Figures released by the National Housing Federation reveal that Housing Benefit payments made to private landlords have risen sharply in the last few years. The NHF blames the rising cost of renting property, along with an increase of tenants forced into the private housing sector.
The Residential Landlords Association is calling for the government to make Client Money Protection Schemes compulsory. This type of scheme protects landlords’ money when they use a letting agent, so if the agent goes into administration, the landlord does not lose their cash.
Landlord licensing schemes are never popular, but councils continue to claim that they drive up standards and prevent rogue landlords from operating. Many larger cities already operate landlord licensing schemes, but the London Borough of Ealing is now set to join them.
The RLA has criticised Andy Burnham’s plans to introduce landlord licencing in all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester, in the event he is elected as mayor. They say it would negatively affect the private rental sector by discouraging landlords to invest in buy to let housing – which is exactly the opposite of what Andy […]
The Telegraph has reported that huge numbers of landlords could be asked to pay a ‘green tax’ of up to £5,000 per property, in a move the RLA has described as a ‘stealth tax’.
Research carried out by a think-tank has revealed home ownership in England is the lowest it has been for 30 years. Rising property prices have left many people with no alternative but to rent rather than buy.
Labour MP, Steve McCabe, is putting a Bill to the House of Commons once the summer recess is over. He is hoping to use the Bill to gain publicity on the subject of ugly property extensions specifically designed to house large numbers of students.
The successful outcome of the West Brom court case has led another group of landlords to start legal action against two more lenders: Skipton Building Society and the Bank of Ireland.
Increasing numbers of people aged 50 years and above now rent a home. A survey carried out by a leading insurance provider found that one third of the over 50s are in this category, compared to only 26% a few years ago. This pattern is not dissimilar to ‘Generation Rent’, many of whom who are […]
Buy to let can be lucrative, but only if you target properties in the right areas. As any experienced landlord knows, rental yield has to be above a certain margin or the business will not be profitable.
Build to rent is not a new concept, but it is becoming increasingly popular with corporate investors. The UK rental market has never been more buoyant. There are too many tenants and not enough available (or affordable) properties, so in places like London, it is extremely difficult for young professionals to find anywhere to live.
The case of Edwards v Kumarasamy sent shivers down the spines of landlords everywhere, but with the original judgement overturned in the Supreme Court, landlords can relax now. So what was the Edwards v Kumarasamy case all about?
The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) provides a useful Landlord Advice Team service to landlords with problems. Most of their advice covers two important categories: evictions and deposit protection. Every week, the RLA posts an interesting report on the ‘call of the week’, which serves to highlight an unusual or complex landlord problem. The advice given […]
Tax planning is perfectly legitimate, but tax avoidance is not. Legitimate companies do a great job providing useful advice to help landlords mitigate property tax, but in the wake of the government’s 3% stamp duty surcharge, enquiries from landlords and property investors has snowballed.
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