Although welcome, the government’s recent announcement that it will provide new funding to help stamp out rogue landlords largely failed to impress the Residential Landlords Association. The RLA welcomed the news but claimed it was nowhere near enough to properly find and root out the crooks. Ministers recently announced that local authorities will be able to access almost £4 million in new funding, as part of what it describes as… Continue Reading Government funding to tackle criminal landlords ‘nowhere near enough’, says RLA

On Saturday afternoon, the hot water went off in Alex Milsom’s shared house in west London. Discussing the problem with his housemates on WhatsApp, one person replied: “It’s because there’s a cage on the thermostat.” “I said I would put the water back on, but obviously I couldn’t get past the new lock box,” Alex said. His landlady had visited the property to install a clear thermostat cover over the… Continue Reading Can my landlord lock my thermostat in a box?

Another think tank has come up with proposals to scrap no-fault Section 21 evictions powers and cap rents – and it also doesn’t hold back saying what it thinks of the private rental sector in general. In a new wide-ranging and radical report on altering fundamental parts of the British economy, the London-based Left-leaning New Economic Foundation describes the private rental sector as “the most unaffordable, and least secure tenure… Continue Reading No-Fault Section 21 Evictions Proposals

The normally-sedate Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has issued an unusually stark warning to government, telling it to “stop meddling” in the private rental sector. Tamara Hooper, RICS’ policy manager, says: “Persistent government meddling in the private rented sector has dampened landlords’ appetites to invest and expand their portfolios, with many consolidating their assets, or leaving the sector altogether.” And she adds: “In addition, the regular changes to the PRS… Continue Reading “Stop meddling!” – stark warning from surveyors to government

Camden Council has outlined plans to ban all Lettings Boards in the borough. The Council have decided to apply for the lettings boards ban after a consultation on the proposals that was run earlier this year revealed that 89% of respondents backed plans for a borough-wide ban. According to the council, the boards have caused 1,000 complaints over the last five years. In September the council wrote to the Department… Continue Reading London Council Calls For Ban On Lettings Boards

Should the Labour Party emerge triumphant and Jeremy Corbyn walks into 10 Downing Street, it plans to introduce the most radical right to buy property scheme this country has seen in generations. At the heart of the right to buy property scheme, this policy proposal seeks to do the right thing – tackle the issue of problem landlords who don’t maintain their properties and address the buy to let market… Continue Reading Right To Buy Property Scheme – Landlords Will Desert

Labour’s policies for the private rental sector are “too extreme … unrealistic and will be hugely damaging to housing supply in the UK.” That’s the view of the National Landlords Association which has issued a sharp condemnation of the proposals, which include rent caps, annual rental property MOTs and fines of up to £100,000 for landlords who break the law. The party also wants a national landlord register and the… Continue Reading Labour policies “extreme, unrealistic, damaging” – trade body

A Labour council is leading a trial by local authorities of a new digital platform that checks whether agents, landlords and properties are compliant. The new digital platform, called Vault, has been created by Marks Out Of Tenancy, a tenant-focussed service which until now has been known for encouraging reviews of agents and landlords by renters. Marks Out Of Tenancy says its service is being tested in “several major local… Continue Reading Labour Council Coordinating New Digital Platform

The growing chorus of calls to professionalise the short lets sector has won influential backing from a senior PropTech entrepreneur. Neil Cobbold – the chief operating officer of automated payment service PayProp – says that lettings agents could benefit from the increased revenue and diversification offered by managing properties listed on Airbnb and other short lets platforms, but there is a need for the sector to avoid the ‘horror stories’ of recent… Continue Reading Short Lets Sector Offer Opportunities For Agents

Almost two thirds of landlords say their next buy to let purchase will be through a limited company, not by themselves as an individual. Research by Foundation Home Loans at the end of the third quarter of the year reveals that 63 per cent of landlords plan to do a buy to let purchase through a company; this is up from 55 per cent in the second quarter. Jeff Knight,… Continue Reading Buy To Let Purchase Via Company Structures

A leading agent is the latest industry figure to speak out against private rent controls, which continue to be advocated by Labour politicians in the run up to December’s General Election. Paul Sloan, development director for Haart, says: “Private rent controls sound great in theory, but unfortunately the reality is that they simply do not work. Around the world we have countless examples of cities which have introduced rent controls,… Continue Reading Private Rent Controls Don’t Work

The government and local authorities run by all political parties are keen to advocate measures to curb rogue letting agents and landlords – but there is another side to the story. A property in Warrington was left by a tenant coated in grime and mould and littered by things like half-eaten food containers, pet food and medication. Many of the fixtures and fittings, including the carpets, have been damaged beyond… Continue Reading Why S21 must stay: £29,000 arrears and £2,000 mess left by tenant

A leading provider of deposit alternatives has voiced concern at the Conservatives’ proposal to have a lifetime deposit scheme to make it easier for renters to move home. Last week the Tories announced that there would be a digital certificate stating that a tenant’s deposit was still tied up with a previous tenancy, with the money transferring to the new landlord only once the previous one has returned it. Prime… Continue Reading Lifetime Deposit Scheme Fundamentally Flawed

Two specific elements of the Labour tax proposals, outlined in its manifesto, could “drive a nail into the coffin of buy to let” warns a leading financial adviser. The first of the Labour tax proposals is commitment to capital gains being taxed at the same rate as income; this could sharply increase the tax paid by landlords when they sell their properties. Income tax is currently at 20 per cent… Continue Reading Labour Tax Proposals For Buy To Let

The safeagent accreditation scheme says the next government should not scrap private landlord licensing as some trade groups have requested, but should instead streamline the system. The scheme adds that private landlord licensing should be targeted at specific problem neighbourhoods and substandard properties, as well as at rogue landlords and agents. This is one of a number of proposals put forward by safeagent in the form of a manifesto ahead… Continue Reading Private Landlord Licensing – Streamline It

Landlords’ confidence in the private letting sector has slumped to an all-time low, according to research by the National Landlords Association. In a survey of members the NLA found just 28 per cent rated the prospects for their own business in the next three months as “very good” or “good”. The association says this is a significant fall in private letting sector confidence, down from 38 per cent at the… Continue Reading Private Letting Sector Confidence Plummets

“I won’t be renting again after this, once the repairs are completed, I’ll be selling it” A landlord who says he has been left almost £30,000 out of pocket in unpaid rent found his tenants had left a revolting mess behind them. When David Wright was finally able to enter his property after being granted a possession order, he found it coated in grime and mould. Rooms in the Warrington… Continue Reading Landlord’s £2,000 clean-up bill after tenant leaves behind this revolting mess

As the General Election approaches, safeagent has set out its own manifesto for the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Read the safeagent manifesto in full Calling on the next Government to develop a clear and positive agenda for the PRS, safeagent has a number of key asks, which are vital to help improve the sector for all – tenants, landlords and agents: Empty Homes – Bringing back into use in the PRS Urgent action should… Continue Reading safeagent Manifesto: Towards a better Private Rented Sector

It looks likely that the Conservative party is set to formally oppose rent controls in election manifesto, when it publishes, probably in 10 days time. It’s now been reported that the current Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, told a Commons committee shortly before the formal start of the election that he was strongly opposed to such rent controls in election manifesto. His comments came… Continue Reading Tories Oppose Rent Controls In Election Manifesto