Back in April 2013, HMRC removed a tax concession that allowed landlords to claim wear and tear tax relief when they replaced white goods, curtains and carpets. However, according to research carried out by the Residential Landlords Association, 75 per cent of landlords are blissfully unaware of this important change in the tax rules.
Landlord deposits have risen by 15 per cent in the last 12 months. Landlords are now putting down an average of £100,000 as a deposit, which is a jump of more than £13,000. Because landlords are able to hand over larger deposits when they invest in new properties, they are able to access better interest […]
A Birmingham landlord has a nightmare clean up operation ahead after piles of rubbish were dumped outside one of his vacant properties following the departure of the tenants. The property has become a dumping ground for local residents and the pile of black bags, pallets, food waste and general rubbish is growing by the day.
The Scottish Government is introducing mandatory electrical testing on properties in the private rental sector that are covered by the Repairing Standard. The statutory regulation will come into effect from the beginning of December 2015 for new tenancies (which includes existing tenants who are signing a new lease).
The UK student sector has changed a lot over the last few years. Privately owned halls of residence accommodation have become more common in larger university cities and towns, which means that private landlords operating student accommodation are having to work harder in order to compete for student tenants.
Figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that buy to let lending soared in the UK during the last quarter of 2014. More than £7.7 billion was lent to landlords between October and December 2014, which is 32% more than the same period of 2013.
A large number of landlords have received letters from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) warning them that HMRC knows they have rental properties. This comes after databases held by tenant deposit agencies were handed over to the taxman.
The Labour-controlled Welsh Government has introduced major new reforms to the private rental sector in Wales and if Labour is successful at the forthcoming general election, these changes will probably be rolled out across the rest of the UK.
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.
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