The budget has largely been positive this time around, with a hike in the tax-free allowance and more money earmarked for the NHS. Landlords were mostly overlooked by the chancellor for a change. One item of interest in the budget, however, was the loss of lettings relief for people who rent out their former home…
New horrifying news has emerged from the depths of the internet. Over the last few months the media have shared endless stories of rogue landlords taking advantage of vulnerable tenants, and tenants leaving landlords properties in dire conditions, but we’ve never heard anything as outrageous as this…
A joint investigation by the Guardian newspaper and ITV has found that many rogue landlords are still in business, despite being convicted and banned by the courts. Seemingly unfazed by their notoriety, these despicable landlords continue collecting rents from their vulnerable tenants. Amazingly, this is possible thanks to a loophole in the law.
Most landlords are fully aware that lenders won’t offer them a mortgage if their tenants are on benefits. We have covered this issue in a previous article, where a landlord was told by her lender (NatWest) to evict a vulnerable, elderly tenant or face hefty fees to move to a new lender.
Have you got what it takes to face these 8 fears in the name of keeping your tenants and properties safe at Halloween? Join us as we take a spooky tour of 8 landlord obligations that are of dire importance at All Hallows Eve.
Landlord purchases are at an all-time low. According to figures released by a leading property agent, the value of landlord acquisitions has dropped by £5.2 billion since 2015. Landlords spent £12.1 billion in the first half of this year, compared to £17.3 billion in the same period of 2015. The number of home purchases is […]
When George Osborne announced he was removing mortgage interest tax relief in 2015, landlords were in an uproar. Many experts claimed that tax cuts would make it impossible for landlords to make a profit, which would drive down the supply of rental housing and increase rents. “Landlords will seek to recoup their costs by hiking […]
Croydon Council has pledged support to the campaign calling for an end to Section 21 notices. The campaign, headed up by Generation Rent, ACORN, and other pressure groups, is asking the government to end a landlord’s right to evict a tenant using a Section 21 notice.
NatWest’s Heartless T&C’s A recent story in the press has highlighted the dangers of not checking your mortgage provider’s lending T&Cs. The landlord, upon advice from a mortgage broker, took out a NatWest mortgage on her rental property. When she applied for a further advance on her mortgage, she was stunned when the bank told […]
With 40% of young people unable to afford to buy a home, the housing market is in crisis. Chancellor Philip Hammond may have to come up with a few innovative ideas to solve the affordability problem. One such solution would involve offering landlords tax breaks if they sell their properties to sitting tenants. Could this […]
There have been calls by some experts for the introduction of a property MOT, to be carried out once a year by landlords. The theory is that this would deter rogue landlords and provide extra peace of mind to tenants.
Rogue landlords often try and squeeze as many tenants as they can into one property. The more tenants they have, the more rental income they earn. Usually, safety is not a priority, so living conditions can run the gamut from cramped to downright dangerous.
From next month, eviction rules are changing. Landlords with older tenancies – predating October 2015 – will have to abide by Section 21 if they want to evict a tenant. Currently, Section 21 only applies to tenancies that began after October 2015.
Increasing government pressure on the sector is pushing many landlords to sell up and quit. As the number of buy to let properties decreases, demand for rental housing increases and rents go up. The economics of this are stark. Fewer available properties mean higher rents, which has a knock-on impact on tenants. Now, the figures […]
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