New research has revealed that a possible 1,500,000 renters could be at risk of losing their tenants deposits believing their bond has never been placed in a deposit protection scheme. The survey, carried out by price comparison website, Comparethemarket.com, has suggested that renters in 33% of the UK’s 4.5m rented homes think that their landlord has not placed their tenants deposits into a compulsory deposit protection scheme (DPS). This equates… Continue Reading Over £1bn of tenants deposits at risk

During the first half of 2018, landlords spent £12.1bn on new buy-to-let purchases – a £5.2bn or 30% drop in value than the same period during 2015 according to the latest report from Hamptons International. The total value of homes purchased by landlords has reached the lowest level in five years (since H1 2013 – £11.2 billion), having peaked in H1 2016 at £21.2 billion when second homeowners rushed to… Continue Reading Buy-to-let purchases down

The charity Shelter, which regularly campaigns against lettings agencies and landlords, is bracing itself for a strike next week – and it’s accused of ‘derisory’ pay levels. Three days of strike action begin on Tuesday by 400 members of the union Unite, who work for the charity. The action follows what the union calls a ‘derisory’ pay offer of a one per cent pay increase plus a one off one… Continue Reading Shelter under fire for paying ‘derisory’ wages to staff

Since one London local authority introduced private rental sector licensing in 2013 an extra £5,002,203 in council tax has been collected from landlords renting out HMOs. Newham’s private rental sector licensing originally began five years ago but was forced, by government, to re-launch from scratch in March this year; since its restart it has processed and issued over 30,000 new licences. In the same period the team council has taken action… Continue Reading Rental sector licensing bags £5m in council tax

A landlord has been hit with more than £5,500 of fines and costs after he allowed a family with three young children to live in dangerous and damp conditions. The Isle of Wight council prosecuted Daniel Tomlinson, of Ilkeston in Derbyshire, who was found guilty of one count of failing to comply with an improvement notice at the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court. The notice was served by the council’s housing… Continue Reading Fine for owner who let ‘dangerous and damp’ property to family

Scott Hendry, auction finance expert at specialist lender Together, shares his best tips for property investors heading to an auction. 1. Read the legal pack The legal pack contains documents relating to the property, and is prepared by the seller’s conveyancer. Each one will be unique, so investors should always read the pack no matter how experienced you become. Make sure you’ve read the small print, as it’s often in… Continue Reading Tips for property investors at auction

A call has been made for the Tenants Fee Bill to be made even stricter following a claim that over a third of tenants are only told about additional fees that could be charged during their tenancy after putting down money. Citizens Advice claims tenants can easily be “trapped” into unfair contracts by agents and landlords, and then face hefty penalties when terms are breached. It says the unfair tenancy… Continue Reading Make Tenants Fee Bill even tougher

Brexit is causing concern among landlords, according to HomeLet. The initial results of HomeLet’s annual landlord survey says nine out of 10 landlords intend to either keep or expand their property portfolio in the next year. However, HomeLet says the potential impacts of Brexit rate highly among landlords’ main concerns, along with the possibility of increased regulation through legislation and changes to house prices. HomeLet chief executive Martin Totty says: “While more… Continue Reading Brexit warning issued by HomeLet chief executive

Countrywide says landlords spent £12.1 billion on buy to let purchases in the first half of this year – a full 30 per cent less than three years ago. Research from the agency group’s Hamptons International brand says the value of buy to let purchases by landlords is now at its lowest level in five years. Purchasing peaked in early 2016 in the rush to beat the government’s three per… Continue Reading Fall in buy to let purchases

The government has this afternoon confirmed that the tenant deposit cap will be cut from six weeks’ rent to five for annual rentals of under £50,000. A deposit of six weeks’ rent will continue to apply where the annual rent is £50,000 or more. The move, announced as part of the Tenant Fees Bill, was anticipated by landlord groups yesterday. Both the National Landlords Association and the Residential Landlords Association… Continue Reading Tenant deposit cap cut from 6 weeks to 5 weeks

