A London landlord who failed to comply with an Improvement Notice to maintain and improve property he was renting to tenants has a £4,000-plus bill as a result. Carel Johannes Kooy was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £2,110 in costs after pleading guilty to a charge under the Housing Act 2004. Hammersmith Magistrates’ court heard that Kooy, who lives in the same property as he lets out in Labroke… Continue Reading Fine after landlord claims he couldn’t afford to improve property

Demand for guaranteed rent in the rental sector looks set to grow as the government must urgently deliver 1.8m new rental homes as new figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reveal a sharp drop in supply. RICS says the sale of buy to let properties dropped sharply when the additional homes stamp duty surcharge was imposed on April 1, on top of which 86 per cent of landlords say… Continue Reading ‘Demand for Guaranteed Rent in rental sector set to grow …’

A landlord has been hit with a bill of over £100,000 after flouting safety laws at five flats. Beckhall Properties based in Stockport was fined a total of £108,000 for 12 separate offences and ordered to pay costs of £5,692. The company was represented by a solicitor but failed to attend the court hearing. The properties in Manchester, which fall under Houses in Multiple Occupation legislation, were found to have… Continue Reading Landlord ordered to pay over £100,000 after flouting safety laws

A landlord has received a record fine illegal lettings after dividing a semi into nine flats. However, the case has dragged on for ten years and involved numerous court appearances. Said Rahmdezfouli has now been ordered to pay over £700,000 at Wood Green Crown Court after he refused to take heed of the council’s refusal of an application to convert the property in 2006. He ignored the refusal and proceeded to… Continue Reading Landlord hit with record £700,000 bill after illegal lettings

At the ASTL’s annual conference, held last week on the 22nd September, tax adviser Nick Cartwright warned that putting buy to let properties into a limited company to avoid paying higher rates of income tax could instead result in double taxation. Nick Cartwright, a tax partner at Smith & Williamson, the accountancy, investment management and tax group warned that there was a potential double layer of tax, as landlords may… Continue Reading Warnings issued over using limited companies for buy to let

This week, 19-24 September is the sixth annual Gas Safety Week. Organisations from across the UK are working together to raise awareness of the dangers of poorly maintained gas appliances, which can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Join thousands of others and be part of this national safety campaign. Pledge your support and gain access to free materials designed to help you promote gas safety… Continue Reading Gas Safety Week

New research by Direct Line Landlord Insurance reveals that one in seven renters have broken one or more rules outlined in their tenancy agreement. While the majority of tenants have stuck to the rules, 15% claim to have broken the terms and conditions of their rental agreement and a further 9% claim that they don’t have a contract at all. 11%, meanwhile, claimed that they were unsure as to whether… Continue Reading 1 in 7 bend tenancy rules

Fran Mulhall, Regional Operations Manager at North East property rental specialists GFW Letting, discusses the rise of online letting agents and why the region’s landlords should use them with caution. “It’s fair to say the private rented sector is booming. In fact, since 2002, it has almost doubled, from 10% to 19% by the end of last year. As the letting market has evolved, the traditional letting agent has increasingly… Continue Reading Warnings issued over the rise of online letting agents

Failing to pay rent on time or at all is the most common rule broken by tenants that is set out in their tenancy agreement. Other common rule ‘bends’ include smoking in the property, keeping a pet, damaging or making alterations to the property or changing the locks. A smaller proportion of tenants admit to either causing disturbances to neighbours, sub-letting a room without notifying the landlord, redecorating without permission… Continue Reading Failing to pay rent on time most common rule broken by tenants

A high proportion of landlords play an active role in the management and maintenance of their rental property, a new study has revealed. Some 65% of 409 landlords polled by Simple Landlords said they play an active role in dealing with problems that arise during a tenancy. Of those surveyed, 35% said they use a letting agent to manage all aspects of their let, 24% said they use agents for… Continue Reading Two thirds of landlords play ‘active role’ in property management

According to the Berkeley Group, government housing policy, while helpful outside London, has had a negative effect on the capital meaning that London will fall well short of its targets for new homes. In a trading statement for the period May to August issued today, the firm confirmed that since reporting its full year results in June there was a hiatus around the referendum before August returned to “the relative… Continue Reading Is housing policy damaging the London market?

The news editor of London financial daily City AM has made an outspoken attack on the government’s fiscal assaults on the buy to let sector. Tracey Boles, in a piece published in print and online, says that “no matter what you think of them, the UK needs more landlords if the population grows as predicted.” Boles’s piece lists the various measures introduced in recent months, or waiting in the wings, for… Continue Reading ‘Stop attacking buy to let’ government is told by news editor

In the last year, the proportion of fire claims caused by electrical faults has risen by 35%, now accounting for over a quarter (27%) of overall fire claims, according to figures from the Co-op Insurance. Claims analysts at the insurer believe that in addition to some of the more traditional causes for electrical faults, such as tumble dryers and washing machines, other common culprits include electric blankets, in addition to… Continue Reading Electrical fires up 35% in last year

Londoners love moaning about the difficulties of living in the city, and we certainly face problems. But who’s creating solutions? Here, Centre for London’s Rachel Smethers looks at the most pressing issues facing the city, and the people making a difference. This city we live in faces some big challenges. From the housing crisis that’s choking the poorest in our city and millennials, to the EU referendum decision that’s rolled… Continue Reading The Biggest Problems In London And The People Solving Them

Landlords fighting to prevent punitive tax relief changes for buy-to-let landlords being introduced next year will get their day in court, after it was announced that they will have their hearing in early October. The campaign group Axe the Tenant Tax, led by landlords Chris Cooper and Steve Bolton, have been seeking a judicial review over the government’s changes to tax relief ever since the government announced its contentious decision… Continue Reading Court date set for potential judicial review of landlord tax relief

Landlords are often portrayed as greedy investors who are looking to take advantage of tenants, but when it comes to what they are really looking for, it would seem that they would rather good renters than extra cash, a new report shows. Rents on new tenancies may have continued to increase across most parts of the UK over the three months to July, according to the latest rental price index,… Continue Reading Landlords prefer good tenants to high rents

People could in future be unable to sell their homes unless the properties meet minimum energy performance standards. They would be banned from the market, in the same way that lettings properties will be shortly. The latest proposal is in a report by Tory think tank Bright Blue. The document says that a minimum EPC rating should become mandatory “in order for the sale of the home to be permitted”.… Continue Reading Homes with low EPCs could be banned from the sales market

The National Landlords Association says it welcomes the Homelessness Reduction Bill, which was published today by the Communities and Local Government Select Committee. The Bill amends the Housing Act 1996 to expand councils’ duties to reduce homelessness by providing that eviction notices are proof that an applicant is threatened with homelessness, and doubling the definition of ‘threatened with homelessness’ from 28 to 56 days. The Communities and Local Government Select… Continue Reading NLA backs Homelessness Reduction Bill

Some 36% of UK landlords have had a property abandoned by tenants, according to research. Abandonment – which occurs when a tenant leaves a property before the end of their tenancy without informing their landlords – can see landlords faced with a lengthy legal process if they want to regain possession of their property. The National Landlords Association (NLA) – which carried out the study – says abandonment can be… Continue Reading A third of landlords have had a property abandoned by tenants