Landlords still have 'plenty of opportunities’ despite interest rates expected to remain on hold this week, a specialist lender has suggested.
The Renters’ Rights Bill could lead to an increase in the number of tenants being asked to provide a guarantor and to further discrimination, charities and campaign groups have warned
Letting costs and complexity increase, while tenant affordability stalls...
The number of licensing schemes lined up to launch this year has already surpassed last year’s total, as councils continue to put the financial squeeze on landlords.
A landlord has avoided a £29,000 rent repayment order after a First Tier Property Tribunal ruled that he had been the victim of administrative failings by Southwark Council.
The huge changes that the Renters' Rights Bill will introduce for private landlords will be addressed by a panel of top experts at this year’s National Landlord Investment Show.
Tenants are likely to go after every plausible target when tougher rent repayment orders take effect later this year, a solicitor has warned.
The average number of new tenancies agreed per lettings agent branch climbed to around eight in the first month of this year, a new report has revealed
Haringey Council has introduced tougher fines for errant landlords in a bid to raise housing standards across the London borough.
The trade association that represents short-let landlords says the Airbnb economy contributed �27.7 billion to the UK economy during 2021 and has helped create some 500,000 jobs, latest data shows. The UK Short Term Accommodation (https://ukstaa.org/" target="_bl
Large areas of the country will be without vital legal advice to prevent eviction if the government cant get law firms to take part in its Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service, the Law Society has warned. The scheme, which gives free legal aid advice for people facing repos
MPs have slammed the Governments proposed reforms to the private rented sector (PRS) within its looming Renters Reform Bill, calling for Ministers to wake up to its unintended consequences. Their report, published this morning, also makes the point that most tenants are not w
Tenants group Generation Rent has backed the DLUHC select committees call to close a loophole in proposed Section 8 reforms. It says the governments plan to ban Section 21 evictions but still allow landlords to evict tenants when needing to sell or move back into a prop
A government minister has admitted that landlords could quit the market unless upcoming changes to EPC rules are implemented carefully. In a Lords debate to discuss the challenges of achieving net zero, https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/tag/lord-callanan/" target="_blank"
Peterborough councillors hope to come down harder on the growth of smaller HMOs by introducing a trial Article 4 Direction. It comes only a few weeks after the authority https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/peterborough-looks-to-repeat-success-of-former-licensing-scheme/
A Rugby councillor is trying to drum up opposition to HMOs with an online petition calling for an Article 4 direction in the town. John Slinger (main picture) believes too many family homes are being turned into HMOs by landlords who often dont have the communitys best int
Redditch MP Rachel Maclean is the latest housing minister to arrive through the revolving door at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The newcomer replaces previous housing minister Lucy Frazer, https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/breaking-housing-
Spreadsheets. Theyve been around since 1979 and have served the property industry well since their inception. However, with legislation like Making Tax Digital coming into play in 2026, were seeing Landlords slowly transition from using outdated equipment to more modern an
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
Commercial Tenancies: The idea of the full repairing (including decorating) lease is that when the tenant yields up the premises on expiry of the contractual term, or sooner termination, the state of repair and condition that the premises are left in would be as envisaged in
Landlords and letting agents should by now be conversant with the 2014 regulations on blinds and curtains and the measures necessary to prevent accidents with children. It is particularly important to ensure that blinds and curtains supplied in rental properties meet these regulations, otherwise,
Changes to the law on Section 21 and in particular how landlords deal with reported repair issues is now of crucial importance if section 21 claims for possession are to be successful. Careful pre-planning is now essential at the time of setting-up Assured Shorthold Tenancies (AST).The Section 21
Assuming a commercial property is let already, the proposition an income-producing investment, the investor would be buying the building/property, not the tenant's business. Since the purchase price is geared to the passing and reversionary rent, it is normal to assess the tenant's ability to per
I have always found the holding deposit (an initial retainer paid to the landlord or agent to reserve a tenancy) is a very useful device to commit the tenant to your letting. But is it legal to withhold the advance deposit you take from a prospective tenant if they back out?In my experience a pro
What do I need to do when I protect my tenant/s deposit? If you take a deposit from your tenant/s you MUST protect the deposit and serve your tenants with the correct documentation within 30 days or face having to pay a fine and the prospect that you cannot use the s21 evict
I am revisiting ITZA in the light of an experience I am enduring concerning some tenants that are inexperienced of rent review. Tenant contention is that an ITZA adopted/agreed for a previous review should be used again for a current review.Unless the ITZA is documented in a binding agreement, th
Basically, what is known as a Calderbank offer is a 'without prejudice;' offer to settle a dispute to avoid the extra costs and associated risks of a full referral.From Calderbank v Calderbank [1976] and originally confined mainly to family property disputes, an offer of settlement made before th
According to research from the NLA, 4 in 10 landlords are either seriously considering forming a limited company or looking into the option in the coming months.Can you - and more importantly should you - set up a company to pay less tax? Heres my complete guide on becoming incorporated.<stron
