The clocks have gone back and there is a distinct chill in the air – and with the winter months almost upon us now is the perfect time to make sure your properties are prepared for a cold snap.
Many landlords and lettings agents are prepared to use a shortage of rental properties to their advantage, viewers of the BBC’s Morning Live show were told.
New official data about the private rented sector reveals that it is in better shape than some tenants’ rights groups like to claim.
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has warned that the Renters’ Rights Bill will place a huge enforcement burden on already stretched local councils.
We talk to lawyer turned self-managing landlord, Suzanne Smith, founder of The Independent Landlord.blog and co-host of a weekly podcast called Good Landlording.
Nottinghamshire local authority Gedling Council is relaunching selective licensing in its Netherfield ward in the new year after seeing “incredible improvements” to living standards.
Following years of lobbying, Labour has promised to act on what is generally agreed is an unfair UK business rates system
Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has hinted heavily that the government will go further than the Tories in its bid to regulate holiday lets.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has confirmed he doesn’t want landlords to exit the market, in marked contrast to comments made by his national Labour colleagues in Parliament.
The number of landlords selling up has hit record levels, leading property buying firm National Residential has reported. The company says this has been prompted to a significant degree by the long-standing uncertainty within the private rented sector created by the Government
Despite the fall in inflation, The Guardian is reporting https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/may/24/uk-inflation-falls-cost-of-living-crisis" the financial markets are betting on an interest rate rises to 4.75% in June and 5.4% by the end of the year , the Office fo
A Conservative MP has called for tenants to be offered affordable homes in tourist hot spots if they can prove theyre local. During a Commons debate on short-term holiday lets, East Devon MP Simon Jupp (pictured) suggested that councils could be allowed
The NRLA says Government measures to abolish Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) will decimate the student housing sector if they go ahead unchanged. Featured within the Renters (Reform) Bill, this will see ASTs replaced with more flexible open-ended periodic tenancies
Commercial property is an important part of the UK economy, but the retail and office sectors as still suffering and rising interest rates present a real threat. A recent https://bpf.org.uk/media/6294/cl16688-01-bpf-economic-footprint-may23-v5-hi-res-single-pages.pdf" t
Electric vehicle charging expert Matthew Gibbons (main picture) explores the pros and cons of installing the different equipment at rental properties. Rented properties with EV charge points are a rare thing, so installing one makes a home more desi
In the Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced a raft of measures that the Government intends to help level up the UK. Specifically, they're pledging to prioritise employment, education and enterprise
Better transport links to the capital have boosted the number of Londoner commuters happy to spend time on the tube or bus. Renters are living further away from the office than they did seven years ago because this doesnt necessarily equate to longer journey times due to impr
A debt charity is calling on the government to introduce stronger protections for tenants who fall behind on their rent. StepChanges survey found that private renters struggled to afford their homes more than any other housing tenure, with one in six (1.2 million people) rely
The government has been urged to stop “sitting on its hands” and bring forward changes to protect tenants, leaseholders and landlords from poor practices in the lettings industry.
A new DIY lettings service for landlords should help Hello Neighbour fulfil its ambition of becoming the biggest letting agent in England, according to co-founder Richard Jenkins.
A landlord who rented out his unlicensed, seven-bedroom HMO to 13 tenants has been ordered to pay £3,000.
In February the average BTL mortgage rate fell to 5.5% which is the lowest since September 2022.
Landlord and tenant groups have welcomed proposals by MPs on the Work and Pensions Select Committee to introduce an annual ‘uprating guarantee’ to the Local Housing Allowance (LHA).
Only one in five (18%) landlords understand the Renters (Reform) Bill, while just 3% have read guidance surrounding the legislation, according to a new Propertymark poll.
The Guardian suggests that Government may start to veer towards a “surprisingly simple solution to the UK housing crisis” which could see them squeeze landlords further, blaming them for the current housing crisis affecting home-buyers.
A new report published today claims that 390,000 jobs rely on the private rented sector as critics of the sector, including the Guardian newspaper, have called for it to be shrunk or abolished entirely.
Landlords in Oxford who fail to sign up to the city’s licensing scheme are being threatened with fines and enforcement action after a year of relative ‘grace’.
Falling UK inflation could herald some good news for BTL landlords over the coming months, according to mortgage experts.
Until recently landlords only had to concern themselves gas safety checks - but now all residential landlords or their agents must arrange for regular electrical safety checks (every 5 years)
Infamous property guru Glenn Armstrong, who misled dozens of investors by promising to make them rich, has been handed tough bankruptcy restrictions lasting 12 years.
A tenant who discovered that his landlord had not licenced the HMO in which he lived is to pocket £5,000 after winning a rent repayment order (RRO) during a Tribunal hearing.
In what was likely his last Budget Statement before the next General Election, Jeremy Hunt announced his plans for tax, housing, and cost-of-living measures. Where did the Budget fall short for the private rented market (PRS)?
A landlord who was jailed for culpable homicide in 2008 has been refused permission to rent out flats in Glasgow, despite claiming he has taken ‘responsibility for his actions’ and moved on.
Letting agents have blamed poor Scottish government policies for the growing number of councils declaring ‘housing emergencies’.
Heat pump sales continue to be hampered by high costs, lown awareness and a lack of long-term financial support, the government’s spending watchdog has warned.
Vast majority of landlords have flatly rejected future widespread rent control across Scotland, in a new Holyrood survey.
A landlord has been ordered to pay £2,500 in fines, compensation and costs after he admitted harassing two of his tenants.
Momentum appears to be growing to torpedo the controversial legislation as evidence emerges that the Bill is ‘close to collapse’ in Parliament.
It used to be the case that renting was a temporary phase in a young persons life. It gave flexibility until their career settled down to a fixed employer and a fixed location. But todays property prices mitigate against this pattern. Many people are locked into renting fa
Generation Rent has urged the Welsh government to introduce an ombudsman for the PRS along with more grounds for rent repayment orders (RROs) in order to improve tenants’ lives.
The vast majority of landlords and letting agents view the Government’s plans to abolish Section 21 evictions as a mistake, a new report has revealed.
Jeremy Hunt’s recent Spring Budget hid a ‘steal tax’ on landlords seeking to sell properties after April 1st, it has been claimed.
