Local authorities have been implementing landlord licensing schemes for several years now. One of the reasons given by many local authorities for starting a licensing scheme is to collect information about landlords and their properties, with the intention of creating a landlord register.
The Chancellor may well have backed down on his plan to remove tax credits for working families, but what many people didn’t see coming was an increase in stamp duty for landlords and owners of second properties.
The full report from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has finally been published following consultation with all parts of the private rental sector, various professional associations and government bodies.
Subletting occurs when a tenant A allows tenant B to let their property, but doesn’t bother telling the landlord, so he or she thinks tenant A is still living there whereas in reality they are living somewhere else. It is a common problem in areas of high demand.
Despite the fact that the government and various tenant pressure groups have been claiming for quite some time that renters crave the security of long-term tenancy agreements, tenants themselves apparently think quite the opposite.
According to new research conducted by property firm, Savills, UK landlords have make more than £180 billion in capital gains since 2009. This is a huge figure, but with buy to let property ownership rising from just 4% in 2000 to 16% in the second quarter of this year, landlords are certainly benefitting from an […]
Three students who were chased by a landlord demanding payment of rent after their housemate tragically died in the property have won their court case. The three were sharing a student house owned by Student Lettings Agency run by Werner Toogood when their close friend, Rob Chavda, was found dead in his bed following a […]
A recent survey carried out by spareroom.co.uk claims that tenants living in shared rental accommodation are more at risk due to a lack of working smoke alarms. Despite the fact that all landlords are now required to have working smoke alarms and CO detectors installed in rental properties, many are unaware of the recent regulatory […]
A demolition team was called in by Ealing Council after a landlady refused to comply with an enforcement notice served last summer. The demolition was carried out at the end of September. The landlady will be billed for the full cost, and if she continues to ignore the matter and not settle the bill, the […]
A petition set up in opposition to proposed tax changes for landlords in the buy to let sector has now surpassed 35,000 signatures, but it still has a way to go before it triggers a parliamentary debate.
An important Bill that seeks to get rid of rogue landlords is about to have its second reading in parliament. The Bill, introduced by Dame Angela Watkinson, has taken on board Residential Landlords Association proposals to enable local authorities to use information on Council Tax forms for the identification of criminal landlords.
The Welsh Government has finally announced a start date for the Rent Smart Wales initiative. Previous press releases on the subject were frustratingly vague, but we can now confirm that the scheme will be launched on November 23rd.
As a responsible landlord, you probably spend quite a lot of time and effort making your rental properties comfortable and reasonably attractive to tenants. This might involve fitting new carpets when the old ones wear out and replacing an out-dated kitchen with a shiny new one.
A Home Office press released issued on 20th October confirms what many suspected would happen: as of February 1st. 2016, the Right to Rent Immigration checks on tenants will become mandatory.
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