Pushing Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rates up to the levels of income tax could spark a mass exodus of landlords from the market, property experts warn. This follows a report from the Government’s tax advisers suggesting that Chancellor Rishi Sunak could bring CGT – currently 28% on residential property and 20% on other assets – into line with income tax so that higher rate taxpayers face a flat rate of… Continue Reading See details of our Guaranteed Rent Scheme here

Young people are being forced to choose between racking up rent debts and risking their health due to rules limiting what they can claim for housing benefit. Those under 35 who are now relying on benefit to pay their rent for the first time will find that support will only be available to cover the cost of a room in a shared house. The National Residential Landlords Association is warning… Continue Reading Young forced to choose between rent debt and health

The government is urging agents and landlords to be “considerate” when deciding whether to accept tenants on the basis of their references. The unusual comment came from Housing Minister Chris Pincher in a written Parliamentary answer to Vicky Foxcroft, a Labour MP. Pincher said “contextual information” from previous landlords and agents, regarding a tenant’s payment holidays, should contribute to the decision. Foxcroft, who represents the London constituency of Lewisham Deptford,… Continue Reading Government tells agents: Be “considerate” over tenant referencing

The stamp duty holiday and low interest rates have led to a surge in house buying but is now a good time to buy or is the bubble set to burst? In property, as in comedy, timing is everything. Spurred on by the stamp duty holiday and an increased emphasis on quality of life and working from home, many young Londoners are poised on the starting blocks, having successfully tapped… Continue Reading Is now a good time to buy a home in London?How lockdown and Brexit could affect house prices

Lockdown 2 should be no more than a blip for the UK property market, according to new research. The property market is showing far more resilience to the second national lockdown than it did to the first, which saw the entire housing market, from viewings to home moves, put on hold for seven weeks. The number of valuations of homes being put up for sale was up by 38 per cent last… Continue Reading How lockdown 2 is affecting the housing market

A legal expert who advises agents and landlords should consider serving a second Section 8 notice if their tenants owe more than six months rent, even though their first notice had not come into force. The reason being because of the important change to six months’ rental arrears as the notice period for this has been drastically reduced from six months down to just four weeks. Robert Bolwell, senior partner at Dutton… Continue Reading Landlords And Agents Advised To Serve Section 8 Notices Twice

Southwark has recently sent out a letter to thousands of private landlords asking them not to evictExpel (someone) from a property, esp. with the support of the law any of their tenants. The authority says that due to the second wave of Covid cases with increasing numbers of patients in hospitals together with the daily rise of unemployment across the country, the housing crisis is becoming worse. The council says that… Continue Reading Council Asks Landlords Not To Evict Tenants As It Has No Money

The number of tenants experiencing rent increases fell for the second month in a row according to ARLA Propertymark. Its latest snapshot – which looks at October’s market – shows that in that month just 37 per cent of agents witnessed landlords increasing rent compared to 40 per cent in September and 48 per cent in August. The October 2020 figure is 13 per cent down on a year earlier… Continue Reading Number of rent rises falls for second month in a row, say agents

Labour claims over 350 households in London alone were issued with a Section 21 notice during the first lockdown in spring – and it says this shows why the government should fulfil its pledge to scrap S21 completely. The government pledged to outlaw Section 21 evictions in April 2019, and a consultation on the proposal ended over a year ago, in October 2019. Now Labour’s London Assembly housing spokesman, Murad… Continue Reading Labour claims hundreds of S21s during Lockdown1, despite ban

Industry players worry that million of tenants will struggle to pass referencing after prolonged periods on the recently-extended scheme. A leading referencing platform has warned that the lettings industry faces a major challenge when the extended furlough scheme ends on 31st March. Last week Chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed that the scheme, which has so far supported some 9.6 million jobs since the first lockdown, has been extended by five months until… Continue Reading Will tenant referencing cope when millions come off furlough in March?

An MP claims the proliferation of short lets via Airbnb and similar online platforms is indirectly pricing local people out of their areas. Hywel Williams, MP for Arfon in Wales, says there has been a huge increase in short lets across the county of Gwynedd – a trend that “simply isn’t sustainable” as people are being priced out of homes in their own communities. Williams, a Plaid Cymru MP, says… Continue Reading “Airbnb pricing us out of our communities!” – MP slams short lets

Two leading eviction experts have rejected recent calls by landlord and property educator Ranjan Bhattacharya to reduce the evictions notice period to 14 days. His controversial claim, which was made during a YouTube video for his 27,600 subscribers four weeks ago, asked fellow landlords to sign a petition calling on the government to reduce the notice period. Bhattacharya argues that the existing system – even when the current restrictions are discounted –… Continue Reading Campaign to dramatically reduce eviction notice period ‘unhelpful during Covid’

Pre-Covid signs were promising. Possession action was falling with figures from the first quarter of this year the lowest in 20 years. However even before the pandemic saw courts close for six months, there was a backlog of cases, as they were operating at full capacity. With increasing numbers of landlords having to use bailiffs to enforce judgements, already lengthy wait times are set to increase further, an issue compounded… Continue Reading Bailiff crisis hit repossessions

Landlords have criticised the Chancellor for cutting the amount tenants relying on benefits will be able to claim to pay their rent. According to a report by the Office for Budget Responsibility published alongside the Spending Review today the Local Housing Allowance will be frozen in cash terms from next year. This means that the rate will fall below the current level which is set to cover the lowest 30 per cent… Continue Reading Sunak cuts housing support

A top property law firm is questioning whether the government’s current eviction moratorium – effectively banning evictions until mid-January at the earliest – is actually even legal. On October 21 – in news given relatively little publicity at the time – the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland QC MP wrote to bailiff organisations asking them not to undertake any evictions in areas that have been… Continue Reading Latest eviction ban – is it even legal?

Charities and opposition politicians are putting fresh pressure on the Government to bring back its eviction ban for the entire winter. As the country starts the next national lockdown, they’re hoping the halt on evictions in Tier 2 and Tier 3 Covid restriction areas might be extended to the rest of the UK. Labour’s shadow housing secretary Thangam Debbonaire (above, left) and Shelter chief executive Polly Neate (above, right) have… Continue Reading Not again! Labour and Shelter call for another evictions ban as new lockdown looms

Leading evictions expert Paul Shamplina has warned landlords hoping to regain possession of their homes from tenants with rent arrears that the lockdown due to start tomorrow will, in practice, usher in a new evictions ban in everything but name. Possession hearings have been proceeding in most courts since the stay on court proceedings was lifted on September 21st. But since the ‘Tiered’ system of local lockdowns in many areas… Continue Reading Lockdown to usher in evictions ban in everything but name, warns expert

A third of landlords are planning to buy additional buy-to-let properties in rural and coastal areas and believe that city centres ‘no longer represent a worthwhile investment’. This has been revealed by a new poll, which also claims that the ongoing lockdowns have pushed up renter demand in greener towns and villages. Recent figures from Rightmove have shown that property searches have doubled for homes in small towns and villages… Continue Reading GOING GREEN: Has Covid signalled the ‘beginning of the end’ for city centre rentals?

A new report into the private rented sector in the North of England has panned national and local government efforts to clamp down on ‘rogue landlords’ and called for greater efforts by authorities to ensure the majority of ‘good’ landlords maintain their properties adequately. “A focus on rogue landlords ignores poor practice and a lack of resilience in the private sector more broadly,” it says. Many tenants quizzed in the… Continue Reading Stop chasing rogue landlords, says influential new PRS report