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Renters (Reform) Bill - we take a first look at the radical new legislation

Renters (Reform) Bill - we take a first look at the radical new legislation

News

The Renters (Reform) Bill has finally had its first reading in Parliament, promising a fair deal to renters, faster redress for landlords and giving more details on how 'pets with lets' will work. Heralded as a once-in-a-generation overhaul of housing laws�, the government

Purplebricks sold to rival for �1 after senior team throw in the towel

Purplebricks sold to rival for �1 after senior team throw in the towel

News

Purplebricks, which at one stage was used by thousands of landlords to manage their properties, has announced that its assets and business are to be sold to rival Strike for �1, pending approval by its shareholders. Any funds remaining in the firm some �5.5 million are

Gove to approve looser rules for HMO landlords housing asylum seekers

Gove to approve looser rules for HMO landlords housing asylum seekers

News

Housing Secretary Michael Gove is set to push through new rules on HMO safety for housing asylum seekers with little fanfare on the same day that the Renters Reform Bill is published. The changes outlined in the proposed https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2023/9780

BLOG: 'Reform bill will solve the problem of pet damage for landlords'

BLOG: 'Reform bill will solve the problem of pet damage for landlords'

News

The long-awaited Renters (Reform) Bill will finally be introduced in parliament after Prime Minister's Questions today. Setting out plans for 12 key reforms to the private rental sector, the 11th pledge - to give tenants the right in law to request a pet, which should not be unr

Agents who lack licencing law know-how 'putting landlords at risk'

Agents who lack licencing law know-how 'putting landlords at risk'

News

Bungling letting agents with a lack of legal understanding are putting landlords at risk of prosecution, it has been claimed. One landlord expert has advised caution when signing up with a firm in the current climate of increasing legislation and falling profits, particularly fo

Opinion: does Michael Gove know something we don't?

Opinion: does Michael Gove know something we don't?

Opinion

It would seem that successive Tory governments have waged an ongoing and progressively more vicious war on buy-to-let landlords, but this latest layer of legislation goes much further. Yes, this latest iteration, and one thats https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/1768/s

EXTRA red tape, scams and repairs drive more landlords to use agencies

EXTRA red tape, scams and repairs drive more landlords to use agencies

News

Almost two thirds (63%) of private landlords who manage their own properties are tired of sorting out repairs and dealing with red tape and considering using a letting agency or property manager instead.  A Uswitch poll of 2,000 landlords found that the most common reason t

Labour to 'go further than Tories' with harsher Decent Homes Standard

Labour to 'go further than Tories' with harsher Decent Homes Standard

News

Labour has promised to ramp up the pressure on private landlords by introducing a legally binding Decent Homes Standard 2. Its latest draft policy programme a provisional blueprint likely to shape the next general election manifesto includes a proposal to take the

Starmer 'set to U-turn on rent controls' as London Mayor pleads for more powers

Starmer 'set to U-turn on rent controls' as London Mayor pleads for more powers

News

Keir Starmer is set to rebuff previous calls by London mayor Sadiq Khan to bring in a rent freeze, it has been reported. Khan has been banging his rent freeze drum for months now as the cost-of-living crisis has hit many tenants personal finances, telling the BBC in Oct

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MPs send amended Renters' Rights Bill to the Lords

MPs send amended Renters' Rights Bill to the Lords

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The Bill has moved another step closer to becoming law, with MPs agreeing amendments that include preventing landlords from taking more than one month’s rent.

January's tax deadline approaches, thoughts turn to this annual task

January's tax deadline approaches, thoughts turn to this annual task

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Keeping on top of your accounts month by month makes the annual self-assessment tax return task easier and makes sure you are in control of your business

The top six misconceptions about limited company buy to let mortgages

The top six misconceptions about limited company buy to let mortgages

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Limited Company buy to let mortgages are increasingly popular, however there are still many myths that need debunking.

Landlords hit with former owners' massive council tax bills

Landlords hit with former owners' massive council tax bills

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News
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Landlords in Kent are inheriting huge council tax bills racked up by the previous owners when buying empty properties.

Portfolio landlords boost share of incorporated properties

Portfolio landlords boost share of incorporated properties

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The proportion of incorporated property held in portfolios of landlords who use limited companies has more than doubled since Q1 2020.

Renters' Rights Bill could exclude scores of private tenants

Renters' Rights Bill could exclude scores of private tenants

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A leading property lawyer warns that removing risk mitigation strategies will make many tenants on lower incomes “unlettable”.

Landlord slapped with £20,000 repayment order for unlicensed HMO

Landlord slapped with £20,000 repayment order for unlicensed HMO

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News
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A landlord must repay tenants £20,000 in rent after he failed to convince a tribunal he wasn’t aware of a licensing scheme.

London borough forces all landlords to license properties

London borough forces all landlords to license properties

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All private landlords in Barking and Dagenham must get a licence from April following the introduction of its selective scheme.

Divorce rates have their impact on rental demand

Divorce rates have their impact on rental demand

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There’s an often-overlooked impact of couples splitting on the demand for housing and particularly for rentals as splits occur every year in the UK

Occupiers' Liability: What happens when a tenant is injured?

Occupiers' Liability: What happens when a tenant is injured?

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Liability for personal injury. What is the landlord's position on liability for injuries to persons on or near his premises?

Bizarre link made between ageing and renting a home

Bizarre link made between ageing and renting a home

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Tenants in the private rented sector age biologically faster than homeowners, according to new research, which believes scrapping Section 21 will help reverse the process.

