UK Finance has called on the government to review the local housing allowance (LHA) to prevent more private landlords falling behind on their mortgage repayments and potentially having to evict their tenants. The trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector
Renters at risk under plans to let landlords evict tenants with two weeks notice,� says one headline. Yes, it kind of implies that tenants will be summarily evicted, I thought so when I first read it. As the recent press reports would have us believe, but this is not going
The activities of a huge HMO renting scam gang has been uncovered following a four-year investigation, with the five key individuals and three companies involved fined a total of �434,000. Following an investigation by West Northamptonshire Councils Private Sector Housing Te
Private renters who complained to their landlord, letting agent or local council in the last three years were two and a half times (159%) more likely to be handed an eviction notice than those who kept quiet. New research from Shelter compiled by YouGov using online survey r
A landlord and her letting agency have together been fined more than �45,000 for illegally running an HMO. Barking and Dagenham Councils private sector housing team first discovered that professional landlord Husna Patel had not applied for, or been gr
Property firms using their own inventory services are undermining the sectors integrity, according to the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks. It wants the government to include measures in the Renters Reform Bill to guarantee more transparency
The Government has made several changes to how income and profits are taxed in recent years and some of these will take effect from the new tax year on 6th April, with higher earners and those letting via a limited company most affected. Heres the six changes
More than a quarter of people in some local communities dont have a passport, raising questions about their ability to pass Right to Rent checks. Research by digital identity firm, https://www.idcrypt.global/" target="_blank" ID Crypt Global, reveals that 1
The detail of the Governments anti-social crackdown have been published, including how landlords will be given more powers to eject tenants who misbehave quicker and more easily. Called the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan , it includes a promise that M
The past 12 months have been a momentous time for private landlords as tax changes and looming new regulations have been unveiled by politicians of various hues.
Councils are sending the wrong message to law-abiding landlords by failing to investigate those who can’t provide a valid EPC certificate.
A landlord in Liverpool has been prosecuted by its city council for 23 offences under national HMO management regulations.
Despite enthusiasm in Whitehall for heat pumps they not the best way to upgrade a rented property EPC rating, a new report has claimed.
Nearly two-thirds of working private renters - 4,450,000 people - are falling behind with rent payments or struggling to pay their rent.
Tom Entwistle recalls the year in property and looks forward to the year ahead
Landlords who own flats in blocks with unsafe cladding have been given an assurance that developers must meet repair deadlines next year following the publication of the government’s Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP).
Landlords offering a bills-included rental could dramatically increase their profit margins by improving its energy efficiency.
A proptech firm is to spend �1 billion buying up 3,000 private rented properties with low EPC ratings around the UK, which it plans to retrofit and rent out on behalf of its backers. With many individual landlords threatening to quit the sector - faced with licensing schemes an
A mortgage expert has urged landlords not to panic as buy-to-let mortgage rates continue to rise. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63bef2f3c329eff8e3a4af45/64cb992aa1ba8a68d7aa0638_dan-lee.jpeg"
A rogue landlady has been convicted of illegally evicting tenants during a decade-long campaign of violence, theft and vandalism. Sohila Tamiz , of Flint Lane, Lenham, even helped organise a gang of 10 to douse one man in petrol and smash his teeth, the tri
Forty per cent of privately rented homes in England are unlikely to achieve the energy efficiency rating target that is due to come into force in 2028. Trade organisation Propertymark says its analysis of the latest English Housing Survey shows that 60 per cent of the rental sec
A staggering one-third of landlords plan to quit the sector or do nothing to address energy efficiency failings if and when new EPC regulations kick in. Research carried out on behalf of Paragon Bank reveals that 21% of landlords would not carry out any necessary works to bring
The NRLA has played down landlords fears about new Government proposals to give tenants the right to request a pet. Speaking on the Radio 4 You and Yours programme, director of policy Chris Norris said many landlords werent too worried about the government
An official briefing document for MPs has underlined the contradictory position the government has manoeuvred itself into over landlords and letting agents who advertise properties as No DSS. The House of Commons Library document makes for interesting reading because, base
As temperatures in England and Wales soar this week, many office buildings will become unusable says real estate sustainability expert Chris Bennett of consultancy https://evoraglobal.com/" target="_blank" Evora Global - it should act as a powerful warning for real estate
A landlord who defrauded HMRC out of almost �500,000 by keeping deductions from his employees wages has been jailed for three years. Michael Stainer, 74, (inset, main picture) was found guilty of two counts of cheating the public revenue and one of fraud by false representat
With the cost of living crisis being the political issue of the day, and a political leadership contest underway, theres something of a hiatus in the way its being dealt with. But the situation is now quite urgent. Financial distress is now higher than during the pandemic.
