indeed all rental properties are vulnerable to potentially expensive winter water damageIn this article digital inventory app developer Imfuna Le