Deposits scheme removes fee to make renting cheaper

Deposits scheme removes fee to make renting cheaper

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Tenants using Jersey’s tenancy deposit scheme will no longer have to pay a protection fee from next month.

BEWARE: 'Online self-employed sex workers targeting rented homes'

BEWARE: 'Online self-employed sex workers targeting rented homes'

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Landlords and letting agents should be aware that a new breed of online self-employed sex worker is targeting privately rentedproperties as ideal premises for their businesses, which two recent caseshandled by my team have highlighted.

Banned landlord takes on critics, claiming tenants 'love him'

Banned landlord takes on critics, claiming tenants 'love him'

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A slum landlord who received the longest ever banning order has insisted that his tenants love him.

'Labour must help landlords if they want to solve housing crisis'

'Labour must help landlords if they want to solve housing crisis'

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News
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The NRLA has told the Labour party leadership to follow its own MPs advice and encourage landlords to provide more privately rented properties if it wants to solve the housing crisis.

Tory MP denies harrassing tenant over unpaid rent

Tory MP denies harrassing tenant over unpaid rent

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A Tory MP has been accused of intimidating a tenant he is trying to evict from his farm.

Green Party leader says landlords 'lining their pockets'

Green Party leader says landlords 'lining their pockets'

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The Green party has promised to introduce rent controls and force landlords to make energy efficient improvements.

Tenancy deposit disputes on the rise as cost of living crisis bites

Tenancy deposit disputes on the rise as cost of living crisis bites

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Complaints involving disputed tenancy deposits have been rising after TDS, which operates three deposit schemes in the UK, recorded a 20% increase over the past 12 months.

UPDATED: Tenancy surrender and mitigating losses

UPDATED: Tenancy surrender and mitigating losses

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Commercial and Residential: Can a landlord insist his tenant pays rent until the end of the tenancy term when the tenant abandons the property

UPDATED: Lease agreements for commercial property explained

UPDATED: Lease agreements for commercial property explained

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Commercial Leases: When leasing a commercial property, its important to know where your responsibilities as a landlord

Millions awarded to 'safer renting' scheme for landlords, tenants and letting agents

Millions awarded to 'safer renting' scheme for landlords, tenants and letting agents

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Councils in Suffolk are embarking on an unusually collaborative approach that’s set to improve the county’s PRS homes and is understood to be the first to go ahead with such a scheme.

Famous village votes to ban holiday lets and second homes‍

Famous village votes to ban holiday lets and second homes‍

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Locals in a Norfolk seaside village have voted to ban people from buying second homes in a bid to help locals find affordable properties.

HMRC warns landlords over 'hybrid' tax avoidance scheme

HMRC warns landlords over 'hybrid' tax avoidance scheme

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A tax avoidance scheme being marketed to private landlords ‘will not work’ and could lead those who take them paying more tax in the long run, HMRC has warned.

TOM'S GUIDE: Doing risk assessments

TOM'S GUIDE: Doing risk assessments

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A fire risk assessment is a mandatory requirement for HMOs and some commercial landlords

Landlords to see '6.5% rise in rental income this year'

Landlords to see '6.5% rise in rental income this year'

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Rental prices will continue to increase during the next three months, predicts agent Knight Frank which has revised its growth forecasts for 2023 to 6.5%, with a further 5% expected in 2024.

Landlord chief says Tory rented sector policies a 'failure'

Landlord chief says Tory rented sector policies a 'failure'

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The gloves are off among landlords after NRLA chief Ben Beadle today said figures showing 25 tenants chasing each available rental property are proof Tory policies have been a ‘failure’.

Scottish consultation on renting reforms 'unfair and too narrow'

Scottish consultation on renting reforms 'unfair and too narrow'

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The Scottish government’s PRS reform consultation does not give landlords and agents the ability to get their views across, according to the boss of automated rental payment firm PayProp UK.

EXCLUSIVE: Big city reveals plans to expand selective licencing

EXCLUSIVE: Big city reveals plans to expand selective licencing

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Manchester landlords look set to face more selective licencing after the council revealed it was recruiting a project manager to research new licensing areas.

Rogue landlord handed maximum £30,000 fine

Rogue landlord handed maximum £30,000 fine

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A rogue landlord has been handed the maximum £30,000 fine after 17 people were found living in a four-bedroom house which posed a fire risk to its vulnerable tenants.

Generation Rent: Rishi's EPC U-turn 'cruel and reckless'

Generation Rent: Rishi's EPC U-turn 'cruel and reckless'

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Generation Rent has labelled Rishi Sunak’s EPC upgrade U-turn as “cruel, disproportionate and reckless”, forcing many renters to suffer poor health in cold homes for years to come.

Council makes unusual move to stop licencing small HMOs

Council makes unusual move to stop licencing small HMOs

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Bath has made the unusual decision to ditch its additional licensing scheme because it has done such a good job of improving standards.

PIX: Terrible conditions in homes owned by banned landlord

PIX: Terrible conditions in homes owned by banned landlord

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A slum landlord in Sheffield has been given the longest banning order ever after being prevented from managing or letting properties for ten years.

Unusual scheme launches to help tenants buy homes off landlords

Unusual scheme launches to help tenants buy homes off landlords

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A novel rent-to-buy home purchase scheme has been set up to help renters become homeowners.

UPDATED: The Story of "Landlording" - a brief History

UPDATED: The Story of "Landlording" - a brief History

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The full history of landlords is lost in the mists of time, but much of modern property law - throughout the English speaking world - stems from over 1,000 years of English legal history.