An estate agency has claimed that the governments war on landlords will cost the private rented market some 46,000 this year, or some 3,800 every month. Hamptons , which has branches all over the UK, says its research confirms that, as LandlordZONE
Housing minister Eddie Hughes has attempted to justify why institutional landlords who run Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) are to be exempted from the Governments proposal to move all tenancies in the PRS to periodic ones. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data
Fed-up landlord Sue is quitting the sector and taking a hit on her pension plan after being ground down by anti-landlord rhetoric and red tape. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63bef2f3c
Landlords with empty properties are being urged to take advantage of council cash to help fight the housing shortage. About 300 councils currently offer a scheme mainly loans to carry out repairs - although some provide grants, usually ranging from �5,000 to more than �25,
Leicester is going ahead with its selective licensing extension in three areas of the city, charging landlords �1,090 per property - the highest fee in the Midlands. The council is introducing the scheme in parts of Westcotes, Fosse, Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields wards, whi
Letting out property abroad can be a great way of generating extra income. The property might have been bought primarily as an investment but for others or it could be second or holiday home let out when not in use. There are plenty of things to think about, though.
Durham Council has warned landlords covered by its new selective licensing scheme to brace themselves for inspections next month. At least 29,000 properties, 42% of the countys PRS, are covered by the scheme which launched in April after winning government approval. <p id
Nearly one-fifth of private rented homes would need work costing more than �10,000 to bring them up to an EPC Band C, according to the latest PRS figures. The English Housing Survey Private Rented Sector report for 2020-21 found that these were more likely to need larger sums o
The latest figures available from Rightmove show that London rents jumped by around 14 per cent in the last year, with some property experts calling it the most competitive market on record Matt Hutchinson, a director at SpareRoom, the flat sharing website, has said: <p
Michael Gove, arguable the best housing secretary for some years, has been sacked from his job after joining a chorus of Tory cabinet ministers calling on the PM to resign. During a fast-moving day in politics which has seen over 40 MPs quit the government or withdraw their supp
Welsh politicians have reaffirmed their desire to consider rent controls in the PRS while announcing plans to crack down on the holiday let sector. Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price (main pic, right) suggested rent controls could be on the table when the long-awaited but now <a href
The pandemic has had a devastating impact on commercial property, with lockdowns, social distancing, working from home (WFH), all accelerating the move to online and home deliveries. The likes of Tesco, Ocado and the other big supermarket deliveries were the saviour of the public during the
Welsh government leaders have revealed radical plans to licence holiday lets in a bid to get tough on the causes of long-term rental shortages. The region is to introduce a cap on the number of second and holiday homes while bringing in measures to put more homes into common own
HMO landlords face paying thousands of pounds for https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/safety-peer-asks-why-private-landlords-must-do-electrical-checks-when-social-ones-are-exempt/" electrical equipment when new regulations kick in later this year. An amendment
Manchester aims to double the size of its selective licensing scheme by adding another 1,884 properties in eight areas. The council has given it the go-ahead to the https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/manchester-mayor-vows-to-launch-1-5m-landlord-licensing-across-city/"
