Campaign group, Generation Rent claims private landlords are benefiting from government subsidies to the tune of £26bn a year. This figure is made up of housing benefit paid on behalf of tenants and tax breaks on property ‘wear and tear’, mortgage interest payments, and capital gains tax.
A government consultation is currently under way to look into whether eviction fees for county court possession should be increased by £75 per claim. If the scheme does not meet much in the way of disagreement, then the government will raise an £15 million by putting this into effect.
Many students feel that they are being charged too much rent. Over the last few weeks, students in Scotland and London have been campaigning against unfair rent increases, which in London are claimed to be around 5%.
Protecting a tenant’s deposit is just one of the many important tasks you have to do as a landlord. Landlords have to place deposits in a deposit protection scheme.
It is a fact that renting property is now a heavily regulated service industry. As the private rented sector now houses in the region of 20% of households in some areas, and the percentage is going up and not down, this is not going to change any time soon.
The potential for capital growth is just one of the many reasons why property investors have been buying homes in the UK. The UK property market is slowly recovering and house prices are finally on the up after several years of stagnation.
Following the explosion of the private rental sector in recent years, HMRC has been cracking down on landlords who evade their tax responsibilities, deliberately or otherwise.
Figures revealed by the National Landlords Association have revealed just how much private landlords have invested in the private rental sector. The cost of mortgage repayments made by private landlords over the last twelve months is a staggering £21.9 billion and just over 1 million landlords have some type of buy to let lending in […]
The January 31st deadline for filing your landlord tax returns online is fast approaching. If you have any rental income from properties let in the tax year ending April 2014, now is the time to declare it or face a hefty fine from HMRC. If you have made any losses,
Landlord licensing is a highly contentious issue. Local authorities maintain that landlord licensing is the best way to raise standards in the private rental sector and root out rogue landlords, but many landlords don’t agree. The costs are often high and since rogue landlords are unlikely to apply for a landlord license, it doesn’t make […]
According to research carried out by the National Landlords Association (NLA), around one third of landlords have had a problem with rent arrears in the last year. Landlords are facing £850 million of debt across the UK, which equates to £1,649 per landlord.
The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is warning Welsh landlords that they could become jointly liable for their tenant’s water bills as of January 1st 2015. The Water Industry Act Under the terms of the Welsh Government’s Water Industry Act, landlords with properties in the Welsh Water and Dee Valley Water areas are obliged to share […]
According to research carried out by an online letting agent, the most common complaint from tenants was a faulty boiler leading to a lack of hot water and central heating – nearly 33% of tenants have experienced this problem during a tenancy. The second most common problem was a leaking roof – 22% of tenants […]
Islington Council is proposing to make owners of new build properties prove they are occupied. The borough is one of the most densely populated in London, but according to council figures around 30% of properties built in the last six years have yet to record anyone officially living there.
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