Fergus Wilson, Britain’s most experienced landlord, has issued a warning to landlords. He believes that Labour and the Conservatives are committed to working towards lifetime tenancies in a nationalised private rental sector. Wilson thinks the scrapping of Section 21 notices is a step in that direction and he’s not impressed.
The House of Lords has been quizzing the government on its plans to remove Section 21. Baroness Thornhill raised several points when she asked questions in the House. She wanted to know how this latest consultation would differ from the 2018 consultation that looked at encouraging longer tenancies in the private rental sector.
The Residential Landlords Association has surveyed the landlord community in the wake of the government’s announcement it wants to scrap Section 21, no-fault eviction notices. The results are a damning indictment of landlord confidence in the private rental sector.
Tenants are rejoicing, as the Tenants Fees Act 2019 came into effect on 1st June. This means letting agents and landlords can no longer charge unjust fees for anything and everything, from changing a lightbulb to providing references.
Research carried out by the Residential Landlords Association has found that landlords are increasingly considering offloading their properties, as it is no longer economically viable to continue in the buy to let sector. If this happens, the number of available rental properties will fall and rents will rise, which means tenants will find it more […]
Science fiction writers would have us believe that it won’t be long before we are all subjects of intrusive surveillance systems designed to infiltrate every corner of our lives. Indeed, we are halfway there already, with CCTV on every street corner. But in a disturbing development, some landlords are using smart surveillance technology to harass […]
Figures released by the Ministry of Justice, which are based on a median measurement, show that routine repossessions (i.e. when a landlord wants their property back to sell it or so they can move back in) are taking longer than ever. In the first quarter of 2019, the average wait for a repossession claim to […]
Student lets are a popular business model for more experienced landlords. The UK is blessed with a world-leading higher education system and young people from overseas are queuing up to go to a UK university. Student tenants offer a lot of advantages to landlords, but there are also some disadvantages, as we are about to […]
Many landlords are struggling as the government’s tax squeeze increases and some are deserting the buy to let sector altogether. It is no longer as easy as it once was for landlords to make a lot of money from buy to let portfolios, particularly in cities like London where property values are high and rental […]
Research carried out by the Residential Landlords Association has revealed that 25% of landlords are planning to sell at least one property next year. Experts are warning that if this happens, the supply of rental properties in the UK will fall, which will push rents up. They predict that rents will rise by approximately 3% […]
If you’ve read this blog before, you’ll know there is no shortage of rogue landlords trying to save money by not investing in their properties. Some manage to get away with it, but a Cornwall landlord is counting the cost of failing to fix a catalogue of problems with his rental property.
Last month, Minister for Housing, Heather Wheeler, made it clear that she intended to tackle the issue of “banning DSS tenants”. Despite this, it is still common for ads to contain the words “No DSS”. Indeed, the UK’s biggest landlord, Fergus Wilson, is infamous for banning DSS tenants from his properties, along with many other […]
Most landlords don’t expect to be sued by their tenants, especially if the property they let is in good condition and the tenants have no cause to complain. But in a salutary tale published on the BBC3 website, four tenants took their landlord to court and were awarded £15k of their rent back.
The holiday buy to let sector is booming. Thanks to sites like Airbnb it has never been easier to find tenants for short-term accommodation. It’s a highly competitive business, but if you own a nice property in a popular area, tenants won’t be in short supply. But despite the obvious attractions of letting properties out […]
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