Landlords and letting agents have slammed the extra BTL tax rise in the Scottish budget which they believe could backfire on the government.
Moving landlord and tenant disputes from overburdened county courts to tribunals would help clear the backlog and make evictions faster, according to a senior housing lawyer.
UK Finance has urged the government not to single out the private rented sector when updating its EPC framework.
The extra risks associated with letting following the passing of the Renters' Rights Bill later this year will mean extra vigilance if landlords are to avoid trouble
Manchester has extended selective licensing to another 1,863 rental properties across the city.
Tenants in Scotland are being targeted by a new campaign that aims to make them aware of their rental rights.
Jas Athwal, the Labour MP who was shamed for renting out mouldy and unlicensed flats, has stood down as a councillor for Redbridge Council.
DWP is expected to look at reforms that will make it harder for landlords to have money deducted from a tenant's UC benefits to repay arrears.
A landlord has revealed how increasing risk and a “lack of joy” has prompted her to start offloading half her portfolio ahead of the Renters’ Rights Bill.
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
Three-quarters of landlords will be forced to raise rents in the face of the new Renters (Reform) Bill , which as drafted will restrict their ability to refuse pets. A poll by buy-to-let broker Mortgages for Business found that 60% will raise re
A group of leading figures representing animal charities, pet owners and property managers have warned that much work will be needed in the coming months to make the Renters (Reform) Bill acceptable to landlords and tenants. The group, although welcoming the bill, tells <strong
The government has repudiated claims by one of its own MPs and a leading expert that the PRS is under pressure from reforms and rising levels of immigration. Home Office data shows that net immigration hit a record high of 606,000 last year. Based on the average household size o
A leading lawyer warns that by abolishing section 21 the government will be helping nuisance tenants at the expense of the weak and vulnerable. Under the Renters (Reform) Bill, landlords will be able to evict for behaviours capable of causing a nuisance or annoyance as opp
Removing Section 21 might not provide the hoped-for feelings of security and encourage tenants to complain when rental homes are in short supply, warns a housing charity. The TDS charitable foundations poll of 2,000 private renters found that a lack of affordable accommodatio
The UKs co-living sector has trebled since 2019 as the formerly London-centric concept catches on around the country. Popular with recent graduates and young professionals, co-living - which technically is often classsed as HMO - is a form of purpose-built rental housing gene
Reinstating mortgage interest relief for landlords would solve the nations ongoing rental property supply crisis and raise �400 million for the nations coffers, it has been revealed. Analysis by Capital Economics on behalf of the National Residential Landlords Association
Lease disputes are time consuming, costly and most can be avoided when leases are well drafted in the first place. This article addresses a case where the landlord failed to ensure that the lease was properly drafted. The lease gives a tenant the right to use the property for it
A legal charity still hopes to challenge the government over its Right to Rent policy despite failing to convince European judges that it increases racial discrimination in the rental market. Under the scheme, landlords have to check the immigration status of prospective tenants
Scores of housing groups and legal centres have called for ministers to abandon plans to remove licensing requirements for HMOs used as asylum accommodation. In anhttps://www.jcwi.org.uk/safe-homes-for-all" target="_blank" open letter t
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
More than one in three tenants in the UK spend at least half their salary on rent, according to new data from flat-share site SpareRoom. Its poll of 11,000 private renters reveals that 81% spend more than 30% of their take-home pay on rent, leaving them rent burdened, mean
Rent inflation continued to climb last month up by 0.1% to 4.7%, the Governments latest data for England shows. The Official for National Statistics (ONS) reports the annual increase, which compares the 12 months to the end of April 2023 to the previous months rent data.</
In this bonus episode of The Property Cast, Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the Property Redress Scheme, and leading property expert Kate Faulkner OBE, share their initial reactions to the Renters (Reform) Bill. In perhaps the biggest shake-up of the private rented sector in ove
Large portfolio landlords are feeling upbeat despite the tough economic climate, with many eyeing the commercial sector for their next property purchase. The https://www.handelsbanken.co.uk/en/about-us" target="_blank" Handelsbanken </a
Labour has vowed to abolish the leasehold system as soon as it comes to power following Michael Goves U-turn earlier this month. The Housing Secretary dropped https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/new-gove-sets-sights-on-scrapping-leasehold-ownership/" target="_blank"
Environmental health bodies are to press the government on why it omitted plans for a Decent Homes Standard in the Renters (Reform) Bill. Despite including most of the promised draft legislation, the expected standards were missing and only mentioned in an accompanying press rel
