A prominent industry trade group says the new government must honour its manifesto commitment to strengthen the right of “good landlords” repossession powers where they have good cause to do so. In the wake of the Conservative win in the general election, the Residential Landlords Association says that the abolition of Section 21, as advocated by the Tory party, must allow for legitimate repossession powers. With rental reform a big… Continue Reading Repossession Powers – Tories Must Deliver

A dawn raid by enforcement officers from a London council has discovered 17 men sleeping on mattresses in a three bedroom sub let HMO. The raid followed a tip-off about a suspected unlicensed sub let HMO. A statement from Brent council says the men were paying £50 a week to a head tenant in exchange for accommodation which was described by the local authority as “overcrowded, unsafe and illegal.” Mould… Continue Reading Sub Let HMO Raid Finds 17 Tenants

More details have emerged of the long-term scheme to build Rental Houses at Transport for London tube stations and bus hubs throughout London. In April this year TfL selected the Grainger company as its Build To Rent partner for an initial seven seed sites, which will combined provide sites for 3,000 new homes. The first schemes are expected to reach the planning application stage in the first half of next… Continue Reading Rental Houses At Tube Stations

Property management platform, Howsy, has looked at the cost of maintaining a buy-to-let property each year and how this varies across the UK. Buy-to-let can be a tricky business if you don’t tackle it properly and there are a whole host of costs that can trip up the amateur investor. From the more obvious additional three percent stamp duty tax, to various other tax implications, void periods, mortgage costs, agency… Continue Reading Maintaining a Buy-To-Let Property Costs

Controversial housing charity Shelter claims that private rents tenants are collectively paying out £11 billion more a year – around £425 a month per household – on rent than they can actually afford. The charity says its calculations use a “widely accepted measure of affordability” that rents should take up no more than 30 per cent of household income. “For some people, that might be manageable but for those on… Continue Reading Unaffordable Private Rents

Independent think tank the Resolution Foundation has analysed both major party’s manifestos. It says the Tories need to do more to offer security for tenants – but that Labour proposals ‘go too far in the other direction’. Labour’s proposal to introduce rent controls should the party triumph on December 12 has been deemed ‘unlikely to succeed. Conservatives  In respect of the Conservatives it says: “The Conservatives propose to introduce a ‘lifetime deposit’ scheme, helpfully… Continue Reading Security For Tenants Says Resolution Foundation

Private landlords votes could be pivotal in deciding the outcome of the General Election in more than 100 constituencies. An analysis of HMRC data obtained by The Times found that in 124 constituencies across the UK, the number of people declaring income from property in 2017/18 was the same or larger than the overall majorities of the successful candidates in the 2017 election. Breakdown The figures show that of these seats, 55… Continue Reading Landlords Votes Pivotal In Election Battle

A broad commitment to strengthen landlords possession rights has been made in the Conservative manifesto – and it’s been welcomed by a leading industry body. The manifesto says, in very unspecific terms: “If you’re one of the many good landlords, we will strengthen your rights of possession.” However, the commitment has been welcomed by the Residential Landlords Association, as has the Conservative proposal for the concept of the lifetime deposit… Continue Reading Tory Pledge On Landlords Possession Rights

In the penultimate part of this ongoing series on London regeneration hotspots, Property Investor Today explores one of North London’s largest regeneration projects. The series has so far largely focused on areas south of the river – where many of the biggest London regeneration projects are taking place – but in this article we try and redress that balance by focusing on Meridian Water, a £6 billion, 20-year programme to transform… Continue Reading London Regeneration Game-Changer

New figures showing that landlords face a growing amount of time in getting judgement on repossession cases from the courts are boosting calls for the urgent need for dedicated housing courts to be established. Government statistics published today show that it now takes private landlords an average of 22.6 weeks from making a claim to the courts for a property to be repossessed to it actually happening, up from 22.5 weeks in… Continue Reading Dedicated Housing Courts Needed

Another survey of private landlords show a majority feeling less confident about the market than they were three months ago. Last week the National Landlords Association’s survey of private landlords suggested they were losing confidence and now rival body the Residential Landlords Association says much the same thing. The RLA study indicates that the gap between the percentage of landlords planning to sell properties and those planning to buy has risen seven… Continue Reading Survey Of Private Landlords Less Confident

An inventories supplier is advising that the growing number of sub-letting scams can be reduced by regular property visits by agents and landlords. No Letting Go says there has been a rise in the number of sub-letting scams in recent months, often involving fraudsters using short-term lets platforms to let their landlord’s properties without consent. One recent example, which featured on BBC One’s Inside Out programme, saw a managing agent… Continue Reading Sub-Letting Scams Can Be Reduced By Property Visits

The pressure group Generation Rent, which in the past has been highly critical of letting agents and other aspects of the private rental sector, is stepping up its campaign to have Section 21 scrapped. In a statement it claims that the next government could reduce homelessness cases by 10 per cent by ending what it calls “no-fault evictions.” It has set out a series of ‘General Election battlegrounds’ – key… Continue Reading Anti-Agency Group Wants Section 21 Scrapped

A trade body suggests that the votes of private rental landlords could decide the results in over 100 constituencies in next week’s General Election. An analysis of data obtained by The Times from HM Revenue & Customs has found that in 124 constituencies across the UK, the number of private rental landlords declaring income from property in 2017/18 was the same as or larger than the overall majorities of those… Continue Reading Private Rental Landlords Could Decide Election

A former Labour councillor and solicitor Muhammad Harun has been jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to two counts of housing fraud. This followed a probe by Tower Hamlets council over a number of years and the sentence is in addition to £124,679.94 compensation paid to the council by Harun for providing him and his family with temporary accommodation on false pretences. The council began its investigation into Harun… Continue Reading Former Councillor Jailed For Housing Fraud

The Chartered Institute of Taxation is urging tenants not to ignore a letter if they receive one from HM Revenue & Customs concerning their landlords tax affairs. A so-called ‘fact finding letter‘ already sent to some tenants goes on to suggest tenants may have to take tax off their own rental payments to ensure the correct tax is paid if their landlord is not resident in the UK and is… Continue Reading Tenants Warned Not To Ignore Landlords Tax

Just over a fifth of lettings agents questioned in a major industry survey are concerned that they may not be complying with the property licencing regulations. Some 79 per cent of agents responding to the annual Fixflo study said they were “extremely confident” they were in compliance, but 21 per cent were not. In addition there were substantial worries about agencies’ compliance with Houses in Multiple Occupation licencing regulations; some… Continue Reading Property Licencing Regulations Agents Fears

New figures just released by the government emphasise the significance of creating a specialist housing court says one of the lettings sector’s most active trade bodies. The Residential Landlords Association says buy to let owners face a growing amount of time in getting judgement on repossession cases from the courts. Official statistics show that it now takes private landlords an average of 22.6 weeks from making a claim to the courts… Continue Reading Specialist Housing Court Needed

The appeal by Labour’s Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to be given powers to introduce rent controls have been dealt a critical blow, according to a trade body. The Residential Landlords Association claims that Office for National Statistics data published this week shows that in the 12 months to October 2019, private sector rents in the capital increased by an average of a mere0.9 per cent. This is lower than… Continue Reading Rent Controls debate: more criticism aimed at Labour’s Sadiq Khan