It seems that the government may have decided not to ‘enforce’ its proposed 3 year tenancy agreements onto the privates rented sector. According to a major broadsheet this week the government’s plan may have been stopped by the Treasury, because it believes that it could put people off of investing in the sector. The government was hoping by offering private renters 3 year tenancy agreements it would give them greater… Continue Reading Government Not Going Ahead With 3 year tenancy agreements

The number of tenants negotiating rent reductions hit a record high last month, say letting agents. ARLA Propertymark’s October Private Rented Sector (PRS) Report showed that the number of tenants successfully negotiating rent reductions jumped from 2% in September to 3.7% in October. This is the highest figure since the trade body started recording the data in 2015. The number of tenants experiencing rent increases fell for the second month… Continue Reading Power shifts to tenants as rent reductions hit record high

A newspaper claims landlords who ‘game’ the current tax regime for short term lets and lodging may be in the firing line in the Budget on October 29. Currently amateur landlords can claim up to £7,500 tax free per year through the short term lets Rent A Room allowance system by letting their spare rooms in properties where they live. But the Sunday Times says the government suspects some landlords… Continue Reading Short term lets and Airbnb targeted in Budget

A private tenant was at his wits end when returning to his rental property and finding he was locked out, as the landlord had fitted new locks and removed his belongings. The unfortunate tenant along with another person who rented rooms in the Bridlington property were both handed a notice to vacate the house with just one week’s notice. East Riding of Yorkshire Council warned the landlord, Fiddlers Investment Ltd,… Continue Reading Landlords Ordered To Pay Over £10k For Illegal Eviction

An independent letting agency has called on the government to take necessary action in the housing market which will be unable to cope with the explosion of lifetime renters. The agency which manages more than 5,000 properties, lays the blame of the ongoing crisis on three main factors. The decline in numbers of new-build properties, in many cases overpriced, the declining social housing supply and the static rental sector due… Continue Reading Housing Market Will Not Cope With Lifetime Renters

Two private landlords prosecuted by Islington council were found guilty of renting out houses in dangerous and sub-standard conditions, after the council discovered 35 tenants living in squalor in one “appalling” property. The council’s officers found tenants living in four two-bedroom flats in a semi-detached Victorian property in Highbury. There were as many as six people who had to sleep in each bedroom; the officers also found that the property… Continue Reading Private landlords prosecuted by Islington council

ARLA Propertymark has reported that the number of tenants successfully negotiating rent reductions increased during October to record levels. According to the latest data, the number of tenants successfully negotiating rent reductions jumped from 2% in September to 3.7% during October. This is the highest figure seen since records began in January 2015. In line with this, the number of tenants experiencing rent increases fell for the second month running… Continue Reading Tenants negotiating rent reductions

Thousands of vulnerable people facing homelessness are set to benefit from the launch of a £20 million scheme to help them secure Private Rented Housing. The Private Rented Sector Access Fund, launching today on World Homeless Day, 10th October 2018 by Communities Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, is a dedicated fund designed to help up to 9,000 people who are or at risk of becoming homeless to secure private rented… Continue Reading Funding Support Homeless Into Private Rented Housing

Landlords have said that EU citizens living in the UK are at risk of facing some of the same difficulties caused by the Windrush Scandal by a lack of legal certainty around their status after Brexit, and have called for hard copy documents for EU citizens. The Residential Landlords Association (RLA), which represents more than 30,000 landlords in the UK, has written to the home secretary, Sajid Javid, demanding that EU citizens are… Continue Reading EU citizens face repeat of Windrush scandal

A conservative think tank has put forward its proposals for rented homes tax relief to encourage longer tenancies and sales to tenants in private rented housing. David Smith, Policy Director for the Residential Landlords Association said: “We welcome Onward’s acceptance of the need for more positive taxation in the rented sector which the RLA has long argued for. Indeed, last year, we suggested using rented homes tax reliefs in a… Continue Reading Landlords cautious over new rented homes tax