Property Management Software

A Liverpool landlord has been prosecuted by Liverpool council for allowing one of his properties to fall into an advanced state of decay and disrepair. The court action is part of a wider crackdown on landlords who fail to look after empty properties.

Town and Country Planning Act 2016
The council’s housing department first received a complaint about the property in 2016. The complainant described the property as a “blight” on the neighbourhood and following an inspection, the council agreed. The landlord was served with a notice under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, requiring him to make essential improvements to the property following preliminary correspondence. Read more…

Data released by ARLA has revealed some interesting new trends related to landlords and the buy to let sector, which is hardly surprising given the widespread changes the sector has undergone in the last 18-months.

Rent Hikes
According to the figures from ARLA, the number of landlords raising their property rents has at its highest for two years. 35 percent of landlords put up the rent in August, compared to 27 percent of landlords in August 2016. This figure is only slightly lower than 2015, which saw 37 percent of landlords raise rents. Only two percent of tenants were able to persuade their landlord to give them a rent discount. Read more…

New research compiled by a firm of international payments experts has labelled the UK as one of the least friendly countries for landlords. A year ago, the UK was #15 on the list. Now it is #25.

Much criticised government reforms such as the abolition of mortgage interest tax relief and extra stamp duty have made it far more difficult for landlords to make a profit. Rental yields have fallen 0.91 percent in a year and landlords in areas where yields are affected by high property prices have been badly affected. Read more…

Landlords everywhere are suffering from the increased Stamp Duty charges introduced by George Osborne when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer. However, landlords purchasing properties in the south east and London are suffering more than most.

Stamp Duty Bill Triples for Some Landlords
UK landlords have seen their Stamp Duty bill tripled in many cases. With the average cost of a property now £220k, the Stamp Duty bill has shot up from £1,891 to £8,477. In the south east and London, however, the hit is a lot harder.

The area with the smallest difference is Northern Ireland. There, landlords are only paying an extra £3,764. Landlords in the north east, Scotland and Wales are also relatively unaffected, mostly because property prices are very low.

Landlords Paying More Stamp Duty
Landlords in London and the south east are paying an extra £9,000 to £14,000. Taken in conjunction with the loss of mortgage interest tax relief, potentially pushing some into a higher tax bracket, this is a big burden for many landlords.

Perhaps it is not surprising that some landlords are deciding to leave the private rental sector.

“Being a landlord in the current climate can be a profitable business, especially if there is a demand for rental properties as we’ve seen in recent years,” says Christina Dimitrov from Direct Line for Business.

She continues, reminding landlords that they need to be “fully up to speed with legislation,” as penalties for falling foul of the law can be severe.

In the UK, we don’t need to worry about hurricanes, but in other parts of the world, severe weather is commonplace. Hurricane Harvey has caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage across the southern states in the US, but with Hurricane Irma tracking its way across the Caribbean, homeowners, landlords, and tenants are about to experience a whole new level of pain. Read more…