With the August 1st deadline almost here, Nottingham has only received licensing applications from 10% of the city’s properties. There are 32,000 properties in the designated areas covered by the new landlord licensing scheme require a landlord licence. Up until the 28th of July, only 3,140 applications had been received by the council.
Landlords who miss the deadline could face fines of up to £30,000, and in serious cases, they could end up being prosecuted. Read more…
Fergus Wilson, the UK’s most controversial landlord, says he wouldn’t bother entering the buy to let sector. Wilson owns 400 properties across Kent. He used to own around 1,000 properties, but he’s been selling them off since 2016. There was some the talk of him selling his entire portfolio, but so far, he hasn’t done this. Read more…
Landlords are scaling back on their property investment purchases. UK Finance figures reveal that buy to let home purchases via a mortgage are 19% down on the same period last year. Experts believe this is because of government tax changes and increased regulation in the sector.
The loss of mortgage interest tax relief, a higher SDLT for second home purchases, and tighter lending criteria have all created the perfect storm. First-time landlords are thinking twice before investing in buy to let properties and smaller landlords are reconsidering their business strategies. Read more…
Landlord licensing schemes are becoming increasingly common, especially in London where rental housing is very common. Nottingham landlords are faced with a new scheme that starts in August whilst Luton council is one of many looking closely at the idea. Local housing chiefs say that introducing landlord licensing helps them to crack down on rogue landlords, but critics believe licensing schemes are simply a money-making endeavour.
The government wants to bring in minimum three-year tenancy contracts for tenants, but landlords are not happy. They say most tenants don’t want this.
