New energy efficiency regulations come into effect over the next few months that affect landlords. The government wants all rental properties to be more energy efficient, so it is cracking down on landlords who rent out properties that don’t meet the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards.
Mortgage brokers are reporting a surge in landlords re-mortgaging their homes and using the cash to pay down their buy to let mortgages in a bid to beat the tax hike at the start of the new tax year.
The introduction of Universal Credit (UC) is causing concern to many landlords and some are refusing to take on tenants claiming UC. Members of the Eastern Landlords Association have reported the number of rough sleepers on the streets of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft is at an all-time high.
A new online estate agent is offering landlords a great deal. The service being offered by LetMe guarantees landlords a year’s rent in advance, free listings on two of the biggest property portals, and a promise that their property will be in the same condition at the end of the tenancy.
Many landlords don’t like tenants to make home improvements, but there is growing evidence to suggest that giving tenants the freedom to personalise their homes could work in a landlord’s favour.
A London landlord has been heavily fined and fitted with electronic tags after being found guilty of a sustained campaign of harassment of his tenant, a single mother and her young son.
A landlord has won an important court case against Leeds City Council, which could have implications for other landlords. Leeds City Council took the landlord to court in an attempt to make him pay council tax on five empty properties he owned, despite the fact the tenancy agreements had not been formally ended by either […]
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is urging short-term letting websites, including Booking.com, Wimdu and One Fine Stay, to block hosts from letting their London properties for more than 90 days.
Buy to let property investment is falling and there is no indication that this situation is going to improve. Property investment has dropped at an alarming rate, with one London property agent claiming landlords are being driven out of the property market because of changes to tax relief and tougher new mortgage affordability tests.
Philip Hammond’s first and last Spring budget contained very little that directly affected landlords, but millions of self-employed people will be counting the cost of a 1% increase of Class 4 National Insurance contributions. The increase will come into effect in April next year, and will be followed by a further 1% increase from 2019.
A young couple living in Hull have written to their local MP asking for help after their landlord has told them he may have to put the rent up by 78% to cover his tax losses by 2020. Not surprisingly, the couple, who have a six-week old baby, say they would not be able to […]
A new BBC program is investigating the problem of missing tenancy deposits. Around £2.4 billion is held in tenancy deposit schemes. The money is handed over to landlords and letting agents by tenants at the beginning of a tenancy and then deposited in an insurance backed, government approved scheme.
A Welsh landlord was sickened to discover his property had been trashed by tenants before they moved out. Every single room in the property was piled high with discarded rubbish, dirty dishes, and empty bottles.
It’s not always easy for self-employed people to get a mortgage. Many lenders are reluctant to lend to people without the benefit of a PAYE income, but with the number of self-employed people rising year on year, lenders are now being encouraged to take mortgage applications from self-employed people more seriously.
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