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.
A shrinking pool of rental properties continued to drive up rents last month, despite reduced demand from tenants
Private landlords whose properties aren’t up to scratch face a significant increase in pressure and threat when the Decent Home Standard kicks in.
VAT on Commercial Property is a complex topic and anyone wishing to understand these complexities in relation to their own situation should seek specialist advice. This article should give a broad brush general overview but you really should seek advice because errors can be irredeemable an
A rogue portfolio landlord has been banned from letting properties for five years after she admitted multiple offences relating to fire safety issues. Naomi Knapp, a landlord with 34 properties in Bristol, was convicted of eight banning order offences and will now be added to th
Urgent regulation of the spray foam industry is needed to prevent making thousands of homes un-mortgagable, warn leading property groups. Sprayed polyurethane expanding foams are often used in lofts, either to stabilise a failing roof covering or to provide extra insulation. But
Portsmouths HMOs are in the firing line again as growing numbers are being referred to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to have their council tax bands reassessed. Rather than paying tax on the whole property, each room can be classified as a band A at a cost of �1,200, wit
A severely disabled tenant and his family have barricaded themselves into their home in a bid to prevent a controversial eviction. Quadriplegic Harvey Cowe, 62, and his wife Sheree, 55, have lived at the house in Brittany Road, Hove, for 25 years after Brighton & Hove C
A leading letting agent has criticised the reasoning behind the UKs ever-growing list of selective licensing schemes. Selective licensing covers all rented property in a given area or council borough and landlords are required to pay a five-yearly fee of between �500 and �9
Landlords in Bristol will soon be required to gain planning permission to convert properties into HMOs in three key areas, it has been revealed. South Gloucestershire Council is to bring in Article 4 directions in the Bristol neighbourhoods of Stoke Park and Cheswick and parts o
Londons mayor Sadiq Khan has urged private landlords who are planning to exit the private rented market to sell their properties to local councils instead of other landlords. Khan made the comments within a self-congratulatory statement on his website l
A landlord in London must now pay �40,000 after losing his appeal against his fine for breaching Mandatory HMO licensing conditions at a bedsit property above a pub. Earlier this year Islington council brought a prosecution against Mohammed Shahid for fai
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
The Governments Renters Reform Bill is unlikely to make progress through parliament until much later this year, housing minister Rachel Maclean has admitted. Maclean was unable to confirm when the bill would get a second reading during a Q&A with MPs from the Levelling Up
A team of independent fact checkers and campaigners has debunked Labours claims that most renters live in homes bought with a buy-to-let mortgage. Deputy leader Angela Rayner made the assertion last week, but charity Full Fact says the claim is technically incorrect, as it ho
A letting agency-owning landlord has been fined more than £17,000 for renting out one small room in an HMO to a family of five. Ruhul Shamsuddin and his company Lordsons Estates were found guilty of 23 housing offences relating to a
The Bank of England has warned that landlords with mortgages are under increasing strain from higher interest payments and other structural factors, all of which are likely to put pressure on their incomes�. The commentary is within the banks latest https:
Landlords arrears are growing at a faster rate than homeowners, according to new research that suggests fewer investors are being shielded from economic headwinds. https://www.octanecapital.co.uk/" Octane Capital found that buy-to-let arrears of more tha
Five tenants have shared a whopping �29,000 Rent Repayment Order after their landlord failed to licence its HMO. East London-based https://www.facebook.com/weletroomsuk/" We Let Rooms Ltd did not defend itself at a First Tier Property T
The supply of purpose-built student accommodation cant keep pace with growing student demand as HMO landlords continue to leave the sector, according to the UKs largest PBSA provider. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="htt
Landlord leader Ben Beadle has given Shelter a run for its money during a parliamentary committee evidence session on the Renters (Reform) Bill. Beadle, who is chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, wondered out loud during the meeting whether campaig
Changes in tax rules for buy-to-let landlords have definitely made the business of letting property more challenging, particularly with those who have taken on big mortgages to buy their rental properties. The removal of mortgage interest relief (Section 24 of the Finance Act) a
An Essex landlord has learned the hard way that unpicking rent-to-rent or guaranteed rent agreements can be a lot more difficult than many might believe. In a case handled by the Resolution Department Lead Suzy Hershman (main picture) and her team at
A rogue letting agency boss who used heavies to scare tenants and misled them about their rights has been ordered to pay �8,000. Four residents complained to Tower Hamlets Councils environmental health and trading standards team about London Corporate Apartments Ltd (LCA), w
Jerseys private landlords have urged lawmakers to rethink radical plans to shake up the sector which they fear will exacerbate the housing crisis. The Jersey Landlords Association (https://www.jla.je/" JLA ) has
Landlords should give renters some of their equity gains when they sell up to stop the giant tenant rip-off, according to https://www.bigissue.com/ The Big Issue boss John Bird (main picture). Bird b
One hundred percent of letting agencies in Scotland say they have seen more landlords exiting the market since the countrys government brought in and then recently-extended a rent rise cap and evictions ban. Agents canvassed by trade organisation Propertymark also reported an
A consultation has opened into proposals not to charge landlords who are preparing a property to let or waiting to find a tenant the empty homes a council tax premium. The government wants to strengthen the existing long-term empty homes premium by applying this to properties th
UK house prices fell by 3.1pc on an annualised basis in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023 and an increase in interest rates have a dampening effect on the market. Inflationary pressures With inflation currently running at 8.7pc (CPI), this is well above the Bank of Engl
Statutory licensing scheme plans for visitor accommodation in Wales have got the thumbs down from many holiday home owners, short-lets landlords and residents. The proposals, which will see all holiday homes, https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/tag/airbnb-landlords/" target=
